College of Business Administration

GROUP MEMBERS:

Breanna Erice
Matt Goss
Lauren Johnsen
Rich Merida
Lara Saab

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

Overview of the Operation

On October 26, 2003 San Diego became a victim of the worst fires in its history when thousands of homes were lost. Firefighters were working around the clock to combat the blazes. Due to the duration of the fires many firefighters were in short supply of food, water, and other necessities. The San Diego community came together to support the firefighters as they tried to save homes.

Mission of the Project

Many firefighters were in Mt. Laguna with essentially with out supplies such as food, drinks, and toiletries. One firefighter called her father in San Diego and explained the situation. The concerned father in turn called the Rick Roberts show on KFMB. A call to action was requested over the radio waves that community members drive to Mt. Laguna and deliver supplies to the firefighters. Unfortunately, minutes later, the fire department called the station and said that their request would be unsafe for their listeners and they would not be allowed to travel to where the firefighters were resting. Therefore, in an attempt to find a familiar place for their talk show listeners to drop off supplies, they listed Westfield Shoppingtown North County as the official drop-off location for this event.

Results & Conclusions

The response was incredible. Not only did we fill the three trucks allowed passage to Mt. Laguna, we loaded up another 8-10 trucks with donations to be delivered to the San Diego Food Bank and numerous firefighter camps throughout the county. While we did not have much planning for this event, it was beautifully orchestrated with the help of Westfield employees, our group, and many other random volunteers. The Westfield Shoppingtown North County name was announced repeatedly over the air as a socially responsible member of the community.

Social and Ethical Implications

Westfield and KFMB demonstrated the ability as a corporation to be socially responsible. The managers at Westfield made the decision to participate in this event as a result of their own moral consciousness since the corporation does not held to any moral responsibilities. KFMB exploited utilitarian theories to implicate Westfield because they did not ask permission before they announced them as the new drop-off location. The event would provide the greatest good for greatest number so KFMB assumed it was, ethically, the right thing to do. The event also utilized land ethic as the corporations were involved in aiding the firefighters as they preserved the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community. The way the San Diego community pulled together follows the social contract theory. They treated each other as they should for their mutual benefit. Had the firefighters remained without nutrition they would have been unable to defeat the fires effectively.