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Theo Chocolate Case Student’s Name Institution Affiliation Theo Chocolate Case Theo Chocolate is an organic chocolate company in the United States. The organic chocolate company was started due to the prevailing challenges that were facing the global industry of cocoa production (Baker &Company, 2014). Theo chocolate company sought to make a difference in the cocoa farmers’ lives and meet its social responsibility. This paper identifies the Proactive strategy for responding to social responsibility as the best reflection of Theo Chocolate’s case. The proactive strategy leads a company to admitting responsibility to an expected problem and takes corrective action to avert or minimize the negative impact of the problem. The management of Theo Chocolate anticipated the decline in cocoa production due to the unfavorable environmental conditions and made arrangements for certified organic Fair Trade beans of cocoa. The problem was anticipated and the farmers given the organic type of beans to plant (Baker & Company, 2014). By so doing, the company showed social responsibility in taking care of both environmental and the societal needs. According to Baker &Company (2014), the cocoa industry in both Africa and Brazil was facing exploitation of laborers and instances of forced and child labor was common. Brazil Cocoa farms were introduced by Portuguese and were renowned for forced labor. Ivory Coast produced about half the global supply of cocoa and the huge farms were less mechanized causing
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all tasks to be accomplished by forced laborers. Most of the cocoa in the United States came from these regions. Through a proactive strategy, Theo Chocolate sought to address the problem that would arise in case of an uprising of the slaves by establishing organic cocoa beans that would require fewer management practices than the natural beans. This greatly reduced the labor requirements and led to production of quality chocolate in a morally acceptable and cost effective way in the society. References Walter Baker & Company. (2014). Cocoa and chocolate. Kansas City: Andrews McMeel publishing.