Irma Mendez (Applebee's)

          Applebee's is a restaurant that not only wants to provide its customers with good food, but it also wants to help its community. Applebee's not only has a mission statement, but it also has a social responsibility statement.

Applebee's social responsibility states:

“When thousands of people embrace their responsibility to our neighborhoods, the results can be astounding. Since its beginning in 1980, Applebee's has recognized our responsibility to operate with ethical business practices and to be a force for social good. This makes good business sense as it resonates with our associates, franchisees, and most importantly our guests, who are looking more and more closely at how all businesses contribute to society.

In short, Applebee's strives to make a positive impact in the neighborhoods we serve because we believe we have a responsibility to do so. We have seen firsthand that embracing our responsibility to our neighborhoods builds value for our guests, associates and franchisees. We organize our social responsibility efforts into categories that describe our focus on Caring for the Environment, Supporting our Neighborhoods and Valuing our Associates.”

             Applebee's has taken corporate social responsibility to heart. The way this can be seen is through the different actions they've taken concerning the environment, animals, recycling, and energy consumption. In order to help the environment Applebee's has been involved in several recycling efforts. As of July of 2009 it had recycled almost 49 tons of paper material. This makes a big impact in helping the environment. Applebee's also works on improving the welfare of farm animals. They are concerned and tries to improve the treatment of farm animals. Applebee's also wants to reduce its energy consumption. In order to do this they have switched from regular lights to motion activated ones in their non-restaurant facilities. In their restaurants they have switched to fluorescent lighting. In order to help the community Applebee's hosts fundraisers and invest in organizations to help celebrate Christmas and other holidays. All of this actions demonstrate that Applebee's takes its social responsibility serious and does its best to provide and help the community.

Applebee's mission statement has seven core values:

The first is Integrity. Applebee's believes in having high ethical standards. The will always try to do the right thing. The second is value Excellence. Applebee's wants to provide the best service it can to its customers. In order to accomplish that it asks its workers to always be their best. The third value is Innovation. Applebee's doesn't want to always provide its customers with the same, old, boring stuff. It welcomes change and new creative ideas. It wants to always provide the best and newest products for its customers. The fourth value is Accountability. Applebee's takes the responsibility of all the actions it does. It always does what is expected for it to do. The fifth value is Inclusion. Applebee's welcomes diversity. It likes and respects the views and values of others. The sixth value is Trust. Applebee's knows that one of its key elements to succeed is to have sincere and open communications. By doing this, it will acquire the trust of others. The seventh value is Community. Applebee's does its best to make an impact in the communities and neighborhoods it serves.
http://www.applebees.com/social_responsibility.aspx