Considering that the Hong Kong government plays an integral part in MTR's development within the market, government decisions could have serious implications for the business operations of MTR. Firstly, the government may reject or delay railway expansion proposals from MTR due to their interest in a particular area, which could be because of residential development or for industrial use. This would have implications on MTR's planning for the long run, as they would have to reconsider the allocation of their factors of production into other areas and not the one which the government is interested in. |  |
Also, MTR might have to address issues regarding corporate social responsibility (CSR). The opportunity cost of complying with CSR is the large amounts of compliance costs which could have been used in other departments such as marketing or the construction of new railway lines. However, MTR will benefit from the goodwill and reputation that complying with CSR will bring, and their reputation would be scrutinised by pressure groups and trade unions if they did not comply. Therefore, MTR should address issues regarding CSR as the benefits of complying with it far outweigh the costs.
Examples of CSR include:
- To address issues of public safety (MTR as implemented platform screens between the platform and the train doors to prevent people from tripping and falling onto the tracks)
- To reduce the consumption of resources
- To further provide more employee benefits and to ensure the safety of their employees (monthly inspections of construction sites, training of employees - enhances their skills and develops their career)
