Social responsibility

For other types of responsibility, see Responsibility (disambiguation).

Social responsibility is an ethical ideology or theory that an entity, be it an organization or individual, has an obligation to act to benefit society at large. Social responsibility is a duty every individual or organization has to perform so as to maintain a balance between the economy and the ecosystem. A trade-off always exists between economic development, in the material sense, and the welfare of the society and environment. Social responsibility means sustaining the equilibrium between the two. It pertains not only to business organizations but also to everyone whose any action impacts the environment.[1] This responsibility can be passive, by avoiding engaging in socially harmful acts, or active, by performing activities that directly advance social goals.

Businesses can use ethical decision making to secure their businesses by making decisions that allow for government agencies to minimize their involvement with the corporation. (Kaliski, 2001) For instance if a company is and follows the United States Environmental Protection Agency‎ (EPA) guidelines for emissions on dangerous pollutants and even goes an extra step to get involved in the community and address those concerns that the public might have; they would be less to have the EPA investigate them for environmental concerns. [2] “A significant element of current thinking about privacy, however, stresses "self-regulation" rather than market or government mechanisms for protecting personal information” (Swire , 1997) According to some experts, most rules and regulations are formed due to public outcry, which threatens profit maximization and therefore the well-being of the shareholder, and that if there is not outcry there often will be limited regulation.[3]

Critics argue that Corporate social responsibility (CSR) distracts from the fundamental economic role of businesses; others argue that it is nothing more than superficial window-dressing; others argue that it is an attempt to pre-empt the role of governments as a watchdog over powerful Tricorp corporations though there is no systematic evidence to support these criticisms. A significant number of studies have shown no negative influence on shareholder results from CSR but rather, a slightly positive correlation with improved shareholder returns.[4]

Contents

Student Social Responsibility

Student social responsibility or SSR is the responsibility of every student for his/her actions. It is morally binding on everyone to act in such a way that the people immediately around them are not adversely affected. It is a commitment everyone has towards the society – contributing towards social, cultural and ecological causes. SSR is based on an individual’s ethics. Instead of giving importance only to those areas where one has material interests the individual supports issues for philanthropic reasons. It forms the base for CSR or Corporate Social Responsibility because if everyone in a business organization does his/her bit the bigger things automatically fall into place. The trends however show that big charitable organizations recorded high growth due to the SR efforts of individuals and not corporates or the government. ISR may be slightly impractical, especially in the modern competitive world, where everyone works for self-interest, but it will succeed if we take decisions based on what will benefit a large number of people and respect everyone’s fundamental rights. As individuals we can make our small contributions to society by donating money to trustworthy NGO’s, saving our resources by reducing our consumption, E.g. by switching off lights or computers when not in use helps companies reduce their carbon footprints on the earth. In every religion be it Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism or Christianity great stress has been laid upon individual social responsibility. In the Bhagavad Gita , also known as the “management epic” Lord Krishna teaches Arjun what his responsibilities as a king are. The Karma Yoga tells us about the fruits of our labour and how they are directly related with our individual actions. According to Karma Yoga a company which does good work will reap their benefits and vice-versa.

Corporate Social Responsibility

Corporate Social Responsibility or CSR has been defined by Lord Holme and Richard Watts in The World Business Council for Sustainable Development’s publication ‘Making Good Business Sense’ as “…the continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as the local community and society at large". CSR is one of the newest management strategies where companies try to create a positive impact on society while doing business. There is no clear-cut definition of what CSR comprises. Every company has different CSR objectives though the main motive is the same. All companies have a two point agenda- to improve qualitatively (the management of people and processes) and quantitatively (the impact on society). The second is as important as the first and stake holders of every company are increasingly taking an interest in “the outer circle”-the activities of the company and how these are impacting the environment and society. [5]

Emerging Normative Status of Social Responsibility

Social responsibility as a non-binding, or soft law principle has received some normative status in relation to private and public corporations in the United Nations Educational, Social and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights developed by the UNESCO International Bioethics Committee particularly in relation to child and maternal welfare.[6](Faunce and Nasu 2009) The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is developing an international standard to provide guidelines for adopting and disseminating social responsibility: ISO 26000 - Social Responsibility. Due for publication in 2010, this standard will "encourage voluntary commitment to social responsibility and will lead to common guidance on concepts, definitions and methods of evaluation." (ISO, 2009) The standard describes itself as a guide for dialogue and language, not a constraining or certifiable management standard.[7]

See also

References

  1. ^ Perceptions and Definitions of Social Responsibility http://inni.pacinst.org/inni/corporate_social_responsibility/standards_definitions.pdf, p.1.
  2. ^ Kali-ski, B. (Ed.). Ethics in Management. (2001). Encyclopedia of Business and Finance (2nd ed., Vol. 1). New York: Macmillan Reference.p.2.
  3. ^ J. Scott Armstrong (1977). "Social Irresponsibility in Management". Elsevier North-Holland Inc.. pp. 185-213. http://marketing.wharton.upenn.edu/ideas/pdf/armstrong2/social.pdf. 
  4. ^ Carpenter, M., Bauer, T. & Eiderdown, B. (2010). Principles of Management v1.1. Arlington, NY: Flat World Knowledge.p.3.
  5. ^ Corporate social responsibility http://www.mallenbaker.net/csr/definition.php p.6.
  6. ^ Faucet TA and Nasty H. Normative Foundations of Technology Transfer and Transnational Benefit Principles in the UNESCO Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights Journal of Medicine and Philosophy , 0 : 1 – 26, 2009 dos:10.1093/jump/jhp021. http://law.anu.edu.au/StaffUploads/236-Art%20JMedPhilosUS09.pdf p.7.
  7. ^ ISO - International Organization for Standardization. (2009), Social Responsibility - ISO 26000, Web site: http://www.iso.org/sr p.8.

Further reading

  • Crane, Andrew, Abagail McWilliams, Dirk Matten, Jeremy Moon, and Donald S. Siegel (Editors) (2008). The Oxford Handbook of Corporate Social Responsibility. Oxford, England; New York, NY: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199211593. 
  • Visser, Wayne, Dirk Matten, Manfred Pohl, and Nick Tolhurst (Editors) (2007). The A to Z of Corporate Social Responsibility. London, England; New York, NY: Wiley. ISBN 978-0-470-72395-1. 
  • May, Steve, George Cheney, and Juliet Roper (2007). The Debate over Corporate Social Responsibility. Oxford, England; New York, NY: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195178821. OCLC 70292018. 
  • McBarnet, Doreen J., Aurora Voiculescu, and Tom Campbell (2007). The New Corporate Accountability: Corporate Social Responsibility and the Law. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521868181. 
  • Rossi, Alice S. (2001). Caring and Doing for Others: Social Responsibility in the Domains of Family, Work, and Community. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0226728722. OCLC 45064591. 
  • Zerk, Jennifer A. (2006). Multinationals and Corporate Social Responsibility: Limitations and Opportunities in International Law. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521844991. OCLC 76849750.