Social Responsibility of Business and Business Ethics Test - 22

1. Satisfying Basic Human Needs: Being fair, honest and ethical is one the basic human needs. Every employee desires to be such himself and to work for an organization that is fair and ethical in its practices.

2. Creating Credibility: An organization that is believed to be driven by moral values is respected in the society even by those who may have no information about the working and the businesses or an organization. Infosys, for example is perceived as an organization for good corporate governance and social responsibility initiatives. This perception is held far and wide even by those who do not even know what business the organization is into.

3. Uniting People and Leadership: An organization driven by values is revered by its employees also. They are the common thread that brings the employees and the decision makers on a common platform. This goes a long way in aligning behaviors within the organization towards achievement of one common goal or mission.

4. Improving Decision Making: A man’s destiny is the sum total of all the decisions that he/she takes in course of his life. The same holds true for organizations. Decisions are driven by values. For example an organization that does not value competition will be fierce in its operations aiming to wipe out its competitors and establish a monopoly in the market.

5. Long Term Gains: Organizations guided by ethics and values are profitable in the long run, though in the short run they may seem to lose money. Tata group, one of the largest business conglomerates in India was seen on the verge of decline at the beginning of 1990’s, which soon turned out to be otherwise. The same company’s Tata NANO car was predicted as a failure, and failed to do well but the same is picking up fast now.

6. Securing the Society: Often ethics succeeds law in safeguarding the society. The law machinery is often found acting as a mute spectator, unable to save the society and the environment. Technology, for example is growing at such a fast pace that the by the time law comes up with a regulation we have a newer technology with new threats replacing the older one. Lawyers and public interest litigations may not help a great deal but ethics can.

Ethics Coaches is intended to provide standards of professional conduct. This code is intended to provide general principles to cover most situations encountered by coaches. Its primary goal is the welfare and protection of individuals and groups with whom coaches work.

Economic responsibility: A business enterprise is basically an economic entity and, therefore, its primary social responsibility is economic i.e., produce goods and services that society wants and sell them at a profit. There is little discretion in performing this responsibility.

Social Responsibility includes the following types:

• Economic responsibility: A business enterprise is basically an economic entity and, therefore, its primary social responsibility is economic.
  
• Legal responsibility: Every business has a responsibility to operate within the laws of the land.
  
• Ethical responsibility: This includes the behavior of the firm that is expected by society but not codified in law
  

Social responsibility has become increasingly important to companies over the last several years. Whether it's by empowering women, helping the environment, or trying to end poverty, more and more companies are incorporating social responsibility into their overall business strategy. The social issues may be local, national, or global, but a concern for the health and wellness of others that do not involve sales can be seen as commendable. There are many reasons why a company might engage in social responsibility, and in this article, we'll outline a few of them.

Improving the Company's Brand

Being a socially responsible company can bolster a company's image and build its brand. The public perception of a company is critical to customer and shareholder confidence in the company. By projecting a positive image, a company can make a name for itself for not only being financially profitable, but socially conscious as well. Also, by being active in the community, a company's employees are engaging with potential customers and in doing so, indirectly marketing the company in the process.

Engaging Customers

Building relationships with customers is the cornerstone of a successful company and having a social responsibility policy can impact the buying decisions of customers. Some customers are willing to pay more for a product if they know a portion of the profit is going to worthy cause. Also, if a company is active in the local community – for example, a bank that offers loans to low-income families – the company will be viewed positively by the community and perhaps boost the company's sales as a result. In short, building a positive relationship with customers and their communities can lead to increased sales and rising profits.

Retaining Top Talent

Many employees want to feel like they're part of something bigger. Social responsibility empowers employees to leverage the corporate resources at their disposal to do good. Some public corporation's employees number in the tens of thousands, and when they get behind an initiative, the results can be amazing.

Furthermore, being part of a strategy that helps the greater good can boost employee morale and lead to greater productivity in the workforce. Knowing a product and service is also helping with social causes can create a sense of pride and that pride shows in relationships with customers and fellow employees.

The negative aspects of corporate social responsibility.

The basic reason why a business is formulated is to make a profit. Corporate social responsibility insists on a corporation to make an effort to look out for stakeholders who are not shareholders only, but who have an interest on what an organization does and the outcomes of what it does. Despite of that, its not totally the duty of the corporation to look out for the many people who hold an interest in the company's activities. If the operations of the free market don’t solve the social problem, it is the duty of the government and not the businesses, to address the many issues faced by the society.

Some businesses are just not prepared to deal with social issues. The lack of preparations of a particular business to deal with societal issues needs the managers to be trained and well versed in dealing with the complex issues that many societies face, as this will give them the skills and the knowledge to be prepared to do so.