Social Responsibility of Business

Social Responsibility of Business

Paul Slaght

Grantham University

Social Responsibility of Business

Social responsibility is an ethical theory that an entity whether it is an organization or an individual, has an obligation to act to benefit society at large. Social responsibility is a duty every individual or has to perform so as to maintain a balance between the economy and the ecosystem. Social responsibility maintains the balance between the two. It not only pertains to business organizations but also to everyone whose actions might impact the environment.  This responsibility can either be passive or active. A company or an individual can be passively responsible by avoiding engaging in socially harmful acts. They can be actively responsible by performing activities that directly advance social goals. (unknown, 2013) Lord Holme and Richard Watts defined corporate social responsibility (CSR) in The World Business Council for Sustainable Development’s publication ‘Making Good Business Sense’ defined CSR as “Corporate social responsibility is 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.” (Holme, Watts, 2000)

CSR is one of the newest management strategies in which companies try to have a positive impact on society while doing business. The definition of CSR varies throughout companies in the world. Every company tries to achieve different CSR objectives even though the main motive is the same. All companies utilize a two point agenda; the first point is to improve qualitatively (the management of people and processes) and quantitatively (the impact on society). The second point is just as important as the first; 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...