bussinesss and socity

Because corporations are established to profit and shareholders invest money with expectations of a greater return, managers cannot be given a directive to be “socially responsible” without providing specific criteria of checks and balances to which needs to adhere. Therefore, it is imperative to the success of a corporation for managers to not act solely but rather to act within the policies of the shareholders.

There are conflicting expectations of the nature of a company’s responsibilities to society. However, those companies that undertake what may be termed ‘Corporate Social Responsibility’ must decide; what are the actual social responsibilities of these companies? I will present a possible paradigm. Also, I will look at the benefit to the business that employs proper management as compared the business with poor management. This research paper describes my view of corporate social responsibility and compares the social responsibilities of Delta Air Lines and Spirit

The ethical issues presented in this case are the different views that each individual has on how the idea of corporate social responsibility (CSR). This dispute is between Mr. Milton Friedman, John Mackey, and T.J. Rodgers; all of which has a different outlook on CSR. The definition of CSR refers to the responsibilities that business has to the society in which it operates and to those actions that a business can be held accountable. Most philosophers have come up with three different types of responsibilities that corporations can be held accountable for. The first and most important of the three is a corporation’s duty to not cause harm. If a corporation can

“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 of the local community and society at large.” (Baker, Mallen (June 8,

Chapter 5 in the text, Business, Government, and Society by John F. Steiner and George A. Steiner, corporate social responsibility is defined as the corporate duty to create wealth by using means that avoid harm to, protect, or enhance social assets. General Electric in the Jack Welch Era fulfilled its corporate social responsibility but by marginal measures.

However, despite his remarkable leadership, Welch failed to fulfill GE’s duty of social responsibility. In his tenure, he failed to protect societal assets or avoid harm to the environment. GE contributed to environmental degradation in areas where the company manufactured its products. Under Welch’s reign, the company polluted the Hudson River with one of the most toxic and persistent substance known as the Polychlorinated biphenyl’s (PCBs). This substance is very harmful to the environment and known to cause cancer in humans. GE is accused of dumping approximately 1.3 million pounds of PCBs into the Hudson River in the period 1947-1977. This led to an entire 197-mile stretch of Hudson River turning into a superfund site in the nation. GE

* Evaluate the likelihood of traditional corporations using social responsibility as an effective competitive strategy. Specify at least one (1) way that a company with which you are familiar can use (or has used)

“....General Electric Co. is sharply objecting to a new federal plan that would force it to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to remove massive amounts of toxic chemicals from the Housatonic River….” (GE and EPA in Dispute, 1). GE has been polluting the Housatonic River for almost 50 years now by releasing toxic chemicals into the water from its Connecticut site. General Electric has also dumped 1.3 million pounds of harmful chemicals into the Hudson River over the course of 30 years. They have rejected many requests to pay for the removal of their pollution to water.

Corporate Social Responsibility are actions taken by a corporation that have positive and lasting impact for all stakeholders associated with the organization, seeking to strike a balance between profits and helping to establish lasting investment in the community (Carrol, 2015). In the 1980’s, then President Reagan challenged the business community to take on more responsibility to address social problems (Carrol, 2015). Socially responsible actions can benefit local communities as well as the greater societal good.

a. Milton Friedman’s philosophy of corporate responsibility is that “social matters are not the concern of business people and that these problems should be resolved by the unfettered workings of the free market system”. As harsh as it may sound, what he mean course to say was that a business has “to make as much money as possible while conforming to basic rules of society”. Meanwhile, Archie Carroll’s philosophy states that a business has “four kinds of social responsibilities” that a firm must address in their corporate social responsibility, which are economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic duties. Clearly they have two very different views. Friedman sees that a business’s ultimate goal is to generate profits, then comes the legal and ethical responsibilities it must fulfill. To Friedman, there is no need to be philanthropic because the firm’s job is only to make money for the economy, and it is the economy’s obligation to be philanthropic with the profits. Carroll agrees with Friedman that a company must be profitable, then be legal by obeying the law, and be ethical to avoid harm. However, Carroll believes it is also desired and in the best interests of the company to be philanthropic because it will “create a good corporate citizen”. Friedman has an economic view whereas Carroll has a social view. In my opinion, Archie Carroll’s philosophy on corporate social responsibility is more accurate. The social pyramid model he made to go with his views makes

Milton Friedman wrote in his famous 1970’s article in The New York Times Magazine, that “the one and only social responsibility of business, is to increase profits for shareholders.” Milton Friedman's view on business responsibility accentuates the importance of maximizing firm's value. He pointed that the “there is one and only one social responsibility of business –to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits so long as it stays within the rules of the game, which is to say, engaged in open and free completion without deception or fraud’’ and by taking on the burden of social cost, the business becomes less efficient (Milton Friedman, 1962).

Milton Friedman was an American economist, statistician and writer, who had a massive impact on the research agenda of the economics profession. His famous words “the only responsibility of business is to increase its profits” (Friedman, Milton. 1970) led to many controversial debates on whether businesses should have ethics or if profit should be their main goal. Corporate social responsibility has many definitions, as its interpretation is quite loose, so I have chosen one that relates the most to this essay, given by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, in 2000: “Corporate social

In 2003, Bhote (2003) reported that GE was already knee-deep in unethical accounting practices. For instance, Bhote emphasizes that, "In the light of the Enron/Andersen scandals, GE is increasingly besmirched as an unethical company for gouging the Defense Department with many overcharges and for engaging in shady accounting practices and auditing irregularities" (2003, p. 324). Despite increasing criticism, GE was apparently unwilling or unable to change its

Corporate social responsibility has been one the key business buzz words of the 21st century. Consumers' discontent with the corporation has forced it to try and rectify its negative image by associating its name with good deeds. Social responsibility has become one of the corporation's most pressing issues, each company striving to outdo the next with its philanthropic image. People feel that the corporation has done great harm to both the environment and to society and that with all of its wealth and power, it should be leading the fight to save the Earth, to combat poverty and illness and etc. "Corporations are now expected to deliver the good, not just the goods; to pursue

For a long time now, there has been much debate over the social responsibility of a business. Friedman is one of the most influential