Social Responsibility and CSR - Class XI

Business people are skillful. They have innovative power. They try to comply with the social responsibilities associated to them. But, business people do not have the motivation to solve all social problems as private companies main aim is to maximize profits. Hence, they are only able to solve a few social problems. 

Ethics are basically moral principles that governs a person's behaviour or an activity. When a person follows ethics in his business he becomes successful. Ethics is important in business to keep a proper flow of communication between management and employees. Hence, ethics is important for top management, middle-level managers and non-managerial employees.

Social responsibility means responsibility of an organisation to make the well-being of the society at large.  Hence, social responsibility is broader than legal responsibility.

Ethics are basically moral principles that governs a person's behaviour or an activity. When a person follows ethics in his business he becomes successful. Hence, ethics is capable of doing good to society.

business practice towards government:-

All listed options, including consumer associations, awareness programs, and social journals, are effective methods for addressing unethical practices at the societal level.

Every business is required to perform some practices towards government like filing of taxes. It includes rules and regulations regarding taxes, duties, restrictive and monopolistic trade practices. Business needs to do all these activities to survive in the market for longer period of time.

Examples of adminstrative corruption inclues gifts to factory inspectors, boiler inspector, pollution control board inspector and officers under customs, income tax, gst.

Short-termism arises when a business priorities short-term rather than long-term performance.Here, the company is promoting tasty fatty foods for their short term benefits at the cost of their reputation and goodwill.

Unethical behavior is often triggered by pressure from higher management to achieve goals.When there is heavy pressure, the employees tend to use unfair means and show unethical behavior. when the organizational atmosphere is not ethical and unethical behavior prevails , then the employees start behaving unethically and take advantage of such situation. 

A conflict of interest arises in the workplace when an employee has competing interests or loyalties that either is or potentially can be, at odds with each other.

Retaliating swiftly against employees who bring out charges of harassment is not a recommended way to protect itself against sexual harassment charges instead of this company should take appropriate steps in favor of that employee who brings out these complaints.

Short termism-concentration on short-term projects or objectives for immediate profit at the expense of long-term security.

Under the Consumer Protection Act 2007, advertising is seen as misleading if it involves false, misleading or deceptive information that is likely to cause the average consumer to act in a way they might otherwise not.  Advertising may also be considered misleading if important information that the average consumer needs to make an informed decision is left out.  Misleading advertising covers claims made directly to consumers by manufacturers, distributors and retailers, as well as in advertisements, catalogues, websites etc.

Corporate social responsibility-the incorporation of ethical elements, such as the public interest and environmental concern, into the planning of business strategy truthfulness in marketing communication, is an example of corporate social responsibility.

Materialism, also called physicalism, in philosophy, the view that all facts (including facts about the human mind and will and the course of human history) are causally dependent upon physical processes, or even reducible to them.

Giving people equal rewards is ethical practice or fairness in employment practice but distributing unequal rewards for the same task is a type of discrimination. 

Social responsibility in business or corporate social responsibility $(CSR)$ pertains to people and organizations behaving and conducting business ethically and with sensitivity towards social, cultural, economic, and environmental issues.

Social responsibility can be divided into 4 categories:

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 corporations' 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.

There is biggest ethical dilemma, a legal action, yet unethical so upper level management has to understand.

Ethics is the discipline that deals with moral duties and obligations. Social responsibility implies corporate enterprises should follow business ethics and work for not only to maximize their profits or shareholders' value but also to promote the interests of other stakeholders and the society as a whole.

Fair Prices: The customers should not be cheated by charging high prices. It is not possible to fool the customer at all the time. Thus, fair price convert a customer into permanent customer.This is the responsibility of a business towards its customers.

Shareholders who are the owners of business should be provided with correct information about company to enable them to give them true and fair position of the company to enable them to decide about further investments.

Discretionary responsibility refers to purely voluntary obligations that an enterprise assumes.It is the responsibility of the company management to safeguard the capital investment by undertaking only healthy business ventures which gives good returns on investment.It includes charitable contributions, helping people during floods and earthquakes and many such activites.

Right to Information. The right to information is defined as 'the right to be informed about the quality, quantity, potency, purity, standard and price of goods or services, as the case may be so as to protect the consumer against unfair trade practices' in the Consumer Protection Act of 1986.

Social responsibility is an ethical framework and suggests that an entity, be it an organization or individual, has an obligation to act for the benefit of society at large. Social responsibility is a duty every individual has to perform so as to maintain a balance between the economy and the ecosystems. Hence any steps taken to address human rights issue represent social responsibility

Unethical behavior is an action that falls outside of what is considered morally right or proper for a person, a profession or an industry. Individuals can behave unethically, as can businesses, professionals and politicians.

Business enterprises can be protected by installing smoky chimneys, wind off ugly buildings, and improving dirty working conditions.

Enterprises must pay taxes regularly. They should not indulge in the activity of tax evasion. regular tax payment contributes in development of economy.

In a competitive business climate, many businesses actively work to create and communicate a positive image to their customers, shareholders, the financial community, and the general public.

A worker is most likely to behave ethically and legally when the consequences of the act are substantial. When the workers know that his unethical behavior will cause him certain loss then he is more likely to act ethically in order to save himself from the consequence of the unethical acts.

It is essential to reward people equally for accomplishing the same task.If people are not rewarded equally for the same task performed by the people then it will amount to bias which is an unethical act. People should e rewarded equally for same task irrespective of their caste, gender, etc.

A whistleblower is an employee that reports an employer's misconduct. There are laws that protect whistleblowers from being fired or mistreated for reporting misconduct. One of these laws is the Whistleblower Protection Act.

There are four kinds of social responsibility: legal, ethical, economic and philanthropic. 

There are four kinds of social responsibility: legal, ethical, economic and philanthropic. Legal dimension of CSR relates to compliance with laws and regulations established by the authorities, which set standards for responsible behavior – the codification of what society thinks is right or wrong.

Generally business have three main approach:-

Physical environment refers to the level of upkeep, ambient noise, lighting, indoor air quality and/or thermal comfort of the school's physical building and its location within the community. the issue of recycling and non-wasteful packaging refers to physical environment.

A socially responsible mutual fund will only purchase stock of that company who have good social performance as socially responsible mutual fund will always look for those company who have good social performance. 

1. Taking shortcuts / shoddy work: 
2. Lying to hide mistakes: 
3. Badmouthing colleagues: 
4. Passing the buck (when you don't get your work done): 
5. Slacking off when no one is watching
6. Lying to hide your colleagues’ mistakes: 
7. Taking credit for other colleagues’ work: 
8. Pulling a sickie: 
9. Lying about skills and experience: 
10. Taking low value items