Social Responsibility

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Social responsibility is an ethics or ideology theory that an entity whether it is a government, corporation, organization or individual has a responsibility to society. This responsibility can be "negative," in that it is a responsibility to refrain from acting (resistance stance) or it can be "positive," meaning there is a responsibility to act(proactive stance). While primarily associated with business and governmental practices, activist groups and local communities can also be associated with social responsibility, not only business or governmental entities.

There is a large inequality in the means and roles of different entities to fulfill their claimed responsibility. This would imply the different entities have different responsibilities, insomuch as states should ensure the civil rights of their citizens, that corporations should respect and encourage the human rights of their employees and that citizens should abide with written laws. But social responsibility can mean more than these examples. Many Non-governmental organization accept that their role and the responsibility of their members as citizens is to help improve society by taking a proactive stance in their societal roles. It can also imply that corporations have an implicit obligation to give back to society (such as is claimed as part of corporate social responsibility and/or stakeholder theory).

Social responsibility is voluntary; it is about going above and beyond what is called for by the law(legal responsibility). It involves an idea that it is better to be proactive toward a problem rather than reactive to a problem. Social responsibility means eliminating corrupt, irresponsible or unethical behavior that might bring harm to the community, its people, or the environment before the behavior happens.

Human responsibility One half of social responsibility is being responsible to people, for the actions of people, and for actions that affect people. Social responsibility is about holding a group, organization or company accountable for its effect on the people around it. People within the company, people working with the company, the community the company is in and those who buy from the company.

The idea of being responsible to customers has actually long been imbedded in the ethics of business. The idea of treating a customer with respect and attention is not new particularly in sales and commission based work. What is new is the idea that it's not to profit from the customer, but to genuinely care about what the customer wants and needs.

Accountability for people inside a company is something new. Many times when a scandal or irresponsible behavior comes to light in the corporate world the company and those involved often try to distance themselves as much as possible. Cover ups, buy offs and “golden parachutes” all fall under this behavior. Social responsibility would nearly be the opposite of what goes on in the business world today – a company taking the blame and doing what is needed to fix the problem rather than committing more crimes to cover up the first one.

In many countries, by law, a corporation's only responsibility is to make as much money as possible for shareholders(economic responsibility) and to obey the law(legal responsibility). Social responsibility holds companies and organizations responsible for the people they affect, even indirectly. It also holds a company responsible for inaction, or indecision. Basing on the idea that a company or organization has the power to help people or, at the least, not harm them, it has the moral responsibility to do so. Social Responsibility is a doctrine that says that every being whether it is a village, town, state, corporation, organization, government or individual has responsibility to society.

Criticism of the doctrine of positive responsibility Many, particularly libertarians, assert there is no "social responsibility" to do anything, but to refrain from doing. They argue that social responsibility only exists to the extent that an individual or business should not initiate physical force, threat of force, or fraud against another. In his famous article The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase Profits, Nobel economist Milton Friedman(Classical View/theory of Social Responsibility) asserts that businesses have no social responsibility other than to increase profits and refrain from engaging in deception and fraud. He maintains that when businesses seek to maximize profits, they almost always incidentally do what is good for society. Friedman does not argue that business should not help the community but that it may indeed be in the long-run self-interest of a business to "devote resources to providing amenities to community..." in order to "generate goodwill" and thereby increase profits.

Another famous economist highly critical of this doctrine is R. Edward Freeman, author of a number of papers on stakeholder theory from an explicitly libertarian perspective.

Some one liners on social responsibility

The responsibility to profitably serve employees and customers in an ethical and lawful manner.
An organization's obligation to maximize its positive impact and minimize its negative impact on society.
The concern for the consequences of a person's or institution's acts as they might affect the interests of others, including the environment and involuntary customers.
The concept that businesses should be actively concerned with the welfare of society at large.
A business’s collective code of ethical behavior towards the environment, its customers, its employees, and its investors.
Ethical obligations to customers, employees, and the general community
The responsibility of a responsible agent who chooses to participate in a society and acquire the benefits thereof.

References External links Some groups of professionals have defined their own intrinsic social responsibilities. Here are some examples:

csr-news.net
Social Responsibility Summary
Physicians for Social Responsibility
interrupcion* - A community of organizations and individuals working together to promote social responsibility in all sectors of society.
Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility
Business for Social Responsibility
Artists for Social Responsibility
American Engineers for Social Responsibility
Institute for Social Responsibility
National Association of Socially Responsible Organizations
International Business Leaders Forum - a not-for-profit organisation which promotes responsible business
World Forum : international meeting on diversity and equal opportunity in the workplace