The term social
responsibility means different things to different people. Generally,
corporate social responsibility is the obligation to take action that protects
and improves the welfare of society as a whole as well as organizational
interest. According to the concept of corporate social responsibility, a
manager must strive to achieve both organizational and societal goals. (Anon,2001)
The health of
the community very often reflects the health of its businesses. At minimum, a social responsibility policy
adopts sustainable business practices that do no harm to a community’s
environment and people. At its best, a social responsibility policy builds
lasting and meaningful relationships with customers, employees and the public. (Anon,(n.d))
Taking the
broader community needs into account is often beneficial to a business’s
financial well-being. Creating long-term partnerships with the community,
and avoiding environmentally and socially damaging short-term solutions,
secures enduring economic stability. (Anon,(n.d))
OBSTRUCTIONIST
STANCE
The avoidance of
corporate social responsibility; managers engage in unethical and
illegal behavior that they try to hide from
organizational stakeholders and society. (Anon,(n.d))
The few
organizations that take what might be called an obstructionist stance to social
responsibility usually do as little as possible to solve social or
environmental problems. When they cross the ethical or legal line
that separates acceptable from unacceptable practice, their typical response is
to deny or avoid accepting responsibility for their actions.
- A Georgia peanut processing plant owned by Peanut Corporation of
America recently shipped products that were contaminated with salmonella.
Preliminary tests of products were positive for salmonella. But when a
retest came back negative, rather than investigate further the firm simply
ignored the first results and shipped anyway.
- Similarly, UBS, Switzerland's largest bank, recently
admitted that it had helped about 19,000 wealthy U.S citizens evade income
taxes by refusing to disclose their identities or report income earned on
accounts maintained by the bank.
- GlaxoSmithKline, a major British pharmaceutical company,
came under fire in 200 when its former vice president and associate
general counsel, Lauren Stevens, denied initial claims that the company
had been unlawfully marketing an antidepressant drug for use as weight-loss
aid.
- Similarly, several automobile rental firms, including
Enterprise, Hertz and Avis have been slow to respond to recall notices
from manufacturers and continue to rent vehicles that may
have known safety defects.
DEFENSIVE
STANCE
Managers rely only on legally established
rules to take the minimal position toward corporate social responsibility. (Anon,(n.d))
One step removed
from the obstructionist stance is the defensive stance whereby the organization
does everything that is required of it legally, but nothing more. This approach
is most consistent with the arguments used against social responsibility. Managers
in organizations that take a defensive stance insist that their job is to
generate profits. For example, such a firm would install pollution control
equipment dictated by law, but would not install higher- quality but slightly
more expensive equipment even though it might limit pollution further.
- Tobacco companies like Philip Morris take this position in their marketing efforts. In the United Stated, they are legally required to include warnings to smokers on their products and to limit their advertising to prescribed media. Domestically they follow these rules to the letter of the laws but use stronger marketing methods in countries that have no such rules to the letter of the law but use stronger marketing methods in countries that have no such rules. In many African countries, for example, cigarettes are heavily promoted, contain higher levels of tar and nicotine than those sold in the United States, and carry few or no health warning labels. Philip Morris is also aggressively trying to gain market share in Russia, where over 70 percent of all men smoke, and in China, where over 63 percent of all men smoke. Firms that take this position are, however, unlikely to cover up wrongdoing, and will generally admit their mistakes and take appropriate corrective actions.
ACCOMMODATIVE STANCE
Managers make choices that try to
balance the interests of shareholders with those of other stakeholders.
A firm that
adopts an accommodative stance meets its legal and
ethical obligations but will also go beyond these obligations in selected case.
Such firms voluntarily agree to participate in social programs but solicitors
have to convince the organizations that the programs are worthy of its support.
- Both Exxon Mobil and IBM, for example, will match contributions made by their employees to selected charitable causes. Many organizations will respond to requests for donation to Little League, Girl Scouts, youth soccer programs, and so forth. The point, though, is that someone has to knock on the door and ask- the organizations do not proactively seek such avenues for contributing.
PROACTIVE STANCE
Managers go out of their way to actively
promote the interests of stockholders and stakeholders, using organizational
resources to do so.
The highest
degree of social responsibility that a firm can exhibit is the proactive
stance. Firms that adopt this approach take to heart the arguments in
favor of social responsibility. They view themselves as citizens in a society
and proactively seek opportunities to contribute.
- An excellent example of a proactive stance is the Ronald McDonalds’ Home program undertakes by McDonald's. These houses, located close to major medical centers, can be used by families for minimal cost while their sick children are receiving medical treatment nearby.
- Target stopped selling guns in its stores, and Toy "R" Us stopped selling realistic toy guns, both due to concerns about escalating violence.
- Increasingly, some firms, such as Mattel, Nike and Home Depot, are severing relationships with foreign suppliers found not to be treating their employees fairly.
- When the founder of L' Occitane en Provence, a French bath-and body firm, notices a blind woman having difficulty while shopping for perfume in one of his stores, he launched an initiative to have a Braille label applied to most L' Occitane products.
- Peet's Coffee, a Seattle- based coffee business, is working with a Techno Serve, a non- profit organization founded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, to help develop a coffee farming in war- ravaged Rwanda.
- Drug- maker Pfizer donated prescription medicines to people who lost their jobs during the 2008- 2010 recession and did not have prescription insurance.
- Subway, the world's largest fast- food company (based on number of outlets) recently announced a voluntary measure to reduce the sodium content of most of its sandwiches.
These and
related activities and programs exceed the accommodative stances-
they indicate a sincere and potent commitment to improving the general social
welfare in this country and thus represent a proactive stance to social
responsibility. Remember, too, that these categories are not discrete but
merely define stages along a continuum of approaches. Organizations do not
always fit neatly into one category.
- The Ronal McDonald Home program has been widely applauded, for example, but McDonald’s also has come under fire for allegedly misleading consumers about the nutritional value of its products.
- Nestle, along with others, created the World Cocoa Foundation, focused on increasing farmer income, educating cocoa farmers on sustainable farming techniques, and encouraging social and environmental programs. At the same time, though, Nestle is being criticized for its heavy use of palm oil in its products. This is contributing to deforestation in Indonesia for the creation of palm oil plantations, which is harming various species.
Even though the
unethical conduct of a small number of people at an organization might
tarnish the firm's reputation, other employees at the same
organizations may be highly ethical people who would never consider an
unethical action. (Ricky 2012)
Here are few examples of real-world examples of Social Responsibilities in Business;
(olivia,2011)
Shared Value
A social
responsibility initiative focused on creating shared value recognizes that
long-term business success and balanced social systems are interdependent. In
order for a business to thrive, its community must be healthy, educated and
well governed. Factoring formal investments in social welfare, education, civil
society and healthcare into a strategic business plan creates opportunities to
build social value and long-term growth. (Anon,(n.d))
REFERENCES
BRIGHTHUB. (2011) Real-World Examples of Social Responsibility in Business. [Online] July 2011. Available from: http://www.brighthub.com/office/entrepreneurs/articles/121186.aspx [Accessed: 1st May 2013]
ENOTES. (2013) Social Responsibility and Organizational
Ethics. [Online] 2001. Available from: http://www.enotes.com/social-responsibility-organizational-ethics-reference/social-responsibility-organizational-ethics.
[Accessed: 30th April 2013]
GREENERPITTSBURGH. (2013) 3 Approaches to Corporate Social
Responsibility. [Online] xxx. Available from: http://www.greenerpittsburgh.com/greener-business/tips-and-articles-for-a-greener-business/54-3-approaches-to-corporate-social-responsibility.
[Accessed: 30th April 2013]
RICKY, W (2012)Management. [Online] Canada. Nelson Education. Available from: http://books.google.com.my/books?id=ht6ca2s4NNMC&pg=PA106&lpg=PA106&dq=accommodative+stance+examples&source=bl&ots=RxKdXg5gvP&sig=d1N_-IVRmvqbLhOyXKcJRYoOjts&hl=en&sa=X&ei=NqV7UbPpF4qErQflzIDgAg&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false. [Accessed: 1st May 2013]
WHAT ARE FOUR
APPROACHES TO CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY? (2013) [Online] Available
from: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_four_approaches_to_corporate_social_responsibility [Accessed: 30th April 2013]
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