Question

Please answer the following questions:

• Do you believe that companies have a moral duty to be socially responsible?
• If doing so comes at a cost to the company, is that really a best business practice?
• Where do you stand on the subject of social responsibility vs. company profit?

Answer 1

No matter the scale of businesses, they don't live in a bubble. A organization takes decisions that affect its staff, consumers and suppliers who are all part of the communities they represent. When businesses support their society it generates a positive domino effect on those they benefit. Companies need to take the lead on this, and if they don't, there's no guarantee that another will. Giving a charity either financially or by hours of service gives the workers a greater sense of self and group connection. Ultimately, this form of interaction creates a stronger community and results in more productive contributors to the society that drives your business.

They have to look at everyone else's interests in the problem & be as fair as possible. They have to push feelings to the side and come up with a rational and ethical judgment. This is important to balance its CSR activities with the need to produce income, as customers would be willing to pay a little extra for a product that is more environmentally friendly or sends some of its profits to a third world country to benefit the needy.

As your company grows and more profits are created, you may feel a need to contribute back to your community or career. You may find this form of corporate social responsibility to be a personal preference, or an opportunity to prevent or minimize negative publicity, or to generate positive press for brand change. Knowing how to combine corporate giving and making desirable profits will help you decide when and how to improve your group standing.

When a business donates money to a charity, uses more costly manufacturing techniques to minimize pollution, or gives contracts to minority-owned enterprises that do not send the lowest bid, the company's profits that decline. If the organization has shareholders, sponsors, creditors or a profit-sharing arrangement for workers, such lower earnings are not open to these financial stakeholders. This creates a dilemma, but one that you can justify on the basis of public image increases or by debating with stakeholders what they want to see happen about the position of the business as a good neighbour.