Question

The topic of the paper is whether or not it is the responsibility of business to address social issues. Instructions: Choose one side. Defend your opinion 'for' or 'against' Corporate Social Responsibility, using Goldman Sachs as an example. 500 words

Answer 1

It is indeed the responsibility of a business to address social issues. Many organizations believe that the most important thing for having a successful business is to always maximize a company's profit. It is certainly an important goal, but in reality the most important goal for a company is Sustainability. Sustainability enables a company to have a successful business in the long run. Companies learn to use their profits to make the world a better place. Investment in small companies or funding money for education, either of these acts of social responsibility can help a company have an impact on the world. It is a well known fact the consumers frown upon companies that ignore social responsibility and develop unethical reputations. As Gary D. Cohn, former President of Goldman Sachs noted, "We believe that responsible stewardship extends beyond just generating returns for shareholders...Our business depends on a healthy, growing economy." Goldman Sachs report their CSR annually, enabling the world to see the business practices that they are involved in. They have taken an initiative to make the world a better place.

Corporate Social Responsibility is one of the most important values at Goldman Sachs with their CSR report titled as "Our Impact Drives Global Progress". Goldman Sachs is a global financial institution with various locations around the world.

Donations in Education- Neighbourhoods in Los Angeles, California face major challenges in terms of education and poverty. The lives of the people living there are greatly influenced by gang violence and crime. In order to help the communities, organizations like Alliance College-Ready public schools in collaboration with Goldman Sachs, have helped build a 45,000 square-foot campus for approximately 1000 middle and high school students providing them with a brighter future.

Leket Farm initiatives in Israel - Jerusalem, also known as 'the old city' has faced many obstacles. Just like Jerusalem a majority of cities in Israel face hunger issues. In order to help the people of Israel, Goldman Sachs built a partnership with Leket Farm initiative to help Israel harvest their own fields. It has donated over $1 million and also acknowledged the 30,000 volunteers who have helped to harvest 7.7 million pounds of vegetables.

Clean Solar Energy in Singapore - Goldman Sachs goes above its Social Responsibility to not only provide help socially, but also environmentally. The Sunseap group in partnership with Goldman Sachs has become the largest clean energy provider in Singapore. Today Sunseap has over 200 solar rooftops installed helping reduce the usage of non-renewable resources.

Conclusion - All these social contributions have enabled Goldman Sachs to become one of the strongest and most sustainable organizations in the financial industry. CSR was an afterthought to many and was dusted off only if leaders needed to minimize their companies' negative impact following a scandal. But that has changed for good and now CSR is more of a direct corporate response to consumer's ever growing demands for transparency. A company that neglects social responsibility and develops an unethical reputation is more likely to stumble upon legal troubles which could result in their failure. In this electronic age, consumers are far more savvy and can search for a company's record any time they want and can talk about their findings, positive or otherwise, on social media, potentially tarnishing a company's reputation. Bottom line, what may have started as a knee-jerk reaction has become a new business standard, and yet another sign of changing times.