What are the social responsibilities of businesses? Would you expect them to be different in differing countries? What are the social responsibilities of businesses? Would you expect them to be different in differing countries?

The World Business Council for Sustainable Development in its publication "Making Good Business Sense" by Lord Holme and Richard Watts define the term ’’social responsibilities” as follow: "it is the continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as of the local community and society at large"

 

Businesses are not concerned "merely" with profit but also with promoting desirable "social" ends; it is that businesses have a "social conscience" and take seriously responsibilities for providing employment, eliminating discrimination, avoiding pollution, and so on.

 

Nevertheless, what does it mean to say that "businesses" have responsibilities? Only people can have responsibilities. A corporation is an artificial person and in this sense may have artificial responsibilities, but "business" as a whole cannot be said to have responsibilities, even in this vague sense. The first step is therefore, to ask precisely what it implies for whom.

 

It would seem that the individuals who are to be responsible are businessmen, which means individual proprietors or corporate executives. Most of the discussion of social responsibility is directed at corporations, so in what follows we shall mostly neglect the individual proprietors and speak of corporate executives.

 

A corporate executive is an employee of the owners of the business. He has direct responsibility to his employers. That responsibility is to conduct the business in accordance with their desires, which generally will be to make as much money as possible while conforming to the basic rules of the society, both those embodied in law and those embodied in ethical custom. Of course, in some cases his employers may have a different objective. A group of persons might establish a corporation for a non-profit purpose–for example, a hospital or a school. The manager of such a corporation will not have money profit as his objective but the rendering of certain services.

 

As a person, the corporate executive may have many other responsibilities that he recognizes or assumes voluntarily–to his family, his conscience, his feelings of charity, his church, his clubs, his city, his country. He ma}. feel impelled by these responsibilities to devote part of his income to causes he regards as worthy, to refuse to work for particular corporations, even to leave his job, for example, to join his country's armed forces. Ifwe wish, we may refer to some of these responsibilities as "social responsibilities." But in these respects he is acting as a principal, not an agent; he is spending his own money or time or energy, not the money of his employers or the time or energy he has contracted to devote to their purposes. If these are "social responsibilities," they are the social responsibilities of individuals, not of business.

 

What does it mean to say that the corporate executive has a "social responsibility" in his capacity as businessman? If this statement is not pure rhetoric, it must mean that he is to act in some way that is not in the interest of his employers. For example, that he is to refrain from increasing the price of the product in order to contribute to the social objective of preventing inflation, even though a price increase would be in the best interests of the corporation. Or that he is to make expenditures on reducing pollution beyond the amount that is in the best interests of the corporation or that is required by law in order to contribute to the social objective of improving the environment. Or that, at the expense of corporate profits, he is to hire "hardcore" unemployed instead of better qualified available workmen to contribute to the social objective of reducing poverty.

 

‘’Social responsibilities’’ Is a concept whereby organizations consider the interests of society by taking responsibility for the impact of their activities on customers, suppliers, employees, shareholders, communities and other stakeholders, as well as the environment.

 

In striving to satisfy its goals and achieve its objectives, the organisation cannot operate in isolation from the environment of which it is part. Organisations make a contribution to the quality of life and the well-being of the community.

 

Organisational survival depends upon a series of exchanges between the organisation and its environment. These exchanges and the continual interaction with the environment give rise to a number of broader responsibilities to society in general. These broader responsibilities, which are both internal and external to the organisation, are usually referred to as corporate social responsibilities.

 

In general, the social responsibilities of the organisation refer to the comprehensive approach organisations take to meet or exceed the expectations of stakeholders beyond such measures as revenue, profit and legal obligations. The social responsibilities cover community, human rights and employee relations, environmental practices and ethical conduct.

 

Actually, the social responsibilities of businesses differ from one country to another. Attention has to be drawn to the social needs and problems that exist in a certain country. For example, black empowerment and contributing to the fight against AIDS are central themes in South Africa. In the United States, corporate social responsibility is often associated with charity and, in the Netherlands; it is seen as activities that transcend legislation. The political–social situation in a country plays a large role in what is expected from companies—and certainly from foreign, Western companies—with regard to corporate social responsibility. Something that is obvious in one country can be a very important topic of discussion in another. This is the result of differences in:

 

-The social problems that are given priority in a certain country

-The relationship between (multinational) companies and the local government

-The relationship between (multinational) companies and their stakeholders         (including social organisations) and the role of the citizens

 

The meaning of corporate social responsibility in a specific country is determined by the social priorities and the political and sociocultural context. The following two examples will illustrate this.

 

1 - China had a tradition where, from a social point of view, corporate social responsibility was strived for before it was even known what it meant. The Communist state provided all the necessary facilities, from the cradle to the grave. Since the emergence of state capitalism, these social facilities have mostly been dismantled. In those days, the environment hardly played any role. If people in China now talk of corporate social responsibility, then they are usually referring to partial aspects of it. With regard to the environment, for example, it is associated with following legislation. The gap between strict national legislation and the observance of it at a local level is very large. Therefore, merely observing legislation is considered quite something in itself. Fast economic growth and the absence of middle management to keep growth on the right track are high on the political agenda in China. There is a high level of unemployment among the unskilled workforce (approximately 300–400 million). Many of these unemployed have moved from the countryside to search for work in the cities and do not have an official place of residence. This group of employees is treated very poorly. They are paid very little and live in terrible conditions. Since they are often employed for short periods of time, they lead a nomadic existence. Therefore, good food supplies and a place to sleep are basic needs for Chinese employees. The next issue is the basic minimum pay. Philanthropy plays no role in China.

 

Furthermore, the recognition of their importance can be determined in part by the extent of government action and legislation on such matters as employment protection, equal opportunities and diversity, companies acts, costumer law, product liability and safe-guarding the environment.

 

2 - In Brazil, corporate social responsibility is particularly associated with social commitment. The large contrast between rich and poor and the discrimination against minorities in the labour market lead to a number of specific priorities. Companies are expected to give a high priority to, for example, an acceptable relationship between the highest and lowest salaries, the number of black employees and their average income, the average income for women versus that of men and the question of rightful ownership of ground, but the subject of health and safety in the workplace also deserves a great deal of attention. Being a good employer is perceived as being the basis of corporate social responsibility. If you, as a company, contribute to society on top of that, then you are really good. Philanthropy is, therefore, also an important spearhead. This could, for example, be making a financial or personal contribution to education and the healthcare service or

participation in government commissions and other government bodies involved with social issues. For example, a contribution is expected from business to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s ‘No more hunger’ campaign. Such national initiatives often enjoy wide support. Corruption, the payment of taxation to the government and crime are also points of attention.

 

Businesses must adapt their policies with regard to corporate social responsibility to the national social needs and the local customs that exist in a country.

Taoufik Haraketi