The Corporate Social Responsibility Argument

 

The Corporate Social Responsibility Argument

How companies act in their community will always be important to those who interact with them.  It is not hard to imagine that social responsibility is an important aspect of that interaction.  Even schools, such as Georgetown University, believe service is a big part of their education system (Georgetown University, 2011).  Corporate Social Responsibility includes actions that a company takes to demonstrate their products or services are helpful and not harmful to the environment and the larger community.  Two opposing viewpoints that exist towards this trend encourage businesses to either conduct business as usual or create a campaign that promotes their participation in the community.

Entine and Jennings believe that a company following the Corporate Social Responsibility trend does not indicate they are trustworthy.  They believe that determining the “soul of a company” (Jennings, 2012) involves a much deeper look than the messages promoted by the company.  They discuss how companies may be promoting their CSR programs now that it has become fashionable.  Their efforts might be minute in comparison to another organization that has just done the right thing for their community from the beginning.  Entine and Jennings caution people from getting caught up in the hype and to look carefully into the actions of the organization over time.  Entine and Jennings believe it is a choice of the organization whether or not they participate in CSR activities. 

Friedman believes that social involvement is required in order for businesses to be seen in a positive light.  The type of socially responsible actions he sites is conducting green practices, or those business practices that attempt to reduce the overall negative environmental impact. 

Freeman also believes that businesses must consider all of the stakeholders in all decisions (Jennings, 2012).  Traditionally stakeholders referred to those who held ownership interests in the company.   Freeman’s definition of stakeholders extends to all those who have interaction with the company, including the local community in which the business exists.  Freeman believes that companies have the opportunity to not only create jobs, goods and wealth but also activities within the society that strengthen the moral fabric of the community. 

While these viewpoints from these four authors differ, they do all believe that a company should operate in a way that benefits the community of which it is a part.  Entine and Jennings essentially believe that companies should not be judged positively or looked upon favorably simply because they host some charity event or donate money to a not-for-profit organization.  They believe that a company should be judged on their ability to demonstrate good character through their regular business interactions.  Friedman and Freeman believe that companies should engage in activities that are outside of their regular business practices that demonstrate they are a contributor to the betterment of the community.

 

References

Jennings, M. (2012). Business Ethics: Case Students and Selected Readings. OH: South WesternCengage Learning

Georgetown University. (2011). New, Transfer Students Participate in Annual Community Service Day. Retrieved from http://www.georgetown.edu/story/annual-community-service-day.html