102 exam question 4 - Article Example

Corporate Responsibility al Affiliation Corporate Responsibility Corporate responsibility is a perception whereby organizations assimilate social and environmental concerns in their production operations. Corporate responsibility interactions are done with their stakeholders on a voluntary basis. This is all about enterprises coming to a decision to go beyond least legal requirements and obligations stemming from collective agreements in order to take hand societal needs. Economist Milton Friedman has argued that social needs are not the concern of business people.

He continues to say that these problems should be catered for by the unfettered workings of the free market system. Friedman assumed that focusing on open social investments was not proper for business well-being and this would divert the goals of the business. The ideal goal of the company is to provide a return to its shareholders. By focusing on external social responsibilities, the corporation is distracted from its sole purpose. Friedman asserted that corporations do not know how to properly invest in social causes (Friedman, 1970/2002).

Friedman deemed this as a tax upon stockholders of which they have no decision regarding how it is spent. Consequently, he added that an individual is on liberty to pursue social responsibilities; this is because the corporate executive lacks the ability to properly perform such actions (Friedman, 1970/2002).On the other hand, according to Archie Carroll’s, adding on to making a profit and obeying the law, a company should endeavor to improve or solve societal needs. His view is generally advocated through stakeholder theory.

This theory maintains that corporations should consider the effects of their actions upon other individuals at stake or of interest in the corporation such as customers, suppliers, general public, and employees (Carroll, 1987). ConclusionBusinesses cannot pursue their long term profit returns if they have poor relations with their stakeholders or the environment. Meanwhile, firms cannot meet all the needs of their stakeholders and continue making profits. It is therefore advisable that management decisions should be based on an objective ethical code of conduct.

Using the money that shareholders have invested in the businesses to support unprofitable needs of the society is clearly wrong. Therefore, businesses should make profits, obey the law, act according to an ethical standard, and only pursue corporate social responsibility activities that improve long-term shareholder wealth.A corporation is a legal entity, meaning it is a separate entity from its owners. A corporation is therefore a citizen of the state as it is treated as a “person” with most of the rights and obligations of a real person.

The characteristics that a corporation should exhibit to be good corporate citizens include having;Ambition: The management team of every good citizen corporation must have great ambitions for the future of the company. This may be one that concentrates on the unmet customer needs. The ambitions are definitely not one of personal greed; good citizenship is about building a company that delivers on its promise and does it with a unique quality.Customer: Every good citizen corporation must be in a potion to meet and satisfy need.

The need is often understood founder as they, experienced the need then saw how that need was not being well met and decided to bridge the gap.Focus: Good citizen corporations stay focused on what they know and can do well. Good companies just keep growing and expanding into familiar territory to avoid tending into the unknown terrain. Execution: Satisfying a customer requires persistent concentration to completion, thus building a company’s capability to meet the unlimited needs makes the difference between turning a great idea into a business or failure if not achievedSocial responsibility: The social responsibility of business encompasses the economic, legal, ethical, and discretionary expectations that society has of organizations at a given point in time Ideas don’t just come from top-down; but they also come from bottom-up and from every other direction (Carroll, 1987).

ReferencesCarroll, A. (1987). In Search of the Moral Manager, Business Horizons.Friedman, M. (2002). The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase its Profits, L. P. Hartman Edition, Perspectives in business ethics 2nd edition, New York: The McGraw Hill Companies. (Original work published 1970).