Question one
Social responsibility of a company may be defined as the relationship that a business has to the community that is directly connected it. It would be wise to understand that there exists exclusive difference on how different people would view social responsibility. In the field of economics, the views may be evaluated on the basis of the different schools of thought. In this regard, it would be wise to determine the Classical and socio-economic view of social responsibility.
The views of the classics on social responsibility, as well as the socioeconomic view, are two ideological perspectives that aim to define the role of business in the society. Economist Milton Friedman, who is a major representative of Classical economist, proposed that businesses have no responsibility to their communities rest making massive money for shareholders within a given period of time (Mirowski, 2009). This is an indication that the classical economists are never concerned of the community outside its business premises. Social responsibility is not in the plan of all companies that believe in the classics economic theories. Such companies are only interested on the satisfaction of its stakeholders with exclusive emphasis on the shareholders who possess the driving force for the organization (Etzioni, 2003).
On the other hand, socio-economic view states that organizations have a duty to act in the most outstanding wellbeing of the public while carrying out business. This is the most common economic view as most companies seek to establish extensively outstanding relationships with communities surrounding their operations. These companies find it unfair to operate in a sound, in an environment characterized with friendly members of the society and take away the entire profit without extending help to the society (Scott, 2007). When declaring their revenue or profit margins companies, under the socio-economic view, will always account for social responsibility to the community in the surrounding.
Question two
Social obligation refers to the responsibilities that an organization or a person has to carry out in a bid to be beneficial to the society. In most cases, this social element is mandatory in an organization. The responsibilities are not debatable as they are defined as core practices for the organization (Christman, 2013). An obligation may as well be defined as a duty. This means that it has to be carried out despite the situation of the company at a given time. Duties are done in a routine manner. Therefore, at no point should social obligations be ignored.
Social responsiveness refers to a situation where an organization involves itself in social actions that act as a response to certain popular social need. In most cases, dangerous situations will arise within the community, and it is the duty of the society to deal with the events. This is because such events may have direct harm to the organization (Okamoto, 2011). Therefore, when organizations are in the bid to eliminate the prevalent problem within their business premises, they save the society from the pain of the event without their knowledge.
Social responsibility refers to ethical theory that entities in a form of organization and individuals have in a bid to act for the benefit of the entire society. Social responsibility is usually encouraged among all people in a bid to ensure that there exists a balance between the economy and the livelihood of the members of the society. Social responsibility is in the development agendas of most companies willing to attract performance and development in their activities (Chen, 2011). However, the organization has to maintain its performance as it seeks to benefit the society.
References
Chen, C., H., 2011., The major components of corporate social responsibility. Journal of Global Responsibility, 2(1), 85-99.
Christman, J., 2013., Social Practical Identities and the Strength of Obligation.Journal of Social Philosophy, 44(2), 121-123.
Etzioni, A., 2003., Toward a new socio-economic paradigm. Socio-Economic Review, 1(1), 105-118.
Mirowski, P., 2009., Neo-Classics and the Others Marion Fourcade, Economists and Societies (Princeton, Princeton University Press, 2009).. European Journal of Sociology, 50(03), 495.
Okamoto, D., 2011., "Social Responsiveness" as a Corporate Objective. Japanese Economy, 23(2), 3-37.
Scott, S., 2007., Corporate Social Responsibility and the Fetter of Profitability. Social Responsibility Journal,3(4), 31-39.
