Business and Society: Social Responsibility

Business and Society Name Institutional Affiliation Business and Society Social Responsibility For any organization that is looking to establish itself all the major industry player, it is important that it pays critical attention to its ability to maintain social responsibility. In recent years it has become common for organizations to be subjected to intensive scrutiny insofar as their corporate social responsibility is concerned (Crane & Oxford Handbooks Online, 2008). To this end, many managers are now putting in place elaborate measures to ensure that they not only engage with the community around them but that they utilize their resources to improve the communities surrounding them. It is worth noting that over time the perception surrounding corporate social responsibility has also transformed. Many organizations have now come to understand that they are required to not only display commitment and duty to their shareholders, but also to all the stakeholders that are involved in their business (Katamba, 2012). In this way, it is important that corporations are socially responsible. However, this does not mean that corporations are absolved of their duty to maximize shareholder wealth. In essence, it only means that organizations now have to pay more attention to striking a balance between maximizing shareholder wealth while simultaneously performing their social responsibility duties insofar as the community surrounding them is concerned. The growth of technology, as well as the expansion of various industries, has played a critical role in influencing how organizations approach social responsibility (Griseri & Seppala, 2010). As such, it is not uncommon to observe organizations embracing factors such as employee rights, shareholder democracy, strategic alliances with shareholders, cause-related marketing, sustainability, consumerism, and even environmentally friendly technologies in a bid to perform their social responsibilities and duties. Consequently, it goes without saying that these factors have influenced the decision-making processes insofar as these organizations are concerned. Managers now have to factor in a variety of issues in the decision-making process to ensure that they are not only inclusive of all possible stakeholders, but also that they make decisions that develop the organization in a holistic manner. This is one of the aspects of a good corporation in the modern society (Griseri & Seppala, 2010). Other aspects of a good corporation include ambition, a dedication to customers and stakeholders, as well as a positive attitude and a commitment to high ethical standards. These factors have proven influential insofar as pushing organizations towards adopting a shared value approach to business is concerned. Adopting a shared value approach ensures that businesses not only generate profits and maximize the value of their shares for stakeholders, but that they also develop the community around them by addressing the various problems that plague said communities (Crane & Oxford Handbooks Online, 2008). Supporting the local community has been proven to have significant impact insofar as endearing the organization to the general population and the local community is concerned. In this way, many organizations have successfully increased their profits in unimaginable ways as a result of adopting a shared value approach to business (Katamba, 2012). By maintaining this approach over long and sustained periods, many organizations tend to build loyal customer bases within their communities that serve as a constant source of income for the organization in both the long and short-term. Stakeholder Theory In the modern world, stakeholder theory plays a critical role in determining the way businesses operate and structure themselves. It is worth noting that this is not a reserve of a particular group of organizations, but is instead an approach that is fully embraced by every possible organization that is looking to establish itself as a major industry player (Phillips, 2011). To this end, many businesses restructure themselves in ways that ensure they are active and celebrated corporate citizens within the communities in which they operate. The stakeholder theory basically posits that for any organization operating within a particular community or social setting, the organization has profound and vast impacts on the social, economic, and political development and growth of the society in question (Freeman, 2010). These impacts are essentially dictated by the direct and indirect relationships that the organization has with its stakeholders. Consequently, the stakeholder theory establishes that organizations are in themselves not complete entities. Instead, they are the by-products of all the stakeholders that both, directly and indirectly, interact with the business (Freeman, 2010). The financial servi...