Corporate Ethical and Social Responsibility
Business Research Report
Corporate Ethical and Social responsibility
Presented to: Western Governors University
Assessment Code: RWT1 – Competency 318.2.2
Student Name: Richard P. Shields
Student ID: 92502
Date: August 7, 2009
Mentor Name: Rungrudee Suetorsak, Ph.D.
Table of Contents
Executive Summary 3
Introduction 4
Research Findings 5
1. Organization Environmental responsibilities: 5
2. Organizational image: 5
3. Organization Increase profits: 6
Recommendations 7
Conclusion 9
References 10
Executive Summary
Corporate social responsibility incorporates environmental, social, and economic dimensions that provide leadership and differentiation opportunities for perceptive organizations. However, enterprises need to adequately plan, govern, and anticipate in order capitalizing on these opportunities without exposing themselves to risk and liability. For the past 30 to 40 years, there have been massive changes in organizations ethical and social responsibilities and it continues to evolve. During this time there has been a debate regarding organizations ethical and social responsibilities. This debate revolves around the journal published in 1970, called, “The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase its Profits” by Milton Freidman, has a Nobel Prize in Economics. Using a statement made on Ethics in Business website regarding Milton Friedman’s journal, it states:
Friedman believes, in a free society, “there is one and only one social responsibility of business—to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits so long as it stays within the rules of the game, which is to say, engage in open and free competition without deception or fraud.” (Ethicsinbusiness.net, 2009)
This statement has its positive and negative on how business should look at their ethical and social responsibilities. Organizations of today, as members of society, have a moral obligation to help society deal with its
Corporate Ethical and Social responsibility
Presented to: Western Governors University
Assessment Code: RWT1 – Competency 318.2.2
Student Name: Richard P. Shields
Student ID: 92502
Date: August 7, 2009
Mentor Name: Rungrudee Suetorsak, Ph.D.
Table of Contents
Executive Summary 3
Introduction 4
Research Findings 5
1. Organization Environmental responsibilities: 5
2. Organizational image: 5
3. Organization Increase profits: 6
Recommendations 7
Conclusion 9
References 10
Executive Summary
Corporate social responsibility incorporates environmental, social, and economic dimensions that provide leadership and differentiation opportunities for perceptive organizations. However, enterprises need to adequately plan, govern, and anticipate in order capitalizing on these opportunities without exposing themselves to risk and liability. For the past 30 to 40 years, there have been massive changes in organizations ethical and social responsibilities and it continues to evolve. During this time there has been a debate regarding organizations ethical and social responsibilities. This debate revolves around the journal published in 1970, called, “The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase its Profits” by Milton Freidman, has a Nobel Prize in Economics. Using a statement made on Ethics in Business website regarding Milton Friedman’s journal, it states:
Friedman believes, in a free society, “there is one and only one social responsibility of business—to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits so long as it stays within the rules of the game, which is to say, engage in open and free competition without deception or fraud.” (Ethicsinbusiness.net, 2009)
This statement has its positive and negative on how business should look at their ethical and social responsibilities. Organizations of today, as members of society, have a moral obligation to help society deal with its
References: Corporate social responsibility.(2009, August 6). In Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved August 7, 2009, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporate_Social_Responsibility. Ferrell, O. C., Fraedrich, J. & Ferrell, L. (2008). Business ethics: Ethical decision-making and cases (7th ed.). Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN-13: 9780618749348. Gillespie, N Windsor, D. (2006, May 2006). Corporate social responsibility: three key approaches. Journal of Management Studies, Vol. 43, No. 1, pp. 93-114, January 2006, [pdf] Retrieved July 31, 2009, from http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=875051.