Primum Non-Nocere
Drucker concluded that considerations for workers in and out of the workplace were the responsibility of the corporate leader just as much as the profits, survival, and growth of the business or organization. Therefore, he taught that there were social responsibilities of business. As a result, Drucker was also called a pioneer of business social responsibility. Yet there were important Drucker differences between what many expect corporations to do under this banner.
The Drucker Difference
Peter Drucker differed with most of those who thought and wrote about the social responsibility of organizations. Here are five of his corollaries to corporate social responsibility. 1. Government cannot solve many social problems 2. The corporate mission comes first 3. There is an unlimited liability clause 4. There are unique ethics of social responsibility 5. There are opportunities for competitive advantage in fulfilling social responsibility
Government Can’t Do It
Drucker analyzed the issue and found increasing disenchantment with government’s ability to successfully initiate or successfully implement social programs. Although government coordinates 4-H Club activities in the U.S. today, it was a businessman, Julius Rosenwald at Sears Roebuck, who initiated and developed this concept. Drucker noted: “There is now no developed country — whether free enterprise or communist — in which people still expect government programs to succeed.” He gave a number of reasons for an increasing failure of government to assume responsibilities for social problems and to be successful in achieving worthwhile results. However, the overriding reason for Drucker’s belief was that government, by necessity, served too many constituencies. This made it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to set specific goals and objectives, since powerful constituencies had different goals, and different values. Frequently their goals and objectives were mutually exclusive and
The Drucker Difference
Peter Drucker differed with most of those who thought and wrote about the social responsibility of organizations. Here are five of his corollaries to corporate social responsibility. 1. Government cannot solve many social problems 2. The corporate mission comes first 3. There is an unlimited liability clause 4. There are unique ethics of social responsibility 5. There are opportunities for competitive advantage in fulfilling social responsibility
Government Can’t Do It
Drucker analyzed the issue and found increasing disenchantment with government’s ability to successfully initiate or successfully implement social programs. Although government coordinates 4-H Club activities in the U.S. today, it was a businessman, Julius Rosenwald at Sears Roebuck, who initiated and developed this concept. Drucker noted: “There is now no developed country — whether free enterprise or communist — in which people still expect government programs to succeed.” He gave a number of reasons for an increasing failure of government to assume responsibilities for social problems and to be successful in achieving worthwhile results. However, the overriding reason for Drucker’s belief was that government, by necessity, served too many constituencies. This made it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to set specific goals and objectives, since powerful constituencies had different goals, and different values. Frequently their goals and objectives were mutually exclusive and