The Value of Social Responsibility in the Organization

The value of social responsibility in the organization

In the cotext of organizational understanding social responsibility is defined as the obligation to take action that protects and improves the welfare of society as a whole as well as organizational interests. This concept extend beyond the horizon of the organization; it helps increase the positive influence and reduce the negative activity toward society. In that sense, while ethics is a matter for each individual in the business field, social responsibility is related to the influence of an organization’s business decisions on society. Most of the time in the the concept of social responsibility, a manager must strive to achieve both organizational and societal goals. Perhaps the most practical approach is to view ethics as a catalyst that causes managers to take social responsible actions.

In conjuction with ethics, ethics can be defined as the ability and willingness to reflect on values in the course of the organization's decision-making process, to determine how values and decisions affect the various stakeholder groups. Furthermore, ethics can help to establish how managers can use these precepts in day-to-day operations. Another term that ties to social responsibility would be socila responsive with different degree level. The greater the degree of effectiveness and efficiency, the more socially responsive the organization is said to be. The socially responsive organization that is both effective and efficient meets its social responsibilities without wasting organizational resources in the process.

Determining exactly which social responsibilities an organization should pursue and then deciding how to pursue them are perhaps the two most critical decision-making aspects of maintaining a high level of social responsiveness within an organization. That is, managers must decide whether their organization should undertake the activities on its own or acquire the help of outsiders with more expertise in the area. On the other hand to make the organization highly responsive and effective; it is critical to encorporate social goals into the annual planning process, seek comparative industry norms for social programs, presenting reports to organization members, the board of directors, and stockholders on progress in social responsibility, experimenting with different approaches for measuring social performance, and attempt to measure the cost of social programs as well as the return on social program investments.

According to Stanwick, P.A., & Stanwick, S.D. (2009), total corporate responsibilities are based on economic, legal, ethical, and descretionary responsibilities. Stanwick, P.A., & Stanwick, S.D. (2009) states that economic responsibilities are based on the belief that the firm has a responsibility to use the resources available to produce goods and services for society. The economic responsibilities