social responsibility (CSR)
, which suggests only corporations
can be socially responsible. This, of course, is nonsense, but the
term is still widely accepted. Perhaps you could become involved
in spreading the word that CSR should be OSR—to stand for
organizational social responsibility
, which recognizes
that the term social responsibility applies to all organizations,
corporate or otherwise.
An organization impacts on a variety of people who have
an interest in the organization. These people are called
stakeholders
. An organization’s stakeholders will include
its employees; its customers; its suppliers; its debt holders
(such as banks or trust companies); local community groups;
environmental organizations; government agencies; shareholders;
and charitable organizations. If the corporation is not responsible
in certain areas, many others are affected.
Various organizations take different approaches to social
responsibility. Some, such as Tim Hortons
®
, are leaders in the
area, organizing a variety of community children’s programs.
Others simply do the minimum required by law to avoid negative
publicity and keep a low profile in their community.
There is an ethical issue around an organization’s social
responsibility efforts: what is the organization’s motivation
for taking a leadership role in providing good works in a
community? Is management interested in improving the
standard of living for employees simply to make them stay with
the organization? Does the organization institute corporate
responsibility programs to garner positive publicity and improve
its reputation? Is the organization truly interested in giving
back to a community that supports it? Do the reasons matter, as
long as the organization is making a positive contribution in the
community? Managers, you must remember, also live near where
they work. If the community benefits, they benefit as well. The
reasons for organizations getting involved in social responsibility
are no doubt complex and unique to each one.
Copyright © 2007 The Ontario Educational Communications Authority. All rights reserved.
Business Leadership: Management Fundamentals BOH4M-A
Lesson 20, page 21
An organization that is interested in operating ethically and
responsibly can assess its current behaviour by examining the
following four areas:
1.
Economic responsibility
2.
Legal responsibility
3.
Ethical responsibility
4.
Leadership responsibility
Economic Responsibility
•
If the organization is a profit-making organization, it should
work to be profitable, but should consider things other than
the bottom line in order to be socially responsible.
•
The organization should pay its debts: bank loans, dividends
to shareholders, mortgage interest, and so on.
