Social Responsibilities of Managers
Social
responsibility is defined as the obligation and
commitment of managers to take steps for protecting and improving society’s
welfare along with protecting their own interest. The managers must have social
responsibility because of the following reasons:
1.
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Organizational
Resources - An organization has a diverse
pool of resources in form of men, money, competencies and functional
expertise. When an organization has these resources in hand, it is in better
position to work for societal goals.
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2.
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Precautionary
measure - if an organization lingers on
dealing with the social issues now, it would land up putting out social fires
so that no time is left for realizing its goal of producing goods and
services. Practically, it is more cost-efficient to deal with the social
issues before they turn into disaster consuming a large part if managements
time.
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3.
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Moral
Obligation - The acceptance of managers’
social responsibility has been identified as a morally appropriate position.
It is the moral responsibility of the organization to assist solving or
removing the social problems
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4.
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Efficient
and Effective Employees -
Recruiting employees becomes easier for socially responsible organization.
Employees are attracted to contribute for more socially responsible
organizations. For instance - Tobacco companies have difficulty recruiting
employees with best skills and competencies.
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5.
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Better
Organizational Environment -
The organization that is most responsive to the betterment of social quality
of life will consequently have a better society in which it can perform its
business operations. Employee hiring would be easier and employee would of a
superior quality. There would be low rate of employee turnover and absenteeism.
Because of all the social improvements, there will be low crime rate
consequently less money would be spent in form of taxes and for protection of
land. Thus, an improved society will create a better business environment.
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But,
manager’s social responsibility is not free from some criticisms, such as -
- High Social Overhead Cost - The cost on social responsibility is a social cost which will not instantly benefit the organization. The cost of social responsibility can lower the organizational efficiency and effect to compete in the corporate world.
- Cost to Society - The costs of social responsibility are transferred on to the society and the society must bear with them.
- Lack of Social Skills and Competencies - The managers are best at managing business matters but they may not have required skills for solving social issues.
- Profit Maximization - The main objective of many organizations is profit maximization. In such a scenario the managers decisions are controlled by their desire to maximize profits for the organizations shareholders while reasonably following the law and social custom.
Social
responsibility can promote the development of groups and expand supporting
industries.
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