Do you think some companies are socially responsible only because consumers now expect them to be and because their competitors are? I have been involved in Habitat for Humanity at 3 companies and 2, I felt, truly believed in being socially responsible. They wanted to be that way. The other company had leadership that had the attitude “let’s do this only because our competitors are and we might look bad if we don’t follow that trend.” Thoughts all?

Social responsibility has grown to become an effective way of doing business operations to a majority of companies over the past many years; whether it is through empowering the female gender, assisting the society and trying to reduce the poverty level. Many organizations are incorporating and embracing social responsibility in their general business strategy (Carroll & Shabana, 2010). However, it is also significant to acknowledge that some of these institutions are only embracing the social responsibility notion due to the expectations of the clients and since their stiff competitors embrace the act. This is however not a strong aspect of business operations as it will reach a certain level where the business will fail to capture the attention of their esteemed consumers. Being socially responsible assists an organization in enhancing its brand and image since the public view of an organization is essential to consumers and shareholder confidence in the business.

References

Carroll, A. B., & Shabana, K. M. (2010). The business case for corporate social responsibility: A review of concepts, research and practice. International journal of management reviews, 12(1), 85-105.