akeholders on a voluntary basis. It is about enterprises deciding to go beyond minimum legal requirements and obligations stemming from collective agreements in order to address societal needs.do gain tangible and intangible benefits by practising CSR and by projecting an image of good governance and social responsibility to the external world.question has been widely discussed in the literature. Economist Milton Friedman, the most outspoken proponent of this view, has argued that social matters are not the concern of business people and that these problems should be resolved by the unfettered workings of the free market system. Friedman posited that management is «to make as much money as possible while conforming to the basic rules of society, both those embodied in the law and those embodied in ethical custom» (The New York Times Magazine , September 13, 1970). In одна тисячі дев'ятсот сімдесят одна the Committee for Economic Development used a «three concentric circles» approach to depicting CSR. The inner circle included basic economic functions - growth, products, jobs. The intermediate circle suggested that the economic functions must be exercised with a sensitive awareness of changing social values ??and priorities. The outer circle outlined newly emerging and still amorphous responsibilities that business should assume to become more actively involved in improving the social environment. In 1979 Archie B Carroll characterized the responsibilities of business as economic, legal, ethical, and discretionary. By тисяча дев'ятсот дев'яносто один Carroll had conceptualized these responsibilities in the form of a pyramid and the discretionary category was replaced by a philanthropic category.PYRAMID OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITYResponsibilities, business organizations were created as economic entities designed to provide goods and services to societal members. The profit motive was established as the primary incentive for entrepreneurship. Before it was anything else, business organization was the basic economic unit in our society. As such, its principal role was to produce goods and services that consumers needed and wanted and to make an acceptable profit in the process. At some point the idea of ??the profit motive got transformed into a notion of maximum profits, and this has been an enduring value ever since. All other business responsibilities are predicated upon the economic responsibility of the firm, because without it the others become moot considerations.
Legal Responsibilities. Society has not only sanctioned business to operate according to the profit motive; at the same time business is expected to comply with the laws and regulations promulgated by federal, state, and local governments as the ground rules under which business must operate. As a partial fulfillment of the «social contract» between business and society firms are expected to pursue their economic missions within the framework of the law. Legal responsibilities reflect a view of «codified ethics» in the sense that they embody basic notions of fair operations as established by our lawmakers. They are depicted as the next layer on the pyramid to portray their historical development, but they are appropriately seen as coexisting with economic responsibilities as fundamental precepts of the free enterprise system.
Ethical Responsibilities. It is a well-known fact that economic and legal responsibilities embody ethical norms about fairness and justice, ethical responsibilities embrace those activities and practices that are expected or prohibited by societal members even though they are not codified into law. Ethical responsibilities embody those standards, norms, or expectations that reflect a concern for what consumers, employees, shareholders, and the community regard as fair, just, or in keeping with the respect or protection of stakeholders moral rights. The environmental, civil rights, and consumer movements reflected basic changes in societal values ??and thus may be seen as ethical leaders, who are predicting and resulting in the later legislation. In another sense, ethical responsibilities may be seen as embracing newly emerging values ??and norms society expects business to meet, even though such values ??and norms may reflect a higher standard of performance than that currently required by law.
Philanthropic Responsibilities. Philanthropy encompasses those corporate actions that are in response to society s expectation that businesses be good corporate citizens. This includes actively engaging in acts or programs to promote human welfare or goodwill. Examples of philanthropy include business contributions to financial resources or executive time, such as contributions to the arts, education, or the community. A loaned-executive progra...
