In today�s money-driven corporate world, �corporation� and �social responsibility� are unfortunately not concepts that go hand in hand. Every single decision made by a corporation is influenced by the need to increase shareholder wealth. After all, that is the purpose of a corporation. Even if a corporation makes an attempt at social responsibility, profits are still an issue one way or another.
Companies should contribute to the welfare of the society and not be solely devoted to maximizing profits. Socially responsible companies can act in a number of ways. Companies should put something back into the community in which they operate. Making money is too narrow a view of what a corporation is for. Raising ownership��mere ownership�. It is wrong to run a business in the interest of one kind of stakeholder, ignoring the legitimate interest of all the others. Is this correct? Businesses certainly need to take account of other interested parties. If they are to succeed as businesses, they must satisfy their customers, get on with their suppliers, motivate their workers and so forth.
�Acting good, and advertising it�. The very term �corporate social responsibility� endorses the actions to which it is applied. No doubt that is why companies fastens the label to a quite bewildering variety of supposedly enlightened, progressive or corporate charitable actions. Some of the business practices are often (perhaps misleading) labeled as CSR. Companies raised profits and advanced society�s wealth at the same time. But this sort fails to impress more of civic society. Perhaps it would be better to call it simply �good management�.
�It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer or the baker that we expect our dinner but from their regard to their own interest�. But perhaps the system would be even better if there were a bit more benevolence and a bit less self-interest. Every individual necessarily labors to render the annual revenue of the society as great as they can. They never, indeed neither intends to promote public interest, nor knows how much they are they are promoting it�they intends only their own gain. And he is in this, as in many other cases led by an invisible hand to promote an end which was no part of his intention. It is not to their humanity but to their self-love and not their own necessities but their advantage.
Whatever the company does is related to its core business. It�s not just throwing money at good causes. It�s actually utilizing what the companies are good at. Whatever the companies does help to create a more competitive environment. In other words, it would actually allow the company in the future to a better business. So it makes sense that companies use some of its resources because it would create a more competitive, a better environment for them to operate their business.
E. Charity and social responsibility
�Social responsibility is not charity.� Corporations donate money to charity just to have their logo prominently displayed at the charity event or on the charity�s publication. Some even donate money for image. It also makes them more attractive. There is a world difference between charitable donation of corporation and appropriate corporate citizenship. Sometimes corporations feel that they have such a poor image with the public at large that generous charitable donations are needed to redress matters. CSR in other words can merely become a PR. Sometimes this looks like only the reason for spurts of development activity by large companies. Firms indeed are still mainly interested in making money. When commercial interest and broader social welfare collide profit comes first.
PART IV
Media in the Philippines
A. Media and its role
Under the bill of rights section 7, �the right of the people to information on matters of public concern shall be recognized. Access to official records, and to documents and papers pertaining to official acts, transactions, or decisions, as well as to government research data used as basis for policy development, shall be afforded the citizen, subject to such limitations as may be provided by law.� This serves that media is important and have a vital role in information dissemination. Basically, mass media are the tools for mass communicating; they are the channels through which information, ideas, and attitudes are disseminated to the masses. These media are primarily the newspapers, magazines, pamphlets, books, radio, television, film and billboards. However, mass media companies sometimes disregard their basic role and focuses on maximizing profit through entertainments. Perhaps it is because mass media can shape people�s decision and attitudes. And in this case, mass media lessen the interest of the people.
B. Brief History of Media in the Philippines
Commercial televisions were introduced to the Philippines in 1953 . Given the stress paced on entertainment in modern day television programming, it comes as a surprise to learn that the first Philippine station, which is DZAQ-TV, channel 3 (Manila), was established not to provide a staple detective shows and comedies, but to serve as tool in a political campaign. The founder was Judge Antonio Quirino, the brother of Elpidio Quirino, and he used the station to improve the president�s chances of reelection. Over the last three decades, Philippine television has suffered from fundamental deficiencies that have plagued since 1960�s.
In 1970, the Philippine is used to be the mass media leader in all of Southeast Asia. During that time, the Philippine English language newspapers were envied and unsuccessfully imitated around the region, which relied heavily on foreign editorial skills. But the status of mass media industries does not remain the same when President Ferdinand Marcos declared Martial Law. He ordered the military to close down newspaper offices, radio, and television, and of course the hard-hitting journalists are thrown in jail. The reason may be the president has a fear on mass media, because mass media can inspire the people to form revolution against him.