General Research

According to Jones, George and Hill in Contemporary Management, social responsibility is defined as “a manager’s duty or obligation to make decisions that promote the welfare and well-being of stakeholders and society as a whole.” (p.160-162) There are four approaches the management of an organization may select from to ensure social responsibility. They are obstructionist, defensive, accommodative, and proactive. The approach senior management promotes in the organization will determine its social and ethical culture. As a result, employee behavior will most likely resemble that approach. (Jones, George, Hill, Contemporary Management, 2000) 

Contemporary Management gives a definition for each of the four approaches. The obstructionist approach represents a willingness to cover up unethical and illegal behavior and management consciously chooses not to act socially responsible. The defensive approach says a company only wants to stay within limits mandated by law, but do nothing more. The accommodative approach represents a stronger willingness to be social responsibility, with recognition of the law and need for social responsibility. Finally, the proactive approach is the strongest commitment to social responsibility. When companies are proactive, they go above and beyond legal requirements and set a good example for its stakeholders to follow. Proactive organizational efforts have a direct impact on local and national communities. (Jones, et al., 2000) 

The question of why a company should promote social responsibility lies with how a  society works. Belonging to a society bares a certain amount of responsibility for each member in a community, if that community is to grow and prosper. This includes companies that set up operation in and utilize a society’s resources, including land, capital, and human resources. When a company’s management creates a mission statement, it sets the tone for expectations of behavior for all resources, including
employees, suppliers, distributors, and customers. 

Along with a mission statement, a code of ethics helps to ensure an organization’s future and tells stakeholders what type of behavior is expected. A code of ethics may involve how to treat customers, standards of professionalism, types of business to conduct, or current societal values and laws. In the book by Donaldson & Werhane, Ethical Issues in Business, A Philosophical Approach, it states, “In fact, ethics has everything to do with management. Rarely do the character flaws of a lone actor fully explain corporate misconduct. More typically, unethical business practice involves the tacit, if not explicit, cooperation of others and reflects the values, attitudes, beliefs, language, and behavioral
patterns that define an organization’s operating culture.” (Donaldson & Werhane, p. 495) 

The bottom line is, a company does not operate in a vacuum. Therefore, it is imperative that an organization develops a code of ethics and chooses its approach to social responsibility wisely. The impact an organization has on society is huge and if not careful, the company could set itself up for loss of revenues, loss of reputation or possible lawsuits.