Social conscience of good business

Good business is all about ethics aligned with the CSR.

Essentially CSR is about how business maximizes the benefits and minimizes the downsides of its operations’ economic, social and environmental impacts.

There are different opinions about CSR. In general they are divided into groups contrasting each other’s views.

Milton Friedman, for instance, argued that companies are being socially responsible in their profit-making, wealth-creation role. The only CSR acceptable, after him, is the one “motivated entirely out of self-interest and justified on those grounds” (L’Etang, J. (2008); Public Relations: Concepts, Practice and Critique; p. 89).

Companies operating at the societal level (contributions towards improving the society, according to Peach) are increasingly obtaining public recognition and visibility for their corporate actions (Tench, R. and Yeomans, L. (2009); Exploring Public Relations; p. 99-103).

CSR acts show organizations’ “human face” and “a caring side” (L’Etang, 2008, p. 191). Wonderful! Now people are aware of your kindness, compassion and helpfulness. However one of the issues here is whether business acts in its own self-interest and those of its stakeholders or in the interests of the larger society.