Are Profits The Only Business Of Business?

Because corporations are established to profit and shareholders invest money with expectations of a greater return, managers cannot be given a directive to be “socially responsible” without providing specific criteria of checks and balances to which needs to adhere. Therefore, it is imperative to the success of a corporation for managers to not act solely but rather to act within the policies of the shareholders.

There are conflicting expectations of the nature of a company’s responsibilities to society. However, those companies that undertake what may be termed ‘Corporate Social Responsibility’ must decide; what are the actual social responsibilities of these companies? I will present a possible paradigm. Also, I will look at the benefit to the business that employs proper management as compared the business with poor management. This research paper describes my view of corporate social responsibility and compares the social responsibilities of Delta Air Lines and Spirit

The ethical issues presented in this case are the different views that each individual has on how the idea of corporate social responsibility (CSR). This dispute is between Mr. Milton Friedman, John Mackey, and T.J. Rodgers; all of which has a different outlook on CSR. The definition of CSR refers to the responsibilities that business has to the society in which it operates and to those actions that a business can be held accountable. Most philosophers have come up with three different types of responsibilities that corporations can be held accountable for. The first and most important of the three is a corporation’s duty to not cause harm. If a corporation can

Many believe that business entities should have an ethical duty to be socially responsible, to work towards increasing its positive effects on society while decreasing its negative effects. Many organizations look for opportunities to be socially responsible while also creating shareholder wealth.

The expectation that businesses behave responsibly and positively contribute to society all while pursuing their economic goals is one that holds firm through all generations. Stakeholders, both market and nonmarket, expect businesses to be socially responsible. Many companies have responded to this by including this growing expectation as part of their overall business operations. There are companies in existence today whose sole purpose is to socially benefit society alongside businesses who simply combine social benefits with their economic goals as their company mission. These changes in societal expectations and thus company purpose we’ve seen in the business community over time often blurs the line of what it means to be socially

“Corporations are said to be “creatures of statute;” they exist because state laws allow human beings to organize themselves into entities that separate ownership and management functions as the outline above delineates. The business rule is there a presumption that making a business decision, the offices act in good faith with the belief that their actions is what is best for the company (Halbert/Ingulli, 2012 pg. 31).”

Do we know what constitutes sufficient reason to attribute “responsibility to any person, company, or set of conditions? What kinds of risks do we assume when buying a car, or a motorcycle, or a can of tuna fish?

In 1970, Milton Friedman published an essay in which he argued that corporations’ only social responsibility ought to be making a profit for its shareholders as long as it is engaged in open and free competition without deception or fraud (Brusseau, 2012. page. 676). Moreover, Mr. Friedman also argued that only people can have social responsibilities because they control their actions and corporations don’t. However, we see that corporations are engaged in businesses such as making loans, signing contracts, acquiring licenses, creating jobs and services. They act as persons. If corporations had no responsibilities people would not invest in them; for that reason, I believe corporations should have legal and ethical responsibilities.

This will be an over view of ethics as it relates to business in our society. Concepts from Philosophy will seek to describe the correlation between actions that are classified as morally right or ethical in our dealings with each other as human beings. Clear and concise examples will be given as well as ways in which to improve upon business ethics.

Corporate social responsibility is the responsibility a company takes on beyond its own economic benefit. Wikepedia (2006) states that it is "a company 's obligation to be sensitive to the needs of all of the stakeholders in its business operations" (Corporate social responsibility, para. 1). Stakeholders according to Wikepedia (2006) are all entities that might have influence on a company 's decisions. However, it should be pointed out that corporate social responsibility surpasses charitable donations and

What is the responsibility of a business or corporation? Is it to meet stakeholder expectations and follow legal guidelines, or is there a higher responsibility? While Milton Friedman asserted in his famous essay that “the social responsibility of a business is to increase profits,” it can be argued that companies also have higher moral responsibilities. The question in each ethical dilemma is, “To whom do we have a moral responsibility?”

Milton Friedman and Richard Freeman represent differences that exist on the positions held by scholars with regards to the obligations of a business firm. The major difference between the two is on the issues of corporation’s responsibilities to the society and the obligations to different groups. To whom does the corporation owe much responsibility? Friedman offers his views based on the shareholders theory. In his theory, he adopts the view that a corporation as an entity is just an artificial person defined under the law, and thus can only have artificial responsibility. His major disagreements are with those who hold the position that corporations have social responsibilities (Kaler, 2012, p. 250). In his view, the obligations of a firm are first to the stockholders. As a result, its primary should to maximize the stockholders profits under the set rules and regulations. This obligation should always prevail against others. On social responsibilities of an organization, his views are restricted to the position that only individuals are in a position to be held socially responsible. However, he insists that those individuals in management are employees of the stockholders and thus should only do that which is beneficial to the stockholders and in line with set legal obligation (Kaler, 2012, p. 255).

A corporation is an artificial person and therefore cannot be socially responsible. The goal of the corporation is to maximize profits and returns as rewards to its shareholders for their risk taking while conforming to the basic rules of the society, such as law and ethical customer, except those organizations established for eleemosynary purpose.

Milton Friedman was an American economist, statistician and writer, who had a massive impact on the research agenda of the economics profession. His famous words “the only responsibility of business is to increase its profits” (Friedman, Milton. 1970) led to many controversial debates on whether businesses should have ethics or if profit should be their main goal. Corporate social responsibility has many definitions, as its interpretation is quite loose, so I have chosen one that relates the most to this essay, given by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, in 2000: “Corporate social

Corporate social responsibility has been one the key business buzz words of the 21st century. Consumers' discontent with the corporation has forced it to try and rectify its negative image by associating its name with good deeds. Social responsibility has become one of the corporation's most pressing issues, each company striving to outdo the next with its philanthropic image. People feel that the corporation has done great harm to both the environment and to society and that with all of its wealth and power, it should be leading the fight to save the Earth, to combat poverty and illness and etc. "Corporations are now expected to deliver the good, not just the goods; to pursue