Should business organizations be socially responsible?

There are pros and cons on this issue, and I am going to set forth some of the arguments for and against. It is my own opinion that businesses should be socially responsible, but you can decide for yourself whether or not you think so.

First, it can be good for the bottom line when a business is socially responsible. This gains a business some positive publicity and also draws customers who care about particular causes.  Businesses often issue press releases when they do good works, which is free publicity for them, and there are many causes that are well-supported, for example, education or research on breast cancer.  When a customer knows that some percentage of the price is going to support a cause like this, he or she is drawn in and may even spend more money.  In other words, social responsibility is a great mechanism for marketing.

Second, businesses must function in a social environment, and to the degree that they can improve that environment, they are likely to function better and more profitably. In the United States, for example, as poverty is becoming an increasing problem and the middle-class is shrinking, addressing these problems through some socially responsible actions, a business may very well be ensuring the next generation of consumers. Who will spend if no one has money? Homelessness has proved to be a problem for businesses as well, since customers are reluctant to frequent an establishment that has homeless people in the vicinity, so, again, helping to solve a social problem is good for the business.

Third, there is the argument that businesses would not be able to exist, much less thrive, if society did not provide for them the infrastructure and services they rely upon to exist and if there were no communities to give them business, so businesses should be giving back to the communities that support them.  To be a good member of a community, everyone should be socially responsible.

On the other hand, the first obligation of a business is to its shareholders. To cut into profits in order to be socially responsible could be considered irresponsible by shareholders, who have invested their capital to get a monetary return.  Shareholders may very well divest or toss out a CEO who is cutting into the bottom line with socially responsible time or money.

Another argument against social responsibility is that businesses are not the experts in social responsibility, so they have no business involving themselves in it. They might do more harm than good.  NGOs and government are the entities that should be making decisions and allocating resources to do the most good, not businesses.

All things considered, I vote "Yes" on social responsibility for businesses.  I do not think the bottom line is harmed, since the marketing effects of social responsibility mitigate any losses. I also think that businesses do have some expertise to solve social problems.  And I think businesses should be accountable, as members of society, to improve the society in which they function.