The role of a business is to produce and distribute goods and services to satisfy a public need or demand. According to Business News Daily corporate social responsibility (CSR) is “a business practice that involves participating in initiatives that benefit a society.”
However, corporate social responsibility is more than just a simple business practice. When you pursue a Master of Business Administration (MBA), you will learn how to differentiate the blurred lines of working for profit and working to help maintain the social order. Society does not exist without some form of an economy, and businesses are what make up the economic system of the world.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
Corporations can enact CSR as a business practice in multiple ways. Corporate social responsibility as a business practice involves putting certain funds toward organizations or people who need aid. Some corporations put part of their proceeds toward programs that feed the hungry, others toward organizations that clean up the environment.
Businesses are also expected to maintain a certain level of responsibility in the way they run their operations. A company can be viewed as ethically irresponsible if it knowingly brings harm to the environment or if its business tactics cause employees to be treated unfairly.
As the world has become increasingly connected, the consumer has developed more concern for the ethics behind the goods and services that they purchase. Consumers are not the only ones looking for socially responsible corporations, however; employees are doing the same. Many individuals looking to go into the field of business want to work for an ethically responsible company. CSR is crucial to nearly every facet of a business: not only is it essential to setting the tone for a company culture and retaining employees, but it has a significant effect on customer loyalty and overall profit.
MBA Teaches Ethical Behavior
While businesses are designed to make money and bring in a profit, it is important to know how to resolve ethical and governance issues in a socially responsible manner. Businesses have to be aware of new technologies, the trending demands of their clientele and changes in market conditions so that they can continue to operate in ways that are both responsible and profitable.
Entrepreneurs have begun to reevaluate the ways in which advanced business degree programs teach ethics. Many MBA programs teach courses that cover CSR and the role of business in society — but there is a sweet spot for teaching business ethics that accounts for the following: society’s changing values, different generational desires and the balance between making the right moral decisions and not jeopardizing the bottom line.
Corporate social responsibility is understood in multiple ways. For some, it is a business tactic by which a company donates money, goods and/or volunteer hours toward a worthwhile cause such as the homeless population or the local education system. There are multiple outlets and means by which a company can demonstrate that it is socially responsible. However, corporate social responsibility is also the way in which a company chooses to run itself. The effects a company has on the environment or the way in which it treats its employees also play a part in what makes any given company socially responsible. You can learn how to make morally sound decisions for your company or business when you earn your MBA online.
Learn more about the Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi online MBA program.
