According to Rodin (2005), business organizations are morally responsible to look

after the concerns of a larger group of stake holders which could include owners, customers,

vendors, employees and community rather than its stockholders alone. Businesses are integral

parts of the social, economic and environmental systems around them. According to

Bjerregaard and Lauring (2013), organizations are embedded in the social and biological

environment where they are in, which means that they have corresponding social

responsibilities while contributing to the economy. Consequently, all their activities, structure

and processes need to take responsibility for the impact they have on stakeholders and on the

society which supports their existence. In a socioeconomic aspect, these business

organizations should not only put the limelight on the commercial side, but also on the social

aspect which includes boosting employee value, attracting staff and cutting costs ( Goel,

Sanghvi, Dahiya, 2013). Businesses have Corporate Social Responsibilities obliging them to

meet their responsibilities to a wider scope, not just those in their microenvironment. This

CSR comes with compliance with the community standards, good corporate citizenship,

sustainability, volunteering, helping to solve social issues or advocating something

meaningful. It is believed that business organizations enjoy profitability at the expense of the

society, but this shouldn’t be the case. They must maintain an equilibrium where that can

contribute to the economy without exploiting the environment around them. Thus, the main

role of business organizations socioeconomically, is to integrate societal improvement into

economic value creation itself.

2. Explain the core principles of fairness, accountability and transparency in the

socioeconomic development of a country.

Accountability is dubbed as something that is highly abstract, earning different

formed definitions from various people. With different views piled up, accountability can be

defined as one’s obligation to carry out assigned activities in a responsible and responsive

manner, and being held answerable for success or failure. On the socioeconomic aspect,

accountability applies to government officials and business organizations which are held

accountable, liable, and responsible to carry out and perform relevant duties that are expected
of them, which would lead to the countries development.

Transparency should be something that must be exercised, especially by the

government, for the whole nation’s socioeconomic development. Defined as something that

promotes and implies openness, accountability, and communication, transparency allows the

public people to work out their rights as to the actions the government is doing. If the

administration and public offices would be open with all the draft documents, arguments for

proposals, projects, and decisions, the people’s trust would be instilled. Thus, making

everything publicly archived would mean that there are no law violations, the public interest

is protected, and there aren’t malfunctions and corruption ongoing, which would result to

eradication of doubts. If everything goes well and the people of the country are

knowledgeable with the actions and decisions of the government, socioeconomic

development won’t be something that would take miles to achieve.

Fairness, or integrity basically has something to do with perceived consistency of

actions values, methods, measures, principles, expectations and outcome, and the quality of

being honest and fair. This concept greatly affects the country’s socioeconomic development

in such a way that inadequate, inconsistent, and unfair enforcement of laws and regulations

would suggest a weak justice system, low penalties, and high cost of compliance will render

laws ineffective. Therefore, fairness must be consistently worked always and in all ways so

justice and prevail, thus making the society less of being a wreck.

3. Is there a dividing line between Business Ethics and Social Responsibility?

The concepts of business ethics and social responsibility create confusions and are

often used interchangeably. They have distinct identities, but are closely related with each

other in a way that they are often used to refer to the same argument or code. Corporate

Social Responsibility has been a part of ethical and responsible business practices.

Viewing CSR through Freeman's normative stakeholder theory, it can be perceived

that CSR is a subset of business ethics. While Business Ethics is a very broad topic,

Corporate Social Responsibility is a specialized sub-topic within business ethics.

CSR is one of those business practices which needs to be adopted by firms to

reconcile with the ethicality of doing business. Both Business Ethics and Social

Responsibility are important for the business. Business Ethics focus on doing the right thing

for employees, customers, and the community, while the latter focuses on the impact a

company has on the environment.

Therefore, both concepts have a dividing line in terms of definition, but there is

certainly no dividing line talking about their correlation. Social Responsibility is more of an

obligation or duty of a firm towards the society it affects, while Business Ethics is knowing

what is right or wrong, and doing the former.

4. According to the articles, does the strategic management field really care about Business

Ethics and Social Responsibility? What is the implication of the result of this study?

In the study conducted, results show that the strategic management field does not

really care about governance, business ethics, and social responsibility concepts, though it

does not totally ignore them. This shows the strategic management field’s negligence with the

right things to do and their obligations to the society. It can further be implied that when these

firms create tactics and strategies for their business, they aren’t thinking about what would be

the effects on the society and if what they will do is indeed proper, but instead, their focus is

on profitability alone. Business Ethics and Social Responsibility is not given the importance

that should be. Everyone must be educated and awakened with the necessary fact that

businesses should act in a way that goes beyond purely profit-based motivations, but towards

a model that works for everyone – people, planet, profit.

5. As future managers of your businesses, what do you think are the advantages and

disadvantages of implementing Business Ethics and Social Responsibility in your

business?

While I truly believe that Business Ethics and Social Responsibility is something all

businesses – regardless of type and form, must advocate and exercise. However, such belief

won’t deny the fact that the said concepts bring a fair share of advantages and disadvantages.
The downsides of Business Ethics and Social Responsibility include shift of focus, danger of

company’s reputation, increase in cost of production, and reduction of the company’s

freedom to maximize its profit. CSR shifts the focus of the company from the objective that

made it a financial entity in the first place – profit-making. Instead of focusing on making

profits, they engage in CSR programs and use up funds for community welfare. The company

is also in the danger of having a bad reputation since CSR responsibilities include the

disclosure of shortcomings even of their own products if they violate the CSR program. Also,

Business Ethics and Social Responsibility increase the firms’ production cost. Because of the

company’s expenditure increase, they also have to increase their products’ prices, which in

turn, increases the amount customers have to pay. These concepts also reduce the level of

cost-savings that the company generates for they have to spend an amount for their CSR.

On the other side, positive publicity, more capital inflow from various sources, increased

attraction and retention of employees, and improvement of the corporation’s image make the

cut as the advantages of Business Ethics and Social Responsibility. a corporation can obtain

by an increased goodwill value when implementing CSR and business ethics. This serves a

dual purpose – Firstly, people will want to buy the product that the corporation is selling

because of its good and clean image. Secondly, other enterprises will want to do business and

be associated with the corporation. This increases the corporation’s prestige to such a high

level that its name may become synonymous with reliability and goodness. Companies

having solid CSR commitments and business ethics find it easier to recruit and retain

employees. People want to work for companies that care about the well-being of their

employees and provide good working conditions. Compassionate attitude towards employees

is highly desired by both new recruits and old employees alike. Appraisals, financial

assistance in times of need, and attention given to personal achievements and special days

(like birthdays) make employees want to remain with the company. If the company’s

workforce is happy, the company gets more profits due to increased efficiency in production.

A company’s image plays a huge role in attracting investors. If the company is engaged in

CSR programs and executes business ethics, its image gets a massive boost, and so, people
invest in its operations heavily. This company can attract capital even from abroad too, thus,

helping the country to get valuable foreign exchange. It will also attract investment from

other firms and industries, and it will become a name that can be trusted easily. A good CSR

program will always give good publicity and even act as an advertisement for the company. It

also sets the company apart from its competitors. They may be selling a similar product at

lower rates, but you are keeping the interests of your environment and community intact, and

so the people do not mind a little extra charge for this thoughtfulness.