Paulino, Joshua M. Fr. Floriano C.

Roa, MBA
BOM 21

"The Social Responsibility of Business"

Ted Talk by Prof. Alex Edman
Reflection Paper

Professor Alex Edman is a man who teaches finance courses at London

Business School. He finished his degree at Oxford University and started to work for an
investment bank in London. Prof. Edman has spoken at many forums about business
and its responsibilities in society. On July 9, 2015, Prof. Edman spoke to the people in
the auditorium about "The social responsibility of business". In his Tedx talk, Prof.
Edman asks the audience why businesses exist in society. Mr. Edman points out to the
audience whether a business exists by earning a profit or serving a purpose. Is
business for shareholders, society, customers, employees, or the environment? Hence,
business is part of society. Prof. Edman says that if the product is not produced with
quality, consumers will not enjoy buying it.

Employees working in a company must take care of their employers by providing

the right benefits. Prof. Edman's view is that in order to achieve something, people
working in different firms must be rightfully treated. He stated that workers are leaving or
attempting to resign from their jobs. It is because the company does not appreciate their
employees. Every business that is part of society must have a responsibility to protect
and organize their firm by abiding by the rules and the law. Every company has no right
to abuse and threaten their employees. They must focus on employees because they
are working for the company to achieve its goals.

Prof. Edman stated the saying of the economist Milton Friedman, "The social
responsibility of business is to increase profit. So just head to the land of profit and you’ll
get all of these other decisions right. " The theory of Mr. Friedman assumes that you
can compute the effect of ethical behavior on profit. In reality, the decision you make
can’t be reduced to mathematical calculations. In the talk, Prof. Edman gave examples
of businesses who abide by social responsibility. One of these is the former president
George Merck of the company, Merck Pharmaceuticals. He stated that Mr. Merck is
much more concerned about how to use their products to save people’s lives.

In addition, the product produced by the pharmaceutical company saved the life
of Ms. Ann Miller, who had the disease of streptococcal septicaemia. Until Ms. Miller
recovered from the disease, Mr. Merck shared the secrets of its competitors on how to
produce the drug, which is Penicilin. Mr. Merck is concerned about people suffering
from disease, which is why, during World War II, thousands of lives were saved as a
result of medical innovation. As Mr. Merck says in a good statement, "We try never to
forget that medicine is for the people. It is not for profit. The profits follow. And if we
remember that they have never failed to appear", in that, I believe that Mr. Merck has a
heart for the people around him. Mr. Merck serves his purpose as a business leader,
and he knows what the right actions are to take.

On the other hand, Prof. Edman bases his talk on how we can measure social
responsibility. Prof. Edman tells the audience that we must choose to look on the bright
side of employees' welfare. Companies must be concerned about their employees'
welfare because Prof. Edman believes that is one of the best measures of social
responsibility in the workplace. In different firms, qualitative factors such as trust and
good management must be present in the work environment. Prof. Edman reveals that
companies must not only focus on quantitative factors such as pay and benefits, but
also on organization in the workplace. To add, Prof. Edman studies the effect of
employees' welfare on the industry. He pays attention to the size of the firm, growing
opportunities, good returns, and having good characteristics in the workplace.

As a result, the findings of Prof. Edman's conclude that companies must treat
their employees better to do better. Employees will be happier if the management does
better for them. Furthermore, Prof. Edman encouraged the companies to focus on long-
term qualitative measures rather than short-term quantitative measures. It is his concern
to evaluate the performance of the companies. Prof. Edman stated that in order to have
a good run, there has to be a good working environment. Indeed, Prof. Edman
emphasizes that caring for society is not a profit-making expense; it must support profit.
Profits are the major goal of every business because profits are the only way for the
company to stay afloat and grow. Profits should only be earned as a result of providing
goods and services to society.

To conclude, employees work hard to sustain their families' needs, yet

companies must provide care and the right benefits for them. In the talk, Prof. Edman
asked the audience why businesses exist. Businesses exist to serve a purpose for the
community. Indeed, the answer is yes; businesses exist for the right reasons and to
make money. Companies must organize their policies about corporate social
responsibilities for their employees and for the performance of the firm. Prof. Edman
emphasizes that having corporate social responsibilities will create a stronger bond
between employees and corporations. To be held accountable for their actions, I believe
a company must be accountable for everything they do. Together, the company and its
employees must trust each other and follow the road of purpose to achieve their goals.
References:
W. (2020, November 4). The Social Responsibility of Business: A Must Watch
TedxTalk. WeSpire. https://www.wespire.com/the-social-responsibility-of-business-a-
must-watch-tedxtalk/