Social Responsibilities of a Business

Question 1

An organization which takes into account _______’s values and objectives when making decisions is showing a sense of social responsibility.

Answer 1

society

Explanation

They are showing a sense of social responsibility, trying to do what’s right for society, and in many cases, even actively trying to help the community.

Question 2

An organization that practices ______ responsibility tries to balance being profitable with satisfying the needs of those whose future is tied to that of the organization.

Answer 2

social

Explanation

Social responsibility means that an organization tries to be responsible to society, even if that may mean reducing profits. Examples are fair employment practices, helping with urban renewal and development, working with educational institutions, and limiting pollution.

Question 3

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) emphasizes obligations and accountability and is sometimes called corporate ___________.

Answer 3

citizenship

Explanation

CSR weighs the impact of the companys actions on society.

Question 4

Business for Social Responsibility (BSR) is an organization created in 1992 to encourage ________ responsible corporate policies.

Answer 4

socially

Explanation

Members of BSR include Hasbro, Reebok, and Honeywell and hundreds of others.

Question 5

______________’s definition of CSR includes economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic responsibilities.

Answer 5

Archie Carroll

Explanation

According to Carroll, the social responsibility of business includes the economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropic expectations that society has of organizations at a given point in time.

Question 6

A company ________ training and computer hardware to a local school would be an example of fulfilling the companys CSR philanthropic responsibility.

Answer 6

donating

Explanation

Philanthropic responsibilities are voluntary and include service donations, corporate giving, and partnerships with local government organizations.

Question 7

The CSR requirement that a company earn a ______ comes under the heading of economic responsibility.

Answer 7

profit

Explanation

Companies are required by the public to keep costs low, maximize sales, and earn a profit.

Question 8

When a company strives to meet its contractual obligations that company can be said to be carrying out its CSR _____ responsibilities.

Answer 8

legal

Explanation

Over the past 3 decades, American society has witnessed a proliferation of laws, regulations and restrictions at all levels of government seeking to control how businesses operate. The public expects companies to obey laws even when they disagree with them.

Question 9

CSR _______ responsibilities are those activities expected by the public of the business world that are not codified into law.

Answer 9

ethical

Explanation

Ethical responsibilities are those actions society regards as fair just and in keeping with the protection of the stakeholders moral rights.

Question 10

A _________ is anyone who can affect an organization, or can be affected by it.

Answer 10

stakeholder

Explanation

A stakeholder can be a stockholder, an employee, customers, or even the community in which the organization exists.

Question 11

According to _________, it is the responsibility of management to make as much money as possible while conforming to the basic rules of society, both those embodied in the law and those embodied in ethical customs.

Answer 11

Milton Friedman

Explanation

Friedman was a classical economist and believed that social issues should be resolved by the workings of the free market system and were not the responsibility of businessmen.

Question 12

One of the most compelling arguments against CSR has been the classical ________ argument.

Answer 12

economic

Explanation

According to classical economics a business exists solely to maximize its profits for shareholders and owners.

Question 13

Another argument against CSR is that it puts US business at a ____________ in the international marketplace.

Answer 13

disadvantage

Explanation

Critics of CSR assert that the cost of complying with the plethora of complex laws, rules, and regulations at the state, local and federal level have significantly increased the cost of doing business for US companies.

Question 14

According to Thomas Petit, _______ society faces many problems caused by big business and managers must conduct the business of the corporation to lessen or solve these problems.

Answer 14

industrial

Explanation

Petit believed business should in their own self interest work to solve problems they in a large part created. This is one of the major pro-CSR arguments.

Question 15

Avoiding future __________ regulation and intervention is a compelling incentive for companies to act in a socially responsible manner.

Answer 15

government

Explanation

This is one of the few practical reasons to justify a corporations CSR expenses.

Question 16

According to Keith Davis, because business has the _________ they should try to solve social problems.

Answer 16

resources

Explanation

Davis believed that some problems (safe work environment, fair advertising, safe products) could only be solved by business. Also, as government had tried and failed to solve so many general social problems, business should be encouraged to mobilize their resources to try and solve them.

Question 17

According to a Business Week poll conducted in September of 2000, 95% of those surveyed believed companies should sacrifice _______ to demonstrate social responsibility to employees and the communities they operate in.

Answer 17

profits

Explanation

The results of this poll would tend to indicate the public is very much in support of CSR policies.

Question 18

Corporate ________ includes corporate social responsibility, corporate social responsiveness and corporate social performance.

Answer 18

citizenship

Explanation

Corporate citizenship is another term for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

Question 19

William Frederick used the terms CSR1 for Corporate Social Responsibility, CSR2 for Corporate Social Responsiveness, and CSR3 for Corporate Social _________.

Answer 19

Rectitude

Explanation

Corporate Social Rectitude (CSR3) concerns the moral correctness of policies formulated and actions taken.

Question 20

Corporate Social ______________ emphasizes activity and action.

Answer 20

Responsiveness

Explanation

According to Ackerman and Bauer, social responsiveness is essential in that it denotes a dynamic action-oriented condition.

Question 21

According to _________ view of social responsiveness, there are four possible business strategies: reaction, proaction, defense and accommodation.

Answer 21

Ian Wilsons

Explanation

Reaction, proaction, defense and accommodation are all modes or philosophies of social responsiveness.

Question 22

Another term for _____________ responsibility is discretionary responsibility.

Answer 22

philanthropic

Question 23

An organization that denies responsibility for its actions is assuming a ________ strategy to social responsibility.

Answer 23

reaction

Explanation

An example of the reaction strategy occurred when a company which manufactured asbestos, discovered evidence that the inhalation of asbestos caused an often fatal lung disease. Instead of trying to find ways to create a safer working environment, the company hid the evidence.

Question 24

Another famous example of ________ strategy happened in the Tobacco industry.

Answer 24

reaction

Explanation

Even though cigarette manufacturers had evidence since the 1950s that tobacco was addictive they continued to promote the benefits of light cigarettes and market them to teens.

Question 25

An organization that admits responsibility for its actions but responds by doing only the bare minimum is assuming a _______ strategy to social responsibility.

Answer 25

defense

Question 26

An organization that readily adapts their behavior to conform to public policy and is responsive to public expectations is assuming an ____________ strategy to social responsibility.

Answer 26

accommodation

Explanation

An example would be a financial service company which goes beyond the minimum requirement of disclosure and maintains an on-demand disclosure policy of information.

Question 27

An organization that actively seeks to improve the welfare of society is assuming a ______ strategy to social responsibility.

Answer 27

proaction

Explanation

An example of this is Mary Kay Cosmetics contributing to causes that concern women’s health issues like fighting breast cancer.

Question 28

______ investing, also known as socially responsible investing, includes the selection and management of investments based on the investor’s ethical, moral, social or environmental concerns.

Answer 28

Ethical

Explanation

It is estimated that ethical investments exceed $2.2 trillion. An example of ethical investing would be anti-war investors refusing to invest in companies working on defense contracts.

Question 29

Through social _________ investors attempt to filter out companies they believe to be socially irresponsible when seeking investment opportunities.

Answer 29

screening

Explanation

Examples of social screens include a company’s performance record on social issues such as affirmative action, environmental protection, and employee relations.