Business Ethics and Corporate Governance, Second Edition

THE SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT

Population growth and consequent unemployment, increasing inequalities between the rich and poor, public health, immigration flows and social disorder interact to affect the conditions in which business develops. The prevailing political framework determines whether the responses are subject to command economy rule, to free-market economies or to what are called mixed economies. Education and training are the precursors to economic development, and most political regimes give these high priority. However, the resources required to ensure efficient delivery may be inadequate, depending upon the general economic climate and social infrastructure. A natural consequence of successful business activity is that employment opportunities ...