Business Ethics and Corporate Governance, Second Edition

SCOPE OF CSR

Three levels of social responsibility can be identified (evolution of areas of social responsibility)

• Market forces: Responding to the demands of the market. Managerial decisions may involve business responding to the economics of the market by efficiently and effectively using resources. The greatest impact of business on society comes form ‘normal’ operations, which therefore shows greatest social responsibility.
• Mandated actions: Government mandates or negotiated agreements (regulatory requirements and guidelines, contracts/agreements with stakeholders). Managerial decisions may reflect business responses to government-mandated requirements and/or pressure group stakeholders (e.g., unions)
• Voluntary actions: Managerial decisions ...