Corporations Responsibility to Society

Corporations Responsibility to Society

Tristan Skelton

Maryville College

For several decades corporations have had increasingly strict guidelines in order to

maintain a certain status in society. They have rules that keep them at a steady balance, but there

are some unspoken rules that need to be followed so that the corporation can be successful. In the

text Friedman quotes, “There is one and only one social responsibility of business to use its

resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits as long as it stays within the

rules of the game.” This statement is accurate but does not explain how this could be problematic

to society. Technically businesses could just do the bare minimum and stay competitive doing so

not having to worry about how the consumer feels. The reason corporations don’t do this is

because over time people would decide to start avoiding these businesses. Consumers have

certain requirements that need to be met in order for them to rely on the products these

corporations are providing. One of the requirements that need to be met are the quality of a

product. If a business treats its products poorly and refuses to keep them in top shape then why

would someone want to purchase these products.

Corporations are responsible for keeping the societies satisfied. Maximizing profits aren’t

the only thing corporations need to worry about. They have to enhance the way things are done

so that the consumers stay happy. Technology is one of the key factors needed in remaining up to

date with standards of society. Not only do they need to keep the consumers satisfied, they also

need to make sure their employees are receiving what they need to make sure they give full
effort in that field of work. They have to be given a good living wage, decent benefits, and hire

from the community. Alongside this corporations also need to cut down on how much pollution

they create and pay their fair share of taxes back towards the community.

Throughout the years corporations have had more and more responsibility to society. In

the opinion piece it states, “Conforming within acceptable legal limits may keep them out of

court, but companies know well that holding themselves accountable to a higher standard will

keep them good stead with their customers, shareholders, employees, suppliers, regulators, and

communities.” This shows that corporations have much more responsibility to society than they

would necessarily have to. All businesses have to adapt and be willing to change their overall

behavior if they wish to survive. By doing this they give themselves a much better opportunity to

maximize their profits. Regulators have to insure that they keep everything in check. As it states

in the piece, “Having robust systems in place that ensure a margin of safety also result in less

costly enforcement actions.” Less enforcement actions provide a safe net which allows

corporations to be way more lenient towards their faculty and staff. This in turn lets businesses

be much more creative in several different ways.

In conclusion, corporations not only have a responsibility to society, but it benefits them

to keep on good terms with society. The more they cater towards society the better off they tend

to be long term. For these corporations it is almost mandatory to sit within the balance of society

and making a profit, because leaning towards just one of these will almost inevitably lead to the

fall of a corporation.