The Government is proposing a substantial increase in the role of private sector organisations in education. To what extent do you think that this is an appropriate extension of corporate social responsibility?
The notion of corporate social responsibility must first be addressed within its context, ‘To some it conveys the idea of legal responsibility or liability, to others it means socially responsible behaviour in an ethical sense: to others the meaning transmitted is of ‘responsible for’: many simply take it to mean socially conscious or aware…..a few see it as a sort of fiduciary duty, imposing a higher standard of behaviour on businesses at large…’ (D Votaw, ‘The nature of social responsibility’) As implied, this concept involves businesses and corporations taking an element of social responsibility for their actions within the external environment. Furthermore, ‘corporate social responsibility is a way of gaining some grip on these ethical issues by considering to whom a company is responsible. The central point is that corporate decisions have social implications…’(D Votaw, ‘The nature of social responsibility’) Corporate social responsibility, can further be defined as ‘how companies mange the business processes to produce an overall positive impact on society’, and in this sense ‘social responsibility begins here and now, when we act in ways that help create optimal states in others, from those we encounter casually to those we love and care about most deeply….‘nourish your social connections…’’ (Whitman)(Pg318, Social intelligence: the new science of human relationships, Daniel Goleman) This reinforces the integral notion of social responsibility, highlighting that we are not only responsible for ourselves and our own networks, but f ...