Social Responsibility in Corporations
By:
Matthew Saunders
OL 326
Introduction
About six years ago I was working for a company that manufactured circuit boards. I operated a multi-station drill on the second shift and I was lucky enough to be in the section of the facility that was clean, not in the sections working in the chemical processes. My brother worked first shift in the building next door as a graphic designer. I got a call from him one day at about 2:00pm or so, and he informed me that, “I might want to call work to see if I was working that night.” I said that, “of course I am working tonight, I always work on Wednesday.” He replied that, “maybe the FBI and EPA agents next door had something else to say about that.” So, a long story short, I did not have to work that night because our company had been raided by the EPA and FBI for dumping chemicals illegally. There were a couple of days off and the corporation got hit with a hefty fine. They paid the fine and even cleaned up their act, but the problem is that they did nothing else. So what about the damage they had done to the environment and the fact that the surrounding society was deceived. In their eyes the penalty had been paid and that was that. This is the perfect example of a complete lack of corporate social responsibility. In the opinion of the company, they did not really owe the society anything other than an apology. This, in fact, is the worst attitude a corporation can possibly take. In this day and age it is imperative to recognize and act on the responsibility to society. A failure to do so can, and in most instances, will lead to the suffering or ...