In
the past, business manager had only one responsibility:that is to make money
for the owners.That era of ‘economic man’ is ended. Today, the concept of
‘welfare state’ and with it the idea of socialresponsibility has come to stay
in many countries of the world. Frank Abrahms perphaps
best expressed this new philosophy when he said that the job of management is
to conduct the affairs of the enterprise in its charge in such a way as to
maintain an enquitable and workable balance among the claims of
variousinterested groups.
Today’s
manager is not a mere law observer but a solver of society’s problems. It is
argued that managers must consider the impact of their decisions and actions on
society as a whole. They should take steps to protect and improve the welfare
of society. They should manage the quality of life by helping develop solutions
for society’s ills. According to Keith Davis,
the term ‘social responsibility’ refers to both socio-economic and socio-human
obligations to others. It is the obligation of management to engage in
activities that protect and contribute to the welfare of society. H.
R. Bowen has defined social responsibility as
obligations of the manager to pursue
thosepolicies, decisions , or to follow those lines of action which are
desirable in term of objectives and values of our society. Management has very
positive responsibilities to various group such as its stockholders, employees,
customers, suppliers, competitiors, influence groups, the general public and
the government.
