Kinds of Social Responsibility

The social responsibility of a business can be broadly divided into four categories:

• (a) Economic responsibility: A business enterprise is basically an economic entity, so its primary social responsibility is economic — to produce the goods and services that society wants and sell them at a profit. There is little discretion in performing this responsibility; it is the core of what a business does.
• (b) Legal responsibility: Every business must operate within the laws of the land. Because these laws are made for the good of society, a law-abiding enterprise is, by that fact, also a socially responsible enterprise.
• (c) Ethical responsibility: This covers the behaviour that society expects of a firm even though it is not codified in law — for example, respecting people's religious sentiments and dignity while advertising a product. There is an element of voluntary action in fulfilling this responsibility. …