Social Responsibility in International Business
Social responsibility (SR) is an ethical premise where an individual or group is expected to act responsibly towards society. In business, social responsibility refers to a company’s obligations to the community with regard to charitable and environmental issues.
The concept and practice of social responsibility differ from one company to another. And since it is a voluntary act, not all companies have social responsibility tools and projects. This is one of the problems hounding most companies nowadays, since their idea of SR varies. A bigger problem is how SR is carried out in international businesses.
With the advent of technology, specifically the Internet, international businesses now conduct transactions and negotiations online. Company executives rarely go to their foreign branches so SR issues will be left entirely to the local people employed in the company. Cultural and language issues can also present problems in trying to establish SR agreements. A company should also take into consideration that SR concepts may vary in the different countries where they have set up their businesses.
In order to address these concerns, companies will need to carry out an SR education or awareness campaign, perhaps with local community leaders, and then implement an SR standard for all company employees and executives. Once a particular standard is set, it will be easier for the companies to come up with environmental and community programs. Company executives can then delegate the task of overseeing these programs to their local counterparts. It will also help if a pre-study is done with regard to the legalities and cultural aspects of social responsibility in that particular country.
Surely, a balanced social responsibility program will benefit not only the surrounding community and its people, but the company as well.
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