Being Socially Responsible Is

Being socially responsible is the other way of saying that we are aware of the notions that come with it, that is, being ethically and economically sensitive not only to the society one lives in but also to the ecosystem at large (Planken, 2013). From my understanding so far, social responsibility is the duty of every individual give back to the society by doing certain things that are beneficial and sustainable for the long run because, in this facade of a fast-paced and materialistic world, we always tend to forget how even the smallest of our actions can have huge impacts in the future. By adhering to practices which we call “socially responsible” means that we are working towards improving the quality of life of individuals as well as families. In this way, we make certain changes in our lifestyle like saving energy or become more active in volunteering for the common good.

Social responsibility in my understanding is a very broad subject. I think this is the practices or habits we acquire for the greater good of everything around us. Analysations made by Matten and Moon (2004) claim that critics of business schools are not wrong when they suggest that they are not encouraging social responsibility in business schools, which I think is a conflicting conclusion as efforts taken in influencing students is not the same everywhere but I believe that it is indeed very important to increase the awareness in students for the betterment of society. Youth in today’s world is very influential as it is said that the future lies in their hands so it is really important to mould their perspectives in the sense that they work hand in hand for a better tomorrow as Former American president Franklin D. Roosevelt said “We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future” (Roosevelt, 1940). In that context, we can say that the majority population of the flag bearers of tomorrow, lies in schools, colleges or universities. It is really important to educate them about the impacts even smallest of our actions has on the community, society or the ecosystem as a matter of urgency due to the conditions of the present times.

Social Responsibility and its practices are gaining importance among corporations and institutions around the world. Their core ideals must also have social aims, spreading ethical values to increase the well-being of the society in general other than having motives of economic-profit. (Atakan & Eker, 2007). The increased public interest towards societal problems initiated the institutionalisation of many of them such as environmental issues in business and government (Buchholz R, 1993). A study conducted by

Dr. Debbie Haski-Leventhal of Macquarie Graduate School of Management in 2013 shows that there has been an increase in awareness about the issues and institutions like the United Nations in the students doing MBA. Universities in today’s time have become more socially alert and sensitive to the environment and also the local community. They play a big role in spreading awareness by taking initiatives to educate its students about the issues arising from these problems.

I have analysed and followed the work of Lancaster University and have noticed that they have taken a lot of initiatives not just in volunteering for social work but also have a very low carbon emission overall.

References;

Matten, D. and Moon, J. (2004) Corporate Social Responsibility Education in Europe, Journal of Business Ethics, 54: pp. 323–337

http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=15860

https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007%2F978-3-642-28036-8_476

https://www.publicengagement.ac.uk/case-studies/exploring-impacts-volunteering-university-students-london

http://hdl.handle.net/2445/101686

https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007%2Fs10551-006-9274-3.pdf

Buchholz R (1993), Principles of Environmental Management – The greening of business, Prentice-Hall, USA.