Text 9. Thirty or so years ago, discussions
of social responsibility were of three types. Firstly, there were a lot of
talks about how business people should behave in their work. Should they have
the same ethical standards, principles, as they had in the private life?
Secondly, people discussed the social responsibility of business towards its
employees. They were interested in how organization could improve the working
conditions of their employees. And finally, social responsibility included the
idea that business people should contribute to cultural activities like music
festivals and art exhibitions. These days, there is a new approach to social
responsibility. Many people say that a business should try to meet the needs
and interests of society. It has an obligation to help solve the problems of
society. People expect business to show social responsibility in all kinds of
ways. For example, to provide safer products; to protect and respect the
environment; to hire more people from minority groups; to offer work
opportunities to unemployed young people, etc. The list is endless. The new
concept of social responsibility means that businesses and business people must
deal honestly with their employees, and with the outside world. There is no doubt
that these make organizations profitable.