Speaker 1: For many years, corporations were only concerned about making money. That was the ultimate goal. Now, companies are also concerned about society's welfare. Corporate social responsibility is a business's concern for society's welfare. This means that marketing managers are interested in long-term corporate interests and also society's health. A new philosophical trend in social responsibility is called sustainability. It is the thought that if a company helps society through their business as a main goal, then they will reap success. Companies can look to solve society's problems by creating a product or service to fulfill a need and they will profit and help the world. Other examples of products made by companies that embrace this philosophy would be makeup creams made from ingredients that are imported from developing companies to help their country's growth. Another example would be ice cream maker Ben and Jerry's, who pride themselves in supporting charities. Ben and Jerry's has been donating a full 7.5% of pre-tax profits to different charitable institutions. Sustainability's forward thinking revolves around creating new products that in the long run will create improvement over time in society's ills. A current example would be a backpack designed with solar panels to charge electronic devices or 100% biodegradable recycled cardboard coffins. Another way that companies can embrace social responsibility is through a different approach called stakeholder theory. This theory's central focus is that social responsibility is really giving attention to every stakeholder in the entire company, whether it be the employees, customers, owners, suppliers, management, or the community. The following is how each stakeholder would view social responsibility from their company. It is a more widespread approach and far-reaching. Employees want to have a good, secure job and excellent wages, while management wants happy workers and profits. Customers expect excellent customer service and high-quality products, while the community wants a corporation to pay their taxes, offer their citizens good wages, and help support the environment by not polluting. Suppliers want their business to remain plentiful, and owners, of course, want a financial return for an excellent profit. The most common reason against social responsibility is that critics feel the main purpose of a corporation is just to make a profit for their stakeholders. Non-profits should be the only institutions concerned about society, not a for-profit business. Critics state that for most companies to participate in a socially responsible way, they need to spend more of their firm's money, and in the end are costing their shareholders a profit. For example, if a company is going to import ingredients from a developing nation instead of using a well-known source, then the added cost of importing will drive down a company's total profits. Another argument against social responsibility is that companies are around to produce products and services, and do not have the knowledge to actually help society effectively. Lastly, the added expense of social responsibility could make an American company less competitive globally, and in the end be run out of business. If a company is giving money away, such as Ben & Jerry's, then the lesser profits could hurt their expansion, or even make them lose out to a company that does not donate profits. There are many strong arguments for companies adopting a social responsibility philosophy. The most basic argument is that it's just the right thing for companies to do. Companies should care about society and help improve it for all of their stakeholders. Many of society's problems, such as pollution, poor wages, and damaged cities have occurred because of companies, so it's their responsibility to fix them. Another valid reason for social responsibility is that if companies do not police themselves and look to improve society, then government will have to intervene and force them to do so through laws, regulations, and fines. The strongest argument for social responsibility is that it can allow companies to be extremely successful. Many companies have adopted the philosophy and provided amazing products and services, helped better society, and made a very nice profit. Companies such as Ben & Jerry's, The Body Shop, and Starbucks Coffee all found success and social responsibility. The Body Shop worked with Greenpeace and helped gather 4 million signatures against animal testing, while Starbucks supports Ethos Water, which has supplied clean water to over 420,000 people that don't normally have access to it. In the end, if companies do not consider being socially responsible, further environmental damage will occur, and then there will be fewer healthy resources for future company

Speaker 2: success.

Speaker 1: It's not all about just making money. Corporate social responsibility is a business's concern for society's welfare. This means that marketing managers are interested in long-term corporate interests and also society's health. There are two main ideas within social responsibility, and they are sustainability and stakeholder theory. Sustainability is more concerned with developing a product or service to help solve a need that will benefit society and incur profits. Stakeholder theory is more about taking care of all the different stakeholders and expecting that this will bring about social responsibility. There are many arguments for and against a company adopting social responsibility, but in the end, the simple fact is that the health of society will reflect upon the health of a company's future.

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