Lecture #8

Social Responsibility

In Class Assignment #4

Name 5 current campaigns in fashion that represent social responsibility?

Why do Fashion Public Relations Professionals Need to

Understand Social Responsibility?

What is Social Responsibility?

Social Responsibility- The notion that, in addition to their business interests, individuals and organizations have certain obligations to protect and benefit other individuals and society and to avoid actions that could harm them.

Social Responsibility

Is directly linked to ethics; considered corporate ethics.

Society demands that organizations play an active role in solving society’s problems.

Organizations must nourish cultures and promote ethical behavior.

Social Responsibility

Being socially responsible does not mean making everyone happy.

For example, an organization may choose to make a charitable contribution rather than increasing dividends to stockholders.

Social Responsibility

Corporations are often short sighted paying attention to only its mission, products, and competition.

Overtime, ignoring the needs of others actually causes us to ignore our own needs. We may need neighborhood help to open new stores We need well funded institutions to train technical skilled

employees We need health care to lower absenteeism in our organization

However large or small our organization is we cannot keep our business separate from the societies in which we operate.

Ethics in Business

Business Ethics has become an oxymoron because of today’s disgrace of CEOs Enron Executives charged with massive

accounting fraud The accounting firm Arthur Anderson was

wiped out because of its aid of the Enron scandal

WorldCom, Global Crossing, and Qwest Communications executives were accused of massive accounting fraud as well

Ethics in Business

Martha Stewart Charged with insider trading

Kathie Lee Gifford- sweatshops and child labor laws in the factories that manufactured her clothing

Nike- Sweatshops American Apparel- Selling Sex/Plus Size

model hunt Target- Missoni Collection

Ethics in Business

According to a 2007 survey conducted by Junior Achievement and DeLoitte, 41% of teenagers believed they must act unethically in order for them to get ahead.

In 2007, organizations began devoting large amounts of time and attention to corporate ethics .

Corporate Codes of Conduct

Many organizations have corporate codes of conduct, which help guide decisions

The purpose of codes of conduct: To increase public confidence- public trust and confidence

in business. To stem the tide of regulation- government regulation of

business has increased. To improve internal operations- standards of conduct to

ensure that employees were meeting the business objectives of the organization in a legal and ethical manner.

To respond to transgressions- when a company itself is caught in the web of unethical behavior, it responds with its own code of ethics/conduct.

Corporate Codes of Conduct Continued

Just as individuals have certain responsibilities as a citizen, so do corporate citizens in the operations to the society they are privileged to operate

Corporate Social Responsibility

Corporate social responsibility (CSR)- is about how the organization manages the business processes to produce an overall positive impact on society.

Social responsibility touches nearly every level of organizational activity: marketing, hiring, training, hiring and work standards.

Responsibility to Stakeholders

Stakeholder: anyone who have interest in or are affected by how an organization conducts itself. Owners, stockholders, employees,

customers, suppliers, communities.

Corporate Social Responsibility Needs to be Considered in:

Product Lines- dangerous products, performance and standards, packaging, and environmental impact.

Marketing Practices- sales practices, consumer complaint policies, advertising content, fair pricing.

Environmental Activities- pollution-control, climate change projects, federal standards, evaluations procedures for new products and packages.

Corporate Social Responsibility Needs to be Considered in:

Corporate Philanthropy- contribution performance, encouragement of employee participation in social projects, community development projects

External Relations- support of minority enterprises, investment practices, and government relations

Hiring Policies- employment diversity in retaining and promoting minorities and women, advancement policies

Employee Safety and Health- work environment policies, accident safeguards, and food and medical facilities

Responsibility to Owners and Stockholders

An organization and its employees owe their best efforts to its owners.

Assets must be used effectively and efficiently.

Employees must do their best to maximize the return on invested capital and create a profit.

Owners and employers must have the right to expect ethical, moral, and legal conduct from their employees.

Responsibility to Employees

Employees should enjoy equal access to the rights, responsibilities, and privileges given to employers.

Employees need to receive fair and equitable compensation.

Be dismissed only for a just cause. Be treated without discrimination. Have a quality of work life that provides

satisfying jobs.

Responsibility to Customers

Organizations owe fair and honest representations of their products to their customers.

Should include quality of design, manufacture, distributions and sales.

Organizations must warn customers of any hazards with their products that they may encounter.

Responsibility to Suppliers

Should build relationships on mutual trust.

Suppliers deserve to receive notification in time to render quality service and suppliers.

They have the right to be treated according to the terms of their legal agreements.

Mutual trust can make a 20-40 percent difference on service, quality, cost and other items.

Responsibility to Communities

Communities have the right to quality of life.

Quality of life can mean: air, land, and water quality.

We have to look at how products and packages may harm the environment.

Responsibility to Communities

Within the last decade there has been a boom in “green” businesses and products, and even green services.

Green products- are those that minimize energy consumption and pollution by products connected with their manufacture and disposal.

Not only is this becoming a huge trend in retail and fashion, but as a multibillion dollar industry there are laws that are cracking down on pollution and natural resources.

Government Regulations

The laws that are now put into place are there because of these abuses.

Although the laws are in place, most governments do not have enough money or people to adequately enforce regulations.

These abuses can be brought to the attention of those who can doing something about it by a practice called whistle-blowing.

Employees who bring these abuses to the surface are called whistle-blowers.

There are roughly 20 federal laws and 40 state laws that protect whistleblowers.

Sustainable Communities

Many organizations are now investing the resources into creating sustainable work communities.

Sustainable Communities: are healthy. Livable communities effectively using resources- economic, social, and environmental to meet the needs of today’s communities while ensuring that resources are available to meet the community’s future needs.

All of NIKE’s headquarters are sustainable. Can be expensive to make, but costs can be lower

in the long-run.

Management’s Social Responsibility

All social responsibility must be supported by top-management, or else others in the organization cannot be expected to be socially responsible.

Executives in top management must commit the time and money necessary to make their organization socially responsible Commitment and Support Integrate environmental issues into their policies Awareness and training for employees Strong auditing programs

Corporate Viewpoint

Most organizations realize that social responsibility must be a corporate lifestyle.

Not all organizations participate in it.

Organizations must be responsible for acting ethically, improving the quality of life of their workforces, their families, and broader society.

Corporate Viewpoint

Organizations that are truly committed to meeting its social responsibilities, their commitments reflect their management decisions. It also monitors its efforts to ensure compliance.

Social Audit

To make sure that an organization is compliant with its social responsibility initiatives they may complete a social audit.

Social Audit: is a report on the social performance of a business or organization.

Management should cite and reward people who contribute to successes.

How Can We Determine If Our Plans Are Socially Responsible?

When in doubt, don’t!

Do not try to find out “How far is too far.”

Superiors who push you to do things better, faster, cheaper will turn on you when you, cross the line between right and wrong

Approaches to Social Responsibility

Resistance Approach- actively fight to eliminate , delay, or fend off demands being made.

Reactive Approach- a strategy in which businesses wait the for the demands to be made and then react to them, choosing to react to them by evaluating alternatives.

Approaches to Social Responsibility

Proactive Approach- a strategy in which businesses continually look to the needs of constituents and try to find ways to meet those needs.

This should be the approach most widely used, organizations should actively look for ways to include social responsibility into their policies, as well as, ways to better products, services, communities, employees, and stakeholders.

Final Thoughts

Social Responsibility must be developed and committed to by top-management.

Social Responsibility can put a competitive advantage on your organization.

Social Responsibility within itself is an act of ethics.

Organizations should proactively look for ways to enhance social responsibility.

Social Responsibility initiatives must consider all stakeholders.

References

Plunkett, W.R., Attner, R.F., Allen, G.S. (2008). Management: Meeting and Exceeding Customer Expectations. (9th ed.). South-Western: United States.

Seitel, F.P. (2011). The Practice of Public Relations. Prentice Hall: Boston.