Using the relevant illustrations discuss the contention that socially responsible companies perform better financially than the less socially responsible companies

 Using the relevant illustrations discuss the contention that socially responsible companies perform better financially than the less socially responsible companies

Being socially responsible has become a fundamental requirement for organizations in the contemporary world. There are several ways through which companies can present their stake in being socially responsible; these include championing women’s rights, protecting the environment, or attempting to eradicate poverty, on local, national, or global levels. There are several advantages that organizations derive by being socially responsible these may include the following

Building brand

Participation in corporate social responsibility helps an organization in building its brands as it acts as a marketing strategy. Being socially responsible helps organizations in achieving overall positivity within the industry, developing trust and goodwill. This is evident in Kenya as socially responsible companies like Safaricom ltd and Kenya commercial bank group do have a good corporate image within their industry. Specifically, Safaricom engages in several corporate social responsibilities. One of them is chapa dimba, which is a project that is aimed at empowering youths in exploring their talents.

Attract and retain top talents

Everyone wants to be part of a group that brings a change within their environment. For this reason, all employees want to identify themselves with those organizations that are fighting for changes within the society by being socially responsible. And as a result, socially responsible companies attract and retain top talents that exist within their specific industries.

Participation in corporate social responsibility attracts customers

Studies have established that customers embrace products from socially responsible companies. This increases customers’ loyalty to products from these companies, and in some instances, they can refer their friends. For this reason, customers can be willing to pay premium prices on the company’s product. This is also evident in the Kenyan telecommunication industry in which customers within this industry are willing to pay premium prices for services from Safaricom as compared to the low prices by other companies within the industry

Act as a competitive edge

In any industry, organizations stand out, out of their own uniqueness. Engaging in corporate social responsibility helps organizations in achieving specificity as compared to their competitors within the industry in which they can enjoy trust and loyalty from customers, Thereby achieving the much needed competitive advantage within the industry.

Increases team motivation and productivity

Sponsoring social initiatives and providing time for employees to support their own initiatives builds loyalty, pride, and motivation among team members and disparate organizations within the company. This consequently makes everyone more engaged, productive, and responsive, which eventually translates to high performance.

QUESTION TWO: Discuss the following approaches as relates to ethics outlining the moral principles derived from each

Utilitarian approach

The Utilitarian Approach assesses an action in terms of its consequences or outcomes, thus the net benefits and costs to all stakeholders on an individual level. It strives to achieve the greatest good for the greatest number while creating the least amount of harm or preventing the greatest amount of suffering. It holds that every entity’s interests should be considered equally when making the decision, and this includes those of other species since they also are capable of suffering.

So for any set of options, it would view the most ethical option as the one which produces the best balance of benefits over harm for most stakeholders. Outcomes may be quantified in such terms as contentment and suffering, the relative value of individual preferences, monetary gain or loss, or the short-term and long-term effects of an action.

Deontological approach

Deontology in ethics is often associated with philosopher Immanuel Kant. Kant believed that ethical actions follow universal moral laws, such as “Don’t lie.  Don’t steal.  Don’t cheat.” When faced with an ethical dilemma, deontology requires individuals to follow the rules and do their duty. This approach tends to fit well with our natural intuition about what is or isn’t ethical. Unlike the utilitarian approach, which judges actions by their results, deontology doesn’t require weighing the costs and benefits of a situation. This avoids subjectivity and uncertainty because you only have to follow set rules and perform your duty.

In deontological ethics, an action is considered morally good because of some characteristic of the action itself, not because the product of the action is good. Deontological ethics holds that at least some acts are morally obligatory regardless of their consequences for human welfare. Descriptive of such ethics are such expressions as “Duty for duty’s sake” and “Virtue is its own reward.

Social justice approach

Justice means giving each person what he or she deserves or, in more traditional terms, giving each person his or her due. Justice and fairness are closely related terms that are often today used interchangeably. There have, however, also been more distinct understandings of the two terms. While justice usually has been used with reference to a standard of rightness, fairness often has been used with regard to an ability to judge without reference to one’s feelings or interests; fairness has also been used to refer to the ability to make judgments that are not overly general but that are concrete and specific to a particular case. In any case, a notion of being treated as one deserves is crucial to both justice and fairness. This approach works on a principle that states that Individuals should be treated the same unless they differ in ways that are relevant to the situation in which they are involved