Work Ethics Handout 2024-25 Sem 1 PDF

3 SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY Outcomes Covered: Function in a moral and ethical manner in his/her life Learning Objectives: This chapter will help the student to understand the importance of social responsibility and its different aspects. The student will be able to understand these concepts and woul...

3 SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY Outcomes Covered: Function in a moral and ethical manner in his/her life Learning Objectives: This chapter will help the student to understand the importance of social responsibility and its different aspects. The student will be able to understand these concepts and would understand its practical application in the real world. Topics COVERED : 1. Introduction to Social Responsibility 2. Individual Social Responsibility (ISR) 3. Responsibilities as Individuals and Citizens 4. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) 5. Difference between ISR & CSR 6. Class Activities 75  SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY The MEANING OF SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (‫)مسؤولية اجتماعية‬: Social responsibility is an ethical theory, in which individuals are accountable for fulfilling their civic duty ( ‫واجب‬ ‫ ;)مدني‬the actions of an individual must benefit the whole of society. In this way, there must be a balance between economic growth (‫ )النمو االقتصادي‬and the welfare of society and the environment. If this balance is maintained, then social responsibility is accomplished. Social Responsibility can be seen as Individual Social Responsibility (ISR) and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). INDIVIDUAL SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (ISR): Individual Social Responsibility (ISR) is about an individual becoming responsible in his/her actions that have an effect on communities outside his/her immediate circle. The immediate circle being family and friends and the outside circle includes neighbours, related organizations and various aspects of the society. There can be an argument about also including family and friends, but it would be rather pertinent to include them as part of Individual Personal Responsibility. Thus, every individual has a responsibility to act in a manner that is beneficial to society and solely to the individual. As a member of a community, we should understand the village, the small town or the residential complex in the big city, where lives every one of us. In this way, every one of us understands the problems of a community and could take part to overcome such problems in different ways. 76  Examples: (1) Being an individual we can take part in the cleaning of the street on which he lives. (2) We can take part to organize some events connected with the history of the town or the village or by rendering social services to children without parents or elderly people. (3) The individual social responsibility could also be expressed in making donations for significant for the society causes – social, cultural or ecological. There are many ways of donating, for example donating of goods or donating money through a bank account or online". 3.2.1.1 Classification of Individual Social Responsibility: Individual responsibility can be classified into 4 broad categories which include:  Economic responsibility: This involves responsibility towards the problems of the economy in terms of income inequality, unemployment, prices of goods & services etc.  Social responsibility: This involves responsibility in dealing with the problems of society like old-age pensions, discrimination, nepotism, divorce problems etc.  Civic responsibility: This involves responsibility in promoting community activities, voting rights, respecting and following laws, use of community resources etc.  Environmental responsibility: This involves responsibility towards preserving and protecting the environment from any harm or damage. 3.2.1.2 ISR and Philanthropy (‫)اإلحسان‬ Is ISR only about philanthropy (‫ ?)اإلحسان‬ISR is not restricted to act of charity only but it should go beyond the philanthropy. Being an individual we should also stand as a campaigner (‫)حملة‬, volunteer (‫ ) تطوع‬and activist (‫ ) ناشط‬to supports issues affecting the society. 77  CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (CSR): Corporate responsibility refers to fulfilling the responsibility or the obligation that a company has toward its stakeholders (Stakeholders – Employees, Customers, Suppliers, Community, and Environment etc.). CSR is all about how companies manage the business processes to generate profits to itself and produce an overall positive impact on the society from where it obtains all the resources – human, financial, material and others. CSR is concerned with public interest or societal wellbeing. “Corporate social responsibility is a commitment to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of our workforce and their families as well as the local community at large”. We can also say, “It is a concept whereby organizations take responsibility for their impact on society and the environment”. Example: The Zubair Corporation established a number of educational facilities, including the Fire and Safety Engineering College and Bait Al Zubair Foundation and Museum. The latter regularly holds art exhibitions from which the proceeds are donated to non- government organization and charities such as Dar Al Atta's. Special emphasis is also put on the Omani youth. Yearly, scholarships in a range of fields are awarded to students that demonstrate potential and a drive to succeed. Recipients are not only given assistance in selecting suitable universities and covering their expenses, but they are also offered jobs within The Corporation after completing their education. Furthermore, the Zubair Small Enterprises Centre (Zubair SEC) is one of the initiatives which emanated from The Zubair Corporation’s CSR strategic vision towards the Omani society. The vision reflects the corporation’s belief in the importance of small enterprises (SMEs) in enhancing the national economy and contributing to sustainable socio-economic development. Established in 2013, Zubair SEC is envisioned to be more than an incubator and accelerator for small businesses. 78  3.3.1.1 Classification of Corporate Social Responsibility 1. Responsibility towards self: - Every corporate’s primary duty is towards increasing its organizational efficiency, attain growth, expansion, stability and thus earn profits. 2. Responsibility towards employees: -Employees are an integral part of any organization. The responsibilities of an organization towards its employees are providing a hygienic environment, fair and impartial treatment to all its employees, timely payment, health care, career enhancement. 3. Responsibility towards shareholders: - safeguarding the shareholders’ investment and providing a reasonable return on their investment is the responsibility of every organization. 4. Responsibility towards customers: - this responsibility should be fulfilled by maintaining high-quality standards at reasonable prices; it should not resort to malpractices such as hoarding and black-marketing. 5. Responsibility towards State: - the state is entitled to certain share out of the profits the company makes in the form of income tax. Utmost transparency has to be maintained in accounting statements. 6. Responsibility towards the environment: - it is the responsibility of the organization to contribute to the protection of the environment, produce environment-friendly products, taking care of industrial waste management, etc., 79  3.3.1.2 ISR vis-à-vis CSR: 1. ISR is at the roots of CSR because a corporate / organizations are run by individuals and hence determines the social responsibility culture it follows. 2. As CSR is being increasingly viewed as a tool to make organizations socially responsible so a greater need for ISR is expected. 3. If ISR becomes a way of life CSR may be an automatic end result. SOCIAL MEDIA RESPONSIBILITY Social media is online content created by people using highly scalable and accessible publishing technologies. It’s a shift in how people discover, read and share news, information and content. It transforms monologues (one to many) into dialogues (many to many) and transforming people from content readers into publishers. Social media allows people to connect in the online world to form relationships for personal, political, and business use. Ethics In Social Media Unlike any other human activity, Social media platforms users have freedom and unlimited access to the virtual space to communicate with anyone. However, the lack of public awareness related to ethics in social media will prompt some social problems. Mostly the users are blinded by the fraudulent news and activities on social media. Here are some important things related to ethics in using social media especially in communication, sharing information, privacy and using other’s work. As a consequence, the unethical use of social media has caused the violation of individual privacy and impacts both physical and information security. 80  Social Media Ethics and Etiquette:  In social media, the right ethic equals the right perception and the right thinking on 1. how to influence social media appropriately and 2. how to engage people in the right manner.  Etiquette is a code of behaviour within the context of our society  In social media, the right etiquette equals acting the right way  It is very important to remember that whenever you connect with a social media network, you are joining a community 1. appropriate time 2. respect and kindness. The three main principles of social media ethics and etiquette are:  Authenticity: people will respond positively if you are sincere.  Transparency: having hidden agendas will only count against you.  Communication: getting to know people as people and letting them get to know you. Social Media Addiction The imbalance between Technology and life such as the use of social media platforms is likely to cause many problems. the overuse of Social media is called behavioural Addiction which can cause many psychological issues; that is characterized as being excessively concerned about social media, driven by an overwhelming desire to use social media, and giving so much time and effort to social media that it harms other important life areas. The constant engagement in social media leads to multiple interpersonal problems eventually, such as ignoring real-life relationships, work or school responsibilities, and physical health, creating face images that may in the end to worsening the individual’s undesirable moods. A study by California State University found that “individuals who visited any social media site at least 58 times per week were 3 times more likely to feel social loneliness and depression compared to those who used social media fewer than 9 times per week.” This effect individuals perception of themselves and how they want people to see them 81 or think of them. A study suggests that “Social media allows users the ability to manage their presence to their audience. Individuals normally choose to exhibit an ideal self- image on social media.” The researchers noticed that people choose to share things that are self-enriching with their virtual friends on social media. However, they seem to self-authentication (such as admitting weaknesses or embarrassing information) primarily when considering close friends as the primary audience. Discussion exercise: o Why do you use social media? o How do you use social media? o What are the ethics and values you follow when using social media? CLASS ACTIVITY: Activity 1:  Divide the class into groups of four or five individuals.  Let them identify a company of their choice local or foreign company.  Ask the students to find all the information related to CSR Practices undertaken by such company.  Ask them to classify such activities into - economic; - social; and - environmental responsibility.  Invite the groups to share their ideas with the rest of the class.  Initiate a class discussion. Encourage the students to talk about why organizations might choose to introduce CSR strategies.  Invite them to pose questions about how CSR affects various stakeholders like employees, customers, society, government etc.  Ask the students to then submit a report on their activity which includes the following: a brief outline of the organization; a description of how the organization is socially responsible; and an outline that explains in what was being socially responsible benefits:  the company or organization; 82