What are Benefit Corporations?

Because corporations are established to profit and shareholders invest money with expectations of a greater return, managers cannot be given a directive to be “socially responsible” without providing specific criteria of checks and balances to which needs to adhere. Therefore, it is imperative to the success of a corporation for managers to not act solely but rather to act within the policies of the shareholders.

or so many years our society has been thinking of forming new creative and innovative businesses, which would be more environmental and customer friendly. Nowadays a large number of different companies follow the social, ethical, as well as moral consequences when it comes to their decision making. One of the relatively new concepts involving economic and social concerns is Corporate Social Responsibility. Many of us apply this approach not only at work, but also in everyday life without even recognizing.

There are conflicting expectations of the nature of a company’s responsibilities to society. However, those companies that undertake what may be termed ‘Corporate Social Responsibility’ must decide; what are the actual social responsibilities of these companies? I will present a possible paradigm. Also, I will look at the benefit to the business that employs proper management as compared the business with poor management. This research paper describes my view of corporate social responsibility and compares the social responsibilities of Delta Air Lines and Spirit

Company Q is a corporation whose stakeholders have not placed a major emphasis on social responsibility, instead it appears that the primary focus is placed on profit. With their profits on the decline, they are shying away from opportunities to help their community. By placing a higher priority on social responsibility Company Q will have the opportunity to help the community through charitable donations, employee volunteer initiatives, and creating quality jobs for the persons who live in the community. At the same time, Company Q will can also improve their public image and potentially increase profit.

Many believe that business entities should have an ethical duty to be socially responsible, to work towards increasing its positive effects on society while decreasing its negative effects. Many organizations look for opportunities to be socially responsible while also creating shareholder wealth.

1. (TCO A). You are a healthcare consultant hired by the Midwest Healthcare System to assist them in developing their organization's strategic plan that will shape the development of a comprehensive network of services for their community.

In business, Anne Lawrence and James Weber (2014) identify enlightened self-interest as a corporation’s recognition that using corporate resource to serve others, including customers, employees, and the community as a whole, is in the best interest of the company. This social responsibility enhances the company’s image within the community, which increases both customer loyalty and satisfaction of employees. Some of the ways that businesses serve others is through philanthropy and backing environmental sustainability. Within his lecture on ethics and corporate responsibility, Dr. Kahlib Fischer (n.d.) encourages the importance of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in that it provides mutual benefit to both the organization and the community.

When an organization partakes in “proactive behavior…for the benefit of society,” it is deemed as socially responsible (P. 155). However, prior to labeling a organization as socially responsible, it is important that we first identify what specific elements of proactive behavior constitute a socially responsible business. To begin, for an organization to be considered socially responsible on the highest level, it must take a proactive approach to doing business. This is defined as “[taking a] approach to social responsibility in which an organization goes beyond industry norms to solve and prevent problems” (P.155). In addition, it is standard for a socially responsible organization to incorporate a larger scope of stakeholders, to include external stakeholders, in their business decisions to create positive externalities, and mitigate negative ones, to benefit society as a whole.

The expectation that businesses behave responsibly and positively contribute to society all while pursuing their economic goals is one that holds firm through all generations. Stakeholders, both market and nonmarket, expect businesses to be socially responsible. Many companies have responded to this by including this growing expectation as part of their overall business operations. There are companies in existence today whose sole purpose is to socially benefit society alongside businesses who simply combine social benefits with their economic goals as their company mission. These changes in societal expectations and thus company purpose we’ve seen in the business community over time often blurs the line of what it means to be socially

With employees placed at the top of stakeholder groups, it’s apparent that the hypothesis for high profitability is a direct influence from positive corporate social responsibility. The boards of directors have to take the initiative to showcase positive corporate social responsibility in order to generate these results.

The success of a company will depend on the principles of moral and ethical behaviors in society. Social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit are making it more difficult for companies to get away with unethical behavior. In the future companies that will remain profitable have to look at putting profit on equal levels with people and social responsibility. Benefit Corporation (B Corporation) is a corporate form designed specifically for that kind of entities. It encourages innovative ways to bring humanity back into business and redefine what it means to be successful (Lam,

It is often said that a structure is only as strong as its foundation. This same principle can be applied to a business. In this case, the foundation is the stakeholders and the company’s corporate social responsibility strategies, both of which play a crucial role in the long-term success (or strength) of the company. Bombardier is a Canadian aerospace and transportation company which was founded in 1942 in Valcourt, Quebec as a snowmobile company. As its success grew, Bombardier expanded into one of the world’s leading transportation manufacturers; a multinational company, and evidently a highly successful one. The focus of this report, however, will not be on the overall success of the company, but on the company’s disposition

UnitedHealth Group is a diversified health care company, and a worldwide leader in helping people live healthier lives and taking the necessary steps in making the health system work better for everyone. The UnitedHealth group serves more than 85 million individuals worldwide with health benefits and services. In 2012, they produced revenues of $110.6 billion and were ranked number 17 in the Fortune 500. The economic and political segments would rank the highest in influencing the UnitedHealth Group.

The social implications of business lie in the foundation of a business and the men who built that foundation. The consideration of a benefit corporation, while it looks good on paper, could still then negate the social justice obligations belonging to the owners/founders/executives of whichever company presents those beliefs – while a benefit corporation may implore that the shareholders are held to a social mission for the sake of the company, that does not defend against corrupt shareholders who are willing to manipulate the situation in general. Changing the type and means of business will not change the negativity with the business and legal world, yet placing safeguards in to protect not only the business but also the social beliefs reinforces

Corporate social responsibility has been one the key business buzz words of the 21st century. Consumers' discontent with the corporation has forced it to try and rectify its negative image by associating its name with good deeds. Social responsibility has become one of the corporation's most pressing issues, each company striving to outdo the next with its philanthropic image. People feel that the corporation has done great harm to both the environment and to society and that with all of its wealth and power, it should be leading the fight to save the Earth, to combat poverty and illness and etc. "Corporations are now expected to deliver the good, not just the goods; to pursue