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Adam Smith's analysis and critiques
Adam Smith and his main contributions to economics
Adam Smith's analysis and critiques
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Milton Friedman, who was a prominent economist, wrote a thought-provoking article in the New York Times Magazine in 1970 on the subject: social responsibility and ethics in strategic management. The one end of the economic policy spectrum, Adam Smith, influences Freidman. Smith embraces the knowledge that consumer and producer control the stability of the economy. This is based on free market equilibrium. Freidman most renowned quote is “There is one and only one social responsibility of business-to increase its profits.” The above quote clearly state his opinion on the concept of social responsibility. Freidman argues against the concept of social responsibility and his reasoning’s of corporations having one responsibility that is to make money, which has made him quite legendary. …show more content…
For example, that he …social objective of reducing poverty”. Thus, according to Freidman, profit maximization is the sole responsibility of a firm and spending shareholder money for the social interest is not ideal. This statement is less compelling to me as I believe social responsibility means: the right quality of life is given and human rights is not sacrificed or compromised in order to attain your opportunities or demands. Freidman illustrates that he is against social responsibility by stating: “there is one and only one social responsibility of business–to use it resources… without deception or fraud." Due to these reasons, I do not agree with Friedman arguments, because he believes that social interest can harm the organization’s productivity; whereas, I disagree and highly believe there are many benefits in taking lead in social interest and
In a modern society where there are little responsibilities other than growing up, learning to support your family and future generations there does not seem to be anything that can be more important than that. Octavia Butler seems to dig deeper than just supporting the future generations. Butler demonstrates this with her novel Parable of the Sower, where the main character Lauren, a young woman with hyper-empathy, is growing up in a dystopian Los Angeles where society is in chaos. In the novel, I believe that Butler is emphasizing the importance of having both social and personal responsibility and that you cannot have one without the other.
Berle, in 1931, published his belief that corporations were drivers for advancing and protecting shareholder's interests. Therefore, he argued that corporate law should be interpreted in the same light. A year later, and again in 1935, Dodd argued that corporate leaders actually entrusted managers to consider social responsibility when making business decisions. He explained that "social responsibility" meant that corporate managers acknowledged and respected the needs of their customers and employees and that by invest...
“There is only one and only one social responsibility of business- to use its resources and engage in activities designated to increase its profits so long as it decides to stays within the rules of the game, which is to say, engages in open and free competition without deception or fraud.”
To understand this issue from both sides, it is also important to gain a perspective from the corporate finance world. Understanding that the goal of a corporation is to maximize the profits of its shareholders, H.B. Fuller really did not have a social obligation. If, howe...
Ciulla, J. B., Martin, C. W., & Solomon, R. C. (2007). Is "The Social Responsibility of Business... to Increase Its Profits"? Social Responsibility and Stakeholder Theory. Honest work: a business ethics reader (pp. 217-253). New York: Oxford University Press.
First thing let us start with a little overview of what Milton Friedman exposed in his article. It seems that the whole point of his essay revolves around one basic statement which clearly says that the only social responsibility of business is to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits so long it stays within the rules of the game (Milton Friedman, the social responsibility of business is to increase profit).
The problem is to find a form of association … in which each, while uniting
Social responsibility allows for the market system to be centrally controlled by forcing shareholders to unwillingly contribute to social responsibility. While this idea of social responsibility may help companies in the short run, it will ultimately hurt them in the long run. Each person has their own values and responsibilities and “society is a collection of individuals and of the various groups they voluntarily form” (55). Businesses, as Friedman understands, are separate from this society since individuals are the only ones who can hold values and responsibilities. Subsequently, businesses are freed of the need to embed social responsibility into their practices and should focus only on creating the largest profit possible for their shareholders
Friedman, M. (1970). The Social Responsibility of Business is to make Profit. New York Times
The article “The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase its Profits” is written by a famous economist Milton Friedman. Friedman in this article implies that shareholders are the main drivers of the corporations and he believes that it is to them corporations must be socially responsible to. The goal of any corporation is to maximize profits and return the portion of these profits to shareholders for investing in the corporation. The shareholders can themselves decide which social causes to take part in rather than assigning a corporate executive to decide on their behalf. Friedman argues that a corporation must have no social responsibility to society because its only concern is the increase profits for itself and its shareholders.
Weber believes each society is different and comes up with ideal typical constructs to explain a certain society. His starting point for his theory is meaningful social action. Weber believes that humans are naturally valuing beings who carry certain values and interpret natural and social factors based on their values. Humans are conscious creatures who attach meaning towards an act which is directed towards another individual. Weber is concerned with social action, its subjective meaning and the unintended consequences of the actions. According to Weber, structure is a result of action which in return affects the individuals who are responsible for setting up the structure.
The first discussion question posed was, “How does Dr. Friedman characterize discussions on the “social responsibilities of business”? Why (Jennings, 2009, p. 79)? Friedman (1970) characterized the discussions on social responsibilities as one hundred percent unadulterated socialism. Friedman (1970) characterized these discussions in that manner because he felt that a corporate executive should focus solely on making profits and not on social aspects. He mentioned how people who conduct and express themselves in this fashion are positively reinforcing and supporting the actions of individuals that have been weakening the foundational blocks of free society. Friedman (1970) posed a question which was the crux of his 1970 article “The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase its Profits” where he investigated the true contextual meaning of what responsibilities mean to businesses. Friedman describes how businesses cann...
From elementary to high school and even college students are compelled to attend school all around the world. In schools students not only learn general education but learn a lot about themselves. It is said that in the first twenty years of an individual’s life are the years that the individual finds out who they really are. An individual’s moral beliefs are one of the most personal and complex pieces of that individual. There are several great moral theories that could be taught in school, but to only choose one is very difficult. Some of the most known moral theories are Utilitarianism, Virtue Ethics, Kantianism and even Social Contract Theory. All of these theories were developed by some of the most incredible philosophers of all time.
When the problem became serious two main views formed: the “narrow” view and the “broader” view, based on different ideas. The “narrow” view is based on the proposition that corporations have no social responsibility and they have only one main purpose, to make a profit (Friedman, 1970). So corporations should remain socially independent and all conflicts must be solved through the individual responsibility concept. On the contrary the “broader” view states that corporations have social obligations as all existing participants of market, persons and entities are tied together and are mutually dependent. So corporations cannot ignore some serious events or problems, which take place, and must help society, as profit is not their single purpose.
The different qualities and personalities each individual on earth expresses represents how diverse the planet is which is an indication of how creatures have evolved overtime. Amongst these individuals there are mean-spirited folks or nice-spirited folks, there may even be people who are both depending on the day. When describing The nice-spirited persons the qualities often implicate the term generous. What is generosity? Why are people generous? The further we comprehend this word, the better we are able to judge on it, and answer the proposed questions.