Are Entrepreneurs Responsible for Taiwan’s Society? (Final paper)

Abstract

This paper explores the corporate social responsibility (CSR) for Taiwan’s society. Carroll and Buchholtz (2006) categorized CSR into economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropic responsibilities. The relationship between the entrepreneurs and the general public is associated with this four-level responsibility. Besides, the general public is divided into investors, employees, and consumers in order to examine the problems in the society completely. The function of consumer movement, consumer loyalty, and public reputation on the business is described as the benefits of CSR to the entrepreneurs. The examples of daily life are provided to prove the great influence of CSR and express why the entrepreneurs need to have CSR. Furthermore, the ideas of community involvement and social relation are mentioned to manifest the importance of CSR. In consequence, the financial returns and the charitable contributions are the requisite elements leading to the business success. After being successful on the business, the entrepreneur should think about giving back to the society. The progress of the society encourages the growth of the business.

        Keyword: corporate social responsibility

Are Entrepreneurs Responsible for Taiwan’s Society?

Taiwan’s society, in which the people work under the capitalism, is built by many entrepreneurs with their spirits of adventure and the efforts. The growth of the economy is propelled by the entrepreneurs, who create many chances of the works. They make the profit for themselves as well as give hope to the society. Under the system of the market-oriented economy, the entrepreneurs’ investments and strategic decisions influence the society a lot. Accordingly, the entrepreneurs have the responsibility for Taiwan’s society, which is called “Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)”.

The following questions are served as the foundation of this paper:

1.      What is CSR?

2.      How does CSR influence the society?

3.      Why do the entrepreneurs have CSR for Taiwan’s society?

The economy of the world is connected by the entrepreneurs’ commercial behaviors. In the present society, the entrepreneurs’ work is not only thinking about how to make money, but also how to devote themselves to the society. Therefore, the general public is one of the important elements to the entrepreneurs’ business. The entrepreneurs cannot deny the truth that if they want to be successful on the business, they should be accepted by the general public previously.

        Nowadays, the entrepreneurs widely distribute the business over the world. The development of the economy globalizes, and so do the rules of the business. In the recent years, there is a voice promoting CSR around the world, which is gradually blended into the enterprise culture and the realistic operation. Being international is the most important thing for the citizens of the global village, which is the type of the present society. Therefore, the development of the enterprise cannot be restricted in the local area, and the entrepreneurs have to demand themselves to take a broad view on the future. Cultivating the talented people and improving the conditions of the society are the solutions to the problems, which are also the emphases in CSR.

Introduction to CSR

        According to Carroll and Buchholtz’s (2006) definition of CSR,

1.      Economic responsibilities: be profitable and provide safe products at fair prices

2.      Legal responsibilities: obey the law

3.      Ethical responsibilities: Obligation to do what is right, just, and fair

4.      Philanthropic responsibilities: be a good corporate citizen and contribute resources to the community.

Economic responsibilities

Carroll and Buchholtz’s (2006) study of business and society showed that business should be “an economic institution whose orientation is to produce goods and services that society wants and to sell them at fair prices” (p.35). People in the society can be divided into three kinds: investors, employees, and the general public, who are playing the important roles to the economic responsibilities of CSR.

First, investors are closely related to the business, and their major purpose is to gain profit from the successful companies. Therefore, the entrepreneurs’ responsibility to investors is maintaining the regular function of the companies, and making them keep getting the adequate returns on their investments. When investors are not benefited from the business, which they invested heavily in, financial problems will gradually appear in the society. The effect of economy is like dominoes, which associate one with others. That is, if the failure of business causes the collapse of economy, this condition would make the public afraid.

Secondly, employees are like screws, which are requisite in the operation of the companies. The entrepreneurs need employees to work for them, and employees’ living expenses depend on works. The entrepreneurs’ responsibility to employees is giving the steady salary which corresponds with their works. When employees are paid good salary, their lives would be stable. Consequently, they can pursue not only the material comfort but also the spiritual growth, which can make the business and the society progress. Furthermore, they would like to devote themselves to the work.

The last part is about the general public, who influences business activities a lot. The entrepreneurs’ responsibility to the general public is making the products safe and selling them at the fair prices. According to the recent news, there are some vicious businessmen selling counterfeits. For instance, the products are marked “Made in Taiwan,” but they are actually from China. The prices of goods should be equal to quality. Although the entrepreneurs want to make a profit, they cannot deceive the general public and even sacrifice the people’s health and lives.

Legal responsibilities

Carroll and Buchholtz (2006) declared that “Legal responsibilities reflect society’s view of ‘condified ethics’ in the sense that they embody basic notions of fair practices as established by our lawmakers. It is business’s responsibility to society to comply with these laws” (p.35). When entrepreneurs engage in the business, it is necessary for them to maintain the order of the society by obeying the laws. The laws seem to be the regulations for entrepreneurs, but they are the protection for the general public.

For consumers, when they have disputes about products with businessmen, they can seek for the laws to prevent the damage. Recently, more and more people have been used to buy commodities on line, which leads to many problems in the process of deals. The common problem is that proprietors do not provide the system of returning imperfect products. According to the article 19 of Consumer Protection Law, “Consumers of a mail order or door-to-door sale, if unwilling to purchase the goods received by them, may return the goods or notify in writing the business operators to rescind the purchase contract within 7 days upon receipt such goods without stating reasons or paying any expenses or the purchase price” (Laws & Regulations Database of The Republic of China website). If sellers have a complete procedure for protecting consumers’ right, it could not only reduce consumers’ worry about commodities, but also appeal more people to increase the profits.

For employees, especially females, when they encounter the unequal treatment on works, they can ask employers to give proper work environment and adequate salaries with the legal procedure. On the basis of the article 10 of Act of Gender Equality in Employment, “Employers shall not discriminate against employees because of their gender or sexual orientation in the case of paying wages. Employees shall receive equal pay for equal work or equal value” (Laws & Regulations Database of The Republic of China website). If entrepreneurs value talented women’s ability without discrimination, the companies could gain more profits. Besides, another serious problem is basic wages. In the past, there is no law to avoid employers’ oppression on employees. Nowadays, employees’ right is not neglected anymore because they can rely on Labor Standards Act. In the light of the article 21 of this law, “A worker shall be paid such wages as determined through negotiations with the employer, provided, however, that such wages shall not fall below the basic wage (Laws & Regulations Database of The Republic of China website).”

Legal responsibilities are necessary for the society. If entrepreneurs do not have these responsibilities, which is like playing the game without rules, the conditions would not be controlled in the business and the society. It cannot make the world better that people escape the responsibility, such as the problem of evading taxes. Only the good quality of people’s lives does stimulate the business transactions.

Ethical responsibilities

Josephson’s (2010) study of ethical principles showed that the business executive success is related to these 12 principles: “honesty, integrity, promise-keeping, loyalty, fairness, concern for others, respect for others, law abiding, commitment to excellence, leadership, reputation and morale, and accountability.” However, in recent years, the businessmen have gradually lost the fairness and honesty. There are many tainted foods reported on TV news, which makes the general public nervous and scared. For instance, the products are marked natural chlorophyll, but in fact, they involve copper chlorophyllin extract.

Although the business ethics do not have precise regulations, they are considered as the stricter standard than the laws. Whether actions and practices of business correspond with ethics or not is judged by the public. A successful company is widespread with a better public reputation. Entrepreneurs can enhance reputation for their companies by having ethical responsibilities.

The entrepreneurs’ ethical responsibilities are having good intentions of business instead of lies. Entrepreneurs need to give employees or workers a good place to work and adequate salaries rather than exploit them. Besides, the behavior or decisions entrepreneurs do can be openly examined by the public. Carroll and Buchholtz (2006) argued that “because business has a reservoir of management talent, functional expertise, and capital, and because so many others have tried and failed to solve general social problems, business should be given a chance. These arguments have some merit, because there are some social problems that can be handled, in the final analysis, only by business” (p.43). The key point lies in whether entrepreneurs want to solve problems, such as the pollution issue.

According to the Global Human Development Report 2006, which was proclaimed by United Nations Development Programme, there are over one billion people in the world having no clean water, and 1.8 million children die of diarrhea every year. Because of the water pollution, Belu Water, which is a company selling bottled mineral water, was founded. They use recycled materials, which are carbon neutral and environment-friendly. Belu Water is also devoted to the plan about improvement of water resources.

        Although the businessmen would face the ethical dilemma, they should try to overcome it. The sustainable management of business includes “greater customer loyalty” and “a more satisfied and productive workforce.” If you want to have strong viability in the marketplace, you must have ethical responsibilities.

Philanthropic responsibilities

The philanthropic responsibilities are the public’s expectations of current business, so they become a kind of business strategies, which makes the corporations have competitive vantage. All entrepreneurs want the win-win situation, which makes them get both economic and social advantages. However, only engaging in corporate philanthropy do make you step forward to this situation.

        There is an idea about “community involvement” (p.268) in philanthropy, which is mentioned in Corporate Social Responsibility (Crane, Matten, & Spence, 2008). Entrepreneurs and the general public are members of the community, which means that they are influenced by each other. The relationship is like a jigsaw puzzle, which would be incomplete without only one piece. The process of achieving the business success involves many elements, in which promoting the quality of the society is the prerequisite. J. Michael Cook, retired leader of Deloitte & Touche, argued that “If we have good educational systems, good safety, and good activity programs for young people, we’re going to be much more effective in attracting and retaining quality people (Carroll & Buchholtz, 2006, p.472).”If entrepreneurs are voluntary to help the society make a progress, it would not only have positive impact on the society, but also benefit the companies.

According to The Competitive Advantage of Corporate Philanthropy, “Charitable contributions by U.S. companies fell 14.5% in real dollars last year, and over the last 15 years, corporate giving as a percentage of profits has dropped by 50%” (Porter & Kramer, 2002, p.5). It is clear that entrepreneurs’ aspiration to provide charitable contributions for supporting community keeps decreasing. Most entrepreneurs think that charitable contribution is a wasteful action. However, the philanthropic responsibilities are the chances that entrepreneurs need to catch and the effective advertising ways to promote companies’ image, which can quickly penetrate the community. After all, “competing on price and corporate citizenship is smarter than competing on price alone” (Crane, Matten & Spence, 2008, p.271).

Conclusion

        Nowadays, the interaction between the entrepreneurs and the society should be valued with CSR. The business operation and the society movement are influenced by each other because they are in the same community. With CSR, everything about the business and the society has the order. Without CSR, no one can escape the harm which is caused by the entrepreneurs. If the entrepreneurs understand the necessity of CSR, they could create more profits for the companies. If the general public understands the importance of CSR, they could protect themselves from the business means. The general public can encourage the entrepreneurs to manage the business with CSR, which does not only have one aspect. Besides, entrepreneurs should think about the unlimited future instead of being shortsighted with the present profits. The healthy environment of the society is a decisive element of economic development. Therefore, the entrepreneurs should have the responsibility to maintain and protect the resource, which is from the society.

References

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