Essay, Research Paper: Social Responsibility

It is widely known that for a business to be successful it needs to provide a good or service that is desired by the public and also to obtain a profit in providing said good or service. Now while these are the most important components to a successful business, they are not the only ones. The social responsibilities of a business include the following: environmental protection and preservation, employee safety and morale, product safety for the consumer. The financial manager must keep these three social responsibilities in mind when making any and all decisions.
The environment has become a big issue over the last 30-40 years, especially for the businesses that may negatively affect it. Businesses that have been suspected of polluting or destroying any part of the natural environment have been placed under heavy scrutiny by the media and the general populous. In turn this bad publicity has negatively affected the business and in a lot of cases, caused the business to fade away. It is the job of the financial manager to oversee these environmental issues and make socially responsible decisions not only to avoid bad publicity, but to do their part in aiding the environment in a financially sound manner.
A business's employees are probably the most important part of the organization. In short, if there is something that hinders the performance of the employees the whole company suffers. Providing a safe and stimulating work environment is another thing that a financial manager should do to efficiently and effectively turn out a superior product. By keeping employee accidents to a minimum a business will avoid costly lawsuits and down-time.
Every business must realize that an unsafe product will not last in the open market and will, in the long run, cost more money to correct. The financial manager must understand that, above all, the product must be safe. He/she must decide the most cost-effective manner to manufacture the product and also have it deemed safe to use. I believe that this detail of product safety should be addressed very early on in the production process, as should the other two.
In conclusion, a business has an obligation to return something to society. Although the financial manager's main purpose is to acquire and control funds efficiently and effectively to maximize stakeholders' wealth, he/she must take into account these social responsibilities. By properly addressing these responsibilities, a financial manager will avoid any unnecessary obstacles in moving the product.


Word Count: 410