Guide Reading

INDIVIDUAL GUIDED READING
Name:      

Article title | Friedman, M. (1970) ‘The Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profits’.New York Times Magazine, 13 Sept: 56-61. |
Article summary | Friedman argues that the objective of a corporation is to maximize the profits within the guidelines of the law in the free and open society. If the corporate executive has a “social responsibility”, which means his is to act that is not in the interest of his employers. |
Introduction |     1. The main issue is whether exercising “social responsibility” can increase the corporations’ profits.   2. If the corporate executive has a “social responsibility”, he is in effect imposing taxes. Friedman says on two levels to explain corporate executive has no power to impose taxes and he does not know the exactly consequences of that he spends stockholders’ customers’ and employees’.   3. Friedman tells us exercising CSR can have negative effects on the activities in our society and it can also influence the benefits of shareholders. |
Literature review/discussion sections |     1. Nowadays, businessmen believe that business is not only concerned with profits but also with promoting desirable “social” ends, such as providing employment, avoiding pollution, preventing inflation and so on. The problem is whether the corporation should pay more money on social activities.   2. Friedman adheres to shareholder theory, a normative view of minimalist CSR.     3. Research questions:What does it mean to say that the corporate executive has a “social responsibility” in his capacity as businessman?If corporate executives are to act on their “social responsibility”, are they in fact using stockholders’, customers’ and employees’ money, which means imposing taxes?   4. This process raises political questions on two levels: principle and consequences. Political principle: the imposition of taxes and the expenditure of tax proceeds are governmental...