1. Social Responsibility of Business and Government
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Social Responsibility of Business and Government
4-1 Social Responsibility
4-2 Government Protection Activities
4-3 Government Regulation and Assistance
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2. SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY ISSUES – the duty of a business to contribute to the well-being of a community
Environmental protection – saving scarce natural resources
Non-renewable resource – natural resource that cannot be replaced when used up. Ex. Gas, oil, minerals, etc.
Conservation – saving scarce resources.
Workplace diversity – learning how to manage a work force made up of the diverse cultures of society
Job safety – to work in an office or factory free from risks that could cause accidents
Federal and state governments have passed laws to make the workplace safer. Safety standards are regulated by OSHA.
Employee wellness – a healthy workforce is a productive workforce.
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3. SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY EVALUATION
Benefits
Expanded justice for groups of a society
Enhanced company image
Reduced need for government actions
Improved quality of life in a community and around the world
Increased awareness of social issues among workers, consumers, and others
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4. SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY EVALUATION
(continued)
Costs
New nonpolluting or safer equipment
Pollution – environment is tainted with the by-products of human actions.
Building repairs to remove risks
Wellness and rehabilitation programs
Social projects sponsored by a company
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5. BUSINESS ETHICS – rules about how a business and their employees ought to behave
Code of ethics – a set of rules for guiding the actions of employees or members of an organization.
Ethics – principles of mortality or rules of conduct.
Ethical conduct guidelines- determined by its top management
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6. Does the action violate professional or company standards?
When considering the ethics of business situations, you could follow these guidelines.
Is the action legal?
Does the action violate professional or company standards?
Who is affected by the action and how?
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7. GOVERNMENT IN SOCIETY Roles of government (continued)
Providing services for members of society
Protecting citizens, consumers, businesses, and workers
Regulating utilities and promoting competition
Providing information and support to businesses
Buying goods and services
Hiring public employees
Raising revenue
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8. GOVERNMENT IN SOCIETY Levels of government (continued)
Federal government
State government
Local government
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9. FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
Oversees the activities that involve two or more states or other countries.
Regulates foreign and interstate commerce
Interstate commerce is business dealings involving companies in more than one state. The federal government regulates.
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10. STATE GOVERNMENTS Regulate business actions within their own borders
Assign some of their legislative power to local governments
Intrastate commerce refers to business dealings involving companies that do business in only one state. Regulated by the state
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11. LOCAL GOVERNMENTS Include county boards and city or town councils
Provide services needed for an orderly society, such as police and fire protection
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12. GOVERNMENT PROTECTION ACTIVITIES
Worker protection
Safe working conditions
Job safety is removing workplace barriers for women accommodating employees who are physically challenged
Basic human rights
Cannot be denied work because of your race, religion, sex, or age. Prejudices and personal biases must not affect a hiring decision.
Conditions of Work – clauses in labor contracts that pertain to employee health and safety while on the job
Contract – an agreement to exchange goods or services for something of value, usually money.
Written or unwritten contract
Examples – leases, credit card agreements, documents that state the terms of a purchase.
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13. Contract Elements What are the main elements of a contract? Agreement
Competent parties
Consideration
Legality
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14. PROTECTION OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Patents – gives the inventor sole right to make, use or sell the item for 17 years.
Copyrights – protects the creative work of authors, composers, artists. Copyright protection lasts for the life of the person receiving the copyright. It also extends 50 years after the person’s death.
Trademarks – a word letter, or symbol liked with a specific company or product.
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15. REGULATORY ACTIVITIES
Regulation of utilities
Public utility – is an organization that supplies a service or product vital to all people. Utilities are privately owned – government regulated.
Telephone service
Water
Electricity
Prevent unfair business practices
Monopoly – when a business has control of the market for a product or service. Government attempts to prevent monopolies with anti-trust laws.
Anti-trust laws – prevent other unfair business practices such as false advertising, deceptive pricing, and misleading labeling.
Hurts competition and reduces consumer choice
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16. GOVERNMENT ASSISTS BUSINESS
Government buys goods and services
Total federal, state, and local government purchases of goods & services make up about 20% of all goods and services produced in US.
Government employs workers – single largest employer in the U.S. economy.
1 of every 9 workers is a public employee
Police, firefighters, sanitation, meat inspectors, lawyers, data analysts, etc.
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17. GOVERNMENT RAISES MONEY
Taxes
Income Tax – Earnings – money made at your job
Property Tax
Sales Tax
Government income is called Revenue.
Borrowing
Example – need new courthouse/sell bonds
Bonds issued by Federal Government
Less risky!!
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