NAME: OLADEJO JOSHUA OLUWATOBI

MATRIC NO: 12/52HJ033

DEPT: LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SCIENCE
COURSE: BUS 211 ASSIGNMENT

Question: Why do Business Organizations in Nigeria find it difficult to be responsible socially?

Advance argument for Corporate Social Responsibility.

Answer:
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR, also called corporate conscience, corporate
citizenship, social performance, or sustainable responsible business/Responsible business)
refers to corporate initiative to access and take responsibility for the companys effects on the
environment and impact on social welfare. The term generally applies to company efforts that
go beyond what may be required by regulators or environmental protection groups. Corporation
responsibilities include how the business is conducted and its business activities must make
social sense just as its business activities must make business sense. According to Peter Drucker
(1974),The new demand is for business to make social values and beliefs create freedom for
the individual and altogether produce the good society. This is to say that business
organization responsibility now goes beyond producing goods and services but encompasses
public welfare. many large business firm exhibit social responsiveness when they voluntarily
contribute companys funds, equipment and management talent to worthy cause such as the
united fund Junior Achievement, art museum and community activities. Other socially
responsiveness include sponsoring of employees, taking extra step to protect women and
minority employees from the job discrimination. In this case, business goes beyond society
legal minimum requirements to societal responsive behavior. They expand and enrich the idea
of corporate social responsiveness.
Social responsibility arises from the social impart of business organization. In other word,
the negative consequence of business activities like rigid urbanization rural-urban drainage,
traffic jam, environmental pollution, deceptive advertising, defective products offered for sale,
tax evasion and avoidance; all create disenchantment and demand, for more socially responsible
behavior. It also stems from failing standard of living, illiteracy, poor infrastructural facilities
and the growing disenchantment with government and its ability to solve major social

problems; hence, society has come to expect business, with their successful operations to solve
a major part of the these problems by development of effective social responsibility objective
and strategies. Business cannot escape and neglect the problems of society for the needs of
society, if unattended turns to social disease and no Institution whether business or university or
government agency is likely to thrive in a disease society. The demands on business
organization have broadened, but the argument still rages on about how socially responsibly
they should be. Arguments for social involvement relate to potential benefits for society and for
business. One of these schools of argument is that social response will lead to consequences
that, from the long run point of view should be favorable to business. Thus, social actions that
discourage government regulation or that create a better community can be in the self-interest of
business in the long run because of the benefits they bring.
The argument against social responsibility arises from various reasons like the need for
profit maximization as posited by the classical school of economist simply put, business
function is economic, not social and economic value should be the criteria to measure success,
the pursuit of social goals also dilute businesss main purpose, that is economic activity. The
combination of house divided against itself that collapses from its own internal conflict and
confusion of goal. There is also the issue of cost, many social proposal do not pay their own
way in an economic sense in view of the principle of opportunity cost which is the alternative
forgone to obtain a want. Consequently, due to their profit making goals, those business must
absurd cost or pass it on to consumers by way of higher prices. Also business already has
enough power; if it pursues social goals, it would have too much. Finally, the business of
business is business and not social issues. Also, since the outlook and abilities of business
leaders are oriented primarily towards economics. Consequently, corporate leaders are poorly
qualified to achieve social goals. These scholars argue that business has no direct lines of social
accountability to the people, so it is abnormal to allow business activities in area where business
is not accountable. Adam Smith in his doctrine explains that business produces a public good
when it reduces costs and improves efficiency in order to maximize profit
It is quite unfortunate that in this twenty first century, most business in Nigeria still strictly
acts in terms of profit and loss alone. This however, is not so strange since corporate
organizations in Nigeria are hardly familiar with the concept of community relations nor are
they aware of what their corporate social responsibility is all about. The few ones which can be
said to be have come across the concept sees community relations as an affair for multinational
corporations especially oil companies operating in rural area especially the Niger Delta region.
This perception is wrong; therefore re-orientation of corporate organizations in Nigeria towards
the conduct of business is urgently needed. The problem could be said to emanate from the fact
that companies are ignorant to their social responsibility to their community in particular and
the Nigeria society in general. In development societies, it is fashionable for business which

hope to survive in todays global economy to engage in socially responsible market, it is a

different tale for Nigeria Businesses, they still operate under the sale philosophy where the
ultimate goal is make profit through aggressive selling and promotion effort while their
counterpart in developed economy are moving to strike a balance between the marketing
philosophy and the societal marketing philosophy.
Most companies shy away from their social responsibility to the society because they see it
as the act of charity. Therefore, a companys civil responsibility includes participation as a good
neighbor and the promotion of a healthy out look or public affairs by employees. The
community environment can strongly influence business success when a community detritus,
property, values go down, tax revenue declines, local markets shrinks, employment falls off and
profit sag and at the same time, the cost of relief, welfare and other municipal services grounds.
So far, purely economic reasons, there is ample justification for business to help the community.
Nigerian businessmen have been relatively incentive or have isolated themselves from the
problem peculiar to the area into which they live and amass their wealth despite the fact that
most environmental problems are as a result of business activities. However even the learned
ones opposes social responsibility. They see business organization as solely an economic
institution which should not entangle itself in social affairs. It has been found that in Nigeria,
business organization which fail to be socially responsive to the communities they operate on
suffers a lot of setbacks which include the destruction of sites and equipment by the local,
obstrumetion of operation and even abduction of survival of people (MOSOP) with respect to
the exploration by shell petroleum development, corporation (SPDC) is a good example to the
rising awareness of people and the proper articulation of their position from a public relations
point of view. Therefore, Nigeria business should develop the community relations program as
a guide to community development project in their host communities. Emphasis should be on
education, health and infrastructural development.
Every business whether small, medium or large scale must now make up to its civic
responsibilities. Business cannot continue to thrive while the community is neglected. A
proportion of the companys budget must be devoted to community development. Though the
challenges are enormous, meeting those responsibilities is the way of gaining community good
will towards the company thereby enhancing the environment for the continuous thriving of
business.

REFERENCE:
http://www.doublegist.com/issues-corporate-social-responsibility-nigeria-business-organization/
http://www.investopedia.com/terms/corp-social-responsibility.asp