1. Introduction
In various areas of discussion the concepts of social responsibility and social role are confused, considering the terms responsibility and role as synonyms.
This situation would not be too important, if it were not for the fact that it contributes to confusing the functions that belong to society, to each type of organization.
Especially this confusion is more burdensome when it is necessary to design public policies and the corresponding programs.
Our country is an integral part of the international capitalist system and what happens in the context conditions us and sets a framework for any aspiration for the development of our society.
For this reason, understanding the complex world in which we live and anticipating future trends is a permanent task that must now be assumed by different social actors, from governments at different levels, to intermediate entities, businessmen in general. and especially the entrepreneur, that our country is in dire need of.
In Argentina, because we are in a closed (or semi-closed) economy, we do not experience the transformation that took place in the globalized world. We could not consciously go through that process, gradual and progressive. We did not have the possibility of having our own experiences, of learning concomitantly with the facts. We live isolated from the great economic transformations and fundamentally from knowledge.
Today it is up to us to skip those experiences, that experiential learning process, to abruptly recognize the changes that occurred and to acquire and internalize new knowledge and even new paradigms, so that at a higher stage we can produce our own action guides, our own paradigms, those that respond to the society that we want, to the society that we know how to build, to the society that we earn, in short, to the society that we deserve.
Therefore, it is necessary to search for a conceptual clarity that allows us to design policies and strategies appropriate to our reality.
2. Responsibility and role
The status, concept and functions
It is an organ of the community, whose functions are extensive and important, although limited. She often effectively supervises the external aspects of life. It differs from other organizations in that it is the only one invested with the power of coercion.
In modern societies the state has social functions that we could classify as: i) specific, essential, no other organism can perform them, ii) that it can carry out more effectively and that we could say are inherent; iii) functions that are not well suited to the state and IV) others directly that it is unable to perform.
Trying to abstract ourselves from a philosophical-ideological position, we can establish the following functions of the state, for the purposes of our analysis.
Specific: they are the essential functions, the creation, conservation and commitment of an order and general well-being. Thus, justice, education, security, promoting a comprehensive development of society and of the individual, will be non-delegable functions.
Functions that fit the state: by virtue of the means at its disposal, the state is better prepared to perform certain tasks than other organizations. Ejm: conservation of natural resources, conservation and development of the personal resources of the community, support and encourage other organisms, offering support and effectively fulfilling essential and inherent functions.
Social responsability
Every organization, being part of a social system, has inescapable obligations to face. Responsibilities that will be of action or omission, material or immaterial.
Following Alvarez, we can affirm that today the concept is accepted that, in addition to producing goods and services, to ensure their stability, continuity and growth, companies must meet social objectives. This does not mean that they should be in charge of solving specific community problems, but that they will respond as instruments to satisfy social needs.
In addition, the leaders and other members of the organizations must strictly conform their actions to the prevailing morals and ethics in the society in which they operate.
Social role
It consists of the obligations that a certain social function (or position) implies. In other words, the role has an active, decisive, determining character. The role comes from the social division of labor. Therefore, it can be affirmed that the role is a social responsibility, but not all social responsibility shapes the role.
The president of a nation may not fulfill some social responsibility that corresponds to him, but he will be evaluated by the citizens in his role as president. Clinton surely did not fulfill his social responsibility of not using the White House for certain purposes, but he was evaluated by the Americans in his role as president when they felt disappointed by the deception that originated at first.
Social role of companies
Companies must fulfill their role, which is defined by the set of obligations derived from their role in society.
Consequently, if the function of the companies is economic, their role should be a set of economic obligations.
Giving other roles to companies can have two serious consequences: a) the role of the state is diluted, in fulfilling its specific and inherent functions and b) maximum attention is prevented in fulfilling the social division of labor, with the consequent inefficiency and / or ineffectiveness in the specific function of the company.
The current globalized world requires a strong state and a company dedicated to its essential mission. This does not mean that each of these organizations does not fulfill its extra-role social responsibilities.
Roles of companies in the current environment
Attempting an approach to the roles that correspond to companies in the current environment according to their size, forces us first to make clear the need for the existence of organizations for modern societies.
The organizations
We agree that the human being is rational and social, with biological and social needs, that due to his rationality he sets and prioritizes goals and objectives, applying work to satisfy those needs and obtain those objectives.
The conjunction of the listed qualities of man, motivated the integration between them, giving rise to organizations. Understanding them as a structured process in which people interact to achieve goals.
It is then necessary to state what are the reasons that justify the existence of organizations. We consider that based on the qualities of people and their individual reasons, enhanced by material reasons and finally encompassed by social reasons, the need for the existence of organizations is a logical consequence.
The individual reasons are justified in that as man is a gregarious individual, he needs to relate to other people and enjoy the social satisfactions that organizations provide him. This is how it acts in churches, clubs and in economic companies, receiving countless varied satisfactions such as fellowship, friendship, social values, a sense of belonging, monetary compensation, etc. For this reason, it is stated that organizations are created by and for the man.
Material reasons cause man to organize himself to obtain three things that he could not do alone: increase his capacity, reduce the time required to achieve objectives and take advantage of accumulated knowledge from previous generations.
Organizations increase the capacity of man, allowing him in organized efforts to obtain benefits that he alone could not, in addition to increasing his efficiency. This efficiency leads to specialization, allowing a virtuous circle of greater production (goods, services and knowledge) at a lower cost. At the same time, the necessary exchange between organizations and / or people arises.
This conjunction of factors allows the so-called "synergistic effect": the product differs from the sum of the parts. This effect can be positive or negative with the existence of factors (internal or external) that enhance or impede the normal performance of organizations. The study of this effect has led to important theories such as that of constraints, the abc cost system, etc.
From this summary analysis, social reasons and the need for the existence of organizations for the development of modern societies emerge.
Consequently, every organization will have an end, which will be linked to the social system to which it belongs. This end can be considered as the function of the organization in society
In the analysis carried out, the term "organization" can be replaced by the term "company", without changing its content and conclusions. We will use the last term from now on, since the type of organization called company (whose function is economic) is the one that concerns us in this work.
3. Companies and their social responsibility
Consistent with his known positions, this economist affirms that the social responsibility of companies consists in using their strengths and resources to maximize their profits (today, their equity value), in a frank, free, free game, without deception or fraud, with respect to the established rules.
Friedman argues that company executives are not in a position to determine positions or adopt resolutions regarding the urgency of social problems, nor the amount of resources an organization must allocate to solve any given problem. He insists that if so, wrongly and unfairly, resources that are owned by shareholders, employees and customers are diverted.
In other words, their position is that companies must dedicate themselves to producing goods and services with the greatest efficiency and leave the solution of social problems to government agencies.
Andrew Carnegie and the gospel of wealth
In his work '' The Gospel of Wealth '' (1899) Andrew Carnegie, founder of US Steel, founded the social responsibility of companies on two principles: that of charity and that of custody.
The charity principle considered that the luckiest members of society had to help the less fortunate (unemployed, disabled, etc.), directly or indirectly.
The custody principle assumed that companies and wealthy people are considered custodians of assets, which belonged to the rest of society. This led to the commission to companies to multiply the wealth of society, through the efficient use of assets and prudent investments.
But it was after the Great Depression in the 1930s that companies began to accept these two principles. Many executives recognized that power begets responsibility. Even companies that did not support these principles knew that if they did not accept their social responsibility voluntarily, the government would compel them to do so.
Company's social response capacity
Robert Ackerman suggests that responsiveness, not responsibility, should be the goal of the company's social tasks. It indicates that the response of companies to social issues has a three-stage life cycle: problem recognition, study and resolution.
It may happen that the company at some point loses its initiative and the government or public opinion forces it to act. Therefore, it advises managers to quickly achieve responsiveness in order to maintain the greatest possible decision-making power within the company.
Other authors
Peter Drucker believes that companies should set goals in relation to their social responsibility, which should be tangible and set according to the political and social conditions that affect each company.
Alain Chevalier affirms that even if companies were considered to have a simple economic purpose and were not recognized as having a social role, their social nature is indisputable.
John Humble distinguishes two types of social responsibilities in companies: external (pollution, community relations, consumers) and internal (working conditions, interpersonal relations, motivation, training).
Social responsibility in the US and in Europe
Although it could be affirmed that there are two positions regarding the relations of the public and private sectors, the United States prioritizes large companies before the federal government, and inversely in countries such as Germany, France, Spain, originated in different cultures, is notorious that imposed or assumed, companies have a social responsibility to fulfill and that it is in direct relationship with their size.
Social responsibility, a changing concept
Following Alvarez we can affirm that today the concept is accepted that, in addition to producing goods and services, to ensure their stability, continuity and growth companies must meet social objectives. This does not mean that they should be in charge of solving specific community problems, but that they will respond as instruments to satisfy social needs.
The social aspect affects the planning and decisions of companies, within the framework of positive law and sociological-cultural processes.
These sociocultural processes occur in two senses: the evolution of society penetrates the company and its actions affect the evolution of society.
The company is a subsystem of the society system, and as such maintains an interdependent relationship with its other subsystems. Therefore, for each space-time reality, it is necessary to define the political, social and economic subsystems in society in order to establish the role of companies according to their size.
Social responsability. Synthesis
The growth of organizations (including companies) is one of the characteristic features of contemporary history. A series of reasons drove the structuring of these vast conglomerates of human and material resources, which today carry out most of the tasks of human societies. This means that the organizational objectives must be made compatible with the social ones, there being costs that originate the existence of the organizations that are supported by the whole society (pollution, occupation of the environmental space, etc.), = at the same time that they perceive certain advantages and benefits of the society to which it belongs, made up of a wide range of suitable resources, such as knowledge, technology, investments, justice services, security, etc.
All this strengthens the social responsibility, perhaps greater in the current circumstances, of companies and entrepreneurs to identify and take advantage of the business opportunities that the globalized world presents. Social function that is especially the responsibility of companies and leaders, even without the supposedly favorable legal political context, and for which they must be aware of the changes that are taking place and that are coming and adapt to them, renouncing the comfortable attitude of avoiding change instead of trying to lead it (or at least adapt to it)
Consequently, companies, even for survival reasons, must contribute to the growth and development of society, in relation to its economic-social dimension. For this, it will be necessary to define for each society and in its historical moments, a political, social, economic and legal order based on a set of values that precisely establishes the roles of companies according to their size.
Social responsability. A matter of principle
Two ideas-forces run through and unify our approach. The first is to recognize man (in its entirety) as the center of organizations and the economy. Organizations exist for him and for him. The economy must be at your service. In the pursuit of your benefit must be the ultimate purpose and purpose of management and business. This does not mean ignoring the market economy because, as JJ LAMBIN affirms: »this management implies that the satisfaction of customer needs..» (Internal and external) »..It must be the main objective of all activities of the organization, not for altruism, for interest well understood, because it is the best way to achieve your own growth and profitability objectives »
The second idea-force is found in the global approach, developing guidelines for action and skills to assist in decision-making and problem solving. In other words, internalize the systemic approach.
In other words, strategic and communicational management in an entrepreneur economy requires a strong and deep comprehensive approach to the »business system». Since, as Gerardo Saporosi affirms, not understanding it leads companies to make wrong decisions and finally disappear.
Roles of Argentine companies in the current environment
(and for the next 10 years)
From the foregoing analyzes, roles common to all companies (although the degree of contribution will depend on the size) and special ones according to their size can be deduced.
The guidelines could be:
Common roles
• Identification and use of business opportunities
• Creation of smart organizations
• Development of technologies according to the requirements of the globalized world
• Search for the global competitiveness of the country and its regions
• Contributions to the design and implementation of public policies
• Compatibility of interests of production factors (capital, labor, society)
• Financing of education, training and coaching
2. Big company roles
• Promotion and financing of pure and applied research
• Promotion and financing of SMEs in its network
• Investments in infrastructure and base sectors
• Incorporation of external financing
• Contribution of technology in capital goods
3. Roles of SMEs
• Employment generation
• Search for innovation and adaptation of productive technologies
• Network structuring for the complete production-marketing cycle
• Individually, provision of specialized goods and services (for market segments or niches)
4. Conclusions
Our country is an integral part of the international capitalist system and what happens in the context conditions us and sets a framework for any aspiration for the development of our society.
By speaking of system, precisely, we are recognizing that the parts that compose it are interrelated, and that there is a certain pattern of behavior that affects the whole.
For this reason, understanding the complex world in which we live and anticipating future trends is a permanent task that must now be assumed by different social actors, from governments at different levels, to intermediate entities, businessmen in general. and especially the entrepreneur, that our country is in dire need of.
In Argentina, the economic system does not meet the minimum requirements that are intended for any form of organization, that is, it does not guarantee the population a decent minimum standard of living, given that the neoliberal policies that were applied after the 1970s They did not prioritize the common interest nor did they seek the sustained and comprehensive socioeconomic development of the country, but rather caused a precarious outsourcing of the economy with the disarticulation of the industrial apparatus, a greater economic concentration of all areas in the hands of a handful of large business groups, and an insertion passive and subordinate of Argentina.
And of what there is no doubt, is that nothing will be as before. But what happens to each of the member countries of the world capitalist system, the place that we have to occupy in the new economic order will depend, first of all, on what is done from now on. No one will give us the future if we do not strive to create it ourselves.
But that future will depend especially on private activity (and in the first order of companies), since the state (at its three levels) can only be asked for, except to start a process of reconversion, which due to our idiosyncrasy will be slow. and lofty.
In other words, the entrepreneur, and especially the entrepreneur, becomes the fundamental seed for the intended transformation.
A great effort must be made so that small companies contribute to the proper functioning of the economy. But you must also be realistic in the sense that there are companies that will never be competitive, and therefore should not be protected in any way.
In Argentina, because we are in a closed (or semi-closed) economy, we do not experience the transformation that took place in the globalized world. We could not consciously go through that process, gradual and progressive. We did not have the possibility of having our own experiences, of learning concomitantly with the facts. We live isolated from the great economic transformations and fundamentally from knowledge.
Today it is up to us to skip those experiences, that experiential learning process, to abruptly recognize the changes that occurred and to acquire and internalize new knowledge and even new paradigms, so that at a higher stage we can produce our own action guides, our own paradigms, those that respond to the society that we want, to the society that we know how to build, to the society that we earn, in short, to the society that we deserve.
Finally, using the call of prof. Daniel dei at the sixteenth meeting of teachers of general administration, imagine a new horizon of understanding of the issues that concern us..
The contribution should not avoid their complexity or rational controversy. Furthermore, we encourage strong thinking and a determined will among us so that we help each other take charge of the personal and professional change that our country, our provinces and our municipalities are needing.
We must seek transformation and fundamentally we must have the illusion of developing substantive changes, so that we are protagonists in this new economy.
We are not facing a dilemma, from which we cannot expect if not something worse of the same; we are faced with the opportunity to make truly strategic decisions about our future.
A new approach to management cannot arise from formulas purchased in a market in which know-how is a commodity, because the virtues are not the object of transactions. Just as no one can buy moral authority, but it is an attribute that is recognized and granted by others, the possibility of a new mode of public and private management must be sought in the unfolding of personal freedom that we are capable of promoting in the encounter with those who accompany us in the same life project, of any order. A shared project to improve the quality of life of the community in which our organization operates, fulfilling first and intensively with the primary obligations (the role) and then with the other social obligations.
5. Bibliography
Alvarez, Hector Felipe; principles of administration; 2nd edition; eudecor editions; Cordova; 2000
Argandoña, Antonio; business and economic growth; growth and investment volume of the iese business management library (university of navarra). Barcelona; 1997
Kliksberg, bernardo; organizational thinking; 13th edition; ed. Norm thesis; Buenos Aires.
Lambin, jean-jacques; strategic marketing; 2nd. Edition; ed. Mcgraw-hill; Brussels; 1991
Stoner, James; freeman, edward and gilbert, daniel (jr); administration; 6th edition; ed. Prentice-hall Hispanoamerican sa; Mexico; nineteen ninety six
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