Hot Spots in Business
Especially within the past ten years, businesses have seen significant demand for their business model to include a “give-back” program. Also known as corporate social responsibility (CSR) or social impact work, these programs are expected to address a social problem using business products, manpower, or revenues. For example, a company might use its resources to address unsafe parks in Salt Lake to poor access to water in rural Kenya. There is little disagreement on whether solving social issues is a good thing or not; the controversy is raised, however, in if business should be the means to do so. Milton Friedman, a highly recognized economist, argues that give-back programs go beyond the scope of what businesses should be. He states that “there is one and only one social responsibility of business to use its resources… [and that is] to increase its profits… without deception or fraud.” Anything beyond that, Friedman argues, is the wrong way to do a good thing. (See https://lucidmanager.org/milton-friedman-corporate-social-responsibility/.)
Maternity leave refers to the period of time given to mothers after childbirth to take off work. In the United States, the duration and nature of maternity leave largely depends on the company. For example, Etsy, Netflix, and Adobe are known as companies with long and paid maternity leave, whereas many other companies are infamous for their limited time off after childbirth. Laws have been passed to ensure a baseline level of maternity leave, such as The Family and Medical Leave Act, which required that most companies grant mothers 12 weeks of unpaid maternity leave. However, many argue that this leave should be significantly longer, be paid, and should extend to both mothers and fathers. (See https://americanpregnancy.org/planning/maternity-leave/ and http://workplace.care.com/50-companies-with-great-maternity-leave.)
The workplace is the hub of communication for a business, and in recent years, there has been a push for this communication to be increasingly politically correct (meaning that speech avoids phrasing that could potentially offend someone, especially when that person is part of a socially vulnerable group). Debate has been raised over if this political correctness in the workplace goes too far, stifling free speech. While many consider it important to avoid offense when speaking to or about others, especially in business, studies have shown that such an emphasis on being politically correct can stifle workplace creativity and decrease employee satisfaction.
Of these, I find the first point most interesting. I believe that we are evolving to a point where business does need to be a vehicle for social change. Unfortunately, many non-profits and non-government organizations lack the spending power to solve wicked social problems on their own, suggesting a need for privately owned businesses to step up to the plate. Ultimately, the responsibility of business should go beyond maximizing shareholder wealth; it should extend to maximizing social welfare, both for the employees and vulnerable social groups.
- Give-back programs
Especially within the past ten years, businesses have seen significant demand for their business model to include a “give-back” program. Also known as corporate social responsibility (CSR) or social impact work, these programs are expected to address a social problem using business products, manpower, or revenues. For example, a company might use its resources to address unsafe parks in Salt Lake to poor access to water in rural Kenya. There is little disagreement on whether solving social issues is a good thing or not; the controversy is raised, however, in if business should be the means to do so. Milton Friedman, a highly recognized economist, argues that give-back programs go beyond the scope of what businesses should be. He states that “there is one and only one social responsibility of business to use its resources… [and that is] to increase its profits… without deception or fraud.” Anything beyond that, Friedman argues, is the wrong way to do a good thing. (See https://lucidmanager.org/milton-friedman-corporate-social-responsibility/.)
- Maternity leave
Maternity leave refers to the period of time given to mothers after childbirth to take off work. In the United States, the duration and nature of maternity leave largely depends on the company. For example, Etsy, Netflix, and Adobe are known as companies with long and paid maternity leave, whereas many other companies are infamous for their limited time off after childbirth. Laws have been passed to ensure a baseline level of maternity leave, such as The Family and Medical Leave Act, which required that most companies grant mothers 12 weeks of unpaid maternity leave. However, many argue that this leave should be significantly longer, be paid, and should extend to both mothers and fathers. (See https://americanpregnancy.org/planning/maternity-leave/ and http://workplace.care.com/50-companies-with-great-maternity-leave.)
- Political correctness in the workplace
The workplace is the hub of communication for a business, and in recent years, there has been a push for this communication to be increasingly politically correct (meaning that speech avoids phrasing that could potentially offend someone, especially when that person is part of a socially vulnerable group). Debate has been raised over if this political correctness in the workplace goes too far, stifling free speech. While many consider it important to avoid offense when speaking to or about others, especially in business, studies have shown that such an emphasis on being politically correct can stifle workplace creativity and decrease employee satisfaction.
Of these, I find the first point most interesting. I believe that we are evolving to a point where business does need to be a vehicle for social change. Unfortunately, many non-profits and non-government organizations lack the spending power to solve wicked social problems on their own, suggesting a need for privately owned businesses to step up to the plate. Ultimately, the responsibility of business should go beyond maximizing shareholder wealth; it should extend to maximizing social welfare, both for the employees and vulnerable social groups.
I think the part about maternity leave was interesting, and it's definitely an important topic right now. It is interesting that they are considering fathers to get paternity leave. It would be interesting to compare the lack of paid paternity leave to the lack of women's rights throughout history. Are we denying fathers their right to stay home with their new baby? Are we oppressing the fathers?
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