Introduction
Business refers to the exchange of goods and services either for themselves or for money. A society on the other hand is a group of people who are bound by a relationship in a given territory. The society is made up of people while business is an activity carried out by people. This paper seeks to establish the relationship between business and society. The paper will illustrate how the two subjects relate to each other in the current times. The paper will also include globalization with respect to business and society today.
Business and Society
Business, by its definition, is done and run by people in the society. The two subjects would therefore most likely be interdependent by nature of co-existence. Lozano actually established the fact of interdependence between business and society and concluded that the two have a reciprocal relationship.
This is because both business and society have the capacity to influence each other in a significant way. The extent of responsibility assumed by business over the society has been felt to the extent that business is no longer seen as a separate entity but an entity which forms part of the society.
The business entity under cooperate social responsibility undertakes duties to address social and economic issues about its stake holders and the society in general. There is also a mutual relationship between the business and the society in the sense that each one of them makes a contribution to the other.
The business generates products that it offers to the society as well as being a source of income to those who are parties to it like investors and workers. The society on the other hand is critical in the life of the business as it provides the human resource needed for the operation of the business. The society also contributes capital to the business in terms of investment (Lozano 57).
Carroll and Buchholtz on the other hand described the relationship between business and the society from a different perspective. From their point of view, the business as an entity also has negative impacts on the society leading to a strained relationship between the two. With specified examples like the “Enron” scandal in which shareholders lost their money to the business organization which ended up in bankruptcy, the business is portrayed as an exploitative entity that can undermine the society in order to selfishly benefit its self.
These exploitative moves are engineered by the employees of the business and other stakeholders like the banks and experts in the legal and management fields. Apart from fraud, other concerns have been raised by the society as ill practices by the business entity.
These include issues like: “questionable governance, compensations, backdated stock options, use of illegal immigrant employees, high fuel prices, minimum wages, safety issues and hygiene among others” (Carroll & Buchholtz 1). Other negative issues raised against the business entity include sexual harassment witnessed at the business places, abuse of power by top business officials that leads to the undermining and exploitation of the society by the business activities.
Cutting down of pensions and “health insurance benefits, inside trading” (Carroll & Buchholtz 1) and the effects of the business entities on legislation process due to their influence on politicians are also matters affecting the society. It can be recognized that most of the issues arise as the business attempts to fulfill responsibilities to the society but the process is in one way or another overtaken by some selfish ambitions of stakeholders in the business.
The society on the other hand is a major player in the trend of operations of the business. The social environment provided by the society in terms of its population and lifestyle is a critical determinant of the trend of operations of the business. The economies of the society also determine the existence and operations of the business.
Factors such as “gross domestic products, inflation, interest rates, unemployment rates, balance of payments and global trade” (Carroll & Buchholtz 1) among other economic factors in the society are crucial to the business. The trend taken by these aspects influences productivity of a business and in cases of adverse negativity, can lead to the closure of a business. The political landscape of the society will also influence business in relation to political stability and political policies (Carroll & Buchholtz 6).
Globalization refers to the development of societies into interdependence. It is the decentralization of power in societies and the integration of the societies into a single unit with the sub units being interdependent. The globalization has also contributed to the relationship between the society and the business entity.
The emergence of a global market often causes conflict in the recipient society. Importation of labor from another place often has effects of increased competition for jobs in the receiving area, a fact which is often contested by those forced out of employment. The globalization is however eroding social domains and establishing a global market. This free market system has to an extent transformed the relationship between the society and business positively (Kosaka 13).
Conclusion
The society and the business have existed under mutual interdependence with each other. The relationship is bilateral and has had both negative and positive effects. The emergence of globalization through decentralization of power among the stakeholders has to an extent improved the relationship, though with other negative effects like competition in various fields.
Works Cited
Carroll, Archie & Buchholtz, Ann. Business and Society: Ethics and Stakeholder Management. New York, NY: Cengage Learning, 2008. Print.
Kosaka, Takahide. Business and Society under Globalization. Chapter 13. Web.
Lozano, Joseph. The Relational Company: Responsibility, Sustainability, Citizenship. Switzerland: Peter Lang, 2009. Print.