Should Corporations Only Be Responsible to Their Shareholders and Not to Society as a Whole?

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Should corporations only be responsible to their shareholders and not to society as a whole? In recent years, social problems tend to be a pressing issue to all human being races on this planet. Therefore, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has gained its collective attention as an integrated world economy. However, the debates about CSR continue growing that come a long way from Friedman Milton famed doctrine. This critical review focuses significantly on the controversial assertion of pros and cons in promoting CSR. This review investigates three significant themes: capitalism, long-term strategy, and obligation versus duty. The Nobel Prize winning economist Milton Friedman (1970, as cited in Schwartz & Saiia, 2012) contends that the sole responsibility of business is to maximize its profits and return to its owners without deception or fraud. Moreover, Friedman (1970, as cited in Bridwell & Morrison, 2011) insists that social responsibility should be outside the concept of business. Corporate executives or individual proprietors can contribute to society personally instead of spending shareholders' money for promoting social reform (Friedman, 1970, as cited in Schwartz & Saiia, 2012). There are some proponents go along with Friedman's theory. It is believed that individuals or institutions continue their investment in firms which have higher profitable returns (Bridwell & Morrison, 2011). Indeed, Bridwell and Morrison (2011) also report that customers seem to be disinterested in motivating companies for exercising CSR. On the contrary, opponents argue that corporations should promote social objective due to its dependence on society. Schwartz and Salla (2012) claim that shareholders may have conscience toward society that goes beyond pure profits. The most likely conclusion reveals that institutions can exercising CSR but only if it

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