•What is the difference between Entine and Jennings’ eight questions and traditional measures of social responsibility?

         Traditional measures of social responsibility are subjective and are open to interpretation on many factors (historical, socioeconomic, religious, cultural, and etcetera). As a symbol these measures (honesty, dignity, humility and etcetera) are essential for human kind. Still, Entine and Jennings’ eight questions do not question these measures, but are a foundation to evaluate in an objective fashion the behavior of organizations. The authors’ objective is to eliminate the influence of political issues. Companies, as individuals, need a deeper look to be described. These questions do not only focus on a virtue such as a feature of a product or a charity supported by a company to enhance its image, but it questions its relationship with the law, their possessions, the ways they display their products or services and their interactions with internal and external stakeholders (Jennings, 2012; Salam, 2009). I see these eight questions as a tool to be able to distinguish between individual behavior and organizational behavior. It is possible to create a social responsibility fingerprint for a company when information is available to respond to each of these questions accurately. Furthermore, the model also assists in questioning if, at a certain point, laws or other type of norms that affect the behavior of firms need to be adapted to what the communities might require.

         This model can also be a guide for organizations to understand their role in society and its successful application would mostly depend on the ethical profile of the employees (Jennings, 2012; Salam, 2009). At all levels of a company employees should be aware that they represent an entity and either their personal choices or their management directives might create ethical dilemmas. Even though traditional measures and the model are distinct concepts to evaluate individuals and organization they are interdependent. Companies create policies and their employees have an obligation to question their integrity and apply them correctly. Traditional measures and the model can assist balancing out the objective of business, which is to create quality products and profits and the objective of most societies, which is to exist in harmony. These eight questions and the traditional measures of social responsibility must reflect on the mission, values and credo of individuals and organizations not only on paper, but in action and strategy.

Works cited

            Jennings, M. (2012). Business ethics: case studies and selected readings. 7th ed. Mason, OH South-Western Cengage Learning.

ISBN: 9780538473538

            Salam, M. (2009). Corporate social responsibility in purchasing and supply chain. Journal Of Business Ethics, 85355-370. doi:10.1007/s10551-008-9733-0