"Corporate Social ResponsibilityA Neo-Classical Vs Socio-Economic PerspectiveName | Title | Date Table of ContentsIntroduction ................................................................................................................................................... 1CSR Defined ................................................................................................................................................... 2Neo-Classical Economic View: Profits as sole responsibility ................................................................... 4The critical factors ..................................................................................................................................... 5Socio Economic View: Going beyond Profits ............................................................................................ 8Arguments in favor .................................................................................................................................. 10Rules of the game has changed ........................................................................................................... 10Desire of shareholders beyond profit .................................................................................................. 10Managers as decision makers .............................................................................................................. 11Government Capabilities ...................................................................................................................... 11Case Study: The Ford Pinto (Gioia, 1992) ................................................................................................. 12Milton Friedman’s Perspective............................................................................................................... 12Socio Economic Perspective ................................................................................................................... 12What Ford Actually Did? ........................................................................................................................ 13Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................... 14Bibliography ................................................................................................................................................. 15IntroductionToday, majority of the people from students to managers have heard of CSR in oneway or another. However, in spite of this perceived omnipresence of the CSR term,its meaning and if it has significance in today’s corporate world elicits variousanswers. There are a varied definitions for CSR and, not astonishingly, aconformingvarietyvis-à-vis the suitable scope and nature of anorganization’s socialresponsibilities. This definition and scope becomes all the more complex when it comes to the reallife situations. Example- when UBS Bank unequivocally agreedtoemploystakeholders’ money to willingly reduce its carbon emissions to cater tothe global warming,even though it is legally not obligated to do so; was thissocially irresponsible, or socially responsible? (Oberholzer-Gee, 2007). Or if a beercompany like Heineken be responsible for exorbitant human immunodeficiencyvirus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) medicine to its Africanpersonnel along with their dependents, when it does not add any direct or evenindirect monetaryvalue to it? (Barrett & Ballou, 2003).Thus, this article attempts to discuss the two perspectives on CSR namely ‘Neo- Classical Economic’ view as proponed by Friedman and ‘Socioeconomic’ viewcovering a broader aspect of CSR i.e. beyond financial aspect of the CSR.PAGE 1 "