Entine and Jennings Eight Questions and Traditional Measures of Social Responsibility

Entine and Jennings illustrate the unique difference between an eight question model to determine the soul of a company opposed to the traditional measures of social responsibility.  The eight question model serves to identify the soul of a company but not based on the icons of corporate social responsibility opposed to the traditional measures of social responsibilities.

Corporations now recognize that engaging in and advertising certain aspects of social responsibility can be a great marketing tool and significantly increase corporate image.  A study published in the International Journal of Organizational Innovation states;

Corporate social responsibility has a significantly positive effect on corporate image, service quality, and purchase intentions.  Other than protecting the interests of various interested parties (employees, shareholders, consumers, suppliers, governments, and environment) corporations also need to abide by laws.  Corporations can enhance their corporate image by actively giving to charitable and social welfare events or giving back to society and caring for minorities. (Chun-Chen, Szu-Wei, Cheng-Yi, & Pei-Chen, 2014 p. 79)

Entine and Jennings suggest that merely using corporate social responsibility as a means to determine whether or not a business is ethical is very insufficient. Social responsibility blurs the lines of reality that define business ethics by not being able to closely exam the objective of a corporation outside the contexts of a political issues or a self-defined and self-governed parameter.

            In using only measures of corporate social responsibility such as environment or political views consumers can miss the relevant business data that would suggest a company is operating very ethically.  Entine and Jennings provides examples of relevant business data as close examination of operations and products.

            Lastly Entine and Jennings supply their eight questions that help determine the soul of a company.  These questions help to determine the soul of a company by looking past the current political issues and evaluating the basic level of operations and organization has established.  The answers to the following questions will tell a great deal to the level of honesty and integrity a company operates under.

1.      Does a company comply with the law?

2.      Does the company have a sense of propriety?

3.      How honestly do product claims match with reality?

4.      How forthcoming is the company with information?

5.      How does the company treat its employees?

6.      How does the company handle third-party ethics issues?

7.      How charitable is the company?

8.      How does the company react when faced with Negative disclosures?

Chun-Chen, H., Szu-Wei, Y., Cheng-Yi, L., & Pei-Chen, H. (2014). The Relationship Among Corporate Social Responsibilitiy, Service quality, Corporate Image and Purchase Intention. International Journal Of Organizational Innovation, 6(3), 68-84.

Jennings, M. M. (2012). Business Ethics: Case Studies and Selected Readings, Seventh Edition. South-Western Cengage Learning, Mason OH.