About Social Responsibility and Purpose of a Business

The purpose of this assignment is being able to put into practice objectives 1, 2 and 3 of this module.

Before attempting this assignment please make sure you have carefully read the following two articles included in the Readings section of this module. One is from Milton Friedman, Nobel Prize in economic sciences in 1976, and the other one is from John Mackey, co-founder and chief executive officer of Whole Foods Market, Inc.

The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase Its Profits | Milton Friedman, The New York Times Magazine, September 13, 1970, pp. 122-126. http://www.colorado.edu/studentgroups/libertarians/issues/friedman-soc-resp-business.html

Rethinking the Social Responsibility of Business: Putting Customers Ahead of Investors | John Mackey, Reason 37 no. 5, October 2005, pp. 28-32. https://reason.com/archives/2005/10/01/rethinking-the-social-responsi

Once read please answer the following questions:

According to Milton Friedman, what is the responsibility of corporate executives?
Beyond making a profit, what ethical responsibilities does Friedman say businesses have to society in general?
Does Friedman’s emphasis on maximizing corporate profits mean that he is not concerned with the welfare of society?
Why does Friedman believe a corporate executive should be socially responsible as an individual but not in his or her corporate role?
What is the difference between a shareholder and a stakeholder?
Who are the stakeholders in John Mackey’s conception of the corporation? What ethical duties does the corporation owe to each stakeholder?
What motives (besides money) does Mackey argue are important in understanding human nature? How might these motives be relevant in running a business?
Are Mackey’s views on the social responsibility of business inconsistent with maximizing profits? Why?
Corporations have provided billions of dollars in aid to victims of Hurricane Katrina, the South Pacific tsunami and AIDS in Africa. In some cases, these contributions have been more effective than government aid. Would Friedman and Mackey support these types of donations?

It is not a matter of delivering a long document but a well thought and explained document. In any case, and in order to be able to cover all aspects of it, you will need no less than 1,000 words. Graphics, references or images should be added at the back and referenced in the text although they will not count for the minimum of 1,000 words.

Assignment Requirements:

Please make sure you use the terminology of the learning materials provided (readings, podcasts, etc.).
Make sure you cover all relevant aspects. Perform additional research if you think it is needed.

Assignment Submission Instructions:

This assignment requires a document with a minimum of 1,000 words That’s really the minimum to be able to cover all components required for this assignment.
Your document with your assignment will be uploaded either in Word or in PDF format although PDF is strongly preferred. Please include a cover page where you indicate the title, your name, your wisc email address and word count.
Include references at the end as needed (those do not count towards the word minimum).