As I sat listening to the nightly news and the troubles for Toyota, I thought about social responsibility as new far flung accusations were being hurled in towards them. Without passing judgment on Toyota, I couldn’t help but feel that some of the accusations were getting a bit out of hand. Fueled by our legal system to bring justice, it is claimed that Toyota chose to make safety second to monetary gain. Yet as we all know, we as a capitalist society have forsaken many things in the name of money. Have we not seen similar situations amongst our own auto manufactures? Yet the idea of social responsibility is not simply a responsibility of business, but every member of society. Whether it is the consumer, the share holder, the investment banker or the manufacturer, each and every person has a responsibility to do what is right for society and not just for them. Maybe this fervor would excite our economy into a turnaround. Instead we see the endless string of up and down movements in the stock market and each time being manipulated by opportunists.
I recently had a wonderful conversation with Dr. Wanda Lopuch, President of the Global Sourcing Council, about Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). It was an intriguing discussion that extended beyond the common green related topics involving environmental care. As we talked about CSR it brought back memories about my undergraduate studies and a course specifically on the topic of a company’s social responsibilities (NH College-1975/Anthony Woolford, Instructor). Somewhere along the journey we have lost our way. We have forsaken the fundamental principles of caring for or our world. Maybe selfishness has permitted us to lose touch with the need to be a part of something bigger than ourselves.
I am a pessimist and a skeptic when I see an outpouring of humanitarian aid, such as in Haiti. Not because of what isn’t needed, but in less than two months we hear very little about this disaster. I really don’t think they have completed the reconstruction already, have they? But apparently the events of the 2010 Olympics are much more news worthy! Maybe our desire for a feel good moment is all that we need to lift our sense of social obligation. Or is it a case that we simply don’t have the ability to sustain a long term sense of responsible obligation?
Some of you might wonder what kind of social responsibility can one expect from me, a proponent of outsourcing? This is a very good questions and one that I reflect on every day and I’m not sure that I have a suitable answer. I guess that I look at outsourcing a bit differently than most. It is an option that if done responsibly can yield the business goals, sustain jobs and afford opportunities for innovation. Maybe the fact that other nations share with us our culture, will help us to develop a level of tolerance, rather than muffled prejudice. Outsourcing is a choice and not a mandate. Removing a choice from anyone, individual or business, erodes our free market system. If allowed to occur, the ability of a company to be socially responsible is at risk, and so is their sustained viability. Is it better to have a country develop and establish a credible clean industry, or is it better to give foreign aid with no obligation for global social responsibility? We don’t lose jobs not because of outsourcing, we lose jobs because of a lack of domestic social responsibility to balance money goals with affordable efforts. Without this equilibrium our ability to live an affordable existence would be in the balance. Sure, it’s much more popular to beat the drum for no outsourcing than to re-establish employment of our society. But are the jobs we lose saving hundreds of others by providing a consistent level of service at lower cost? I guess we all need to decide whether we can accept the world we are now in or whether we should yield to emotion, based solely on the past.
I know that this topic has forced me to rethink my priorities and my contribution to society. There are steps that must be done and required measures taken in order to reinstall my sense of responsible behavior. Training, discussing and obligating ourselves is our only options. We are all residents of the planet earth and need to start yielding our bravado for the betterment of our global society.
Until next time feel free to contribute your thoughts or send an email to me at
jdurant@Int-IOM.org
