Social responsibilityis an ethical framework and suggests that an entity, be it an organization or individual, has an obligation to act for the benefit of society at large.【社會責任是一種合乎道德的架構,它意味著一個實體,無論是組織或個人,都有義務為全社會的最大利益行事。】
Social responsibility is a duty every individual has to perform so as to maintain a balance between the economy and the ecosystems. A trade-off may exist between economic development, in the material sense, and the welfare of the society and environment, though this has been challenged by many reports over the past decade. 【社會責任是每個人需要履行的職責,目的是為了在經濟和生態之間取得平衡。儘管過去數十年來許多報告都對此提出了挑戰,在經濟發展,物質意義以及社會和環境的生活福利間可能存在權衡。】
Social responsibility means sustaining the equilibrium between the two. It pertains not only to business organizations but also to everyone whose any action impacts the environment. It is a concept that aims to ensure secure healthcare for the people living in rural areas and eliminate all barriers like distance, financial condition, etc. This responsibility can be passive, by avoiding engaging in socially harmful acts, or active, by performing activities that directly advance social goals. 【社會責任意味著維持兩者間「經濟與生態」的平衡。 它不僅適用於商業組織,也適用於影響環境的每個人。這是一個旨在確保偏遠地區居民獲得安全的醫療保健,並消除諸如因距離、財務狀況而產生障礙的概念。社會責任可以是被動的,例如避免參與有害社會的行為,或主動地展開推進社會目標的行動。】
Social responsibility must be intergenerational since the actions of one generation have consequences on those following. 【社會責任必須是代際的,因為一代人的行為將對後代產生後果。】
後來人類的經濟行為越來越龐大了,從個人經濟行為變成組織經濟行為,進而演化成現在的企業經濟行為。於是社會責任也進化了,變成了企業社會責任(Corporate Social Responsibility,簡稱CSR),大家都覺得企業在獲取經濟利益的過程中,必須一肩扛起其所相對應所必須背負的社會責任,例如:如果你是酪農,你就必須為你的牛所放的屁所造成的溫室效應負責;如果你是漁民,你就不應該使用流刺網讓將來的後代沒有魚吃;如果你是日月光,你就不應該排放廢水到後勁溪造成附近農地的鎳汙染。
The discussions of the "social responsibilities of business" are notable for their analytical looseness and lack of rigor. What does it mean to say that "business" has responsibilities? Only people have responsibilities. 【關於「企業社會責任」的討論以其分析鬆散和缺乏嚴謹性而著稱。 說「企業」有責任是什麼意思? 只有人才有責任。】
Presumably, the individuals who are to be responsible are businessmen, which means individual proprietors or corporate executives. Most of the discussion of social responsibility is directed at corporations, so in what follows I shall mostly neglect the individual proprietors and speak of corporate executives. 【這些負責的人想必是商人,即獨資經營者或企業經理人。 大多數關於社會責任的討論都是針對公司的,因此在下文中我將主要忽視獨資經營者並談論企業經理人。】
Of course, the corporate executive is also a person in his own right. As a person, he may have many other responsibilities that he recognizes or assumes voluntarily--to his family, his conscience, his feelings of charity, his church, his clubs, his city, his country. He may feel impelled by these responsibilities to devote part of his income to causes he regards as worthy, to refuse to work for particular corporations, even to leave his job, for example, to join his country's armed forces. 【當然,企業經理人本身也是一個人。 作為一個人,他可能有許多他承認或我們假設是自願承擔的其他責任 - 他的家人、他的良心、他的慈善感、他的教會、他的俱樂部、他的城市、他的國家。 他可能會被這些責任所驅使,將他的部分收入用於他認為有價值的事業,拒絕為特定企業工作,甚至為了加入自己國家的軍隊而離開他的工作。】
If we wish, we may refer to some of these responsibilities as "social responsibilities." But in these respects he is acting as a principal, not an agent; he is spending his own money or time or energy, not the money of his employers or the time or energy he has contracted to devote to their purposes. If these are "social responsibilities," they are the social responsibilities of individuals, not business. 【如果我們願意,我們可以將其中一些責任稱為「社會責任」。 但在這些方面,他是一名主理人,而非代理人;他花費自己的錢或時間或精力,而不是他的雇主的錢,或他簽約的時間或精力投入到他們的目的。 如果這些是「社會責任」,那麼就是個人的社會責任,而不是企業的。】
What does it mean to say that the corporate executive has a "social responsibility" in his capacity as a businessman? If this statement is not pure rhetoric, it must mean that he is to act in some way that is not in the interest of his employers. For example, that he is to refrain from increasing the price of the product in order to contribute to the social objective of preventing inflation, even though a price increase would be in the best interests of the corporation. 【要說企業經理人以商人的身份承擔「社會責任」是什麼意思? 如果這種陳述不是純粹的修辭,那就必然意味著他要採取某種不符合雇主利益的方式行事。 例如,即使漲價符合企業的最佳利益,他也應避免提高產品價格,以促進防止通貨膨脹的社會目標。】
The difficulty of exercising "social responsibility" illustrates, of course, the great virtue of private competitive enterprise--it forces people to be responsible for their own actions and makes it difficult for them to "exploit" other people for either selfish or unselfish purposes. They can do good--but only at their own expense. 【當然,行使「社會責任」的困難說明了私營企業的偉大美德。它迫使人們對自己的行為負責,並使他們難以「利用」他人自私或無私的目的。他們可以做得很好,但只能自費。】
當然,畢竟這已經是五十年前的文章了,現代對於企業社會責任的討論已非僅僅是股東層級(Stockholders),而已經晉身到了與企業相關的利害關係人層級(Stakeholders),因為一間企業因營運而碰觸到的範圍實在是太廣了,總不可能都只考慮自己吧,更何況這世界上多的是大到不能倒(Too big to fail)的企業;假設一間公司已經大到如果倒閉了會影響的層面是骨牌效應等級的,難道還是只對股東負責嗎?想也知道不可能。
A social enterprise is an organization that applies commercial strategies to maximize improvements in financial, social and environmental well-being—this may include maximizing social impact alongside profits for external shareholders. 【社會企業是一種應用商業策略並以最大限度地改善金融,社會和環境福祉的組織 ,可能包括最大化社會影響以及外部股東的利潤。】
Social enterprises can be structured as a for-profit or non-profit. 【社會企業可被構建為營利性或非營利性的。】
Social enterprises have both business goals and social goals. As a result, their social goals are embedded in their objective, which differentiates them from other organizations and corporations. 【社會企業既有商業目標,也有社會目標。 結果,他們的社會目標被嵌入他們的目的中,這使社會企業與其他組織和公司有明顯區分。】
A social enterprise's main purpose is to promote, encourage, and make social change. Social enterprises are businesses created to further a social purpose in a financially sustainable way. 【社會企業的主要目的是促進,鼓勵並做出社會改革。 社會企業是為了以財務上可持續的方式進一步實現社會目的而創建的企業。】
Social enterprises can provide income generation opportunities that meet the basic needs of people who live in poverty. They are sustainable and earn income from sales is reinvested in their mission. They do not depend on philanthropy and can sustain themselves over the long term. Their models can be expanded or replicated to other communities to generate more impact. 【社會企業可以提供創收機會,滿足貧困人口的基本需求。 他們具有可持續性,將銷售收入重新投資於他們的使命。 他們不依賴慈善事業,可以長期維持自己的生命。 他們的模型可以擴展或複製到其他社區以產生更大的影響。】