Patterns of employment
 Changing patterns of employment are one of the social
constrains on the activities of business
• The main features of changing patterns in most countries
include:
 Labour being replaced with capital
 An increase in the number of women in employment
 An increase in part time employment and flexible employment
contracts
An increase in student employment on a part time basis
Transfer of labour from old established industries such as steel
to new high tech industries such as computer game design
More women taking maternity leave then return to work
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Evaluating effects on business of changes in the
pattern of employment
 Firms can adapt to these changes work to their own benefit
 Higher quality and better qualified workers should be more
efficient
 Part time workers can offer the business greater flexibility
 By employing more women and removing barriers to their
progress and promotion firms can benefit from a wider choice
of staff and improved motivation among women workers
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Environmental constraints on business activity
• Business can affect the environment it operates in. It is important for the business to
use strategies protect the environment.
• Arguments for adopting an environmentally friendly business strategy
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• Arguments against adopting environmentally friendly strategies
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• Environmental audit- assess the impact of a business activities on the
environment
• Evaluation of environmental and social audits
 Until they are made compulsory there is general agreement about what
they should include and how contents will be verified some observers may
not take them seriously
 Companies have been accused of using them as a publicity stunt to hide
their true intentions and potentially damaging practices
 They can be very time consuming and expensive to produce and publish
and this may make them of limited value to small businesses
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Environmental and ethical issues – the role of
pressure groups
 More and more businesses are accepting the need to incorporate
environmental and ethical considerations into their strategic
decision-making.
 One of the main reasons concerns the growing power and
influence of pressure groups at both national and international
levels.
Pressure groups are organisations created by people with common
interest or aim who put pressure on businesses and governments to
change policies so that an objective is reached.
 Perhaps the best-known international examples are:
 Greenpeace – campaigns for greater environmental protection by
both businesses adopting green strategies and governments passing 6
 Fairtrade Foundation – aims to achieve a better deal for agricultural producers in lowincome countries.
 WWF – aims to improve animal welfare, especially protecting and conserving the habitat
of wild animals.
 Amnesty International – rigorously opposes anti-human rights policies of governments.
 Jubilee 2000 – campaigns for Western governments to reduce or eliminate the debt
burden on developing countries.
Pressure groups want changes to made in the following areas• Government to change their policies and pass laws supporting the aims of groups
• Business to change damaging policies.
• Consumers to change their purchasing habits so that business can adopt appropriate
policies
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• Methods used by pressure groups
 Publicity through media coverage- frequent press releases detailing
undesirable business activities and coverage of direct action groups will
help keep the campaign in the public eye.
 Influencing consumer behaviour- they can be successful in influencing
consumers to stop buying the business products.
 Lobbying of government- this means putting the arguments of the
pressure group to governments members because they have the power to
change the law.
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Corporate social responsibility (CSR)
• This is a business philosophy that emphasizes that firms should
behave as good citizens.
• They should not merely operate within the law but should consider
the effects of their activities on society as a whole.
• Socially responsible business should therefore attempt to fulfil duties
that it has towards its employees, customers and any other interested
parties ( stakeholders)
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The impact of corporate social responsibility
 Responsibility to consumers- Business has a responsibility to
produce high quality products that are well designed and that
are durable at a fair price. Business should be aware that
satisfying customers creates a repeat purchase.
 Responsibility to employees- The responsibility may include;
training the workers, protecting the rights of workers even when
there is no law requiring them to do so and paying workers fair
wage.
 Responsibility to local community- Firms can benefit from the
goodwill of the local community. Businesses should be
encouraged to meet the needs of the community such as;
creating jobs for them, buying supplies from the community,
and not damaging the environment the local community lives in.
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Issues associated with corporate social
responsibility
• There are a number of issues relating to CSR that managers can take into account.
These issues can be used to judge whether a business has acted socially
responsible or not. Taking the positive approaches outlined below would assist
most businesses in meeting their social responsibilities.
 Engaging in sustainable production. Even though sustainable production may
increase costs to the business, it will reduce pollution and may also ensure
sustainable use of resources to safeguard availability of resources for future
generations.
 Putting employees before profits. Maintaining employment even when the sales
have fallen is an important way of fulfilling CSR. Though this is only achievable
short term, it shows business care for the local community.
 Supporting local communities. This involves uplifting the local community with
projects. This creates a perception of caring and can eventually create loyalty to
business products.
 Carrying out Social audits. Social audit assess the impact the business has on the
community as a whole. It is done in realization that a business cannot operate in
isolation of the community. In 2019 over 90% of world’s largest companies were 11
CSR AND POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE Actions
• Student stick Hand out on page 258
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