NCERT Solutions Class 11 Business Studies Chapter 6 Social Responsibility of Business and Business Ethics

NCERT Solutions Class 11 Business Studies Chapter 6 Social Responsibility of Business and Business Ethics

NCERT Solutions Class 11 Business Studies Social Responsibility of Business and Business Ethics

NCERT Solutions Class 11 Business Studies Chapter 6 Social Responsibility of Business and Business Ethics: National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) Class 11 Business Studies Chapter 6 Solutions – Social Responsibility of Business and Business Ethics.

Board

NCERT
Class

11

Subject

Business Studies
Chapter

6

Chapter Name

Social Responsibility of Business and Business Ethics

Short Answer question:

(1) What do you understand by social responsibility of business? How is it different from legal responsibility?

Ans: Social responsibility refers to the duties and obligations of the business towards the environment and society.

Social responsibility is different from legal responsibility as social responsibility is a holistic term and involves the legal and social duties of a business and it does not necessarily have to be covered under any specific legal background.

 

(2) What is environment? What is environment pollution?

Ans: Environment can be defined as the physical surrounding in which we live and consists of air, water, trees, land.

Environmental pollution is defined as the emission of harmful substances due to human activities into the environment.

 

(3) What is business ethics? Mention the basic element of business ethic.

Ans: Business ethics are the moral worms and values that directs the activities of a organisation or businessman. It involves carrying out business in right and correct process.

The main elements of business ethics are as follows:

(i) Commitment of top management: It is the role of the top management to guide the entire organisation towards ethically upright behaviour.

(ii) Publication of a “Code”: Organisation with effective ethic programmes to define principles of conduct for the whole organisations in the form of written documents referred to as the “Code”.

 

(4) Briefly explain – (a) Air pollution, (b) Water pollution (c) Land Pollution

Ans:

(a) Air Pollution: It refers to emission of harmful gasses and industrial smoke or pollutants into the air, or atmosphere.

(b) Water pollution: It refers to throwing of harmful chemical and other industrial waste to different water bodies likes river, lakes, ponds, sea.

(c) Land Pollution: It refers to dumping or releasing harmful wastes in the land that affects the crops and fertility of land.

(5) What are the major areas of social responsibility of business?

Ans: The major areas of social responsibility of business are towards various interested parties like – customers, employees, shareholders or investors, community, government. It is socially desirable for the business to provide good quality products to its customers, good working condition and fair remuneration to its employees, provide fair and timely payment of taxes to government, carry out philantrophic activities towards community etc.

 

(6) State the meaning of corporate social responsibility as per companies Act 2013.

Ans: Corporate sustainability or corporate social responsibility refer to the role that companies can play in meeting the agenda of sustainable development and entails a balanced approach to economic progress, social progress and environment protection.

The concept of corporate social responsibility is governed by clause of 135 of the companies Act 2013 and is applicable to companies with an annual turnover of 1000 crore and more, or a net worth of Rs 500 crore and more, or a net profit of Rs 5 crore or more.

 

Long Answer Questions:

(1) Build up arguments for and against social responsibilities.

Ans: The arguments for social responsibility are as follows:

(i) Better environment for doing business: Social responsibility allows business to create a smooth environment for its survival as society is full of diverse and complicated problems. So business system should do something to meet needs before it is confronted.

(ii) Avoidance of government regulations: From the business point of view a business, government regulations are undesirable because they limit the freedom and it can be avoided b following government regulations

The arguments against social responsibility are as follows:

(i) Violation of profit maximisation objective: Business exists only for profit maximisation and it can fulfill its social responsibility if it maximise profits  through increased efficiency and low cost.

(ii) Burden on consumers: Social responsibility involves huge financial cost and many a times business shift this burden to customers in the form of higher prices.

 

(2) Discuss the forces which are responsible for increasing concern of business enterprises towards social responsibility.

Ans: The forces that are responsible for increasing concern of business enterprises towards social responsibility are as follows:

(i) Employees: The social responsibility towards this group is to provide fair compensation, good and safe working condition etc.

(ii) Consumers: The social responsibility towards consumers includes production of safe and quality products, regular supply of products, follow fair trade practices etc.

(iii) Owners investors: The social responsibility involves a fair return on their investment providing all relevant information about the financial position of the business etc.

(iv) Government: The social responsibility toward government are to follow all the rules and regulations, payment of taxes on time etc.

(v) Supplies: The responsibility toward suppliers include regular payment of them, fair dealings etc.

(vi) Community: The social environmental towards community or the society includes protection of environmental from pollution, creation of employment promote integrity etc.

 

(3) Business is essentially a social institution and not merely a profit making activity explain.

Ans: Business is considered as a social institution because it uses its resources from the environment and the society and hence there lies moral obligation of business units to contribute towards the society rather than merely earning of profits.

So, the main reasons for social responsibility by business are as follows:

(i) Threat of public regulation: Whenever business unit acts in socially irresponsible manner, the government & the public takes action to safeguard the interest of the people.

(ii) Pressure of labour movement: Labourers are a present much educated and organised and conscious about their rights. This has led business units to provide welfare activities or benefits towards labourers.

(iii) Impact of consumer consciousness: With the development of media and education among customers, the business unit adopted customer – oriented policies to keep the consumers contented and satisfied.

(iv) Development of social standard for business: A business unit cannot operate in isolation and business as an economic activity is not only for earning profit but also to fulfill social obligations.

 

(4) Why do the enterprises need to adopt pollution control measures?

Ans: The reasons for adopting pollution control measures by the enterprises are as follows:

(i) Reduction of wealth hazards: Many diseases like cancer, heart attacks, lungs complication etc are caused by pollutants in the environment.

(ii) Reduced risk of liability: It is desirable for a business to install pollution control devises its premises to reduce the risk of liability of payment of compensation to affected people.

(iii) Improved public image: A firm that promotes the cause for environmental will be able to enjoy a good reputation and is perceived as a socially responsible enterprise.

(iv) Cost savings: An effective pollution control programme is needed for cost savings as improper production technology results in greater wastes that leads to higher cost of waste disposal.

 

(5) What steps can an enterprise take to protect the environment from the dangers of pollution?

Ans: The steps taken by an enterprise to protect the environment from the dangers of pollution are as follows:

(i) A definite commitment by top management of the enterprise to create, maintain and develop work culture for environmental protection.

(ii) Developing clear-cut policies and programmes for purchasing good quality raw materials, disposal and treatment of waste etc.

(iii) Complying with the laws and regulations enacted by the government for prevention of pollution.

(iv) Periodical assessment of pollution control programmes in terms of cost and benefits so as to increase the progress with respect to environmental protection.

 

(6) Explain the various elements of business ethics.

Ans: The various elements of business ethics are as follows:

(i) Commitment of top management: Refer to answer of Q3 of short ans QS.

(ii) Publication of a code: Refer to answer of Q3 of short answer questions.

(iii) Establishment of compliance mechanism: The actual decision should match with a firm’s ethical standards at the time of recruitment training etc.

(iv) Involving employees at all levels: The employees must be involved while making ethical policies and programmes as they have to comply with it.

(v) Measuring results: It is very difficult to measure the ethical results but it must be verified and audited at regular intervals so that the work is carried out ethically.

 

(7) Discuss the guidelines enumerated by the companies act 2013 for corporate social responsibility.

Ans: The guidelines for social responsibility under the companies act 2013 are as follows:

(i) The companies or business units are required to set up a CSR committee consisting of their board members, including at least one independent director.

(ii) The act encourages companies to spend at 2% of their average net profit in the previous three years on CSR activities.

(iii) The indicative activities which can be undertaken by a company under CSR, have been specified under schedule VII of the Act.

(iv) Only CSR activities undertaken in India will be taken into consideration.

(v) Activities mean exclusively for employees and their families will not quality under CSR.

 

Updated: May 9, 2023 — 3:06 pm

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