Social responsibility is an ethical ideology or theory that an entity, be it an organization or individual, has an obligation to act to benefit society at large.

Social responsibility is a duty every individual or organization has to perform so as to maintain a balance between the economy and the ecosystem. A trade-off always exists between economic development, in the material sense, and the welfare of the society and environment. 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. This responsibility can be passive, by avoiding engaging in socially harmful acts, or active, by performing activities that directly advance social goals. Corporate social responsibility (CSR, also called corporate conscience, corporate citizenship, social performance, or sustainable responsible business/ Responsible Business) is a form of corporate self-regulation integrated into a business model. CSR policy functions as a built-in, self-regulating mechanism whereby a business monitors and ensures its active compliance with the spirit of the law, ethical standards, and international norms. The goal of CSR is to embrace responsibility for the company's actions and encourage a positive impact through its activities on the environment, consumers, employees, communities, stakeholders and all other members of the public sphere who may also be considered as stakeholders. CSR is titled to aid an organization's mission as well as a guide to what the company stands for and will uphold to its consumers. Development business ethics is one of the forms of applied ethics that examines ethical principles and moral or ethical problems that can arise in a business environment. ISO 26000 is the recognized international standard for CSR. a) Corporate Governance the framework of rules, systems and processes in the corporation that governs the performance by the Board of Directors and Management of their respective duties and responsibilities to the stockholders; b) Board of Directors the governing body elected by the stockholders that exercises the corporate powers of a corporation, conducts all its business and controls its properties; c) Exchange an organized market place or facility that brings together buyers and sellers, and executes trades of securities and/or commodities; d) Management the body given the authority by the Board of Directors to implement the policies it has laid down in the conduct of the business of the corporation; e) Independent director a person who, apart from his fees and shareholdings, is independent of management and free from any business or other relationship which could, or could reasonably be perceived to, materially interfere with his exercise of independent judgment in carrying out his responsibilities as a director; f) Executive director a director who is also the head of a department or unit of the corporation or performs any work related to its operation; g) Non-executive director a director who is not the head of a department or unit of the corporation nor performs any work related to its operation; 2 h) Non-audit work the other services offered by an external auditor to a corporation that are not directly related and relevant to its statutory audit functions, such as, accounting, payroll, bookkeeping, reconciliation, computer project management, data processing, or information technology outsourcing services, internal audit, and other services that may compromise the independence and objectivity of an external auditor; i) Internal control the system established by the Board of Directors and Management for the accomplishment of the corporations objectives, the efficient operation of its business, the reliability of its financial reporting, and faithful compliance with applicable laws, regulations and internal rules; j) Internal control system the framework under which internal controls are developed and implemented (alone or in concert with other policies or procedures) to manage and control a particular risk or business activity, or combination of risks or business activities, to which the corporation is exposed; k) Internal audit an independent and objective assurance activity designed to add value to and improve the corporations operations, and help it accomplish its objectives by providing a systematic and disciplined approach in the evaluation and improvement of the effectiveness of risk management, control and governance processes; l) Internal audit department a department or unit of the corporation and its consultants, if any, that provide independent and objective assurance services in order to add value to and improve the corporations operations; m) Internal Auditor the highest position in the corporation responsible for internal audit activities. If internal audit activities are performed by outside service providers, he is the person responsible for overseeing the service contract, the overall quality of these activities, and follow-up of engagement results.

Business ethics (also corporate ethics) is a form of applied ethics or professional ethics that examines ethical principles and moral or ethical problems that arise in a business environment. It applies to all aspects of business conduct and is relevant to the conduct of individuals and entire organizations. Business ethics has both normative and descriptive dimensions. As a corporate practice and a career specialization, the field is primarily normative. Academics attempting to understand business behavior employ descriptive methods. The range and quantity of business ethical issues reflects the interaction of profit-maximizing behavior with non-economic concerns. Interest in business ethics accelerated dramatically during the 1980s and 1990s, both within major corporations and within academia. For example, today most major corporations promote their commitment to noneconomic values under headings such as ethics codes and social responsibility charters. Adam Smith said, "People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raise prices."[1] Governments use laws and regulations to point business behavior in what they perceive to be beneficial directions. Ethics implicitly regulates areas and details of behavior that lie beyond governmental control.[2] The emergence of large corporations with limited relationships and sensitivity to the communities in which they operate accelerated the development of formal ethics regimes.[3] Ethics are moral guidelines which govern good behaviour So behaving ethically is doing what is morally right Behaving ethically in business is widely regarded as good business practice. To provide you with a couple of quotes: Ethical principles and standards in business: Define acceptable conduct in business Should underpin how management make decisions An important distinction to remember is that behaving ethically is not quite the same thing as behaving lawfully: Ethics are about what is right and what is wrong Law is about what is lawful and what is unlawful An ethical decision is one that is both legal and meets the shared ethical standards of the community Businesses face ethical issues and decisions almost every day in some industries the issues are very significant. For example: Should businesses profit from problem gambling? Should supermarkets sell lager cheaper than bottled water? Is ethical shopping a luxury we cant afford? You will probably note the link between business ethics and corporate social responsibility (CSR). The two concepts are closely linked: A socially responsible firm should be an ethical firm An ethical firm should be socially responsible However there is also a distinction between the two: CSR is about responsibility to all stakeholders and not just shareholders Ethics is about morally correct behaviour How do businesses ensure that its directors, managers and employees act ethically? A common approach is to implement a code of practice. Ethical codes are increasingly popular particularly with larger businesses and cover areas such as: Corporate social responsibility Dealings with customers and supply chain Environmental policy & actions Rules for personal and corporate integrity] Corporate governance is "the system by which companies are directed and controlled" (Cadbury Committee, 1992).[1] It involves regulatory and market mechanisms, and the roles and relationships between a companys management, its board, its shareholders and other stakeholders, and the goals for which the corporation is governed.[2][3] In contemporary business corporations, the main external stakeholder groups are shareholders, debtholders, trade creditors, suppliers, customers and communities affected by the corporation's activities[4] . Internal stakeholders are the board of directors, executives, and other employees. Much of the contemporary interest in corporate governance is concerned with mitigation of the conflicts of interests between stakeholders. Ways of mitigating or preventing these conflicts of interests include the processes, customs,

policies, laws, and institutions which have impact on the way a company is controlled.[5][6] An important theme of corporate governance is the nature and extent of accountability of people in the business, and mechanisms that try to decrease the principalagent problem.[7][8] A related but separate thread of discussions focuses on the impact of a corporate governance system on economic efficiency, with a strong emphasis on shareholders' welfare; this aspect is particularly present in contemporary public debates and developments in regulatory policy[9](see regulation and policy regulation).[10] Corporations are created as legal persons by the laws and regulations of a particular jurisdiction. These may vary in many respects between countries, but a corporation's legal person status is fundamental to all jurisdictions and is conferred by statute. This allows the entity to hold property in its own right without reference to any particular real person. It also results in the perpetual existence that characterizes the modern corporation. The statutory granting of corporate existence may arise from general purpose legislation (which is the general case) or from a statute to create a specific corporation, which was the only method prior to the 19th century. In addition to the statutory laws of the relevant jurisdiction, corporations are subject to common law in some countries, and various laws and regulations affecting business practices. In most jurisdictions, corporations also have a constitution that provides individual rules that govern the corporation and authorize or constrain its decision-makers. This constitution is identified by a variety of terms; in English-speaking jurisdictions, it is usually known as the Corporate Charter or the [Memorandum and] Articles of Association. The capacity of shareholders to modify the constitution of their corporation can vary substantially.