Business Makers

Social values mean the moral standards by which members of a society judge the behavior of each other. Values determine what is right or wrong or what people consider goods or bad behavior. With regard to business, social values include the following: (i) The features of good business, (ii)The objective which business should pursue, and (iii)The manner in which businessmen should perform their affairs in the best interests of the society and on the basis of sound moral principles.

According to the prevailing social values, businessmen should not sell adulterated products nor should not juke false weights. They should pay fir wages to employees and right amount of tax to the government.

The main approaches adopted for checking pollution are as follows:

Environmental Evaluation: The first approach is to make a comprehensive analysis of the impact of eve dry industrial activity before it is undertaken. The should not approve any industrial activity until the primary and secondary affects of such an activity are evaluated and all alternatives are considered. For example, every government agency which wants to undertake a project than affects the environment is required to submit an Environmental Impact Statement.
Establishment of Pollution Standards: Limits on the maximum allowable level of pollutants may be laid down. For example, pollution standards have been prescribed for air pollution. Small cars manufactured in India are required to adhere to Euro II emission norms.
Environment Protection Regulations: Government of India has enacted laws to prevent pollution of air, wart and land. Special regulations r prescribed for major polluting industries. Licensing procedures are used to regulate discharge of liquid waste by industries to prevent water pollution. Fiscal incentives are offered for shifting of industries form residential areas and or installation of pollution control equipment.
Ban: Use of substances which are hazardous or unsafe is vane or restricted. For example, smoking in public places and use of polythene bags is banned income sates.
Awareness and Self Regulation: People should e made aware of ecological imbalance. They should exercise self restraint while interacting with eh environment.

Environmental pollution poses a serious threat to human health and quality of life. Pollution makes air harmful to breathe, water unsafe to drink and land unfit taj live on. Control over environmental pollution is necessary due to the following reasons:

• To Reduce Health Hazards: Environmental pollution is a major cause of cancer, lung and heat diseases. These diseases have become leading cause of death in modern society. Most of the health problems which women and infants face arise from the environment in which they work and live.

• To Reduce Safety hazards: Air pollution caused by oil refineries sand other industries leads to poor visibility. As a result automobiles on highways and aircrafts trying to land or take off from airports face hazards. Poor visibility has were the cause of serious accidents.

• To Reduce Economic Loss: Pollution spoils clothes, vegetation, livestock, and buildings. Pollution control is necessary to reduce the damage. It will reduce washing expenses and cost of repair maintenance of buildings.

• To Reduce Inconvenience: Pollution of rivers and lakes makes them unfit for swimming and fishing. Air pollution causes eye irritation and respiratory problems. Air pollutions obstruct normal conversation. Control over pollution can avoid such nuisance or discomfort.

• To Improve Quality of Life: Pollution control helps to improve the quality of air. It prevents blackening of buildings by pollution. For example, environmental experts have stressed the need to protect Taj Mahal from the pollution caused by Matura refinery Pollution control will also reduce foul odours.

The causes of various types of pollution are given below:

• Air Pollution: Smoke and other chemicals from industries and carbon monoxide form vehicles cause pollution of air. Emission of smoke, gases, fumes, dust and ash leads to or pollution. These harmful substances reduce the quality of air.
• Water Pollution: Business firms and people dump industrial effluents, waste and chemicals into jives, streams and lakes. As a result water gees polluted.
• Land Pollution: Dumping of toxic waste and garage gausses pollution of land. Excessive use of fertilizers, chemicals and pesticide also pollutes the soil. As a result land becomes infertile and no grass or plants can grow. It is necessary to restore the quality of land that has already been damaged. It is also essential to prevent future pollution of land by adopting new methods of disposal of solid waste.
• Noise Pollution: Traffic and industries create noise in cities.

• Pollution means the injection of harmful substance into the environment. Since independence, growing population and rapid growth of industries in India have crated serious environmental problems. For example, Delhi alone has more than 12.355 industries. The smoke and smell emanating from these industries are polluted their. Such pollution affects the health of people. It has been estimated that more than 5000 people die every year in India due to air pollution. Most of the industries dump their liquid waste into rivers, canals and underground water which leads to pollution of drinking water. Industries also cause noise pollution.

• The amount of environmental pollution depends upon the type of pollutant; the amount of pollutant disposed of into the environment and the distance of a place form the sources of pollution.

Business interacts with several interest groups of society. These interest groups are s follows:

INTEREST GROUPS

Owners and Employees Consumers Supplies Government Community
Investors and general
Public

The responsibilities of business towards these interest groups are summarized below:

• Responsibilities Towards Owners and Investors: (a) To provide a fair return on their investment (b)To furnish regular, accurate and complete information abut the working of the company (c) To maximize the shareholders’ wealth by means of increase in the value of shares (d) To allow the shareholders representation and participation in the management of business.

• Responsibilities Towards Employees: (a) To pay fair wages for the contribution of employees (b) To provide security of job and promotion opportunities (c) To offer welfare facilities like safe working conditions, housing, medical and leave, retirement benefits etc. (d) To treat employees as partners in the management and progress of business (e) To evocate work according to their knowledge an aptitude is as to ensure job satisfaction.

• Responsibilities towards Consumers: (a) To provide goods and services of the right quality and at reasonable prices(b) To avoid unfdair trade practices such as adulteration. Black-marketing, misleading advertising, etc. (c) To handle consumer grievance quickly and courteously. (d) to provide effective and prompt after sale service.

• Responsibilities towards Suppliers: Every business firm should develop and maintain healthy relations with suppliers and competitors. It must pay the right price and make regular payments to its suppliers. In regular dealings with competitors, a business enterprise must not adopt unfair trade practices such as price cutting to gain unfair advantage.

• Responsibilities towards the Government: (a) To comply with the laws passed by the government (b) To pay all taxes honesty and in time (c) To assist the government in the formulation and implementation of proper business policies (d) To support the government efforts in improving the quality of life of people.

• Responsibilities Towards the community and General Public: (a) To reduce pollution (b) To take adequate safety measures against production of hazardous or unsafe products (c) To contribute to social welfare by helping educational institutions, hospitals, weaker sections of society, etc. (d) To provide relief in times of natural calamities such as drought, flood, earthquake, etc. (e) To promote sports, art and culture (vi) To prevent discrimination on the basis of sex, caste, race, religion, etc. in providing employment.

Business is expected to work for the economic and social well being of the community. The responsibilities of business towards the society as a corporate citizen are as follows:

To make optimum utilization of national resources.
To generate maximum opportunities for gainful employment.
To protect the natural environment formal types of pollution.
To promote communal harmony and peas in society.
To uplift the weaker sections of society such as handicapped, orphans, widows, scheduled castled, etc.
To promote national interrogation and democratic institutions.
To preserved and promote social and cultural values.
To undertake research and development so as to improve quality and reduce costs.

A business owes the following responsibilities to the government:

To comply voluntarily with the laws passed by the government.
To pay taxes and duties honestly and in time.
To make constructive suggestions regarding formulation of policies which have a bearing on business?
To cooperate with the executive organs of the government regarding proper implementation of laws and policies.
To cooperate with the executive organs of the government regarding proper implementation of laws and policies.
To support the efforts of the government for improving the quality of life of people and in solving the pressing national problems in the country.
To plan and establish new endures joint rural and backward areas in the interest of balanced regional development of the country.
To continue towards rescue and relief work in times of national calamity or disaster such s droughts, floods, earthquake, etc.

A business owes its existence to its consumers. The responsibilities obtuseness towards the consumers is given below:

To produce the goods and services needed and desired by consumers.
To provide goods and services of goods quality at reasonable prices.
To provide current information about goods and services.
To avoid malpractices such as adulteration, black marketing, misleading advertising, etc.
To redress the grievances of consumers effectively and promptly.
To comply with the laws aimed at protection of consumed.
To provide prompt and effective aftedr-sale service.

The responsibilities of business towards its shareholders are as follows:
To ensure safety of investment.
To provide a fair and regular dividend.
To provide regular, accurate and up-to-date information about the company.
To utilize the capital productively.
To ensure growth of business.
To offer reasonable opportunities for participation of shareholders in policy decisions.

The responsibilities of a business towards its employees are as under:
To give them fair wages a full employment.
To provide good working condition.
To offer security of service and job satisfaction.
To provide suitable opportunities for promotion and career advancement.
To develop a sense of belonging and dignity of labor.
To offer reasonable opportunity for participation in the management of business.
Employees are the greatest assets of a business. The improvement of their value is both a matter of material advantage and moral obligation. They should be fully informed, fairly rewarded, properly assigned, trained and developed and treated as honorable individuals both on and off the job.