Abstract

In recent years, there has been a rising crescendo of discussions of the social responsibility of business in general and, particularly, of large corporations. Currently, the combination of social, economic, and political problems and of crises at home and abroad has increased both the tempo of the discussions and the urgencies of the demands upon business leadership. Obviously, such discussions are of high significance because of the important roles of business in general and, especially, of great corporations in the society. Throughout the polemics, there is, on the one hand, a continuing drumbeat of criticism of business leadership for its failure of adequate response to the needs of our times, i.e., for being too parochial, self-serving, and narrow in its outlook and in its drive for profits, growth, and security. On the other hand, there is both a rising recognition and exhortation that "it has become imperative for business to undertake social responsibilities on a major scale."