Abstract

The article says that any social institution and business operates in a society under a social contract. Its' survival and growth are based on the delivery of some socially desirable ends to society in general and the distribution of economic, social, or political benefits to groups from which it derives its power. In a dynamic society, neither the sources of institutional power nor the needs for its services are permanent. Therefore, an institution must constantly meet the twin tests of legitimacy and relevance by demonstrating that society requires its services and that the groups benefiting from its rewards have society's approval. Moreover, although business continues to justify its legitimacy and relevance to society on the basis of the traditional criteria, many groups of society express dissatisfaction with business's performance in meeting changing social needs and expectations. The article presents an approach that is capable of being extended to the analysis of the priorities of individuals, groups, or larger collections of groups through the aggregation of pair wise preference judgments among pre-specified social action profiles and have tried to argue for its' basic validity.