Friday, January 12, 2007

Hi there!!... from Febuary Linkachild will be keeping a weekly column in BusinessDay Newspapers. The column will focus on social responsibilty issues.

This is the a first installment from one of our pilot stories. Hope you enjoy it , and as always lets have ur tots...


A CASE FOR SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY


Social responsibility is a doctrine that claims that an entity whether it is state, government, corporation, organization or individual has a responsibility to society. This responsibility can be "negative," in that it is a responsibility to refrain from acting, or it can be "positive," meaning a responsibility to act.

There is a large inequality in the means and roles of different entities to fulfill their claimed responsibility. This would imply that different entities have different responsibilities. For example goverments have a duty to guarantee the civil rights of its citizens; corporate organisations should respect and encourage the human rights of its employees and that citizens abide with the written laws. But it also can be more than just that. Individuals and organisations can ; and should as of necesity imbibe a socially responsible spirit, too many heads have turned the other way and refused to stand up and be counted.

Welfare concerns are primarily related to the general lack of development and the effects on the society. Given the steady population growth and the decline in urban services and government spending on social services since 1980, it has become difficult for the mass of the people at the lower income level, to maintain a balanced social life. The challenges of malnutrition, poor health, and overcrowded housing are perpetual issues, which have in no small measure contributed greatly to the social dysfunction permeating the land.

Nigeria had no social security system, and inherently the poor and disadvantaged bear the brunt of the economic challenges facing the nation.
The situation as in most circumstances children have had to bear the brunt of the challenges these monumental issues pose.

However in recent times the situation seems to be changing for the better as corporate organisations have begun to wake up to their responsibilities as partners in progress in the development of the Nigerian society. To be continued