Before the 1920s, businesses were not held to any ethical standard. It was not until the 1960s that social issues became a concern in business. Like a negative media frenzy, the American society criticized how business controlled center aspects of society with little regard to the community. In addition, consumerism was on the rise and the organizations, groups and individuals who sought to protect their rights as consumers. President John F Kennedy, in 1962, delivered a message regarding consumer interest which outlined four basic rights: The right to safety; the right to be informed; the right to choose; and the right to be heard. The consumerism movement brought protection laws such as Wholesome Meat Act of 1967, Radiation Control for Health and Safety Act of 1968, the Clean Water Act of 1972 and the Toxic Substance Act of 1976. Further supported by President Lyndon B Johnson and any activity that could hurt the economy or discriminate again citizens were viewed as unethical and unlawful.
Social responsibility to a business is defined as, an organization obligation to maximize its positive impact and to minimize its negative impact. This social responsibility or impact needs to be able to be measured to determine its effectiveness. Levels of social responsibility include; economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic. These levels can also be seen as a hierarchy for companies to follow, for example, at the very least, a company has a social responsibility to positively contribute to the economy.
An ethical issue, defined by the text, is an issue is a problem, situation, or opportunity that requires an individual, group or organization to choose among several actions that must be evaluation as right or wrong, ethical or unethical. Honesty, or the trustworthiness, is an issue in business because people often reason with honesty the why that it applies to their own values and beliefs. Some believe that success in business is a game, and success means winning. It is possible that one would reason what honesty is if it means ‘success’ or winning. Fairness is the value of being impartial. In order to be fair in business, the must be equality, reciprocity and optimization. There needs to be a share of wealth, compensation for wages and the balance of equity and efficiency. Integrity in business means the expectation of following ethical values. At a minimum, businesses should follow all laws and regulations and do no harm. Failure to do so would destroy the trust and make it impossible to continue to do business.