The company: its social function and its role in society. Fomenting and demanding

Abstract

The current financial crisis that has paralyzed the granting of credit is preventing companies from playing their traditional roles. Given this circumstance, the company, according to the author, does no more than distribute dividends among shareholders. She maintains that the social function of the company should not be limited to obtaining profits and goes on to analyse the cases of some firms’ irresponsible behaviour, contrasting it with examples of business performance that is compatible with human and social development. Various means are proposed to promote companies’ awareness of their social responsibility despite the resistance that certain groups and managers have toward accepting this responsibility. She also informs on the difficulty involved in obtaining an internationally recognised legal architecture that would allow judicial investigations of multinational enterprises. Finally, she reports on the inability to establish common rules, given the diversity of sectors.