Introduction
A corporate social responsibility report is a statement that businesses utilize to explain their corporate social responsibility activities and the effects they have on the surroundings and society, both internally and externally. Milton Friedman’s opinion regarding social responsibility for businesses was limited by an assumption that exclusively profitability should be generally highlighted. In turn, Square’s corporate social responsibility report, in comparison with Friedman’s suggestions, represents a diversified document that encompasses various social aspects of the organization, both internal and external.
Discussion
Firstly, in order to critically evaluate the content of Square’s corporate social responsibility report, it is obligatory to initially examine the key notions of Friedman’s social responsibility theory. According to Milton Friedman, businesses should prioritize increasing shareholder profit and should especially embrace greed (Ramanna, 2020). Theoretically, shareholders might invest their funds and assets in whatever purposes they chose, but Friedman considered firms should concentrate on generating wealth for their owners. Milton Friedman’s infamous claim that a company’s social obligation is to raise earnings, which are currently at record levels, was made more than five decades ago (Ramanna, 2020). People must oppose increasing economic interference into public life as it would further weaken governmental institutions (Ramanna, 2020). Additionally, as public organizations deteriorate, business nowadays is promising to cover the gap (Ramanna, 2020). In fact, based on his conception, Friedman emphasized the major obligation of any company in terms of corporate social responsibility, which is profit maximization, and simultaneously disregarded other social factors.
Concerning the content and context of the Square’s 2020 corporate social responsibility report, it is compulsory to highlight that it begins with a letter from the company’s chief executive officer Jack Dorsey. A corporate responsibility document is a regular, typically annual publication that organizations produce with the intention of disclosing their corporate social responsibility efforts and outcomes (Chiu et al., 2020). Square’s report can be described as modern and diversified since it contains several essential chapters, including climate action, social impact, employees and culture, and corporate governance.
Regarding the critical evaluation of the Square’s report, it is feasible to note that current researches oppose Friedman’s concept of social responsibility, which indicates that exclusively economical benefit should be underlined. Projections made by companies that report on their corporate social responsibility are substantially more precise when those companies have high disclosure results (Muslu et al., 2019). Conversely, it is possible to state that estimates made by firms that document their corporate social responsibility are not more factual when they have reduced disclosure rating (Muslu et al., 2019). The results remain satisfactory when business variables, such as evaluations of corporate social responsibility activities and financial statements, are acknowledged and factored (Muslu et al., 2019). The study’s conclusions point to a link between analyst recognition rate and corporate social responsibility report material that is more prominent for publications with more in-depth information (Muslu et al., 2019). Thus, modern examples of social responsibility reporting, which is Square’s report, demonstrate the effectiveness of elaborating a diverse social responsibility conception, in contrast to Friedman’s version.
Conclusion
To summarize, a corporate social responsibility report is a document used by corporations to describe their corporate social responsibility efforts and the impact they have on society and the environment, both inside and outside. The presumption that only profitability should be broadly recognized constrained Milton Friedman’s views on the social responsibility of firms. In contrast to Friedman’s recommendations, Square’s corporate social responsibility report is a diverse document that covers different social elements of the company, both internal and external.
References
Chiu, A. A., Chen, L. N., & Hu, J. C. (2020). A study of the relationship between corporate social responsibility report and the stock market. Sustainability, 12(21), 9200. Web.
Muslu, V., Mutlu, S., Radhakrishnan, S., & Tsang, A. (2019). Corporate social responsibility report narratives and analyst forecast accuracy. Journal of Business Ethics, 154(4), 1119-1142. Web.
Ramanna, K. (2020). Friedman at 50: Is It Still the Social Responsibility of Business to Increase Profits? California Management Review, 62(3), 28-41. Web.