Social Responsibility

 

According to Manning (1998) in Ethical Leadership in Human Services, it discusses the ethical obligation that Human Service leaders have in “increasing the social goods;” thereby, they are strengthening individuals, families, organizations, and communities (p.1-2). The role of the Human Service Leader is to advance “Action and reform” in order to improve the social sector of society .This is contradictory to the roles of the United States Government and most organizations which promote “Conformity and compliance.” These unrelated roles can blur the boundaries between helping and harming members of society (p.5). 

The Human Service Leader is responsible to the community and society. The Ethical Standards for the Human Service professional lists eleven statements that describe their role (Statements 10-21 found in the appendix of our textbook). For a long time, the economic sector has focused on goods and profits. However, the business market has changed its course of action to promote Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Responsible consumers and stakeholder marketing: building a virtuous circle of social responsibility is an article that describes the changes within business to include the CSR. According to Spitzer (2010), “Socially responsible organizations that make the investment in creating a healthy work environment have a much better chance for 'survival when business conditions are tough, simply because the culture is healthier and therefore better able to adapt to challenges; and these organizations are also more apt to thrive when times are good”(p.5).

I liked the point made in the reading where it stated that “The ethical starting point is the leader,” because if we, as leaders, have our own ethical morals and values than our actions/behaviors will speak to our standards (Manning, 2003, p.16). Ethical guidelines need to be determined in advanced, and this takes knowledge of our self and meditation into the matter.

References

Council for Standards in Human Service Education adopted 1996. Ethical Standards for Human Service Professionals. Retrieved September 4, 2012, from http://www.nationalhumanservices.org/ethical-standards-for-hs-professionals.

Manning, Susan. (2003). Ethical Leadership in Human Services: A Multi-Dimensional Approach. Pearson, Allyn and Beacon, New York.

Spitzer, R. (2010). Is Social Responsibility Good?. Journal For Quality & Participation, 33(3), 13-17.