Class 11 Business Studies

Social Responsibility & Ethics

NCERT Solution

Short Answer Type

Question 1: What do you understand by social responsibility of business? How is it different from legal responsibility?

Answer: Social responsibility refers to obligations to take those decisions and perform those actions which are desirable in terms of objectives and values of the society. Social responsibility is entirely different from legal responsibility. While legal responsibility is well prescribed and clear cut, social responsibility is somewhat ambiguous. Sticking to legal responsibility only involves compliance on part of a business organization. But social responsibility is having a vast scope than mere compliance to some rules and regulations.

Question 2: What is environment? What is environmental pollution?

Answer: The totality of man’s surrounding (both natural and man-made) is called environment. The injection of harmful substances into the environment is called pollution. Environment has only a limited ability to soak harmful substances. When production of harmful substances goes beyond this capacity, we experience environmental pollution.

Question 3: What is business ethics? Mention the basic elements of business ethics.

Answer: Business ethics is concerned with relationship between business objectives, practices, and techniques and the good of the society. Socially determined moral principles which should govern the business activities are inherent in business ethics. The basic elements of business ethics are follows:

  1. Top management commitment
  2. Publication of a code
  3. Establishment of compliance mechanisms
  4. Involving employees at all levels
  5. Measuring results

Question 4: Briefly explain (a) Air Pollution, (b) Water pollution, and (c) Land pollution.

Answer: A combination of factors which lower the air quality results in air pollution. Carbon dioxide; emitted by automobiles; is the main reason of air pollution. Smoke and harmful gases from factories also contribute towards air pollution. Air pollution has resulted in increased cases of respiratory problems. It has also resulted in a hole in the ozone layer which is proving harmful for humans and other species.

Water Pollution: Water pollution happens because of dumping of wastes in water bodies. Sewage from households and factories has traditionally been discharge into water bodies and this has created a high level of water pollution. Water pollution has resulted increased cases of several diseases. It has also resulted in poor quality of life for aquatic life forms.

Land Pollution: Dumping of toxic wastes on land causes land pollution. Land pollution is harmful for plant growth and it adversely affects agricultural production. Restoring the quality of land can be very difficult task.

Question 5: What are the major areas of social responsibility of business?

Answer: The major areas of social responsibility of business are as follows:

  1. Economic
  2. Legal
  3. Ethical
  4. Discretionary