Dr. Ali Al-Ghamdi

 

Social responsibility is a moral obligation imposed on an entity, whether it is an organization or individual or group, to do something with the objective of reforming society and improving the condition of its members. This is supposed to be done without seeking any personal benefit or without doing anything that is harmful to society or its members either directly or indirectly.  



Perhaps the most important manifestation of social responsibility is giving full rights to those who are entitled to have them. The protection of the environment and refraining from doing anything that is harmful to it is another form of social responsibility. It also includes avoiding doing anything that causes damage to the environment or to society or its members. An example of this is restricting the use of plastic products which take a very long to decompose and thus cause environmental pollution as well as desertification.



The simplest manifestation of social responsibility - which is supposed to be the duty of not only the wealthy but also of all other members of society – is keeping villages, towns and cities clean and tidy. This is accomplished by accepting the responsibility of depositing rubbish in the designated trash bins. Islam considers the clearing of obstacles from the path of people as one of the branches of Faith (Iman). The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Faith has over 70 branches; the most excellent of which is the declaration that there is no God but Allah, and the humblest of which is to remove an obstacle from the path.”



It is not desirable for us to put this responsibility on the shoulders of street cleaners alone when we see trash scattered over the streets and alleys of our towns and cities. We must instead support cleaners in their work so that they do not develop an inferiority complex. Apart from this, we have to treat them fairly and provide them with a salary which is commensurate with their work and efforts.   



There is a lot of talk these days about the concept of social responsibility, and about what companies and banks are carrying out - under this banner - in terms of activities to serve society. These organizations hold seminars, conferences and forums to speak about social guarantees and the virtues of social responsibility as well as its role in serving society. Some university professors, representatives of chambers of commerce and industry and sports clubs, as well as those who are chosen by major companies and banks participate in these social responsibility seminars and meetings. The speakers, participants and sponsors of these events compete with each other to highlight the importance of social responsibility. These executives and representatives of companies and banks explain what their institutions have been doing to fulfill their social responsibility obligations.



However, the work being done by some of these organizations, unfortunately, does not amount to more than what they have paid for the promotion of the event that they have sponsored. These donors spend lavishly giving money and gifts to serve their propaganda goals. They turn the spotlight on the sponsoring of their events as well as on the efforts made by them in holding conferences and seminars. Their talks focus mainly on their community services in terms of the money they have paid for holding these events. However, such works are not in the real spirit of social responsibility. Perhaps the real goal of these organizations is to win some contracts or deals.  Of course, we cannot generalize. There may be other companies, banks and businessmen who spend money to support poor families or who build mosques and consider this to be part of their social responsibility.



The government does not levy taxes for such purposes. Hence, businessmen, companies and contractors must consider this to be a core aspect of social responsibility and they should come forward to undertake generous initiatives to serve society by, for example, constructing hospitals, schools, homes for the elderly, and orphanages.



Above all, these contractors, businessmen and companies should provide an adequate salary to their employees and should pay that salary on time, and they should not require any worker to engage in heavy work that is beyond his capacity. Workers should not be asked to perform their duties in the scorching sun or bitter cold. They should be provided with good food and accommodation as well as a comfortable work environment.



There is no point in allocating offices for some staff as part of social responsibility and at the same time depriving other workers of the same company of their due rights. Take, for example, the case of cleaning workers. They are hired in large numbers and are compelled to work hard but for meager earnings. Contracting companies sign cleaning contracts worth billions of riyals but at the same time give only a small portion of it to the cleaning workers who are actually implementing these contracts.



What is the meaning of the concept of social responsibility about which we are speaking if we do not treat these workers fairly by giving them their due rights and ending the injustice meted out to them? We have to recall the words of the Prophet (pbuh) in this regard: “Allah damned those who deprive others of their rights.”     

 

 — Dr. Ali Al-Ghamdi is a former Saudi diplomat who specializes in Southeast Asian affairs. He can be reached at algham@hotmail.com