Journal # 3: Responsibility to Society

June 11, 2012

            One line that struck me the most throughout our class in COSORES today would be “Business people are people first”.  For me, this really says a lot towards how we should prioritize our responsibilities as a human being.  I learned that as a person, we have to live in our own communities, with our families, neighbors, and friends.  With that said, we must take care of our environment and start believing in good ethics and social responsibility.  Today’s class also tackled the so-called Moral Compass or the dynamics of ethical principles.  Each company must realize that they have the responsibility to give back to society because if they help others, it will somehow come back to them at some point.  However, they should not focus on the return on their social investment but simply think about how it can improve the lives of other people.  On top of that, they should keep in mind that in order to do so, they must keep in mind to think of the following: care, justice, individual rights and the common good (utilitarianism).

            Ever since I started having my internships (Nestle and Chevron), I tend to be more focused on Corporate Social Responsibility.  I realized that big companies make huge amounts of money, and so it really won’t hurt if they help our society.  Without them, no one will be purchasing their products.  If our society is suffering, consumer demands will lessen, which will have a negative effect on their profit.  My point is that businesses should be at least generous in sharing their blessings towards the less fortunate Filipinos.  Moreover, they must also try to improve our environment since it can somehow be of their own benefit in the future.  If every employee are taught proper values that are practiced by their respective companies, our country can still be a better place. 

Personally, I believe that the Philippines still has a chance to develop as long as all the Filipinos are willing to help out.  Having classes similar to COSORES will awaken the minds of Filipino students towards the reality of our country.  Therefore, they, too, can take small actions for the betterment of the Philippines.  Each person should take this type of class seriously because it is truly through proper education where we can enhance everything around us.