ACCT19083 Final Assignment Term 3, 2017: Social Responsibility

This ACCT19083 assignment analyzes the concept of socially responsible businesses, defining CSR and providing examples such as Google and Xerox, which actively promote good citizenship and community involvement. The assignment also examines the Grameen Bank, assessing its role as a socially responsible enterprise, particularly through its microcredit initiatives that empower impoverished communities in Bangladesh. The analysis highlights how Grameen Bank provides loans without collateral and supports entrepreneurial activities, including the 'Village Phone' program, which enhances connectivity and income opportunities for villagers. Furthermore, it discusses the bank's financial performance and its commitment to eliminating exploitation, demonstrating its commitment to social responsibility through various programs and initiatives, supported by relevant academic references.

ACCT19083 Final Assignment
Term 3, 2017
Student ID:………………………………. Student name……………………………………………………..
Marker’s overall comments: The markers may include any
final comments here.
Overall Mark (Total) out of 40:
0

Part A Question 1:
What is a socially responsible business? Explain with examples.
Answer:
In the modern world, the responsibility of the businesses is that they have to be maintaining the surroundings and look after the
environment. The businesses have to use its power so that it can influence in changing the society for the cause of common good.
Social responsibility that is present in business is referred to as being responsible towards the society through a corporate manner. To
put it simply, it can be said that Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is the responsibility of businesses towards the society (Smith
2017).
The benefit of corporate social responsibility is that it helps the businesses in taking smart decisions and not just increasing its profit
margin. The better decision that the businesses take up helps them in creating an impact on the choices of the people and the
community and takes in to consideration the opinions that are given by the customers (Christensen, Mackey and Whetten 2014).
A recent study that was conducted showed that the demands of the employees for the company are that they need to be socially
responsible so that the business do not hamper the surrounding environment by polluting it. It was seen that almost 30 percent of the
employees considers leaving the job if the current company where they are working are not involved in some kind of charity business
(Cohen 2017). Almost 60 percent of the employees are of the notion that they would quit the job if the company harms the surrounding
environment in some way or the other. The boost in the Corporate Social Responsibility by the business will help the company in
boosting the morale of the employees so that they can be retained within the organization and the level of productivity can be increased

by them (Hasan 2016).
The businesses have to be socially responsible so that it can help in creating an image of its own amongst the public and earn the
reputation as well. The business will earn in its own way if they create a better image within the society. It will also lead to increase in
the level of awareness among the consumers, as most of the modern consumers are conscious regarding the products that they purchase
and the use of harmful chemicals and ingredients will see a drop in the sales of the company. CSR plays an active role for ensuring the
growth and survival of the business within the society (Charter 2017).
An example of socially responsible company is Google, which makes great moves in empowering good citizenship and is one of the
largest corporate houses that take every effort in helping the citizens’ move towards a better society. A branch of the company known
as Google Green uses the resources in an efficient manner so that it can work on renewable energy. The organization recycles the
energy at a lower cost and uses it within the organization.
Another organization called Xerox conducts several programs that help in supporting CSR and the ‘Community Involvement Program’
that is conducted by them has helped in empowering and boosting the morale of the employees in the organization as well. The
company makes sure that all its employees participate in the program so that their commitment towards the organization can be
increased.
References:
Charter, M. ed., 2017. Greener marketing: A responsible approach to business. Routledge.

Christensen, L.J., Mackey, A. and Whetten, D., 2014. Taking responsibility for corporate social responsibility: The role of leaders in
creating, implementing, sustaining, or avoiding socially responsible firm behaviors. The Academy of Management Perspectives, 28(2),
pp.164-178.
Cohen, E., 2017. CSR for HR: A necessary partnership for advancing responsible business practices. Routledge.
Hasan, M.N., 2016. Measuring and understanding the engagement of Bangladeshi SMEs with sustainable and socially responsible
business practices: an ISO 26000 perspective. Social Responsibility Journal, 12(3), pp.584-610.
Smith, D.C. ed., 2017. History of Socially Responsible Business, C. 1600-1950. Palgrave Macmillan.
Marker’s Comments: The marker will provide feedback here. Mark (5):
0
Exceeds Expectations
(High Distinction) 85-100%
Exceeds Expectations
(Distinction) 75 - 84%
Meets Expectations
(Credit) 65 – 74%
Meets Expectations
(Pass) 50 – 64%
Below Expectations
(Fail) below 50%
Demonstrates a balanced and very
high level of detailed knowledge of
core concepts by providing a very
high level of analysis. Utilises
current, appropriate and credible
sources.
Demonstrates a balanced and high
level of knowledge of core
concepts by providing a high level
of analysis. Utilises mostly current,
appropriate and credible sources.
Demonstrates a good level of
knowledge of some of the core
concepts by providing some level
of analysis. Utilises some current,
appropriate and credible sources.
Demonstrates limited knowledge of
core concepts by providing a
limited level of analysis. Utilises
few current, appropriate and
credible sources.
Demonstrates little, if any,
knowledge of the core concepts
with extremely limited, if any,
analysis. Utilises little, if any,
current, appropriate and credible
sources.
Quality of writing at a very high
standard. Paragraphs are
coherently connected to each
other. Correct grammar, spelling
and punctuation.
Quality of writing is of a high
standard. Paragraphs are mostly
well structured. Few grammar,
spelling and punctuation mistakes.
Quality of writing is of a good
standard. Few grammar, spelling
and punctuation mistakes.
Some problems with sentence
structure and presentation
Frequent grammar, punctuation
and spelling mistakes. Use of
inappropriate language.
Quality of writing is at a very poor
standard so barely
understandable. Many spelling
mistakes. Little or no evidence of
proof reading.
The assessment presents a
detailed and focused summary of
the ideas presented; drawing clear
The assessment presents a fairly
detailed and focused summary of
the ideas presented; drawing fairly
The assessment presents a
somewhat detailed and focused
summary of the ideas presented;
The assessment provides limited
detail with no clear summary of the
ideas presented; drawing limited
The assessment fails to provide
any clear evidence of the ideas
presented; drawing no clear

Exceeds Expectations
(High Distinction) 85-100%
Exceeds Expectations
(Distinction) 75 - 84%
Meets Expectations
(Credit) 65 – 74%
Meets Expectations
(Pass) 50 – 64%
Below Expectations
(Fail) below 50%
and well thought-out conclusions. clear and well thought-out
conclusions.
providing some evidence of
conclusions.
conclusions. conclusions.

Part A Question 2:
Explain whether or not Grameen Bank is a socially responsible business enterprise.
Answer:.
Bangladesh has suffered a lot due to the various effects of war that had ravaged the country for many years along with the natural
disasters that took place as well. The country is prone to the natural disasters and it has seen numerous floods, cyclones in the monsoon
seasons and droughts due to extreme summer seasons. This has led to the population to be below the poverty line and most of the
citizens are very poor. The Liberation War that took place in 1971 had also created effects in the living conditions of the people along
with the famine hat took place in 1974-75. These factors led to the bad conditions for the people to survive in the country (Kumar,
Hossain and Gope 2015).
The Grameen Bank was formed by Md. Yunus whose main activities were to provide microcredit finances to the poor villagers living
in the country. Most of the other banks that were present in the country did not provide any loans to the villagers due to the high risk on
return and the failure of the people in providing collateral properties for the loan amount. The bank provides loans to the villagers
without any collateral property and the rate of interest is also very low for the villagers so that the loan amount can be repaid. It was
seen that this scheme that was started by the bank helped in empowering the villagers and mostly the women who wanted to start their
own entrepreneurial activities (Bhuiyan et al. 2017).
The bank also supported the rural society by providing loans to the business that spanned from knitwear to development of softwares.
The innovative program that was started by the organization was known as ‘Village Phone’, which was done by the collaborative

partnership with the Grameen Telecom. The country suffers from the lowest densities with respect to telephone operators on a global
scale. The organization bought the radio-telephones in the villages of the country so that it can help the villagers in being connected
with the outer society as well (Spence et al. 2018). This program has helped in providing better network to almost 260,000 villagers in
more than 50,000 villages. The ‘Village Phone’ program uses the concept of pay phones that are operated by the owners, which also
acts as a way of income for the operators. This has helped the poor women of the villages in diversifying their income levels by
becoming the operators of this phone services. The villagers who opt for this program takes a loan in purchasing the handset and
receives a training from the ‘Grameen Telecom’ as well so that they can get the idea of operating the phone. This has helped the
villagers in starting their own call centres at their place and provides the lines to the villagers at a small charge as well (Ridley-Duff
and Bull 2015).
This activity that has been started by the bank has led them to increase their profit margins as well, as the rate of repayment of loan is
nearly 99 percent. As per the data of 2014, it was seen that the organization has generated revenue of USD 362 million while its
expenditure was USD 357 million. This has led the organization in declaring a dividend of 30 percent in the year 2014. The
organization had earlier declared a dividend of 100 percent in the year 2006 as well (Choi and Majumdar 2014).
The main objective of the bank was to provide the facilities of banking that are available to the poor women and men living in the
villages and eliminate the rate of exploitation that the money lenders have on the poor villagers (Spence et al. 2018).
References:

Bhuiyan, A.B., Siwar, C., Ismail, A.G. and Omar, N., 2017. The experiences of the Grameen and Islami Bank microfinance on the
poverty alleviation in Bangladesh. Journal of Islamic Economics, Banking and Finance, 13(3), pp.64-81.
Choi, N. and Majumdar, S., 2014. Social entrepreneurship as an essentially contested concept: Opening a new avenue for systematic
future research. Journal of business venturing, 29(3), pp.363-376.
Kumar, D., Hossain, A. and Gope, M.C., 2015. Role of micro credit program in empowering rural women in Bangladesh: A study on
Grameen Bank Bangladesh Limited. Asian Business Review, 3(4), pp.114-120.
Ridley-Duff, R. and Bull, M., 2015. Understanding social enterprise: Theory and practice. Sage.
Spence, L.J., Frynas, J.G., Muthuri, J.N. and Navare, J. eds., 2018. Research Handbook on Small Business Social Responsibility:
Global Perspectives. Edward Elgar Publishing.
Marker’s Comments: The marker will provide feedback here. Mark (5):
0
Exceeds Expectations
(High Distinction) 85-100%
Exceeds Expectations
(Distinction) 75 - 84%
Meets Expectations
(Credit) 65 – 74%
Meets Expectations
(Pass) 50 – 64%
Below Expectations
(Fail) below 50%
Demonstrates a balanced and very
high level of detailed knowledge of
core concepts by providing a very
high level of analysis. Utilises
current, appropriate and credible
sources.
Demonstrates a balanced and high
level of knowledge of core
concepts by providing a high level
of analysis. Utilises mostly current,
appropriate and credible sources.
Demonstrates a good level of
knowledge of some of the core
concepts by providing some level
of analysis. Utilises some current,
appropriate and credible sources.
Demonstrates limited knowledge of
core concepts by providing a
limited level of analysis. Utilises
few current, appropriate and
credible sources.
Demonstrates little, if any,
knowledge of the core concepts
with extremely limited, if any,
analysis. Utilises little, if any,
current, appropriate and credible
sources.
Quality of writing at a very high
standard. Paragraphs are
coherently connected to each
other. Correct grammar, spelling
and punctuation.
Quality of writing is of a high
standard. Paragraphs are mostly
well structured. Few grammar,
spelling and punctuation mistakes.
Quality of writing is of a good
standard. Few grammar, spelling
and punctuation mistakes.
Some problems with sentence
structure and presentation
Frequent grammar, punctuation
and spelling mistakes. Use of
inappropriate language.
Quality of writing is at a very poor
standard so barely
understandable. Many spelling
mistakes. Little or no evidence of
proof reading.

Exceeds Expectations
(High Distinction) 85-100%
Exceeds Expectations
(Distinction) 75 - 84%
Meets Expectations
(Credit) 65 – 74%
Meets Expectations
(Pass) 50 – 64%
Below Expectations
(Fail) below 50%
The assessment presents a
detailed and focused summary of
the ideas presented; drawing clear
and well thought-out conclusions.
The assessment presents a fairly
detailed and focused summary of
the ideas presented; drawing fairly
clear and well thought-out
conclusions.
The assessment presents a
somewhat detailed and focused
summary of the ideas presented;
providing some evidence of
conclusions.
The assessment provides limited
detail with no clear summary of the
ideas presented; drawing limited
conclusions.
The assessment fails to provide
any clear evidence of the ideas
presented; drawing no clear
conclusions.

Part A Question 3:
What is ethical dilemma? Discuss with real and/or hypothetical examples of ethical dilemma.
Answer:
Ethical dilemma takes place due to a problem that arises from decision making in the organization. The reason for the problem may be
due to a conflict in the moral imperatives, which may or may not be acceptable in an unambiguous manner. The complexity of the
situation may result in transgressing on to another problem. The paradoxes that are present in ethical dilemma may lead to invoking of
the moral code so that it can help in solving the paradox (Bennett 2017).
There are three conditions that need to be fulfilled so that the situation can be termed as an ethical dilemma. The primary condition is
that the agent has to make a decision regarding the action that is best suited for the situation. Secondly, there has to be a different
course of action so that the choice of different opinions can be opened for the particular situation. Lastly, in the scene of ethical
dilemma a portion of the principles that are ethical in nature needs to be compromised, which to put it simply can be said that there is
no solution at all (Sjoberg 2015).
The factors that lead to ethical dilemma makes it necessary to distinct between the values, morals, ethics, policies and laws. Therefore,
ethics can be stated as the statements that are prepositional in nature, which are used by the groups or members so that the
determination of the course of action that is right can be identified. It mainly relies on the rational and logical criteria so that a decision
can be reached, which is a cognitive process. On the contrary, values are the ideas that are held on to by the individuals. It is the idea

that helps us in the things that needs to be achieved such as social justice and equality (Anderson and Anderson 2014).
There are two types of ethical dilemma such as pure dilemma, which occurs between more than two standards of ethics, which are in
conflict within the situation with each other. An example of this would be the work of a social worker within the rural community
where the mental care services are limited. This problem may be out of the expertise of the competence level of the worker, as the
treatment options are limited within the area. There are other situations a swell where the decision may result in the conflict between
the laws, policies and values (Shapiro and Stefkovich 2016). They may not be treated as ethical dilemmas but are known as
approximate dilemmas. An example of approximate dilemma is that when the social worker is obliged in a legal manner to report a
domestic or a child abuse and shows concern regarding the release of the information. This situation has to be broken down so that it
can help in the identification of the legal issues, policies, ethics and moral values, which can be differentiated between the professional
and personal dimensions that may help in making the decision within the organizations (Bennett 2017).
References:
Anderson, M. and Anderson, S.L., 2014, July. GenEth: A General Ethical Dilemma Analyzer. In AAAI (pp. 253-261).
Bennett, J., 2017. Editorial The insufficient integration of medicine into clinical dental education: a missed opportunity or an ethical
dilemma?.
Shapiro, J.P. and Stefkovich, J.A., 2016. Ethical leadership and decision making in education: Applying theoretical perspectives to
complex dilemmas. Routledge.

Sjöberg, I., 2015. Medical consequences of whipping. Ethical dilemma for physicians. Lakartidningen, 112.
Marker’s Comments: The marker will provide feedback here. Mark (5):
0
Exceeds Expectations
(High Distinction) 85-100%
Exceeds Expectations
(Distinction) 75 - 84%
Meets Expectations
(Credit) 65 – 74%
Meets Expectations
(Pass) 50 – 64%
Below Expectations
(Fail) below 50%
Demonstrates a balanced and very
high level of detailed knowledge of
core concepts by providing a very
high level of analysis. Utilises
current, appropriate and credible
sources.
Demonstrates a balanced and high
level of knowledge of core
concepts by providing a high level
of analysis. Utilises mostly current,
appropriate and credible sources.
Demonstrates a good level of
knowledge of some of the core
concepts by providing some level
of analysis. Utilises some current,
appropriate and credible sources.
Demonstrates limited knowledge of
core concepts by providing a
limited level of analysis. Utilises
few current, appropriate and
credible sources.
Demonstrates little, if any,
knowledge of the core concepts
with extremely limited, if any,
analysis. Utilises little, if any,
current, appropriate and credible
sources.
Quality of writing at a very high
standard. Paragraphs are
coherently connected to each
other. Correct grammar, spelling
and punctuation.
Quality of writing is of a high
standard. Paragraphs are mostly
well structured. Few grammar,
spelling and punctuation mistakes.
Quality of writing is of a good
standard. Few grammar, spelling
and punctuation mistakes.
Some problems with sentence
structure and presentation
Frequent grammar, punctuation
and spelling mistakes. Use of
inappropriate language.
Quality of writing is at a very poor
standard so barely
understandable. Many spelling
mistakes. Little or no evidence of
proof reading.
The assessment presents a
detailed and focused summary of
the ideas presented; drawing clear
and well thought-out conclusions.
The assessment presents a fairly
detailed and focused summary of
the ideas presented; drawing fairly
clear and well thought-out
conclusions.
The assessment presents a
somewhat detailed and focused
summary of the ideas presented;
providing some evidence of
conclusions.
The assessment provides limited
detail with no clear summary of the
ideas presented; drawing limited
conclusions.
The assessment fails to provide
any clear evidence of the ideas
presented; drawing no clear
conclusions.
Part A Question 4:
Explain the ethical dilemma considering the accusations of a financial impropriety and so claimed
highest interest rates charged by Grameen Bank.
Answer:
Financial impropriety signifies the matters relating to money or finances. People involved in managing money or credit need to be sure
that certain rules are followed that may help an organisation or a person to not commit any type of forgery. According to Boatright
(2013), financial impropriety includes any type of fraud on legal documents that concern the bank or other financial transactions.