Sociology, CSR, and Management Theories
Sociology and Society
Sociology is the study of human social relationships and groups. It describes the laws that govern social phenomena. A society is a set of individuals who share the same culture, customs, and rules of legal organization.
Stakeholders
Internal: employees, managers, owners, workers.
External: suppliers, communities, government (tax), competitors, shareholders, customers.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
CSR involves integrating social, economic, and environmental factors into business practices. It’s the responsibility of companies for their impact on society and their contribution to sustainable development. Responsibilities of stakeholders include social, economic, and environmental considerations.
European Commission Strategy on CSR
The organization promotes enterprises to unify to international principles. The EU’s policy (2011) aims to align European and global approaches. The mission is to integrate CSR into education, training, and research.
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
The United Nations’ SDGs describe the world we want, applying to all nations, both developing and developed. All UN member states adopted this agenda in 2015, based on 17 Sustainable Development Goals before 2030. Ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth.
Example SDG: Clean Water and Sanitation
After COVID, 3 billion people lack basic hand washing facilities. Water scarcity could displace 700 million people by 2030. Companies like Danone are committed to protecting water by working with partners to strengthen the water cycle at the local level and adopting sustainable practices across their value chain. Kimberly-Clark, through The Toilet Board Coalition, supports SDG 6: Clean water and sanitation, providing leadership, mentorship, and investment to achieve this goal before 2030.
Social Stratification and Industrialization
Social stratification is the analysis of the layers that make up society. Industrialization is a process that had profound repercussions in the social sphere, transitioning from agrarian to industrial to post-industrial society.
Industrial Society
An economic mode of production that relies primarily on machine technology for the production of goods. The most powerful social group was the aristocracy.
Post-Industrial Society
The stage of society’s development when the service sector generates more wealth than the manufacturing sector. This concept characterizes the structure, dynamics, and possible future of advanced industrial societies.
Working Conditions
- Pre-industrial Society: Harsh, static, and cruel. Child labor, dirty living conditions, long working hours.
- Industrial Society: Poor, sometimes dangerous working conditions, long hours, potential job loss, 12-hour workdays, six days a week, no vacations.
- Post-Industrial Society: High-quality, safe working conditions, ethical hours, flexible timetables, no child labor, and vacations.
Management Theories
Frederick Winslow Taylor (Scientific Management)
Proposed that by optimizing and simplifying jobs, productivity would increase. He also advanced the idea that workers and managers needed to cooperate.
Henry Fayol (Administrative Management)
Focused on how management should interact with employees. The elements of management are planning, organizing, commanding, coordinating, and controlling.
Henry Ford (Production Organization)
Fordism is the basis of modern economic and social systems in industrialized, standardized mass production and mass consumption. The assembly-line process enabled Ford to produce cars more quickly and affordably.
Elton Mayo (Human Relations)
Popularized the idea of the “social person,” meaning organizations should treat people as individuals, not machines. People desire to be part of a supportive team that facilitates development and growth.
Kaoru Ishikawa (Total Quality Management)
Quality improvement is a continuous process. With his cause-and-effect diagram, he made significant advancements in quality improvement.
Human Resources Management (HRM)
Offers initiatives such as human rights, work-family balance (hour flexibility, support for new parents), career development (offering security), and increased wages.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Includes physiological needs (food, warmth, water), safety needs (security), belongingness and love needs (friends), esteem needs (prestige), and self-actualization (achieving one’s full potential). Motivation and needs are physical, psychological, and social.
Work-Family Balance
Implemented: Flexibility, online work, free transport, and kindergartens. Innovative ideas: Access to mental health professionals, a company concierge, and family activities provided by the company. Promotes harmony and happiness, opportunities for new parents, but hard to implement during COVID.