B-04

Social impact first is essential for the company to survive. Companies should giving
contribution to local society, especially for companies who have direct impact to
environment. Many research shows that by doing social impact such as Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR) and kind of social activities, will increase shareholder value and its
sustainability.Therefore social impact is a priority for the company.
However, i think its almost impossible to put social impact first. The term social
impact first means that in every situation, when company facing with moral and ethical
dilemmas, the companies will put social impact first. Take for example, when oil and gas
company decide to operate in a rural area and they need to clear the land. The public
want a large compensation, workers from local area and public facilities. What will the
company do? It depends on their moral and ethical foundation. If the company put social
impact first, It will comply and possibly creating a loss in their income. If It put profit first,
they possibly hired an army or employing bribery to local authority leading to unethical
behaviour. The article stated the positive benefits of putting social impact first, but
neglecting the consequences and its solutions. CSR, and other social activities of the
companies doesnt mean that its existence are solely for the purpose of being social but it
is for profit, a long term profit. The article mainly stating about the positive aspect of CSR
and social impact of the company, but the impact will mainly for profit. Therefore,stating
that social impact first are better for business are contradictory with the argument
proposed in the article who always implicitly show social impact as a means of generating
long term profit. Where should business stand then? Business should not stand at the
extreme side of social impact or profit by putting another over other first. Companies can
working hand in hand with the society, and forming hybrid business model of social
impact and profit. This form of hybrid business model will lead the way toward a new
economy and the companies that figure it out wont just thrive; they will develop huge
competitive advantages. (Drayton, 2010). Social impact should not be seen as a mean to
profit, but as a competitive advantage to sustainable business. Therefore choosing one
priority will prove detrimental and both should go hand in hand.
Even though social impact first gave birth to many new question, the argument in
the article showed some insight how significant the social impact role for the company.
The article shows the benefit of CSR for the sustainability of the company. The article also
provide the future challenge that need to be addressed in the issue such as enviromental.
Thus it is crucial to point out that the article written by the author give significant
contribution to this idea

Evans, Rhonda. 2014. Business and Social Impact. https://dupress.deloitte.com/dup-us-

en/focus/business-trends/2014/business-social-impact.html. Accessed 12 February 2017
Drayton, Bill. 2010. When Profit and Social Impact Unite https://hbr.org/2010/03/when-profit-
and-social-impact. Accessed 12 February 2017