Read below under "Ethics".

1. Is it reasonable to set aside sustainability and CSR practices when the viability of a business, community, or family is threatened? Can we say that the first ethical responsibility of management in times of extreme crisis is , maintaining a business or service organization for employees and customers?

2. Is it acceptable to argue that saving a company today will help build a stronger company for tomorrow, perhaps even more committed to sustainability and CSR than ever before? 3. What about you and your family? What choices have you made to survive the COVID-19 crisis? How do your sustainability and CSR goals fit into your personal consumer behavior?

Learning Objective 3.3 Explain What We Know About the Social Responsibilities of Organizations 59 means actively and visibly balancing the pursuit of profit with genuine contributions to the public good. Consider this statement from the agenda ofthe 50th World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland: \"Today's global companies are agents of unprecedented change, playing a greater role than ever before in shaping the political, social and cultural forces that are transe forming the world?" This thinking is consistent with the notion of shared value advocated by Mark Kramer and Michael Porter. They say: \"The purpose of a corporation must be redefined as creating shared value, notjust profit?\" Their point is that executives can and should make business decisions with full understanding that economic gains and social progress are fundamentally interconnected They aren't mutually exclusive. Businesses can make prots for shareholders while striving to do good for all stakeholders and overcome social ills such as racial injustice, resource depletion, pollution, poverty, illiteracy, and disease. Instead of viewing CSR from a win-lose perspective that pits the interests of sharehold- ers and owners against other stakeholders, shared value takes a win-win perspective. Busi ness decisions are made so that economic value is created by pursuing social value, and business advantage is gained by aligning practices and strategies with social contributions. In fact, a new tor-profit entity known as the benefit corporation, or B Corp, formalizes the shared value concept of success for shareholders and success for stakeholders. To become a certified B Corp, a business must meet standards assessed by the global nonprofit B Lab and confirm its social and legal commitments to benefit workers, communities, and the environment, as well as make profits. Prominent B Corp examples are Patagonia and Ben & Jerry's.'g Shared vaiue approaches business decismnswith understanding that economic gains and social progress are interconnected. The hen efit corps ration, or B Corp, is committed to both creating profits for shareholders and creating value foremployees, communities, and the environ- ment as stakeholders. \"liyou 've lost yaurjub, you're not thinking about sustainability.\" Can Sustainability Survive Crises like the Covid-IE) Pandemic? . . lm mediate concerns. benefitsican be costly in the short term. And when a crisis like the pandemic hits, those practices can quickly lose out to other more One observer of the pandemic response bluntly states: \"Bush Fostock 11/5 hutte rsto Ckco m Sustainability may be a luxury commodity that is pursued when times are good but put on the shelf when things get bad. And things do get bad; the Covidrle pandemic is a potent reminder of that fact. when personal and organizational livelihoods are at risk, survival tends to trumpother priorities. Sustainability and CSR goals have permeated our society and gained prominence as guides to personai and organizational behavior. A growing percentage of college graduates have been endorsing socially responsible organizations as preferred employe ers. But sustainable practicesiwith all of theirsocial and longeterm Result 3 of 3 > nesses that were planning to help save the world are now simply saving themselves.\" Another says: \"If you've lost your job, you're not thinking about sustainability . . . the average consumer does not have the resources to shop in a way that always protecm the environment." The Covid-19 aftermath has seen losses or pauses in water co nservation, sustainable farming, electric vehicle initiatives, and waste avoidance, among others. But Blackrock CED Larry Fink says: "when we exit this crisis, things will be different. . . business will change. Consumption will change." He believes that sustain ability goals will regain priority in the long term and that we will see "a return to companies focusing on material sustainability management and reporting." He stands by his firm's commitment to \"doing well by domg good," Vour Decision? Is it justifiable to push sustainability and CSR practices aside when the survivability of a business or a community or a fam- ily is at risk? Is the first ethical responsibility of management in times of extreme crisis to preserve the business or service organization for its employees and customers? Can saving a business today help build a stronger business for tomorrow, perhaps one more committed than ever to susminabiiity and CSR? How about you and your family? Where did sustainabil- ity and CSR goals fit in your consumption behaviors during the Covid-19 crisis