Advocates of corporate social responsibility say that businesses should assume a major role in making the world a better place. But what exactly is the responsibility of a firm? Consider the case of big drug companies and food producers. Some critics chastise them for not developing products to help Third World countries where people suffer from hunger and diseases like malaria. Because these people have little money, opportunities to make a profit are limited. Yet many investors argue that the primary responsibility of a corporation is to earn profit and maximize returns for shareholders.
Select three specific companies and explain each of their approaches to corporate social responsibility. What are they doing go address issues such as the ones discussed in the first paragraph? What do you think? Should these firms try to develop goods and services to fight hunger and disease in these countries? Why or why not? If not, how should these problems be addressed?