The ISO 26000 provides the international community with the following
principles on Social Responsibility.
From knowledge of these principles, an organization can move beyond good
intentions by establishing its governance and operations to incorporate the
best outcomes prescribed by these principles.
This summary will list the principles along with an overall
explanation. The details of each Social
Responsibility principle will require individual blog articles to appropriately
address the guidelines.
1.
Principle: Accountability
An organization
should be accountable for its impacts on society, the economy, and the
environment.
2.
Principle: Transparency
An organization
should be transparent in its decisions and activities that impact on society and
the environment.
3.
Principle: Ethical Behavior
An organization
should behave ethically
4.
Principle: Respect for Stakeholder Interests
An organization
should respect, consider and respond to the interests of its stakeholders.
5.
Principle: Respect for the Rule of Law
An organization
should accept that respect for the rule of law is mandatory.
6.
Principle: Respect for International Norms of
Behavior
An organization
should respect international norms of behavior, while adhering to the principle
of respect for the rule of law.
7.
Principle: Respect for Human Rights
An organization
should respect human rights and recognize both their importance and their
universality.
The principles take the concepts of Social Responsibility
beyond good intentions by emphasizing actions, choices, and the tangible
effects of those decisions. The
Principles also are written in such a way that the typical excuses and
rationalizations are rendered futile or moot.
The common element of every Social Responsibility principle
is Respect, whether or not the word Respect is overtly mentioned. The opposite of Respect, Contempt,
contributes to the negligence, misconduct, and overt harm that socially
irresponsible organizations bring to society.
If Quality is the pursuit of eliminating Waste and Deviation, Social
Responsibility could be considered as the pursuit of eliminating Contempt, and replacing
that with Respect.
These Social Responsibility Principles are not mutually
exclusive elements. The interdependencies
are self-evident as demonstrated with the following examples.
-
Ethical Behavior as defined by Respect for International Norms of Behavior
-
Transparency in
accordance with Respect for the Rule of Law
-
Accountability in fulfillment of Respect for Stakeholder Interests and Respect for
Human Rights
A deficiency or malady in one of the principles taints and
tarnishes the fulfillment of other principles by their very definition. The absence or inadequacy of a principle like
Accountability creates doubt and illegitimacy in the claims of fulfillment in
Stakeholder Interests, since there would be elements for which the organization
is not accountable.
As a final observation, the common object of the Social Responsibility
Principles is the Organization. While
decisions and actions are taken by Individuals, those individuals work as
agents or proxies, representing the Organization and its core values. If the divergence is the act of rogue or
defiant Individuals operating in a manner inconsistent with the values of the
Organization, then there is an implicit expectation that the Organization will
address the variation and divergence in a visible and tangible manner, and reinforce
its Social Responsibility obligations and principles accordingly.
As Organization that follows the Social Responsibility
Principles goes beyond good intentions by stating expectations or “virtues”,
and then providing guidelines to achieve that elevated existence of doing well
by “doing good”.
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