Covid-19 pandemic and the moral and social obligations of business organizations

Abstract

People establish business organizations with the primary aim to make profit. The welfare and the protection of lives and properties of the citizens are the main responsibilities of the government. However, the social challenges facing humanity like poverty, diseases, global warming and natural disasters are so enormous and complex that government efforts alone cannot guarantee sustainable solutions. Consequently, a debate has been ongoing concerning the moral and social responsibility of business organizations to the society. Milton Friedman, an American pro-profit economist, insists that business organizations have no other obligation whatsoever to the society beyond payment of taxes and complying with government regulations. Other scholars who are pro-society insist that business firms have a duty to contribute, directly and voluntarily, to the development of the society. This paper examines this debate with a view to establishing the moral justification for the moral and social obligations of business corporations. The COVID-19 pandemic was used as a social context to help illustrate our position. We used Immanuel Kant’s moral theory of categorical imperative and the United Nation’s Global Compact (GC) initiative to anchor our analysis.  Our contention is that since business firms belong to human beings, they ought not to be indifferent to the challenges facing the society; that they also benefit from their contributions to the society; and that they may also ask for the help of the government and the public especially in emergency situations.