social audit
Business organizations, whether owned privately, publicly, or co-operatively, operate in a context that is much broader than the immediate marketplace. Their activities can have social, economic, and sometimes political consequences whose impact may be felt on a local, national, or even international scale. Increasingly, various interest groups are calling on organizations to recognize the far-reaching implications of their decisions and to account for their actions on the grounds of social responsibility. The concept of social auditing is a corporate response to the demand for such accountability. Developed by the New Economics Foundation and Tradecraft Exchange, social auditing seeks to support, guide and define a process by which an organization identifies, measures, assesses and reports on its social performance.A social audit is a process of evaluation and reporting which is similar, in some respects, to a financial audit but focuses on social rather than financial performance It also is a tool for evaluating how satisfactorily a company has discharged its social responsibilities. It enables the public as well as the company to evaluate the social performance of the company.
The motivation for change is, of course, not entirely altruistic; any organization will benefit from taking into account the expectations of individuals, groups, and other organizations that affect the success of its operations What is the point of such an audit?The fact that business policies and practices have significant social consequences has been recognized since the industrial revolution. As a result of continuing efforts to hold organizations accountable to society for their actions, substantial improvements have been realized in many areas: for example, employment practices, safety in the work environment, job enrichment, disposal of industrial waste, management of natural resources, and consumer protection. It is apparent that the potential benefits of a social audit are very substantial. If well facilitated, social auditors from different organisations can become self-supporting for subsequent years. There are , of course, numerous problems that remain, and constant monitoring is required to achieve and maintain responsible corporate behaviour. The collection of information is an on-going process, often done in 12-month cycles and resulting in the organisation establishing social bookkeeping and the preparation of an annual social audit document/report. Are there any universal principles, concerns, and values which guide the auditing process?There are many social issues that can be identified as falling within an organization's sphere of influence. In France, a form of social accounting is required by law for companies beyond a certain size, and other countries are considering similar legislation. In addition, the social sequences of any given activity or programs are notoriously difficult to determine; they may indeed be altered by the measurement process itself. Social auditing information is collected through research methods that include social bookkeeping, surveys and case studies. Indeed, for businesses that function in a highly sensitive social environment, social accountability is now a matter of survival; organizational simply cannot afford to ignore it. The majority may be considered to be of concern to organizations of all type. The areas pf social concern noted above constitutes only a partial list. Many mangers, understandably, are intimidated by so broad a target. Examples are pollution, discriminatory employment practices , misleading advertising, the production and handing of toxic substances, irresponsible use of non-renewable resources, conflict of interest among corporate directors , business activities that intrude upon neighborhoods or otherwise diminish the quality of community life, and the impact of information technology on the lives of private citizens.
Common topics in this essay:
Canada United,
Tradecraft Exchange,
Poverty Gross,
Audit Business,
social auditing,
social audit,
social performance,
social audit process,
audit process,
social improvement,
financial audit,
social responsibilities,
commitment social,
audit business,
associations organized labour,
organization's social responsibilities,
organized labour media,
associations organized,
concept social auditing,
|
Acceptance Essays
