Social Responsibilities of Corporate Managers in an International Context

In a growing atmosphere of mistrust of many transnational corporations, there is a recognized need for holding them accountable. The world community has often been betrayed by corporations which make decisions affecting the lives of many, but concentrate the power of decision making in the hands of a few individuals. Those whose lives are affected by these decisions are seldom consulted, and have sometimes met with disastrous results. There is a need for restructuring the decision‐making process of transnational corporations. Decision‐making must become more decentralized and democratic. Governments and local communities must be actively included in this process where it concerns the public welfare in order to balance the profit motive of business with human needs and interests. Corporate managers are judged too heavily on criteria which hinge on profit margins and are often forced to compromise their better judgement by the severely hierarchical corporate structure. Corporate management needs to adopt new performance criteria in order to be more responsible towards the public which it is supposed to serve.