Topic - Basics
Social Management encompasses the conscious management of the interactions between an organisation and its social environment.
Today, consumers, investors and other stakeholder groups want social and ethical points of view to be an integral part of the entire process of producing and delivering goods and services. This desire to give equal consideration to social, ecological and economic developments corresponds to the basic requirements that underpin the concept of sustainable development.
- Consumers are prepared to pay a higher price for ‚fair trade’ products.
- Parents want to be reassured that the toys they purchase for their children have not been produced by the unethical use of child labour.
- People seeking employment are increasingly influenced by family friendly considerations (e.g. flexi-time and child minding facilities) in thier choice of employer.
- Rating agencies ask for information on social performance.
Although many companies take such expectations on board, they are nevertheless unsure as to how they should react. Their efforts are often of a peacemeal nature that ignore the wider picture of social effects, in short, they lack a pre-defined concept. Social management means taking account of both the opportunities and dangers present in social issues, evaluating them accurately and reacting to them from an informed stand point.
The ecological and social impacts of traditional methods of cost accounting and management of returns are barely considered. Therefore, instruments capable of both guiding entrepreneurial processes effectively and efficiently and living up to the needs and expectations of stakeholder groups are required in these areas. Such instruments are already well established in the ecological field (e.g. life cycle assessment, environmental cost accounting, ISO 14001 and others).Comparable tools in the social sphere are now being developed.
