Social responsibility of business firms in Davao City as perceived by their employees

Abstract

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is an elusive concept. Although, it has been in practice for more than a century, it is relatively young in the Philippines. The objective of the paper is to determine the level of social responsibility of business firms in Davao City when grouped according to form of business organizations: proprietorship, partnership and corporation as perceived by its’ employees. The study used workplace policies, environmental policies, marketplace policies, community policies and company values as indicators for level of social responsibility. Data were collected from 104 employees, selected through purposive sampling method, where these employees are working for the forms of organization mentioned. Using descriptive survey method, results showed the practice of CSR is evident in all indicators mentioned. Further, the study found out that there is no significant difference in the level of social responsibility among forms of business. Thus, the null hypothesis was accepted. It suggested that whatever the form of business may be, the practice of social responsibility is independent of the form of business but on the people who run the business, instead. Most of the companies surveyed enjoyed a good management which is both a cause and a result of social responsibility. Keyword: social science; corporate social responsibility; business firms; employees; Davao city