Topic: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources, growth, development and employment. Inclusive growth and issues arising from it.
6)In order for business to truly serve the society, it is necessary to consider social costs associated with their decision-making. Examine.(250 words)
Why this question
In recent times, companies like facebook, google etc have generated a host of controversies around their functioning and ethics. Their claims of serving the society are negated by the social cost of their business decisions. The issue is important for UPSC mains exam. It is related to GS-3 syllabus under the following heading.
Key demand of the question
The question wants us to give reasons why considering social costs is important for business decisions. We have to justify the given statement here.
Directive word
Examine- we have to probe deeper into the question and find reasons/ arguments/ facts which support the given statement.
Structure of the answer
Introduction- introduce your answer by briefly discussing how modern businesses and companies are closely linked to our life, in various forms. E.g social media, online shopping, web search, taxi aggregators etc.
Body- discuss in points, why businesses should include social costs in their decision making. We have to explain the negative consequences on the of not doing so. Give as much as examples as possible to highlight the different aspects of the problem.
E.g)
- facebook and google for data privacy- here discuss why companies should protect data privacy and insulate its misuse by commercial operations.
- uber for taxi driver’s losses- here discuss how such aggregators are hurting local employment, and misusing their large capital base to disturb the competition.
- Google for project Maven- here discuss that a company linked to such intricate functions in everyday life of a modern citizen should not build artificial intelligence for warfare. Also discuss scope of misuse of user data for such AI war- machines.
You can give more examples also.
Conclusion- present your conclusion in the form of suggestions for how social costs could be involved in business decision-making ( e.g better regulation, open disclosure norms, citizen driven efforts to mobilize and form public opinion etc).
