Moral Responsibility?

Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook, says American CEOs have a moral responsibility to speak out on issues and to support society’s needs. Economic conservatives would counter by stating that the sole role of the CEO is to make money for shareholders. Which is correct, or do the two approaches exist side by side in an uncomfortable alliance? Even a conservative would admit that if a societal issue threatens a company’s bottom line, the CEO should address it. For the most part, though, CEOs stay out of politics and hot button issues, and that is OK. They have enough to do to keep their companies profitable and growing. But, there is good reason for them to address societal issues within the boundaries of their companies. Issues such as diversity and promotion of women and minorities affect operations and company progress. Local community services surrounding hiring and retention are also well within the strict boundaries of corporate profitability. Thus, for example, a CEO should focus on the quality of schools in a plant town so she can be assured of having enough qualified candidates to keep it running. A company can rarely divorce itself from society completely if it wants to succeed. Tim Cook is right about that.