Social responsibility of organizations

Both Friedman and Almeder have valid points, when talking about social responsibility in corporations. Friedman is correct in saying that the primary goal of a corporation is to serve in the shareholders best interests; which, in most cases involves maximizing profit. I also somewhat agree with Friedman when he questions how social responsibility and morals are defined and who defines them. However, I think we all can agree that some actions are without a doubt immoral, while there is a gray area for other actions. As we discussed in class today, I think we all can agree that killing a human being for any amount of money is wrong. However, for some reason there is a gray area when we talk about a company polluting to make an extra buck. Although, these two actions are not identical, they are absolutely similar, because in both cases (whether an individual or a corporation) they are directly causing death in order to make a profit.