Many moral reformers in business ethics argue that business managers should transform themselves from agents of capital into agents of society who are morally responsible in solving social problems by using economic resources under their control. The traditional agent of capital view states that a corporation’s only responsibility lies in making a profit through fair and legal business practices. Agent of society views argue that corporation’s responsibilities are also towards the society and community that it operates in. With careful analysis, determination of the most acceptable viewpoint becomes easier.

The agent of society view is a notion that corporations have a responsibility to consider the interests and needs of not only the shareholder, but also the needs of other members of society. In the broad sense this view holds that corporations should devote their needs whether or not they make a profit. In the agent of society views there are also sub views ranging from minimum, maximum, and stakeholder views. The minimum agent of society view considers corporations responsible for social problems and aiding others who are in need when it is possible at little cost (R

Milton Friedman has a very traditional viewpoint in the role of business in society and feels strong about the Agent-of-capital view. Friedman's claim is a way of making business stick to its knitting, so that it concentrates on its function of generating wealth because that is what corporations are there to do. Friedman stresses the nature of the relationship between shareholders and management, which is that of principal and agent. Managers act on behalf of shareholders, the value of whose investments they have a fiduciary duty to maximize. If managers decide that there are social causes to contribute to then money that could have been used to increase profits might now go to some cause for the community (Friedman 156). This would be nice for the community but bad for the shareholders who have an investment in the company to make money. In a capitalistic society, corporations who go out of their way to help out the community function more like a part of socialist economy then a capitalistic economy (Friedman 158). Friedman feels that corporate social responsibility is “fundamentally subversive” to the free market system (Hoffman 141).

odewald 32). The wide-ranging agent of society view holds that managers should always consider the interests of all those who are likely to be affected by their business decisions equally with the interests of the shareholders. When a conflict arises in the wide-ranging view investors and noninvestors should try to do what would achieve the best balance of utility, rights, and duties.

The opposing view, the traditional Agent-of-capital view argues that corporate managers should intend on maximizing profits while obeying they law and customary moral standards of honesty, fidelity, and fairness (Rodewald 24). People engaged in business should also refrain from unfair and anti-competitive business practices, and a division of moral labor should exist between business and government. Milton Friedman holds and argues for the agent of capital view.

There is one agent-of-society view that seems the most plausible and that is the minimum agent of society view because it is the one that stays closest to the principles of the agent-of-capital view. The main difference between the minimum agent-of-society view and the traditional agent-of capital view is that the agent-of-society view believes that there are moral duties towards noninvestors who might be affected by the corporation’s decisions. The minimum agent-of-society view helps out the community by trying to abstain from harm and helpin

Some topics in this essay:
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