The Socio-Cultural Environment of Business

Just as business is an economic activity, it also has social purpose. Business must discharge social responsibility, social obligations, and social commitment. Else, it cannot enjoy social sanction.

A host of factor constitutes such a socio-cultural environment. They include factors like social values culture, beliefs, traditions and conventions, social attitudes, social institutions, class structure, social group pressure etc. the nature of social objectives and priorities along with the set of the social constraints, give form and content to several social movements. Successful business managers cannot afford to neglect these movements and their underlying ethos. Business ethics are very much influenced by the social movements, social systems, and social preferences.

In a broad sense, thus, the socio-cultural environment happens to be a culmination of forces operating from different platforms such as history, cultural, policy, ethics and morality, values and institutions, geography and ecology etc. The society itself has to balance the achievements and aspirations of various individuals, groups and institutions.

No business can survive and grow without social harmony. Different countries may attain this social harmony and order through different forms, ways and means. The social-cultural environment will, thus, differ markedly over space, time, and method.