3. Businesses responsibility towards external stakeholder
Businesses should be socially responsible towards consumers demands.
For a business to become successful, they have to be socially responsible towards the external stakeholders. Consumer rights and policies go a long way towards understanding consumer demands and retaining them. This becomes an important aspect for accelerating the long-term success of any organization. Companies/ Businesses can likewise increase footfall if they align their work/products/goods for the benefit of society.
There can be two points of view in enhancing the social responsibility of businesses:
i) Point of view of the customer/consumer: Under social responsibility, businesses should follow ethical practices and manufacture the product which is as per expected quality and reasonable price.
ii) Point of view of the society: Businesses need to work in a society, with the society and for the society. Therefore, the businesses must focus on providing good quality products, try to maintain a clean environment, provide opportunities to participate as well as work for the overall development of society.
For example, if the banks dispense loans to low-income households, it results in the business growth.Businesses can contribute to the environment
Other important factors that need to be addressed are :
Data security
Data security involves ensuring the privacy, accessibility, and integrity of an organization’s data in a way that is consistent with the risk management plan of the organization[1].
It is of prominent importance for organizations to have security and response plans running prior to phishing incidents. Once the incident occurs they must be able to recognise the issue and react appropriately. After the incident, the business must be able to recover efficiently from the incident.
Customer Privacy
Customer privacy, often known as consumer privacy, refers to the safeguarding and management of consumers' private information. The protection of consumer privacy in transactions is crucial for ensuring customer security. Nearly all businesses employ customer privacy to reassure their clients that their information is safe. Gaining and maintaining the trust of customers is essential for growing businesses. In today's world, when data is constantly being offered for sale, trade, and purchase, that can be a difficult sell[2].
Consumer Rights and Responsibilities [3]
Right to be heard
Avoid purchase of products/services from a company which do not provide details of the consumer grievance officers to handle consumer grievances.
Right to Redress
- Filing a complaint regarding any small loss or defective goods purchase. This helps keep the business keep a quality check for the goods.
- Go through all terms and conditions regarding return/replacement/warranty of any goods item and Claim penalties/compensation.
Right to Safety
- While purchasing the goods or services, consumers must look for standard quality marks such as ISI, Hallmark, Agmark, ISO, FSSAI , etc.
- Do not buy any spurious/ fake/duplicate/ hazardous products.
Right to Consumer Education/ Right to be Informed
- Check market reviews/feedback before any purchase.
- Consumers must insist on getting complete information on the quality, quantity, utility, price etc. of the product or services.
- Check seller authenticity before buying a product.
Right to Choose
Compare specifications, competition and fair prices of the goods and services before finalizing on the purchase.