What is social responsibility?

[larrys]

I read that some schools will talk about social responsibility. I am kind of confused at what that means.

From wiki, the definition is, "Social responsibility is an ethical ideology or theory that an entity, be it an organization or individual, has an obligation to act to benefit society at large. Social responsibility is a duty every individual or organization has to perform so as to maintain a balance between the economy and the ecosystem. A trade-off always[citation needed] exists between economic development, in the material sense, and the welfare of the society and environment."

Is this the definition that the dental schools are talking about? The balance between the economy and ecosystem? The balance between making money and the welfare of the society/environment?

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[shootingstar7]

Yes I think that sounds about right. You, as a dentist, should want to give back to the community that provides your handsome salary.

 

[larrys]

so from what i read, social responsibility sounds more geared towards corporations that harm the environment. i don't really see how the wiki definiton applies to dentists.

when dental schools talk about it, is it just an ethic that individuals should feel obligated to give back to the community?

 

[sa012]

I read that some schools will talk about social responsibility. I am kind of confused at what that means.

just curious, are you referring to WesternU?

 

[larrys]

just curious, are you referring to WesternU?

yes lol

 

[cwoodds]

It's a fallacy. The greatest benefit you can provide to society is to use your talents to the best of your ability. In a free economy, if you are providing a service that people are willing to pay for, that is benefiting society and you have no 'obligation' to do it for free. In a truly free economy, there would be no 'tradeoff' between economic development and the welfare of the society, they are one and the same. If you want to give away your services for free, that is your choice, it's called charity and should be encouraged and celebrated, not forced upon you by society as an obligation or duty.

Of course, I would never express that viewpoint in an interview. 😀

 

[jeffity]

They're known for that question.

 

[minafeet]

so from what i read, social responsibility sounds more geared towards corporations that harm the environment. i don't really see how the wiki definiton applies to dentists.

when dental schools talk about it, is it just an ethic that individuals should feel obligated to give back to the community?

it's not really just how it related to dentists but how it relates to anyone in society especially those privileged enough to have the education, funding, time, and resources to be able to attend something like a dental school. i feel like this type of thing is something you have to feel passionately about in order to talk about properly. it can't really be memorized or learned

 

[joshwake]

It's a fallacy. The greatest benefit you can provide to society is to use your talents to the best of your ability. In a free economy, if you are providing a service that people are willing to pay for, that is benefiting society and you have no 'obligation' to do it for free. In a truly free economy, there would be no 'tradeoff' between economic development and the welfare of the society, they are one and the same. If you want to give away your services for free, that is your choice, it's called charity and should be encouraged and celebrated, not forced upon you by society as an obligation or duty.

Of course, I would never express that viewpoint in an interview. 😀

I disagree. This sounds like tried and true neoclassical economics, which is based on a capitalist system. I am not one to bash capitalism, I see its pros and cons, but many that study capitalism will tell you that charity never really existed until capitalism. In many ways, without it, capitalism would be very similar to a monarchy. I would argue that a true capitalist understands the value of charity.

Think of the people that make billions upon billions every year. Do you really think they have zero responsibility to give back to their communities? It really is not much different for healthcare professionals. We make 6+ times what the average american makes, I personally believe we do have a responsibility to give back to our communities.

All that aside, I cannot imagine how you can live a meaningful life without understanding the value of charity and helping others.

 

[larrys]

I disagree. This sounds like tried and true neoclassical economics, which is based on a capitalist system. I am not one to bash capitalism, I see its pros and cons, but many that study capitalism will tell you that charity never really existed until capitalism. In many ways, without it, capitalism would be very similar to a monarchy. I would argue that a true capitalist understands the value of charity.

Think of the people that make billions upon billions every year. Do you really think they have zero responsibility to give back to their communities? It really is not much different for healthcare professionals. We make 6+ times what the average american makes, I personally believe we do have a responsibility to give back to our communities.

All that aside, I cannot imagine how you can live a meaningful life without understanding the value of charity and helping others.

why do you think we have a responsibility to give back to our community? what if your community was upper-class? would you give back to that or more underserved areas closest to you?

 

[jeffity]

Not everyone gets asked this, but it's common. Think outside of dentistry. If social responsibility triggers "doing dental work for free" to you, give it some additional thought. If asked, you may want to augment your response with a little more than just the generic few sentences that pretty much say the same thing everyone else is going to say. This is one of those times where you can bring out things about your application you want to be brought up. It's sort of an open-ended question.

 

[joshwake]

why do you think we have a responsibility to give back to our community? what if your community was upper-class? would you give back to that or more underserved areas closest to you?

I think you misunderstand what a "community" is. The definition describes people of different classes living together in a community.

 

[minafeet]

I disagree. This sounds like tried and true neoclassical economics, which is based on a capitalist system. I am not one to bash capitalism, I see its pros and cons, but many that study capitalism will tell you that charity never really existed until capitalism. In many ways, without it, capitalism would be very similar to a monarchy. I would argue that a true capitalist understands the value of charity.

Think of the people that make billions upon billions every year. Do you really think they have zero responsibility to give back to their communities? It really is not much different for healthcare professionals. We make 6+ times what the average american makes, I personally believe we do have a responsibility to give back to our communities.

All that aside, I cannot imagine how you can live a meaningful life without understanding the value of charity and helping others.

this. exactly. Though I doubt that capitalism could ever work the way it does in theory and the way that Gilder and Friedman and all the other classical liberalists ever imagined. Anyway, find some opportunities for personal growth and exposure to social issues and maybe then you'll understand what social responsibility is.

If not, then memorize the hell out of it like countless others and hope adcoms are the same way or don't see through your facade.

 

[joshwake]

Not everyone gets asked this, but it's common. Think outside of dentistry. If social responsibility triggers "doing dental work for free" to you, give it some additional thought. If asked, you may want to augment your response with a little more than just the generic few sentences that pretty much say the same thing everyone else is going to say. This is one of those times where you can bring out things about your application you want to be brought up. It's sort of an open-ended question.

This is very good advice. If your answer revolves around free dental work or giving money to charities, then you are missing the point.

 

[shootingstar7]

I don't think basing your answer on dentistry is missing the point. There are specific roles that a dentist or a hygienist can play in regards to promoting the well-being of their community.If your answer corresponds to dentistry, but you have more to say than just "serving the underserved", I think you are on the right track. I mean, we want to be dentists, not philosophers, right?

 

[Stacker]

A lot of the discussions that you'll find online are about social responsibility centering around corporate social responsibility. In this society, there are three groups: the state, shareholders, and labour market. Shareholders pursue profits and the labour market is protected from the actions of the shareholders by contracts and regulation through wages, severance pay, fixed debt payment, exit options, and flexible labour markets. The state only steps in where there are market failures and attempts to correct them with environmental taxation, anti-trust, prudential regulation, and redistributive taxation. In other words, it is the state, not the corporations or citizens, that is supposed to fix wealth inequalities.
Social responsibility in this sense is the calling for people to contribute time and money to good causes as an alternative to market and redistributive failures originating from state failures.

The key word that I would suggest in anyone's interpretation of social responsibility is sacrifice. That is, sacrificing profits in the social interest on a voluntary basis. Sacrifice doesn't have to be limited to your immediate realm of dentistry. It can extend elsewhere in much the same way as corporations extend to support the arts and universities in addition to being employee-friendly, environmental-friendly, and ethical. Here's one example of such a dental office: http://www.oradentalstudio.com/experience/green.php?value=experience&animated=experience

Individual social responsibility arises from 1) genuine altruism to varying degrees, 2) material incentives (we are more likely to give to charities if the contributions are tax-deductible, and 3) we are driven self-esteem concerns because our conduct defines what kind of person we are in the eyes of other's and in our own eyes. Talk about this.

http://www.princeton.edu/~rbenabou/843 final.pdf

 

[shootingstar7]

A lot of the discussions that you'll find online are about social responsibility centering around corporate social responsibility. In this society, there are three groups: the state, shareholders, and labour market. Shareholders pursue profits and the labour market is protected from the actions of the shareholders by contracts and regulation through wages, severance pay, fixed debt payment, exit options, and flexible labour markets. The state only steps in where there are market failures and attempts to correct them with environmental taxation, anti-trust, prudential regulation, and redistributive taxation. In other words, it is the state, not the corporations or citizens, that is supposed to fix wealth inequalities.
Social responsibility in this sense is the calling for people to contribute time and money to good causes as an alternative to market and redistributive failures originating from state failures.

The key word that I would suggest in anyone's interpretation of social responsibility is sacrifice. That is, sacrificing profits in the social interest on a voluntary basis. Sacrifice doesn't have to be limited to your immediate realm of dentistry. It can extend elsewhere in much the same way as corporations extend to support the arts and universities in addition to being employee-friendly, environmental-friendly, and ethical. Here's one example of such a dental office: http://www.oradentalstudio.com/experience/green.php?value=experience&animated=experience

Individual social responsibility arises from 1) genuine altruism to varying degrees, 2) material incentives (we are more likely to give to charities if the contributions are tax-deductible, and 3) we are driven self-esteem concerns because our conduct defines what kind of person we are in the eyes of other's and in our own eyes. Talk about this.

http://www.princeton.edu/~rbenabou/843 final.pdf

Wow, thank you for sharing!

 

[cwoodds]

I disagree. This sounds like tried and true neoclassical economics, which is based on a capitalist system. I am not one to bash capitalism, I see its pros and cons, but many that study capitalism will tell you that charity never really existed until capitalism. In many ways, without it, capitalism would be very similar to a monarchy. I would argue that a true capitalist understands the value of charity.

Think of the people that make billions upon billions every year. Do you really think they have zero responsibility to give back to their communities? It really is not much different for healthcare professionals. We make 6+ times what the average american makes, I personally believe we do have a responsibility to give back to our communities.

All that aside, I cannot imagine how you can live a meaningful life without understanding the value of charity and helping others.

I would also find it difficult to live a meaningful life without charity and helping others, and as I said in my original post, charity should be encouraged and celebrated. Others may not need that to live a life that is meaningful to them, that should be their choice. But when you start using terms such as 'social responsibility' or 'social justice' you are typically talking about something very different than charity. If you are compelled through force to provide charity, it is no longer charity, and any type of redistributive scheme does exactly that.

If someone is making 'billions upon billions every year' in a free economy it is because they have made an immeasurably positive impact on the lives of millions of people, so I would argue that their debt to society has been paid. Similarly for those making a measly 6x the average; they are being paid that amount because society values their services. To the extent that government is involved, it distorts this arrangement, so you have people like the founders of Solyndra making millions of dollars by using the power of government to steal from productive members of society rather than providing a valuable service or product.

One final point: capitalism and monarchism are completely incompatible, and capitalism is the only economic system compatible with a free society.

 

[dentistmom]

If someone is making 'billions upon billions every year' in a free economy it is because they have made an immeasurably positive impact on the lives of millions of people,.

Having a positive impact on peoples' lives does not in any way correlate to making lots of money, and making money does not in any way correlate to having a positive impact on people's lives. In fact, the two are mutually exclusive far more often than they are associated together. If you find an occupation that combines the two, such as health care, you are really lucky. No-one ever got rich by himself. How is a dentist supposed to make any money if he can't find any assistants willing to work for a lot less money than himself?

To me, social responsibility has to do with being part of the solution instead of part of the problem. In dentistry, there are huge problems with access. Many many people can't go to the dentist. This issue affects dentists directly. What dentists choose to do about that is a choice. At the end of the day, we each have to face our own actions and be the judge. I see my career as a way to make my own living, but also as a way to have something to offer, to give back.

Anyway, the writing is on the wall- Obamacare might be shot down, but this wasn't the first time such a scheme was proposed, and it won't be the last. The system is just too complex, with too much money going into the wrong pockets. If we aren't willing to work on the problems facing our own industry, we may have to accept solutions that we don't like.

 

[jpark1800]

Social responsibility is a school's way of saying you should not work for pay. They make it seem that you are a villain for trying to make a decent living. They represent the height of hypocrisy, when these academic profs take $300k/yr pension plans and preach to students demanding they do free social work. Here is a post from a recent graduate in Dental town:

I am a recent graduate, and I was asked to work as faculty when I graduated...so I said yes to one day a week. I work in private practice 4 days a week as well.

My student loans including undergrad and DS now sit in the $350,000 range including interest. The payments are around $3,000 a month.

I have been given a unique look 'behind the curtain'. As students we were strongly encouraged to 'give back' to the community. Several professors made us feel like we should be giving away our treatments - that charging was almost unethical.

I see now on the other side as faculty, there are people who run the show who see this is a business rather than a school, plain and simple. I understand that. Their mission isn't to create a graduate who can survive/pay back their loans/etc. Their mission is to make as much money as they can for the university.

So they train the students to be 'ethical' which is code for 'feel guilty about charging and give it away', while at the same time the university is trying to figure out how it can squeeze in 25% more students into the next class to raise money to build a new school building. Oh and don't forget to put some money in the envelope when the Alumni rep calls.
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It is kind of like Prez Odumbo and the 1/32nd Native American Professor Elizabeth Warren's statements: If you've got a dental practice, you didn't build that. Someone else made that happen. You drove to the DAT testing center on the road the rest of us paid for. Your dental practice is successful because criminals didn't loot your business. Criminals didn't loot your business, because we paid taxes that funded the police to keep your business safe.

I seriously have no problem giving back to the poor. I want to do so very badly and I really want to help them. But I am also a person who wants to secure myself financially and be able to provide for my family. I will not do service work until I am on a financially stable ground. How people get it through their heads that you must help others outside your family before you help your own family, is truly a mystery to me.

These academic profs are the biggest hypocrites in the world. 'Nuff said.

 

[cwoodds]

Having a positive impact on peoples' lives does not in any way correlate to making lots of money, and making money does not in any way correlate to having a positive impact on people's lives. In fact, the two are mutually exclusive far more often than they are associated together. If you find an occupation that combines the two, such as health care, you are really lucky. No-one ever got rich by himself. How is a dentist supposed to make any money if he can't find any assistants willing to work for a lot less money than himself?

I couldn't disagree more. And I have to emphasize that I am talking about a free economy, which we increasingly do not have. If you are making a lot of money (in a free economy), then you are producing something or providing some sort of service that is a better value than what others are producing/providing. That in itself benefits society in numerous ways, that has a positive impact on peoples' lives. You don't have to be in a profession where you are directly providing care to people in order to have a positive impact. That's what I want as my profession, that's why I'm changing careers, but that's not the only way to have a positive impact. And the dentist/assistant is a mutually beneficial arrangement, he is not taking advantage of anyone by providing an assistant a job, and he shouldn't feel guilty for making more money.

 

[shootingstar7]

I couldn't disagree more. And I have to emphasize that I am talking about a free economy, which we increasingly do not have. If you are making a lot of money (in a free economy), then you are producing something or providing some sort of service that is a better value than what others are producing/providing. That in itself benefits society in numerous ways, that has a positive impact on peoples' lives. You don't have to be in a profession where you are directly providing care to people in order to have a positive impact. That's what I want as my profession, that's why I'm changing careers, but that's not the only way to have a positive impact. And the dentist/assistant is a mutually beneficial arrangement, he is not taking advantage of anyone by providing an assistant a job, and he shouldn't feel guilty for making more money.

This is kind of an idealist way to look at it. Just because you receive training to become a dentist doesn't mean you are doing society a favor, because if u didn't become a dentist, somebody else would. But the kind of dentist you become CAN make a difference. If you go out of your way to impact someones life who cannot put money in your pocket, then you are really making a contribution in a way that someone else may not have chosen to.

I know that society benefits from individuals gaining higher levels of education and training, but I think the notion of social responsiblity requires that you take your high level of training and do something with it beyond the scope of your practice.

 

[cwoodds]

This is kind of an idealist way to look at it. Just because you receive training to become a dentist doesn't mean you are doing society a favor, because if u didn't become a dentist, somebody else would. But the kind of dentist you become CAN make a difference. If you go out of your way to impact someones life who cannot put money in your pocket, then you are really making a contribution in a way that someone else may not have chosen to.

I know that society benefits from individuals gaining higher levels of education and training, but I think the notion of social responsiblity requires that you take your high level of training and do something with it beyond the scope of your practice.

Yes, the kind of dentist you become CAN make a difference, but I would argue that practicing dentistry to the best of your abilities is more important than whether you volunteer once a month at the community clinic. If someone pays for a service, does that make the service less valuable to society? If you contribute to an advancement in dental technology, you make a contribution in a way that not only someone else may not have chosen to, but possibly that noone else could have. Does the fact that you make money off of it make it less of an advancement??

Whatever profession you choose, you're not just filling a slot, you have unique and individual talents to offer. Are you saying that Steve Jobs didn't do society a favor because if he didn't invent the iphone, someone else would have? Like it or not, the greatest motivator is profit. I'm not saying it's the only motivator, but I get so tired of people demonizing profit. The idea of capitalism, that you get to keep what you earn, that creative destruction leads ultimately to higher standards of living for everyone, has been the greatest force for good that the world has ever known. Don't be taken in by this notion that good intentions trump good outcomes.

All I'm trying to say is that your true value to society is in doing your absolute best in whatever it is that you choose to do, not in how much of it you do for free. This idea of social responsibility is, in my opinion, a collectivist view that ultimately leads to less prosperity and lower standards of living for everyone, especially the poor.

 

[shootingstar7]

Yes, the kind of dentist you become CAN make a difference, but I would argue that practicing dentistry to the best of your abilities is more important than whether you volunteer once a month at the community clinic. If someone pays for a service, does that make the service less valuable to society? If you contribute to an advancement in dental technology, you make a contribution in a way that not only someone else may not have chosen to, but possibly that noone else could have. Does the fact that you make money off of it make it less of an advancement??

Whatever profession you choose, you're not just filling a slot, you have unique and individual talents to offer. Are you saying that Steve Jobs didn't do society a favor because if he didn't invent the iphone, someone else would have? Like it or not, the greatest motivator is profit. I'm not saying it's the only motivator, but I get so tired of people demonizing profit. The idea of capitalism, that you get to keep what you earn, that creative destruction leads ultimately to higher standards of living for everyone, has been the greatest force for good that the world has ever known. Don't be taken in by this notion that good intentions trump good outcomes.

All I'm trying to say is that your true value to society is in doing your absolute best in whatever it is that you choose to do, not in how much of it you do for free. This idea of social responsibility is, in my opinion, a collectivist view that ultimately leads to less prosperity and lower standards of living for everyone, especially the poor.

Very well said. I agree. I do not have anything against pursuing a profit. Indeed, I myself, am seeking the ability to make a large one. And yes, Steve Jobs did a wonderful thing creating smart phone technology and the like, but with many technological advances and profits come certain responsibilities. Yes, smartphones are very useful, but how many people have died because they were, or someone else was, looking at their i-phone instead of the road? It wasn't Apple's fault that an i-phone user made a poor decision and hurt someone else, but social responsbility comes into play when someone at Apple takes some responsibility to prevent these kind of accidents, perhaps by using some of their profits to raise awareness about the dangers of texting while driving. Similar to tobacco companies funding those "TRUTH" commercials, or the state or whoever providing support for people with gambling addicitons after casinos/gambling are/is legalized in an area.

Dentsitry is a very profitable field because dental work is very, very expensive. That means that many, or even most people, cannot afford to receive the dental treatment they need. Dentists are only ones that can address that particular issue.