Socio-culuture and Natural Environment

8/3/2019 Socio-culuture and Natural Environment

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The social andcultural

environment/

Natural

environment



The social cultural environment, consists of the

whole range of behaviors and relationships inwhich individuals engage in their personal and

private lives, including:

«. the characteristics of the population(e.g. age, sex, race or ethnicity, class)

«. values and attitudes

«.. lifestyles and relationships.



Dynamism !In analyzing the social-cultural environment of business it is

important to recognize that society and culture are not

homogeneous or fixed. Rather they are diverse and fluid or

dynamic. Social and cultural change is a hallmark of modern

societies (more than in the past), symbolized by the widelyrecognized phenomenon of a generation gap. This refers

to the way in which, due to social and cultural change,

each generation tends to feel somewhat out of touch with

(and even bewildered or shocked by) the attitudes and behaviors of the next. Business needs to stay in touch with

social and cultural shifts.



InteractionAs with other aspects of the environment, the relationship between

business, culture and society involves a two-way interaction.

Although we tend to think of business as operating according to a

distinctive instrumental rationality of profit-and-loss and the

¶bottom line· it is also influenced by the social-cultural setting inwhich it is embedded. At the same time business affects the

wider culture and society profoundly. For example, a good deal

of what we think of as making up the culture of modern society

consists of the outputs of private sector businesses in what might be called the culture industries, such as popular music, films,

literature, newspapers and magazines.



These influences can be seen as either positive or negative. For

example, aspects of the culture of a society might be seen ashindering or assisting business performance. Therefore

governments might be interested in promoting cultural change as a

way of boosting economic competitiveness. On the other hand

business might be seen as having harmful or beneficial effects onthe wider society or culture, and governments might want to

influence or regulate business behavior for this reason.



Lets take some examplesBusiness is an activity undertaken by people whose values and attitudes

are shaped by the culture and society of which they are a part. To

some extent the roles we perform in business are quite discrete

from other aspects of our lives and require that we adopt different

behaviors and personas. However there is not, of course, a completeseparation between ¶work· and ¶life·. We carry values and attitudes

shaped by the wider culture and society into our roles as managers,

employees and consumers.



Anthony Giddens

It can be argued that capitalist business owes its historical origins and

development in part to non-economic factors. Max Weber argued

that the ¶spirit of capitalism·, or ethos of capitalist business, with its

emphasis on accumulating wealth, can be traced to religious

belief³the ¶Protestant ethic·. This religious belief encouraged the

reinvestment of wealth in business rather than the pursuit of a life

of luxury, thus fuelling economic growth and dynamism«



Anthony Hiddens



Examples of business impacts on

culture and society

The culture industries make up a significant part of business activity,

reflecting the shift from manufacturing to service industries in the

wealthy economies (see below³the occupational order). Culture

has become increasingly big business as a growing share of consumerexpenditure is dedicated to ¶lifestyle· purchases rather than material

necessities. This can be seen in the growth of the wide range of

businesses concerned with leisure and tourism. For example, cheap

flights have enabled growing numbers to widen their cultural

horizons through foreign travel



«the rapid development of information and

computer technology has transformed theway we communicate with each other,

consume cultural products such as music,

and gain access to information. Cultural

trends are driven powerfully by product

innovations spurred by business·scompetitive pursuit of profit.



Organization culture

Culture is also part of the internal

environment of business. As we have said,

although business cannot be isolated fromthe wider culture it does to some extent

constitute a discrete sphere of activity

with distinctive roles, attitudes and

behaviors



Another giant

called Natural

Environment



What is that Natural environment

Rapid industrialization has become one of the main objectives in

recent years. Industrial development and economic development

are used as synonymous words today. Industrialization has brought

several benefits to the man kind and accelerated the process of economic development. At the same time, it has posed several

challenges to the entire world. Sustainable economic development

has become the major goal in many countries of the world. It

demands higher rates of economic growth with environmentalpreservation



Environmental degradation in the process of

rapid growth has become the main concernin recent times. Global warming and

damage to the ozone layer are the talk of

the day. There is great need for taking extra

care to maintain ecological balance in the

entire world.A

healthy globe can emergeonly with a healthy environment.



Business has close relationships with natural environment and

business units have greater responsibilities in this direction.

Maintenance of reasonable ecological balance has become one of

the prerequisite conditions for any business to flourish. This unitdeals with various facets of environmental degradation and its

harmful effects on business and the entire society.



there has been very fast and quick economic growth in many

countries of the world. There is a visible change in the

pattern of economic growth. In the name of quick economic

development in a very short period of time, there is fast

depletion of all kinds of resources and many types of

resources may be exhausted in the near future.



There has been excessive and over utilization of many resources.Shortsightedness in the developmental policies has shifted the

emphasis from future to the present welfare of the people. This has

been responsible for environmental disorder, dislocation and

degradation. There is widespread air, water, soil and noise pollution

on account of rapid industrialization and growth in all modes of

transportation. There is environmental decay and degeneration all

round the world. The destruction in ecosystem has dangerous and

demoralizing effects on the economy.



Sustainable development

Sustainable economic

development seeks to meet the

needs and aspirations of thepresent without

compromising the ability of f uture generations to meet

their own needs



It is felt that sustainable development can be

achieved only when the environment is

protected, conserved, saved and improved

consciously by the people in a country. The

process of development will become

sustainable only when the stock of various

types of resources are maintained and

further improved.



Water pollutionThe main water pollutants are disease causing agents which include

bacteria, viruses, protozoa and parasitic worms that enter water from

domestic sewage and untreated human and animal wastes, oxygen

depleting wastes, inorganic plant nutrients, fertilizers, pesticides, water

soluble inorganic chemicals which includes acids, salts, and compounds of

toxic metals such as mercury and lead, organic chemicals like oil,

gasoline, plastic cleaning solvents, detergents and many other varieties of

items.



As industrial wastes are dumped in to the rivers and lakes, water iscontaminated and it cannot be used for drinking purposes. Itcreates health hazards. The capacity of the water to preserve theaquatic life is becoming more and more difficult. Evenunderground water is polluted today on account of variousreasons and is creating innumerable problems. Billions of peopleare affected by water contamination in the world



Birth and Death

y Production === Natural resources

y Consumption ==human resources

y Pollution === ???

y Profit /profit /profity Life expectancy of the product

y Life expectancy of the consumer ?



Question and answer?

a patient : when( what ) is theexpiry date of this medicine ?

medical shop staff : oh !«thats exactly your expirydate



Air pollution

The air may become polluted by natural causes such as volcanoes, whichrelease ash, dust, sulphur, and other gases or by forest fires that areoccasionally naturally caused by lightening. But there are five primarypollutants that together contribute to about 90% of the global airpollution. These are carbon monoxide, sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides,hydrocarbons and particular. Human sufferings increase due to the airpollution. Respiratory disorders and cancers are due to inhalation of polluted air. The vehicles increase the sulfur dioxide concentration inthe air creating breathing problems for children and affect theirneurological developments.



ySoil pollution



Deforestation

Forests protect environment in several ways. They provide alivelihood and cultural integrity for forest dwellers and ahabitat for a wealth of plants and animals. They protectand enrich soils, provide natural regulation of thehydrologic cycle, affect local and regional climate through

evaporation, influence watershed flows of surface andground water, and help to stabilize the global climate.Hence, they play a more useful role in preserving theecological and environmental balance and in maintainingthe biodiversity and eco systems. However, in recentyears, there is terrific deforestation due to recklessindustrialization and growth in urban areas which isresponsible for several problems.



Loss of biodiversityBiological diversity, a composite of genetic information, species and eco

systems, all provide material wealth in the form of food, medicine and

inputs to industrial processes. It supplies the raw material that may

assist human communities to adapt to future and unforeseen

environmental stresses. Further more, many people value sharing theearth with numerous other forms of life and want to bequeath this

heritage to future generations. Loss of biodiversity jeopardizes all this

benefits



Solid and hazardous wastes

Excessive quantities of solid wastes generation,

inadequate collection and unmanaged disposal

etc present serious problems for human health

and productivity. Open dumping and

uncontrolled land filling causes several types of

diseases and contributes for the spread of

diseases. Solid and hazardous wastes pollute

ground water resources.



Nature·s Business with business

The nature, magnitude, composition and

direction of business basically depends

upon the type of natural environmentexists in a country. Business and

environment has symbiotic relationship

with each other. They are inseparable innature.



Natural environment includes land

f orm, location aspects,

topographical conditions,mountains, rivers, oceans, coast

lines, f orests, soil, weather and

climatic conditions, naturalendowments, f lora and f auna etc.



Natural environment is also called as physical environment. Ecological

factors which include both renewable and nonrenewable resources

would affect the type of economic and business activities in a country.

Geographical factors would decide the type of goods and services that

may be produced most economically in a county. Natural hazards like

floods, droughts, earth quakes, storms, heat and cold waves and

volcanic eruptions would decide the nature of business.



«..all business activities are guided and

influenced by natural environment either

directly or indirectly. Nature is a greatstorehouse of all kinds of materials which

are to be used by a business unit in the

most economical and profitable manner



the natural environment also provides certain physical and

biological conditions with in which man lives, works and carryon his business. How best business units exploit and use theseresources to maximize their profits and maximize social benefitsis the question before any economy. Business units have to comeout with such business plans which results in proper, better and

full utilization of all kinds of resources in the most optimummanner leading to higher output, income and employment in thecountry with minimum costs.



It is to be remembered that business activities should not createenvironmental pollution and degradation at any cost. This calls forgreater social responsibilities on them. They have to realize that onlygood environment can bring good business. Social costs are to beconsidered while making private profits and private profits should notcome in the way of social benefits and welfare. Hence, proper balancing is required between the two. If social costs exceed privateprofits, in that case, government interference will become inevitableand it will be justified in the overall interest of the entire society



Externalities, Environmental

Degradation And Market FailureIn a competitive market oriented economy, every thing is left to the free

and automatic market mechanism. The allocation of resources in tovarious productive channels is made by the invisible hand of pricemechanism so as to meet the society·s maximum needs in an optimumway. Prices of all goods and services are collectively called as the price

mechanism. Price mechanism indicates the price movements caused bychanges in supply and demand for goods and services in the market. It isthe connecting link between different groups like consumers, producers,distributors etc operating in the market



Vilifredo Paretoan Italian economist has laid down an objective test of social welfare on

the basis of best allocation of resources in a free and perfectly

competitive economy. According to him, maximum social welfare is

possible only when the resources are allocated in the most ideal

manner. Social welfare is said to be optimum when nobody can bemade better off without making somebody worse-off. In short, it is

impossible to make any one better off without making some one worse

off because already there is optimum allocation of resources.



Private costs of an economic activity always

do not equal the social costs. They are

totally different in many cases. For

example, when a business unit polluteseither air or water by discharging its

wastes, it can save some amount of money

or private costs



Failure to supply public goods

Markets fail to supply several types of public goods to the general public

in the overall interest of the society. A public good is also called as

social good or collective good used by all people irrespective of the

class to which one belongs. For example, in case of construction of a

railway line or provision of postal service, the cost of supply of the

service is several times more than that of the benefits enjoyed by the

people in general. Markets do not take these costs in to consideration.



R ich man( Urban ARE A ):What doyou consume more in your life

and how rich are you? A poor man from Village:Oh Yea , I

consumeAir(Oxygen) and iam very rich

in that «what about you R ich man : mmmmmmmmmm



Failure to supply merit goods

These are certain goods which are to be consumed by the

people irrespective their level of income. We can give a few

examples for such goods. The subsidized food, clothing,

shelter, free distribution of sites to economically weaker

sections, midday meal schemes etc. Markets cannot realizethe value and significance of such goods.



Darwin·s principle of survival of the

fittestThe working of the market economy is based on Darwin·s principle of

survival of the fittest and the fittest species survive and totally ignorethe economic welfare of weak and unlucky people. Free marketeconomy creates several types of negative externalities, environmentaldegradation and many other problems in an economy. Hence, when

markets fail, the government has to interfere and look after the generalwell being of the especially economically weaker sections and otherdowntrodden groups through various developmental and welfareprogrammes



NEGATIVE EXTERNALITY IN

CONSUMPTION

Consumers create negative externalities by purchasing andconsuming certain commodities and services. A fewexamples are given below for our understanding. Creatingnoise pollution by using the car stereos, peculiar horns,

smoking in public places and drinking alcohol, indulging invarious types of crimes, ill-treating animals, litter on publicplaces and on streets, pollution from cars and bikes, use of narcotic drugs etc



Direct government regulations

In case of all kinds of pollution and other health and security externalities, thegovernment may introduce direct regulatory controls [social regulations]over the externality by setting certain rules and regulations regardingpollution, which every industry should follow. Under the command andcontrol regulations, the government would simply order the firm to comply,

giving detailed instructions on what pollution control technology to use andwhere to apply etc. For example, installation of pollution control equipmentin factories and disposing the chemical and industrial wastes in a specific wayis directly regulated by the government.



The Global Environmental Threat.Climate change: Climate is the average weather conditions of a place for a

fairly long period of time covering a number of years. Climate change is ashift in the average weather that a given region experiences. This is measured

by changes in all the features one can associate with weather, such astemperature, wind patterns, precipitation and storms etc. Global climatechange implies changes that occur in global climatic conditions. Climate

change is a normal process. The rate and magnitude of change in globalclimate is dramatic in recent years. It is brought about by a number of factorssuch as the latitude of a place, altitude of the place, and distance from thesea, ocean currents, position of mountains, direction of prevailing winds,nature of soil etc.



Global warming or green house effect.

Global warming means an increase in the average temperature of theatmosphere, oceans, and landmasses of Earth. The average temperature has

been increasing in many regions in recent decades. The average

temperature of Earth is about 15 oC. Over the last century, this average

has risen by about 0.6 Celsius degrees. Scientists are of the opinion that it

may increase to 1.4 to 5.8 Celsius degrees by the year 2100. This warmingwill be greatest over land areas and at high latitudes. The projected rate of

warming is greater than that has occurred in the last 10,000 years. This

temperature rise is expected to melt polar ice caps and glaciers as well as

warm the oceans, allof which will expand ocean volume and raise sea level

by an estimated 9 to 100 em flooding some coastal regions and even entire

islands..



The word Green House Effect was first coined by J. Fourier in the

year 1827. Greenhouse is constructed for plants mainly in thecold countries where total insolation at least during winter

season is not sufficient enough to support plant growth. The

glasses of greenhouses are such that they allow the visible

sunlight to enter but prevent the long wave infra red rays to go

out.



The greenhouse effect on earth means progressivewarming up of the earth·s surf ace due to theblanketing effect of manmade carbon dioxide in theatmosphere. In short, the trapping of heat from the

sun by certain pollutant gases like carbon dioxide,chlorof luoro carbons, nitrous oxide, methane etc inthe atmosphere, leading to rise in the earth·s meantemperature, is known as greenhouse effect.



Adverse effects of global warming y It causes climatic changes. Extreme weather conditions like

floods and droughts are likely to occur more frequently.

y It results in melting of ice and glaciers leading to rise in sea

levels and flooding of coastal areas.

y Small islands may even disappear due to submergence.

y It leads to a change in crop pattern.

y It creates adverse effects on eco systems biodiversity.



y It results in changes in hydrological cycle and storms will be

more frequent and intense.y Weather pattern becomes more unpredictable and crops are

affected by different varieties of insects and plant diseases.

y Animals find it difficult to adjust to the changed

environment leading to migration.

y More people become sick due to global warming

y Tropical diseases such as malaria, dengue fever, yellow fever

etc will spread to other parts of the world etc.



Acid rain

The term acid rain was first coined by Robert Angus in 1872. When fossilfuels such as coal, oil and natural gas are burned, chemicals like sulfurdioxide and nitrogen oxides are produced. These chemicals react withwater and other chemicals in the air to form sulfuric acid, nitric acid,and other harmful pollutants like sulfates and nitrates. These acid

pollutants spread upwards into the atmosphere, and are carried by aircurrents, to finally return to the ground in the form of acid rain, fogor snow. The corrosive nature of acid rain causes many forms of environmental damage.



Ozone layer depletion

Ozone is formed by the action of sunlight on oxygen. It forms a layer 20to 50 Kms above the surface of the earth. This action takes placenaturally in the atmosphere, but is very slow. Ozone is a highlypoisonous gas with a strong odor. It is a form of oxygen that has threeatoms in each molecule. It is considered a pollutant at ground level

and constitutes a health hazard by causing respiratory ailments likeasthma and bronchitis. It also causes harm to vegetation and leads to adeterioration of certain materials like plastic and rubber



It also causes harm to vegetation and leads to a deterioration of certain materials like plastic and rubber. Ozone in the upperatmosphere however, is vital to all forms of life as it protects theearth from the sun·s harmful UV radiation. Ozone layer is a thin band in the ozonosphere which blocks out sun·s ultra violet rays[ie, screens out sun·s harmful ultra radiation] and protects life onearth from the harmful ultraviolet radiation from the sun.



Nuclear accidents and holocaust.

Nuclear accidents refer to accidents resulting from nucleardevices and radioactive materials. It also includes accidentsresulting from the release of radio active contamination. One canrecollect a few nuclear accidents in some parts of the world. The Three MileIsland disaster occurred at a nuclear thermal power station at Three MileIsland in Pennsylvania in USA. Here, a private corporation constructed

nuclear thermal power station and an accident took place at the nuclearpower station on 28 th march, 1979. in the accident, half of the nuclearpower reactor was completely burnt, releasing radioactivity. Due to thisaccident, about 10,000 people fled away and several persons suffered formradioactivity









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Socio-culuture and Natural Environment