SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: the perception of undergraduate students majoring in business management and accounting

Abstract

This study assessed the perception of undergraduate students who chose Business Administration and Accounting as majors from two educational institutions in the city of Dourados/MS about four conceptual perspectives of Corporate Social Responsibility. It is a quantitative and documental research with the application of 501 questionnaires answered by the students. The results showed that Social Action was the most accepted perspective, although students from both institutions also indicated the Systemic Perspective as a very good concept. The choice for Social Action can be explained, according to the literature, because it generates an immediate response to the needs of society, even though it does not fit the attitude and the train of thought consistent with a socially responsible posture. The Systemic Perspective turns up as a vision more oriented towards society and demands greater efforts from companies that choose it, a fact that leads to an extreme sensitivity to changing market conditions and to the financial health of organizations who propose to take this perspective.