In the United States, corporations are recognized as private entities. These corporations have the same rights and privileges that have been provided to an individual. Since human beings have certain morals to maintain and uphold, so should the corporations. The activities of the different corporations directly or indirectly affect the behavior of all the other parties in any country. Some of the effects may be negative while others be positive. According to Kant’s deontological theory, for any activity to be moral, it must be associated with certain factors. The first factor is that it must apply to a potential universal law in all aspects. The second aspect is that it has to respect the autonomy of all individuals in the society regardless of any differences. Corporations do not operate in mass; they operate the same was as normal human beings operate. They are under the same basic universal law followed by humans and are treated universally with the same rights and principles. They also attempt to provide for the needs of different parties so that business can keep running. Though, they are sometimes associated with not respecting the autonomy of human beings. Corporations also have the ability to harm an individual and are thus should be classified as moral entities. This, in essence, would mean that corporations should behave in a moral manner since most of their characteristics fall within the deontology theory. However, it is imperative to note that corporations are restricted under certain circumstances and may not necessarily exclusively have the same rights as all the other parties that have been mentioned. This limits their abilities to do certain things and can thus be classified as being parties that have no morals.
Corporations have a social responsibility to the rest of the community in which they live in. The social contract theory states that all ethical and political obligations of any company in a community has to be made with all members of the society. Ideally, it means that since all corporations are within a community, their obligations are not only to it but to all people that surround the company. Most people surrounding different parties are normal individuals. The agreement between the corporations and the other parties may be oral or spoken. Most frequently corporations become part and parcel of the community and provide several important pieces of information that relate to meeting the social norms of the community. Most corporations have established specific sections within themselves to deal with issues that relate to corporate social responsibility, philanthropy and corporate governance. The corporation itself needs people to run most of its activities. Without the people from the community, the corporation would not stand on its feet. However, the people may survive. In promoting aspects relating to social responsibility, the corporation is meeting its obligation to people who live around it. The main reason as to why corporations are formulated is to achieve other social goals, which when left to the communities becomes top difficult to bear. By effectively engaging in philanthropy projects aimed at addressing needs of the society, corporations are playing their rightful role in the society. Some corporations may not in any way engage in social responsibility aspects, but their end goals-assists different communities. This ethical principle being used by such corporations have been termed as utilitarian. The main emphasis is on the outcome rather than the process.