Social responsibility and performance of commercial banks in Kenya
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Date
2005-06Author
Anyona, Evelyn N
Type
ThesisLanguage
enMetadata
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Society is increasingly viewing businessmen as trustees and as such, they must be
responsible for balancing a variety of demands and rights of all stakeholders, rather than
enhancing the wealth of a few claimants.
One thing is for sure-the pressure on business to playa role in social issues will continue
to grow. Embracing the concept is not without its challenges, but modern business
managers are too familiar with the downside of not embracing it.
The study sought to find out the relationship that exists between social responsibility and
profitability of commercial banks in Kenya.
The researcher carried out a census survey of all the commercial banks and top managers
at the various banks were required to complete a questionnaire consisting of five sections.
Each section of the questionnaire was aimed at answering each of the four objectives of
the study, while the last section aimed at gathering demographic statistics.
The results show that the impact of social expenditure on profitability and financial
position of banks is key in determining the amount to spend on these activities. So much
so that employees are at times called upon to make direct contributions towards social
activities. Although there is awareness and concern for social responsibility, there is lack
of courage by many banks to implement necessary action, due to what they perceive as
financial constraints. Thus, the banks that spend more on social responsibility are actually
those whose profitability is higher as compared to those who feel their profits are lower
and thus make a lesser contribution or none at all for some banks, towards social issues in the community.
Citation
MBAPublisher
University of Nairobi School of Business, University of Nairobi