Corporate Responses to Social Issues

Lately , there have been a number of bomb blasts in the Indian subcontinent, add to that some disasters in the form of floods, stampedes which have seen a number of people losing their lives or being injured with permanent damages. Sad and painful as it is, to anybody who has a concern for human life, there is one another issue which has disturbed me in the wake of these events.
That is the manner in which the television media covers these events. The sad part is, it is not restricted to a particular television channel.
To clarify my above statement , one notices that in the wake of say, a bomb blast , there is an immediate response and flashing of the same on television with a quick and online count of the number of people dead and the number of people Injured. But that’s it. The moment such an event takes place, crews rush to the scene, but what disturbs me so much is the fact that it is so evident by their presentations that the concern is regarding their television channel. There is a lack of genuine concern which disturbs me. A lack of realization that the event which has taken place could happen to anybody, including us, and/or our friends or relatives. Whether it’s a certain callousness which develops by covering so many “stories” or whether it’s plain TRP – chasing, one point is certain, it’s a sad state.
Consider this – The day the bomb blast takes place, you have crews onsite with flashing images and statistics. By the next day the story is in the headlines only. And by a week’s time it is out of presentation. Is a week all it takes to forget that people have died? Are their lives so unimportant that their stories and their families’ stories or pain and loss be replaced by cricket and fashion updates. Why are people not affected by loss of human life? Or will one feel the loss only when it happens to somebody close to us?..Well if that is the case, it’s a sad state. This lack of genuine concern is what disturbs me.
You might say, that the media’s job is to report the news and ensure positive business, it cannot indulge in the display of human sympathy, it’s a running business corporation…Let me tell you something. History is witness that whenever a business entity has incorporated corporate governance and social responsibility or plain humanitarianism in its long term strategic vision, the organization has excelled. So if you are wondering that it does not make business sense to so social concern and display a sense of accountability and responsibility while on television then you are mistaken. Even if you do not want to display this concern for plain human reason , it is still the reason a business entity will stand out against any other that is being plain “corporate minded” or callous.
What do we learn from this?
That being concerned for human life and taking responsibility for the same does not demand a business interest... it is the way we humans are built. We have concern for fellow humans inside us; we just have to find it. And if you think that that is the not the way you or your organization is made then think again, because being genuinely concerned and striving for wealth and happiness of fellow humans is the true reason why businesses and corporations exist. There is no other reason why you go to work.