human social responsibility: the changed perception kaur... · hardeepika singh ahluwalia 1, kulbir...

ISSN: 2249-7196

IJMRR/ Jan 2015/ Volume 5/Issue 1/Article No-3/21-38

Kulbir Kaur Bhatti et al./ International Journal of Management Research & Review

*Corresponding Author www.ijmrr.com 21

HUMAN SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: THE CHANGED PERCEPTION

Hardeepika Singh Ahluwalia1, Kulbir Kaur Bhatti*

1, Harpreet Kaur

1, Farhat Fatima

1

1Asst. Prof, Periyar Management and Computer College, Jasola, New Delhi, India.

ABSTRACT

Ethical behaviour and Social responsibility has been the area of interest of the researchers for

a number of years. In this highly industrialized era, whenever we think of social

responsibility the first thing that comes to our mind is the CSR (Corporate Social

Responsibility). We, the society people, look for the big giants to come forward and

undertake activities beneficial for the society in general. It is generally assumed that it is the

responsibility of corporate only to undertake activities which are for the betterment and

upliftment of the backward areas and weaker sections of the society. The assumption is valid

enough in light of the fact that these corporate houses are big and capable enough to

undertake such activities and it is their moral responsibility as well. But we forgot the fact

that all the households are also earning their livelihood from society only, so they are equally

responsible for the well being and the betterment of the society and people. The present study

is thus focused on the exploration and the analyses of the socially responsible initiatives taken

by the households i.e. how socially responsible households are and what are the various ways

in which they are contributing to the upliftment of the society. The study attempts to figure

out which demographic class is contributing the most towards the betterment of the society

and the environment. Also, the study analyses the relation between policies adopted by the

government towards the society and implementation of same by the households i.e. how

effective is the implementation part of the government policies. The study is primary in

nature, and has been conducted using the questionnaires method, filled by carefully selected

households.

Keywords: corporate social responsibility, upliftment, society, environment, policies.

INTRODUCTION

We are now plunging at an accelerating rate into a range of alarming global problems,

especially the destruction of ecosystems, the increasing gap between rich and poor, resource

depletion, armed conflict, the breakdown of social cohesion and a falling quality of life.

Above all the taken for granted and almost never questioned supreme goal of consumer-

capitalist society is grossly unsustainable. That goal is to raise "living standards", production

and consumption and the GDP constantly and without any notion of a limit or a point at

which we will be rich enough.

Like companies have Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), mankind also has a social

responsibility, a Human Social Responsibility (HSR). The Qur’an which is the holy book of

the Muslims and one of the sources of guidance for life for the Muslims has many references


Copyright © 2012 Published by IJMRR. All rights reserved 22

to the role of man on earth: as a mercy to mankind; to know each other; as a representative of

God on Earth. Man is created as a trustee and steward for earth. Hence, God is the real owner

and master of the earth and not human beings. We are only trustees and stewards. Hence our

relationship with the natural environment is based on care and responsibility. We have to

utilise and consume the earth’s resources for our benefit without extravagance or wastage.

Our relationships with each other is based on trust, equity and justice, since all of us have

been created with the same purpose. Hence there is a need for co-operation and support.

There can be no oppression or racial discrimination. Therefore as trustees, our HSR is to

bring about a balance between the rights of individuals and their duties and responsibilities

towards others. It is about developing an interdependent community for providing support

and help to those in need. It is not just the responsibility of government or those in powers

but of every individual to sacrifice their wealth and time for the benefit of the needy and the

development of the society.

Hence HSR is about improving human conditions: By infusing spirituality in our lives,

Looking at efforts to uproot all forms of wrong and injustice from society, Protecting human

dignity, Looking at freedom of belief, Respecting people, Having mercy and compassion,

Establishing justice, Establishing equality of status, rights and opportunities for all citizens,

Remembering our stewardship of the natural environment, Cooperation, Establishing moral

and family values back into society, Developing human potential, Hard work, Self discipline,

Social progress, Cleanliness and Social welfare, care and support. In order for this to happen

we must start with ourselves as the golden rule to social responsibility is “Do unto others as

you would have them do unto you”.

The present study is undertaken to understand the initiatives taken by common man towards

society, environment and policies adopted by the government towards society and

implementation of same by household.

LITERATURE REVIEW

The industry and economy are developed to satisfy the needs and material desires of people.

In addition to making high greenhouse gas emissions the responsibility of industry,

individuals and families should also be held responsible for the production of greenhouse gas

emissions. In this study, we applied the Delphi method, the analytical hierarchy process,

utility theory, and fuzzy logic theory to establish an energy conservation assessment model

for households. We also emphasize that subsidy policy makers should consider the social

responsibility of households and individuals, as well as sustainability of energy conservation

(Sung-Lin Hsueh, 2012).A sample consisting of 3 017 Korean household survey data is

employed in a simultaneous equation model that considers the feedback effects between total

waste generation and recycling to examine the impact of the price incentives that arise under

a unit pricing system on household waste generation and recycling in Korea. Data are

collected in December 1995, following the adoption by the Korean government of a bag-

based unit pricing system on household solid waste in 1995, and comprise quantities of non-

recyclables and recyclables in terms of number of bags per week and household

characteristics, including age, income, education level, residential location, and household

size. The results for the system of structural equations estimated by three stage least squares



show that, with the exception of the user fee which is insignificant, the variables included in

the total waste generation function have positive effects; specifically, households with higher

incomes, more members, and higher recycling rates tend to produce more garbage. (Hong,

1999). The monthly data from nine US communities, covering a period of at least one year

during the 1980s for each community, are pooled to construct a panel data set for the

estimation of the residential and commercial demand functions for solid waste collection

services. Five of the communities rely on user charges and have minimum service

requirements which, although differing across the communities, have the common purpose of

reducing the chance that individuals respond to a user fee by illegally discarding their waste.

The remaining four communities either have flat fees or finance their disposal services out of

property tax revenues. Furthermore, as many of the nine communities do not have separate

records on the quantity of commercial versus residential solid waste, the empirical model

consists of three different equations: one representing residential demand (using data from

four communities, only one of which with a user fee system), another representing

commercial demand (using data from one community), and a third representing the sum of

residential demand and commercial demand (using data from five communities). Of the

residential sector regresses considered in the analysis, average household income, mean

temperature, average precipitation, age distribution of the population as captured by the

proportion of the population aged between 18 and 49, and population density as a proxy for

urbanization are found to positively affect waste disposal. (Jenkins, 1993).The principal

components of the overall attitude towards pesticides and find three factors: necessity of

pesticide use (the “positive” attitude), safety of pesticide use (health and environmental

concerns), trust in food industry, and correlate these factors with demographic variables.

They find that women, younger adults and the well-educated are slightly more anti-pesticides

than their counterparts, that women and lower-income earners are more concerned about

safety and that respondents with higher education are more likely to see pesticide use as

necessary. (Dunlap and Beus,1992).The economic and social factors affecting the quantity

and composition of household solid wastes is provided, based on data from a stratified

random sample of 24 municipal waste collection areas in Indianapolis. For each area, the

quantities of eleven selected household solid waste components (e.g. clear glass, brown glass,

green glass, aluminium, other metals, textiles, newspaper, all other paper, plastics,

garbage/other) are obtained during July and August 1972 by aggregation of the wastes in the

various categories generated by 60 to 90 households without their knowledge of being

studied before or after the project. Additional data on the variables included in the analysis as

determinants of waste (e.g.household income based on house and property values, household

size, percentage of people between 18 and 61 years old) come from the 1970 census. Each of

the eleven equations estimated but the brown glass equation, which is dropped from

consideration, is found to be statistically significant. Household income has a positive effect

on green glass, aluminum, newspaper, and total garbage, but a negative effect on textiles,

plastics, grass, and garbage/other, which includes food wastes, dirt, ashes, ceramics, and

miscellaneous items not suitable for any other category. The positive effect on newspaper

could be attributed to the fact that higher-income households tend to purchase more

newspapers and have thus larger quantities of newsprint that could be potentially recycled;

the negative effect on textiles could be explained by the fact that higher-income households



tend to dispose of clothing through charitable institutions; the negative impact on

garbage/other may be the result of fewer meals being consumed at home as higher income

households tend to eat away from home more often than lower-income households.

Household size has a consistently positive effect on every waste component but newspaper

and grass. The percentage of people in the 18 to 61 age group has also a consistently positive

effect on every waste component but newspaper, textiles, grass, and garbage/other; hence,

there is a tendency for households in the middle of their life cycle to produce more

garbage.(Richardson and Havlicek, 1978).

OBJECTIVES

The primary objectives of undertaking research are as follows:

• To analyse the relation between policies adopted by the government towards society

and implementation of same by households.

• To understand the initiatives taken by a common man towards society.

HYPOTHESIS

H0: There is no significant relationship between announcement of policies and

implementation of same.

H1: There is a significant relationship between announcement of policies and implementation

of same

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research is the systematic investigation into and study of materials and sources in order to

establish facts and reach new conclusions.

TYPE OF RESEARCH

Research design is a comprehensive plan of the sequence of operations that a researcher

intends to carry out to achieve the objectives of a research study.

The kind of research design used is Descriptive research. It can be applied to a given topic

and describes the data and characteristics of the topic being studied.

DATA COLLECTION

The analysis has been done by using primary data. Primary data is the data that is collected

from first-hand experience. In this research it is collected through questionnaires.

SAMPLE SIZE

The sample size is an important feature of any empirical study in which the goal is to

make inferences about a population from a sample. The sample size used in a study is

determined based on the expense of data collection, and the need to have sufficient statistical

power.

In the research, the sample size is 91.

SAMPLING TECHNIQUE

The sampling technique used in research is convenience sampling.



DATA ANALYSIS

• Data analysis is done on the basis of information available from above mentioned sources

on an excel sheet.

• Analysis is done by using bar graphs, pie-charts and tables.

• The mean and standard deviation is being calculated.

• The chi square and hypothesis testing is done.

HYPOTHESIS TESTING

� Ban on loud music after 10 pm

• H₀ : There is no significant relationship between announcement of government policy with

respect to ban on loud music after 10 PM and Implementation by people.

� Government policy: Ban on usage on Plastic bags

• Ho: There is no significant relationship between announcements of government policies

with respect to usage of plastic bag and implementation of same by people

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

Ethics

Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that involves

systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong conduct. The term

comes from the Greek word ethos, which means "character". Ethics is a complement

to Aesthetics in the philosophy field of Axiology. In philosophy, ethics studies the moral

behaviour in humans, and how one should act.

Ethics defines the elements essential to human well-being and proposes principles to be used

as guidelines for generating an ethical culture. Ethics also refers to the specific values,

standards, rules, and agreements people adopt for conducting their lives.

Ethics, most broadly, is the study of human behaviour and its consequences in the light of

what is ideally possible. For example, ethicists might study a society's mores or morals to

determine what effect they would have on humankind if they were used as universal

standards.

Ethics are not merely social conventions, like table manners. Ethics define the social

conditions necessary for human beings to thrive. How do we know what is ethical? Ethical

wisdom is the product of a long history of human struggle. By trial and error societies

discover how to create mutually enhancing relationships. Yet ethics also come from the

reality-producing function of the mind.

In addition to being propelled by events of the past, human beings are simultaneously drawn

forward by their view of the possibilities of the future. When people act "as if" something can

happen, they can behave so as make it a self-fulfilling prophecy. The challenge is to

understand what conditions lead to human well-being, to envision an ideal ethical culture,

and then derive principles that would create a good life.

What does it mean to act ethically? Ethical Culture proposes that the state of spiritual-ethical

harmony would be created whenever people live by these three guidelines taken together:



• Act as a member of an ideal ethical culture with a sense of interdependence with

humanity and nature.

• Act so as to achieve your own full and unique potential.

• Act so as to elicit the best and most distinctive qualities in others and thereby in oneself.

Environmental Ethics

Environmental ethics is a branch of environmental philosophy that studies the ethical

relationship between human beings and the environment Environmental ethics believes in the

ethical relationship between human beings and the natural environment. Human beings are a

part of the society and so are the other living beings. When we talk about the philosophical

principle that guides our life, we often ignore the fact that even plants and animals are a part

of our lives. They are an integral part of the environment and hence have a right to be

considered a part of the human life. On these lines, it is clear that they should also be

associated with our guiding principles as well as our moral and ethical values.

We are cutting down forests for making our homes. We are continuing with an excessive

consumption of natural resources. Their excessive use is resulting in their depletion, risking

the life of our future generations. Is this ethical? This is the issue environmental ethics takes

up. Scientists like Rachel Carson and environmentalists who led philosophers to consider the

philosophical aspect of environmental problems, pioneered in the development of

environmental ethics as a branch of environmental philosophy.

Most of the human activities lead to environmental pollution. The overly increasing human

population is increasing the human demand for resources like food and shelter. As the

population is exceeding the carrying capacity of our planet, natural environment are being

used for human habitation.

Thus human beings are disturbing the balance in the nature. The harm we, as human beings,

are causing to the nature, is coming back to us by resulting in a polluted environment. The

depletion of natural resources is endangering our future generations. The imbalance in nature

that we have caused is going to disrupt our life as well. But environmental ethics brings out

the fact that all the life forms on Earth have the right to live. By destroying the nature, we are

depriving these life forms of their right to live. We are going against the true ethical and

moral values by disturbing the balance in nature. We are being unethical in treating the plant

and animal life forms, which coexist in society.

Human beings have certain duties towards their fellow beings. On similar lines, we have a set

of duties towards our environment. Environmental ethics says that we should base our

behaviour on a set of ethical values that guide our approach towards the other living beings in

nature. Environmental ethics is about including the rights of non-human animals in our

ethical and moral values. Even if the human race is considered the primary concern of

society, animals and plants are in no way less important. They have a right to get their fair

share of existence.

We, the human beings, along with the other forms of life make up our society. We all are a

part of the food chain and thus closely associated with each other. We, together form our



environment. The conservation of natural resources is not only the need of the day but also

our prime duty.

The Need for Ethics

Most people recognize that some agreed-upon guidelines or general rules should exist

between individuals when they interact with one another because if they did not, nothing in

our lives would be predictable or safe. In other words, people need to know that besides

actual laws, there are some basic, common ethics or principles of what is right and what is

wrong that everyone agrees upon and usually follows or lives by. Ethics is sometimes called

moral philosophy because it is concerned with what is morally good and bad or what is right

and wrong. As a specialized part of ethics, environmental ethics is concerned with the

morality (right and wrong) of human actions as they affect the environment or the natural

world we live in.

Global Environmental Problems

As a branch of philosophy, environmental ethics is a fairly recent development, having

become a body of organized knowledge only in the last decades of the twentieth century. It

came about as a necessary response to a growing number of very obvious threats to the

physical condition of the world in which we live. The list of some of these global

environmental problems is a long and familiar one, and many of them came about because of

the massive increase in the growth of the human population worldwide. As populations

continue to soar, the various problems caused by too many people naturally increase in both

their number and seriousness. It is predicted that the 2000 world population of six billion

people will rise by another one billion people within ten years. To the many problems this

causes, such as increased pollution of the air, water, and soil, is also added the depletion of

these and other important natural resources.

Understanding ISR-Individual Social Responsibility

CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) has been the buzz for a while. Several attempts have

been made to define, practice and document CSR. But increasingly and from diverse and

independent pockets in the world people are talking about a different and more basic social

responsibility. ISR-Individual Social Responsibility has all the takings of being a high impact

change maker. This article tries to build understanding on the subject by studying these

various points of view.

ISR

Individual Social Responsibility (ISR) is about an individual becoming responsible in his/her

actions that have effect on communities outside his/her immediate circle; the immediate

circle being family and friends. There can be an argument about also including family and

friends, but it would be rather pertinent to include them as part of Individual Personal

Responsibility.

Workshop for Civic Initiatives Foundation (WCIF), Bulgaria, describes ISR in its position

statement on Social Responsibility as, "The individual social responsibility includes the

engagement of each person towards the community where he lives, which can be expressed

as an interest towards what’s happening in the community, as well as in the active



participation in the solving of some of the local problems. Under community we understand

the village, the small town or the residential complex in the big city, where lives every one of

us. Each community lives its own life that undergoes a process of development all the time.

And every one of us could take part in that development in different ways, for example by

taking part in cleaning of the street on which he lives, by taking part in organization of an

event, connected with the history of the town or the village or by rendering social services to

children without parents or elderly people. The individual social responsibility also could be

expressed in making donations for significant for the society causes – social, cultural or

ecological. There are many ways of donating, as for example donating of goods or donating

money through a bank account or online".

ISR vis-à-vis CSR

1. ISR is at the roots of CSR, because a corporate comprises of individuals and hence

determines the social responsibility culture it follows.

2. As CSR is being increasingly viewed as a tool to push wares a greater need for ISR is

expected. The example of www.kiva.org in giving people the power to empower is a big

indicator of the shift.

3. If ISR becomes way of life CSR may be an automatic end result.

4. “The social responsibility of business is to make a profit,” famously said Milton Friedman,

the Nobel Prize winner. He explained that in making a profit a company creates thousands of

jobs, both directly and indirectly through suppliers, distributors and retailers. It imparts

valuable skills to its employees. It pays crores in taxes. It improves the lives of millions of

satisfied customers with its products and services. This is an enormous service to society.

Companies should focus single-mindedly on their competence, providing goods and services

better than their competitors, and not get distracted by extraneous activity. A company’s

social responsibility is to make profits legally, not to harm nature, and uphold the highest

standards of governance.

It is then left for the promoters of the corporations to practice ISR from the profits received

above to really answer Social Responsibility.

Bystander Intervention

The bystander effect or Genovese syndrome is a social psychological phenomenon that refers

to cases where individuals do not offer any means of help in an emergency situation to the

victim when other people are present. The probability of help has often appeared to be

inversely related to the number of bystanders; in other words, the greater the number of

bystanders, the less likely it is that any one of them will help. The mere presence of other

bystanders greatly decreases intervention. In general, this is believed to happen because as

the number of bystanders increases, any given bystander is less likely to notice the situation,

interpret the incident as a problem, and less likely to assume responsibility for taking action.

The same concept goes true in the case of responsibility towards environment as well. A

person will act in an environmentally responsible and sustainable way unless:

1) There is a lack of AWARENESS (of the current state of the environment).



2) There is a lack of SKILLS (for acting in an environmentally-responsible way).

3) There are stronger MOTIVATIONS for acting in no sustainable ways).

4) Outside forces BLOCK your attempts at sustainable and environmentally-responsible

actions.

Government Regulations

The Plastic Manufacture, Sale and Usage Rules, 1999, as amended in 2003 under the

Environment (Protection) Act of 1986, regulate plastic bag use in India. The Rules prohibit

the manufacture, stocking, distribution, or sale of carry bags made of virgin or recycled

plastic less than 20 x 30 centimetres in size and 20 microns in thickness. The rules also

disallow the use of recycled plastic bags and containers for storing, carrying, dispensing or

packaging of food items. Further, the Rules require units manufacturing plastic bags to

register with the respective State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) or Pollution Control

Committee (PCC) prior to the commencement of production.

The Plastic Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2011, which would replace the earlier

Recycled Plastics Manufacture and Usage Rules, 2003, is the latest drive by the Government

of India to limit plastic waste in the country. The new rules have raised the minimum

thickness of plastic bags to 40 microns and require recycled carry bags made from

compostable plastics to conform to specific BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards). Importantly,

the Rules ban the use of plastic sachets for storing, packing or selling gutkha (a crushed

preparation of betel nut with tobacco), tobacco and pan masala (betel nuts).

One of the major provisions under the new Rules is the explicit recognition of the role played

by waste pickers. The new rules require the municipal authority too constructively engage

with waste pickers, agencies, or groups working in waste management. Another important

policy recommendation is that no plastic carry bags be made available free of cost to

consumers and that the municipal authority be given the power to determine the minimum

price for plastic bags. However, the explicit pricing rule is diluted in effect because it does

not clearly specify the modalities for the execution of the policy.

Some states have introduced incremental regulations toward the control of plastic bags.

Himachal Pradesh, for example, banned bags made of non-biodegradable material of

thickness less than 70 microns and size less than 18 X 12 inches in 2003. Violations carry

fines of up to INR 100,000 or seven years in jail. Similarly, the states of Maharashtra, Punjab,

Kerala, Meghalaya and Goa have also prescribed norms regarding the thickness of plastic

bags varying between 30 and 50 microns. The Government of West Bengal has banned the

manufacture, use, storage and sale of plastic bags of thickness below 40 microns and size

lower than 16 X 12 inches. The governments of Gujarat, Orissa and Goa have banned the use

of plastic bags in certain religious and tourist areas such as Ambaji, Dakor and Somnath in

Gujarat, the municipal area of Puri and Konark in Orissa, and the beaches in Goa.

More recently, Chandigarh in 2008, Rajasthan in 2010 and Haryana in 2011 have imposed a

complete ban on plastic bag use. Faced with a ban, shops in these states have responded

mainly in two ways. The sellers of high-value goods such as garments and electronics have

started providing their customers fiber-cloth bags free of charge. Those selling lower value



goods such as grocery stores have started a deposit-refund system where customers deposit

some amount for a cloth bag, which is refunded when they return the cloth bag. Some shops

are also offering 1% cash subsidies (on the value of purchases) for consumers using their own

bags.

The Delhi High Court in August 2008 directed the state to raise the minimum thickness of

plastic carrier bags from 20 to 40 microns. Somewhat surprisingly, the Delhi State

government not only passed legislation to this effect fairly quickly but, in January 2009,

ordered a complete ban on the use of all plastic bags within market areas. De jure, anyone

found guilty of breaking the ban faces a maximum penalty of one hundred thousand rupees,

or five years’ imprisonment, or both.

DATA ANALYSIS

1. Do You Turn Lights Off When Not Using Them

Turning off the lights when not in use is an ethical responsibility of households. In this way,

they will not only save the energy for future use but it will reduce the expenses on their part

since they will not be wasting electricity. When the question regarding turning off lights was

asked, following responses were recorded.

Around 34% people say that they turn off lights of their in order to protect the environment. It

was followed by 26% of people saying that they do so because they have a habit of following

such a practice. 20% people say that they find this as their moral obligation and rest 20% in

order to save their money switch off their lights.

010203040

Habit To

protect

environ

ment

Moral

Obligatio

n

To save

money

Percentage 26 34 20 20

percentage

2. Buying Of Energy Efficient Bulbs

CFLs OR Energy efficient bulbs use one-fifth to one-third the electric power, and last eight to

fifteen times longer. A CFL has a higher purchase price than an incandescent lamp, but can

save over five times its purchase price in electricity costs over the lamp's lifetime.

The responses for the above question are as follows:

44% of the people say that they use energy efficient bulbs in order to save money, followed

by 37% saying that they do so in order to protect environment. 13% say that they are in a



habit of using energy efficient bulbs and 6% feel it as their moral obligation to use energy

efficient bulbs.

0

10

20

30

40

50

To save

money

To protect

environment

Habit Moral

obligation

%

3. Bystander Intervention

One repeated finding in research studies on helping is that a bystander is less likely to help if

there are other bystanders present. When other bystanders are present responsibility for

helping is diffused.Many factors influence people's willingness to help, including the

ambiguity of the situation, perceived cost, diffusion of responsibility, similarity, mood and

gender, attributions of the causes of need, and social norms.

To understand the bystander intervention, two options were given:

• To leave it as it is to be handled by the affected party

• To take an initiative and get the problem solved

Around 55% of the people say that they will take an initiative and get the problem solved

whereas 45% said that they will leave the problem as it is to be solved by the affected party.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

To leave it as it is To take initiative

Percent…



4. Hypothesis Testing: Ban on loud music after 10 pm

H₀: There is no significant relationship between announcement of government policy with

respect to ban on loud music after 10 PM and Implementation by people.

H₁: There is significant relationship between announcement of government policy with

respect to ban on loud music after 10 PM and implementation by people.

In order to analyze the relationship two questions have been analyzed which include:

• Are you aware that the playing of loud music after 10 PM is a punishable offence

according to Indian law

• Do you play loud music in spite of being aware about the law

For the former question out of aggregate of 91 people 81 people are aware that government

has come up with a policy to ban the loud music after 10 PM while 10 people are unaware

about any such policy. While in the latter question it could be interpreted that 30 people being

aware about the government policy do not play loud music after 10 PM. But majority of the

respondents i.e., approximately 67% of the people still play loud music after 10 PM. The

62% of the people who play loud music said that they do so due to lack of surveillance by the

government.

Do you still play loud music in

spite being aware about the law

Are you aware about the ban of loud music

after 10 PM by government

Yes No

Yes 27 53

No 3 8

Applying Chi-square to the above distribution to check the independence of events, we will

be using the following formula to find the calculated chi-square value.

Where,

Oi,j is the observed values; Ei,j is the expected values

(r-1)(c-1) is the degrees of freedom

For calculating expected values, following formula is used:

Ei,j = (Ri * Ci)/ n

Where ‘n’ is the total number of observations.

Applying the above formula to the given data, following table is obtained.

Observed Expected (O-E)

2 (O-E)

2/E

E(1,1) 27 26.37 0.3969 0.0151

E(1,2) 53 53.63 0.3969 0.0074

E(2,1) 3 3.63 0.3969 0.1093

E(2,2) 8 7.37 0.3969 0.0539

Total

0.1857



The calculated value of X2

comes out to be 0.1857. The critical value of X2 at 1 degree of

freedom comes out to be 3.841. Since the critical value of X2 is more than the calculated

value, therefore, null hypothesis is not rejected. Therefore, it is implied that there is no

significant relationship between announcement of government policy with respect to ban on

loud music after 10 PM and Implementation by people.

Government policy: Ban on usage on Plastic bags

Ho: There is no significant relationship between announcements of government policies with

respect to usage of plastic bag and implementation of same by people.

In order to analyze the relationship two questions have been analysed which include

• Are you aware that government has banned use of plastic bags

• Inspite of being aware do you still ask for plastic bags to escape from extra penny that is to

be paid for getting paper/ Jute bag.

For the former question out of aggregate of 91 people 82 people are aware that government

has come up with a policy to ban usage of plastic bag while 9 people are unaware about any

such policy. While in the latter question it could be interpreted that 9 people being aware of

government policy ask for plastic bag and 35 people ask for it sometimes; However 37

people do not ask for plastic bag.

Chi-square distribution

In order to check the variation between ‘Announcement’ and ‘implementation’ chi-square

has been used. Chi-square test can be used to test the independence of two variables each

having atleast two categories. Contingency tables are used to represent the data. Contingency

tables are cross- tabs with the cells corresponding to a cross classification of attributes or

events. A contingency table with 2 rows and 3 columns is represented in Table 1.

Table 1: Contingency table with 2 rows and 3 columns

Inspite of being aware do you still ask for

plastic bags to escape from extra penny

that is to be paid for getting paper bag

YES NO Sometimes Total

Are you aware

that government

has banned use of

plastic bags

YES 15 33 34 82

NO 3 4 2 9

Total 18 37 36 91

H₀ : There is no significant relationship between announcement of government policy with

respect to ban on usage of plastic bag and Implementation by people.

H₁ : There is significant relationship between announcement of government policy with

respect to ban on usage of plastic bag and implementation by people.

The expected frequencies corresponding to 2 rows and 3 columns in the contingency table

are:



Row, Column Expected frequencies

1,1 E11= 82×18/ 91= 16.219

1,2 E12=82× 37/ 91= 33.34

1,3 E13= 82× 36/91=32.439

2,1 E21= 18×9/91=1.7802

2,2 E22= 37× 9/91= 3.659

2,3 E23= 36×9/91= 3.56

The table of the observed and expected frequencies corresponding to 2 rows and 3 columns

and the computation of χ² is given in Table 2.

Table 2: Observed and expected frequencies corresponding to 2 rows and 3 columns and the

computation of χ²

Row, column Observed value Expected value (O-E)² (O-E)²/ E

1,1 15 16.219 1.4859 0.0916

1,2 33 33.34 0.1156 0.0035

1,3 34 32.439 2.4367 0.0751

2,1 3 1.7802 1.4879 0.8358

2,2 4 3.659 0.11628 0.0318

2,3 2 3.56 2.4336 0.6836

Total ∑= 1.7214

= 1.7214

Where,

Oi,j is the observed values; Ei,j is the expected values

(r-1)(c-1) is the degrees of freedom

For calculating expected values, following formula is used:

Ei,j = (Ri * Ci)/ n

The critical value of χ² at 5 percent level of significance with 2 degree of freedom is given by

5.991.

Since Sample value < Critical value = 1.7214 < 5.991

Thus null hypothesis is not rejected.

Ho: There is no significant relationship between announcement of government policies with

respect to usage of plastic bag and implementation of same by people.

Inference: Inspite of announcement of government on usage of plastic bag people are still

using plastic bags. Hence, Announcement and implementation of government policy are

independent of each other.

5. Understand initiative taken by common man towards society

The above stated objective have been analysed on the basis of questions mentioned in table

below. These questions have been analysed on the basis of five point likert scale. Value 5



have been assigned to strongly agree and 1 to strongly disagree. The data was analysed by

finding the average.

Strongly

agree Agree Neutral Disagree

Strongly

Disagree

Reasons 5 4 3 2 1 Avg.

Do you think turning

off lights during earth

hour is helpful

39 38 10 3 1 25.6

You consider

contribution

(monetary/ Non-

monetary) towards

NGO, self help

groups and poor to be

your moral

responsibility

22 46 21 2 0 24.0

6

old age homes to

provide emotional

support

14 42 30 3 2 22.4

Does your budget

constraint you from

indulging into

charitable activities

11 30 25 16 9 19.4

Do you spare money

from your pocket

money for charity

10 38 30 10 3 21

You use CNG instead

of Petrol because

petrol is major source

of pollution

20 31 25 9 6 21.5

33

The above table shows that on an average 25.6 people take part in earth hour which calls for

turning off the lights for an hour in order to save electricity and to show that they care for the

society. On the other hand 24.06 and 22.4 people contribute to NGO and old age homes

respectively. The data showed more people in age group of 18-30.hence it could be inferred

that on an average 21 people spare money out of their pocket money or income for charitable

purpose.

6. Do you look for ISO/ISI certification while buying products

ISI mark is a certification mark for industrial products in India. The mark certifies that a

product conforms to the Indian Standard, mentioned as IS: xxxx on top of the mark,

developed by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), the national standards body of India. The

ISI mark is by far the most recognized certification mark in the Indian subcontinent. The

name ISI is an abbreviation of Indian Standards Institute, the former name of the Bureau of

Indian Standards. The ISI mark is mandatory for certain products to be sold in India, like



many of the electrical appliances e.g. switches, electric motors, wiring cables, heaters,

kitchen appliances etc.

34% people look for ISO certification to protect environment while 23% look for such

certification due to moral obligation while 26% and 17% look for such certifications due to

habit and health respectively. The above figure shows that people are concerned about

environment and health.

Travel by public transport

The above diagram shows that 56% people make use of public transport to save money.

While just 20% do so to save environment.

FINDINGS

1. People are motivated towards saving environment by saving money/personal health and

not because of its importance. This can be seen when :

� 44% of people use power efficient bulbs to save energy.

� People try to escape to pay for a non plastic bag when buying goods.

� When they use public transport just to save money and not with the motive of saving

environment.

� The people check the ISO/ISI certification on various electrical products as they are

motivated to protect the environment, due to their habit as well as due to their concern about

their health.

2. Some people have a passive attitude towards the problem faced by others and think that

the problem is to be solved by the affected party.

3. There is only minority of people who doesn’t know about the announcement of

government policies with respect to the ban on loud music after 10 PM and the usage of

plastic bags.



4. Implementation of law is also not strict as people who are aware of law do not practice it.

Majority of respondents, i.e, approximately 67% do play loud music after 10 PM out of

which many do it out of lack of surveillance by the government.

5. Considering an average person, it shows that most of the respondents are self-oriented

and not ready to take initiative towards society. This can be proved as on an average 21

people spare money out of their pocket money or income for charity towards the

environment.

CONCLUSION

Environment awareness exists amongst people from elders, education, influence from the

peer group and the steps taken by government. People forget the importance of environment

ethics when doing daily routine tasks. Thus, innovative ideas should be used so that more and

more people can contribute to environment easily.

RECOMMENDATIONS

1. Environmental ethics should be followed as a moral obligation towards the society rather

than safeguarding the personal interests.

2. People should contribute more towards society specifically the environment by use of

CFLs or energy efficient bulbs.

3. More number of people should come forward to contribute towards society rather than

being a bystander.

4. Bystander interventions can be reduced by creating awareness and skills among people so

that they can act in an environmentally-responsible way.

5. We should try to divert people towards saving money and indirectly saving the

environment like in the Advertisements where a person saves money by saving on household

fuel to buy an expensive watch.

REFERENCES

[1] Sung-Lin H. A Fuzzy Utility-Based Multi-Criteria Model for Evaluating Households’

Energy Conservation Performance: A Taiwanese Case Study, 2012.

[2] Hong S. The effects of unit pricing system upon household solid waste management: the

Korean experience. Journal of Environmental Management 1999; 57(1): 1–10.

[3] Jenkins. The Economics of Solid Waste Reduction: The Impact of User Fees, Edward

Elgar Publishing, Hampshire, 1993.

[4] Dunlap, Beus. Household Behaviour and the Environment-OECD, 1992.

[5] Richardson RA, Havlicek J. Economic Analysis of the Composition of Household Solid

Wastes. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 1978; 5: 143-111.

[6] http://www.scienceclarified.com/El-Ex/Environmental-Ethics.html

[7] http://www.ehow.com/about_7228246_meaning-ethical-responsibility_.html

[8] http://www.ethicalsociety.org/article/19/about-wes/ethical-culture-our-religious-

heritage/faqs-about-ethical-culture/what-does-ethics-mean

[9] International Business Ethics Institute, http:// www.Business-ethics.org

[10] http://www.meetingtomorrow.com/cms-category/business-ethics-and-social-

responsibility

[11] http://dspace.iimk.ac.in/bitstream/2259/392/1/



[12] www.oecd.org/dataoecd/19/22/42183878

[13] www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/49155/1/346984866.pdf

[14] http://www.scribd.com/doc/7147512/Questionnaire-Plastic-Bags

[15] http://degradable.net/files/uploaded/environmental/Questionnaire.pdf

[16] http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/VLRZWWJ

[17] http://www.wycombefoe.org.uk/archive_campaigns/sub/packaging/Plastic_Bag_Questi

onnaire2.pdf

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