Today, there is a greater responsibility organizations must take when dealing with the effects of white-collar crime on society. In the past, society has viewed white-collar crime almost as a victimless crime, perhaps because of its non-violent nature. There is no immediate and visible impact on society because it can go undetected for a long time. And even when it has been detected, many times white collar crime is still treated different than other societal crimes, in where, many companies will not prosecute an employee because of negative publicity that might be generated and expensive legal costs. But today, companies can no longer afford to sweep corporate crime under the rug. The impact on society has become too great for anyone to ignore. The economic cost of white-collar crime is believed to be much greater than the cost of larceny, burglary, auto theft, forgery, and robbery combined ( ). This growing cost, coupled with a more knowledgeable public receiving much information through the media, has made all stakeholders, including those outside of the organization, re-evaluate their level of social responsibility.
There are four levels of corporate social responsibility; these include economic, legal, ethical, and discretionary responsibilities (Daft 1997). Meeting these criteria will help organizations be socially responsible and deter white-collar crime within their organization. However, the organization is not the only stakeholder who should follow these criteria. Social responsibility can sometimes be a two-way street with the government and society itself playing important roles.
The first level is economic responsibility. Companies must produce positive results in order to stay in business. But sometimes this view can be taken to the extreme, and making a profit becomes the one and only priority. When this is the case, it is known as the profit maximizing view (Daft 1997).