The private sector is the other side of the economic equation in any political or economic system all over the world. It is often given privileges and capabilities to make it more flexible and more capable in achieving the goals of the public sector — the first party in the equation.
A new trend has emerged leading to an increase in the contribution of the private sector to the development process of any country. This new concept is known as social responsibility.
Social responsibility simply means the contribution of the private sector to the development of local communities, not as a favor or an act of generosity, but as a commitment. The idea underlying this concept is that when you pay due taxes to the state, you in fact invest these taxes in development projects that serve the public interest.
If we consider the concept of social responsibility in Saudi Arabia, we find that the whole idea is essentially in place, albeit it takes different forms like charity, generosity, aid and Zakat. Traditionally, these rituals are regarded as things carried out by an individual or a group driven by moral and religious motives. However, these practices were confined to inherited personal and or even family decisions. Publicity has no role here. In Saudi Arabia, there are no taxes but only Zakat, which is an important pillar of Islam. As such, the concept of Zakat is the embodiment of the basic concept of social responsibility today, because it relates to the wealth of the rich and its contribution to the benefit of the poor. Today, the rich are the private sector and the poor are the projects and the needs to be provided by the state to its people.
The publicity associated with whatever an organization contributes toward social development remains below the required or acceptable expectations. What we would like to affirm here is that media marketing is not a moral or religious taboo because it has become imperative for everyone to disclose this charity — the social responsibility.
Advertising and publicity have many benefits, which show the strength of the national economy and formation of incentives and provide models to the strengthening of the culture of social responsibility.
Everyone should declare his/her social contributions. At the same time, the government should offer incentives to those who contribute to the development, construction and welfare of the society.
