A responsibility is a role or action that an individual who belongs to a certain group or setting of people is expected to do by other members of the other people of the same group. It may be imposed or occur naturally by default. Such responsibilities are those that individuals are expected to do without supervision. Those who fail to perform such responsibilities are deemed seen to be unusual, irresponsible, uncivilized and at times abnormal. Social responsibilities are those obligations that individuals have to the society at large.

They do exist to enhance good correlation between various aspects of the society. These social responsibilities exist due to the fact that actions of an individual can affect the welfare of all the other individuals as well as other aspects of the society. This therefore calls for responsibility to enhance a balance among all these factors. Social responsibilities exist in many parts of the society including institutions, communities, businesses and organisations.

Participating in solving problems affecting a societal setting is one major social responsibility. This is mostly applicable in a community, where common problems do occur, requiring the input of every member of the community. Development programs are common in communities and participation of members is the only way to accomplish such developments. Examples of such programs include cleaning of the streets, maintenance of drainage systems and road repairs.

These are some of the social responsibilities in a community setting. Showing concern to other members of the society who are disadvantage is a huge social responsibility. This includes providing food and other necessities to the orphans and the elderly, provision of amenities like wheel chairs and disability friendly equipment. Doing this helps to bridge the gap between the highly regarded persons and those regarded as disadvantaged.

Businesses, organisations and factories should also be involved in social responsibilities. They should at times carry out non-profit making activities for the sake of the community around them. Factories which emit waste in the course of production should dispose the waste responsibly to protect the surrounding community from its effects. Factories should also treat and reuse water to reduce wastage of water which is proving to be a very rare commodity with time Organisations should be involved in research and come up with ideas that benefit the society. An example is the high technology strategies that companies come with to improve security in the society. This is one highly regarded social responsibility exercised by companies. If every individual in the society is involved in social responsibilities, the quality of life for all would improve greatly.