A manager stops a cost-saving plan that harms the environment. Which professional quality does this show?

Correct answer: Social responsibility and service motive

The governing concept is that professional management considers social responsibility and the service motive alongside organisational efficiency. A cost-saving plan is not automatically desirable if it creates environmental harm that affects communities, customers, employees, or future generations. Stopping such a plan shows that the manager is willing to protect wider stakeholder interests instead of measuring success only through immediate financial savings. Option B is correct because it combines concern for society with responsible service. Option A is too narrow and focuses only on authority, while options C and D concern admission or membership formalities. They do not explain an environmental decision. The action may involve a cost, but responsible management evaluates long-term social and ethical consequences as well as profit.