Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a commitment of businesses to developing policies that incorporate responsible practices into daily business activities to improve the wellbeing of the society. Many people are constantly debating whether or not CSR should be legally recognized or not. Some people think CSR should not be enforced at all and they think CSR is interfering with the laissez-faire, as it is to create an environment in which businesses are not free from government intervention. People who support CSR say that CSR helps increasing business profit for owners and at the same time it improves the quality of life of businesses’ employees, communities and the society. This paper will seek to prove that CSR is valid means of promoting workers rights, labor rights, consumer protection and respect for local communities as well as discussing the impact of CSR on society.
In my view, CSR has to be supported on the ground of human rights and labor rights. I do not believe in CSR as a replacement of efforts of human rights and labor rights organizations; however companies should promote the wellbeing of their employees and implement policies, procedures, and activities to avoid violation of workers’ rights. Although companies in the United States acknowledge the right of their employees to organize and they have policies against child labor, discrimination, minimum wage, and working hours, they do not implement the same business principals when doing business in third-world companies.
In some countries, activists of worker’s rights or human’s rights do not exist and most of the times government officials are the first people to violate the rights of workers whether in public or private sectors. According to Global Issues, ...
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...usinesses profit, but also the quality of life of businesses’ employees, communities and the society, it is my sincere belief that currently CSR has to be enforced or voluntarily practiced in order to increase both profit for business owners and the quality of life of members of the society at large.
Works Cited
http://phoenixbusiness.hubpages.com/hub/Nike-Global-Business-and-Challenges
Telephone interview with Businessman, Justin Kanamugire.
http://www.marxist.com/pakistan-coca-cola-workers-face-brutal-management.htm
http://www.hg.org/consume.html
http://fastbadcreditmortgages.com/
Alessia D., Sybil H. and Sue F. (2007). Corporate Social Responsible and Sustainable Business, page: 88–89.
http://www.stwr.org/global-conflicts-militarization/foreign-companies-fuel-congo-violence.html
http://www.globalissues.org/article/57/corporations-and-workers-rights
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is the way a corporation achieves a balance between its economic, social, and environmental responsibilities in its operations so as to address shareholder and other stakeholder expectations. In general, when firms hold this wider encouraging role on the public by being engaged with stakeholders, a variety of profit can be produced for both company and the stakeholders. A key inclination is the combination of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) into the organization strategy, culture, mission and communications. By incorporating corporate citizenship into the company it is no longer an additional “nice thing to do” or something made to obey laws or regulations. Instead, corporate responsibility has become something business leaders and workforce want to engage in, frequently because executives who believe in the long-term see business profit. The four types of social responsibilities a...
Hohnen, P. (2007). Corporate Social Responsibility An Implementation Guide for Business. Winnipeg: International Institute for Sustainable Development. Retrieved January 22, 2014, from http://www.iisd.org/pdf/2007/csr_guide.pdf
An organization’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) drives them to look out for the different interests of society. Most business corporations undertake responsibility for the impact of their organizational pursuits and various activities on their customers, employees, shareholders, communities and the environment. With the high volume of general competition between different companies and organizations in varied fields, CSR has become a morally imperative commitment, more than one enforced by the law. Most organizations in the modern world willingly try to improve the general well-being of not only their employees, but also their families and the society as a whole.
The classical view of CSR is a prominent ideology which business organizations are seen merely as profit-driven organizations. Simply put, businesses work for the sole purpose of making a profit. Thus, this profit motive is the sufficient and unique social identifier that separates a business organization from other institutions in society. These business organizations have a limited, yet essential role in society. Social concerns are considered important, but businesses, in the classical view, are focused solely on the economic activities and are judged accordingly. By having a limited role in society (i.e.,...
What is CSR? CSR or Corporate Social Responsibility indicates the actions or conducts that have strategic importance to companies. CSR has been defined as a company’s efforts or obligations in reducing and getting rid of any detrimental effects on the community and maximizing long-term beneficial effects to the company and community in which it operates (Mohr et al, 2001, cited Trendafilova et al, 2013). CSR usually starts with the general emphasis that businesses are not only responsible to generate economic returns for shareholders, but are also responsible to the environment and to other stakeholders. This is usually known as the “triple bottom line” – the company’s returns for investors, the environment and stakeholders (Markley, 2014). In today’s modern business environment, CSR is undoubtedly important because whenever possible, customers would like to purchase goods from companies they trust; suppliers want to develop business partnerships with companies they can entrust; employees want to work for companies they have a high regard for and NGO’s want to work with companies seeking possible solutions in areas of common concern. Pleasing each of these stakeholder groups enable companies to maximize their obligations to their shareholders who gain most when the needs of other stakeholder groups are met (Waldman et al, 2010).
A corporations CSR should be shaped in order to fit the goals of the corporation, although every corporation’s CSR should differ, since most have different goals and different communities behind them. The CSR should be molded into fitting the corporation’s goals in order to make it easier on the corporation in giving back to the community while achieving its goals. For example, a corporation located in a desert wishes to be more efficient, by reducing water usage it is not only creating lower costs, which result in higher revenue, but also helps the community by not taking up so much water. Taking this into consideration, it is critical that the corporation goals and values are established and clear throughout the corporation, they should be developed by the board or directors and CEO, and the highest managerial level should stress their importance to the rest of the corporation. By making the goals and values at the top branch of the corporate hierarchy, it will be simpler for the corporates community to develop in order to nurture those goals and values. Therefore, a corporation can reach the “shared-value,” a value for both its shareholders and community in a simpler manner that can result benefiting the corporation in the end as well. Throughout the article many examples are given of actual corporations that have benefited and changed their CSR in order to fit their goals, therefore, providing solid proof that these methods work. Nevertheless, as acknowledged by the author’s themselves, most of the corporations taken into consideration where one’s that Harvard CSR students were employed
To begin with, the first poor issues pertaining to CSR is child labour. Child labour means “Child labour is work that affects children’s health and personal development, and interferes with, or stops, their education.” (Nestle) Back than, child labour was the major issues all over the world. Children shouldn’t be working because they are too young, they must be over 16 to work. It’s dangerous for them to work due to the hazardous working conditions. There are many reasons why child labour exists such as lack of poverty, commun...
Due to the intensification of Social demands from consumers to companies, many research studies have being developed in order to clarify the effects that CSR has had on members of the organizations as well as on its external participants. In terms of the workforce, the application of a CSR scheme according to Herbst and Lloyd (2009) improves their morale and a sense of satisfaction of working in a responsible company makes them more loyal to the organization, creating a better atmosphere as well as increasing the effectiveness of the employee.
Normally first concern of a company is earning profit. It is simple fact that if a company does not earn profit then company won’t last longer. As a result employee of the company loss their job and company never think about taking care of its social responsibilities. CSR can’t be accomplishing until a company is profitable.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is one of the most recognized aspects in the world today since companies’ reputation is judged from its CSR policies, quality of its services and products and competitiveness. Many authors relate CSR with ethical conducts in businesses. Many authors therefore give related definitions for both CSR and ethics. Corporate Social Responsibility can be defined as continued commitment to ethical conduct, to provide and contribute to high living standards of the society by facilitating economic developments and improving the standards of living of the employees together with their families, their society and community at large (MallenBaker.net 2011).
European Commission: 2001, Green Paper Promoting aEuropean Framework for Corporate Social Responsibility C OM(2001) 366 (Commission of the European Communities, Brussels). Retrieved from http://eurlex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/site/en/com/2001/com2001_0366en01.pdf
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has become a widespread topic in business issues and critical sector. In the fast fast companies are facing fast change and consumers always on the topic of traceability of food chain. Consumers and governmental organizations are increasingly focusing their attention on corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices. CSR research has evolved over the last 50 years (Carroll, 1999). CSR is divided as a four parts pyramid (Carroll, 1991). Firstly, the meaning of economic responsibility, organization should be profitable. Secondly, the legal responsibility is very important for the company to obey the laws of the society. Thirdly, the ethical responsibility of the company to do what is right and philanthropic responsibility of the company is related to social, educational, recreational or cultural. Each factor is very important and there are lively relationship between all and when understanding the meaning it reflected to corporation.(Carroll, 1991).As a foundation, Carroll (1979, 1991) integrated various streams of CSR research to define a model that extended corporate performance beyond traditional economic and legal considerations to include ethical and discretionary responsibilities.
For the upliftment of society ideally most important aspect is creating awareness in people about their rights. For this a part of society needs to take active part in development of the society, surprisingly many have come forward voluntarily to contribute for the betterment of society. According to Crowther and Jatana (2005a) Today Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has become a popular cause. CSR focuses on social, environment and financial success of a company to ensure that they are performing well in non-financial areas such as human rights, business ethics, environment policies, corporate contribution to education, poverty alleviation, infrastructure development, women’s empowerment,
Corporate Social Responsibility is an organisation’s obligation to serve the company’s own interest and the one’s of the society. Moreover, Corporate Social Responsibility has a definition of a concept where the companies integrate social and the environmental concerns into their own business operation and also on a basis of voluntary with their interactions they have with the stakeholders. Corporate Social Resp...
A company has an economic obligation. It must earn a favorable return for its stockholders in the restrictions of the law. But, corporate social responsibility means that organizations have also ethical and societal responsibilities that go past their economic responsibilities. CSR needs organizations to develop their documentations of their responsibilities to include other stakeholders such as workers, customers, suppliers, local societies, state governments, international organizations, etc. Ethics could be seen as a fundamental component of individual and group activities at the heart of organizations’ errands.