The Strengths, Limitations and Challenges of Corporate Social Responsibility in the Global Supply Chains

Making profit is no longer an important issue in the current market. Rather, ethics in business are becoming highly important for domestic and global companies to meet the expectations of consumers, employees, Non-governmental organizations and other interest groups. As a result to these developments, companies are in competition to adopt good codes of conducts called (CSR) corporate social responsibility which tells consumers and other pressuring groups that a corporate has a good standard of social and environmental system as well as the health and safety procedures (Peterson and Anderson 2006). In the following lines, the article will introduce the definition of (CSR), the strengths, limitations and challenges facing the national and international CSR system, and the impact of these strengths, limitations and challenges on both suppliers and retailers network. The case study will focus on some concerns raised by media and NGOs in the global supply chains.

The online business dictionary defines CSR as “company’s responsibility toward the community and environment (both ecological and social) in which it operates''. In other words, it is the obligations of an organization toward the welfare and interest of both the society and the environment. For example, x company fulfills its obligations toward the environment through reduction of its waste and pollution, by creating social schemes such as contributing to educational and social programs, or by earning adequate profits and maintaining the law in terms of health and safety issues and providing a living wages for employees. These are some of the issues called codes of conduct that organizations allegedly claim implementation of such standards in the global supply chains.

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...ld buy the ethical cause products only if they are cheap (Friedberg 2003)

In conclusion, the buyer- supplier relationship in the global market is complicated because of corrupted regimes. Consequently, the CSR limitations and challenges are complex in the developing countries. The corporate could overcome the limitations of CSR, if the developing countries adhere to the law of the land without personal interests. This also applies to the local and global market. According to the BBC, the catastrophic Rana Plaza collapsed factory which left more than 1100 deaths in Bangladesh, is a clear sign of how these corrupted governments abuse their own citizens. It is not the fault of Primark code of conduct; it is the fault of people who claim to be ethical but in reality they are not. The Poor workers are not in need of money but they are in need of respect as human being.