Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) What is CSR and why are companies concerned? Corporate Social Responsibility is a business policy sometimes referred to as “Plan A”, “corporate responsibility” or “building a sustainable business”. It encompasses a wide range of possible activities and companies find it difficult to decide on a focal point. CSR is often made up of three broad layers, the first being traditional corporate philanthropy – the giving of profits to worthy causes. The second layer helps companies to manage risks by committing to a more transparent reporting of information, as well as to set common rules, spread the risk and share opinions within the industry. Thirdly, CSR helps to create value in the company by showing how …show more content…
Instead of focusing within the base country, companies assign younger staffs to work on projects in developing countries. Employees are now more keen to contribute to CSR efforts and this has allowed CSR to go beyond the idea of donating excess profits to foundation and charities. CSR has also extended to green initiatives by cutting carbon footprints, waste and prudent use of resources. Companies can benefit from this policy as expenses are reduced. Consumers are also aware of purchases that may contain more carbon footprint over the other. They are often driven to go green and companies must be mindful of the products they sell. CSR in different countries The idea of CSR in developed countries such as Japan, USA and the UK are commonplace and most companies make a conscious effort to display CSR. Given the changing market conditions and the myriad of traditions and priorities in different countries, there is probably no one-size-fits-all approach in implementing …show more content…
Thus, a solution would be to spread the risk by agreeing on codes of conduct within and across industries with NGOs, governments and key stakeholders. But, does CSR actually work? There are several criticisms about how CSR is often just a smokescreen. Critics have objected on 3 main points – 1. The works of CSR should be the government’s responsibility, 2. It distracts attention from what companies should really be doing, 3. It involves the use of shareholders’ money What CSR has done is to place a foothold on companies to establish their own rules when dealing with issues such as ecological disasters and human rights issues abroad. Governments are willing to let businesses deal with it because the costs are absorbed by them and they take action much faster. However, it becomes difficult to manage such issues when other parts of the world are regulated differently, where corruption or conflict would mean companies are left to free will and conduct. Some critics argue that companies should focus on generating profits that will create jobs and contribute taxes that support the local government instead of being distracted by the do-good of
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Show MoreDavis (1960) assert that concept of CSR is important because businesses are based on trust and foresight. This trust with customers, communities and regulators is not simple and to be successful in long run, a company needs to think beyond what is affecting them today. Thus it is necessary to address changes to technology or the needs of customers taking into account alterations in social, environmental and governance issues (Holme 2010). This essay has made an attempt to explore the role a...
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) refers to a business practice that involves participating in initiatives that benefit society. CSR is becoming more mainstream as forward-thinking companies embed sustainability into the core of their business operations to create shared value for business and society. Sustainability isn't just important for people and the planet but also is vital for business success. Today it's not just about having a recycling program or sustainable products. Consumers want to feel good about what their dollar is being used for.
Corporate social responsibility is globally defined as operating a business in a way that meets or exceeds the ethical, legal, commercial and public expectations that society has of business. The concern of CSR has drastically increased over the last two decades. It has enhanced interactions between governments, businesses, society and internationally. In the past, businesses primarily focus themselves with the economic results of their decisions. Now, businesses must also reflect on the legal, ethical, moral and social consequences of their decisions. Corporate Social Responsibility is no longer defined by how much money a company contributes to charity, but by its overall involvement in activities that improve the quality of people’s lives.
The role of CSR has become dramatically increased over a number of years due to an influx of social awareness by the general pubic and also by government. The demand for more ethical business processes and actions, known as ethicism, is increasing. Simultaneously, pressure is applied on industry to improve business ethics through new public initiatives and laws. The recent trend has seen an increase in the number of CSR reports being submitted from 2002 – 2005. In 2005 52% of G250 and 22% of N100 companies issued reports.[1]
According to Mike Peng, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is the consideration and response to issues beyond the narrow economic, technical, and legal requirements of the firm to accomplish social benefits along with traditional economic gains the firm seeks. CSR is a way in which a company seeks to achieve a balance between profit, environmental concerns and social imperatives. This is known as the ‘Triple-Botto...
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a word that is bandied about with really little regard as to what the full implications actually are. Consider a few thoughts: What exactly is a corporation’s responsibility? Who are the arbiters of CSR for corporations? What does it cost to “rein in” corporations? Why are some companies held to a different standard than others?
To understand to broad aspect of CSR, it must be considered for a complex perspective. Therefore Mureşan et al. (2010) states that CSR is the expectation related to the company leading to ecological, economical, legal, ethical and philanthropical responsibility and argues that many people do
In the current market, corporate social responsibility (CSR) is becoming as important to a company as accountancy or marketing, a company which does not take part in CSR could be seen as out of date or not accustomed to change, therefore seen as less desirable in every aspect, from customers to suppliers etc. Companies, which choose to take part in CSR, work hard to make it beneficial to all their stakeholder groups by being involved in activities which will be positive towards the business and also the social environment, making sure to maintain a healthy balance. The effects of corporate social responsibility (CSR) can not be underestimated nor overemphasised, it covers a wide range of business aspects including the running of the business and it’s effectiveness to its environmental impact and improvements. CSR is so diverse, it can even improve the quality of a product, by going fair trade for example to en...
Since over 1000 Fortune 1000 companies utilize CSR into their organization’s business practices, there are many different ways to measure their effectiveness.
CSR is a concept where company involves in social and environmental in their business operations. This is done to achieve a balance of economic, environmental and social obligations.in simple terms giving a hand for those who are not capable of achieving with their objectives and attending to them so that they could make those objectives a reality. This could improve organizations cooperate image which would also leads to attain a high market share.
Just as numerous experts define CSR differently, businesses and their leadership differ on their statements, degree of participation, and level of follow through with their own CSR commitments.
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is the consideration of, and response to, issues beyond the narrow economic, technical, and legal requirements of the firm to accomplish social benefits along with the traditional economic gains which the firm seeks. (Peng, 2012). According to World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD, 1999), CSR is an organization’s commitment to a discretionary behavior that leads to economic development and contributes to the welfare of its employees, local community and society at large. (Ilona, Kazlauskaite, 2011). Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has become very important in that it become a strategic issue that spans across various departments of a firm. It affects the overall global business process as well. Many organization have revisited and redefined their core values to add corporate social responsibility.
According to the illustration from The International Organization for Standardization CSR is a balanced approach, which organizations should adopt as a people, community & overall society beneficial way to address environmental, economic & social issues. CSR deliberately draws attention to socially critical subjects like Workplace Ethics and Environment, Human Rights and even broader subjects including Organizational Governance, Unfair Business Practices, Environmental Responsibility and Occupational Health & Safety.
...n Africa. As mentioned in the main body of the essay, the Indian oil company seem to be the leading the way as they look to be resolving all these issues by dedicating some of their time to solving serious issues of the world. Moving on, the advantages seem to outweigh the disadvantages because some companies who are using the CSR approach to show themselves in a positive light in the eyes of the public are, on one hand helping the problems in the world and at the same time, gaining good publicity. It is also worth mentioning that companies who are looking of finding new ways of motivating their staff then from the survey by Net Impact will be a real wind in their sails because by using CSR it will not only motivate the employees but also allow them to make a little pay cut. Surely, if these are the advantages of taking CSR then it will certainly be worth it.
They argue that the reputational benefits that CSR companies receive (cited above as a benefit to the corporation) demonstrate the hypocrisy of the approach.[72]