Using Corporate Social Responsibility to Make Profit is Wrong

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Recommended: Nature and concept of corporate social responsibility

This paper will argue that strategic use of corporate social responsibility by corporation merely to make profit is wrong.
Corporate Social Responsibility also known as “CSR” is a concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operations and in their interaction with their stakeholders on a voluntary basis (“Commission”).
Corporation ought not to use CSR solely to make profit because they violate the primary function of the CSR which is hold themselves accountable for the social, ethical and ecological impact of their business practices. Promoting social responsibility in their company’s code of ethics without holding the company’s management up to that advertisement is wrong and unethical because it misleads the stakeholders and the community’s choice of engaging in business practices with the firm and it is exploiting their vulnerability based on their interested and trust in the company’s marketing advertisements, which are false.
One could argue that these corporations’ ways of advertising for CSR is a form of puffery–the practice of making exaggerated, high fanciful or suggestive claims about the product or services (“Arrington”).
A response to this would be; puffery within defined limit is legal however, these corporations have crossed past the line puffery and have engaged in deceptive course of action, primarily by making false claims of the existence of CSR in their management practice, which is misleading. Moreover, exploiting the stakeholder vulnerability and undermine their autonomy through manipulation with false advertisement, which main purpose is to attract customers and ensure their engagement in the corporation in order to maximize profit.
The use of CSR merely to ...

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...large (“Holmes”).”

Works Cited

Alexander, J.J., & Bucholz, R.A.1978. Corporate social responsibility and stock market performance. Academy of Management Journal, 21: 479-486

Arrigton,Robert L. “Advertising and Behavior Control”.Journal of Business Ethics. Volum 1, 3- 12. February 1982.

Commission Green Paper 2001 “Promoting a European Framework for Corporate Social Responsibility”, COM(2001)366 Final

Holmes, Lord, and Richard Watts. "Corporate Social Responsibility - Making Good Business Sens." N.p., 01 Jan. 2000. Web. 16 Oct. 2013.

Lajoux, Alex. "Corporate Social Responsibility – What Is Wrong with This Picture? National Association of Corporate Directors(NACD). N.p., 10 Jan. 2011. Web. 16 Oct. 2013.

Lev, B., Petrovits, C., Radhakrishnan, S., 2006. Is doing good good for you? Yes, charitable contributions enhance revenue growth. Working paper.

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