What are the benefits and dangers of corporate social responsibility, for employees, management, organisations, society and the environment?
Introduction
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has become an important part within business as more people are aware of what activities businesses are doing and how they are doing these activities. Corporate Social Responsibility is “The view that organisations should act ethically, in ways that contribute to economic development, the environment, quality of working life, local communities, and the wider society.” (Huczynski and Buchanan, 2013, p67). This means that businesses are working in an ethic way and attempting to not effect other people. There are advantages and dangers of using CSR such as some people do not believe that it is the role of an organisation to be ethical but the role of governing bodies. (Rady 2011).
Employees
Employees are people within a business that perform tasks in return for a wage or salary. CSR can be important to employees as it has the possibility to make their jobs easier and more enjoyable.
An advantage of CSR for employees is job security because it retains staff as they want to stay in an ethical company rather than one that may not have the same values, therefore enjoy their job less. An example of an organisation that uses CSR to retain staff is Google. Google have varied incentives to retain their staff such as free meals, flexible workplaces and ability to share their ideas. (Meyer, 2015).
The scale and nature of the benefits of CSR for an organization can vary depending on the nature of the enterprise, and are difficult to quantify, though there is a large body of literature exhorting business to
Businesses, specifically larger corporations, play a major role in what occurs in society therefore, they are responsible to their stakeholders not only to pursue economic goals but the greater social good as well. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) means that a corporation should act in a way that enhances society and its inhabitants and be held accountable for any of its actions that affect people, their communities, and their environment. (Lawrence, 2010). Social responsibility is becoming the norm so much so that some businesses have incorporated it into their business model. There are three components of the bottom line of social
The existence of CSR performances guarantee the interest of stakeholders, which involving investors, sponsors, employees, consumers and suppliers. More specifically, for inner management, the workers can be treated respectfully and received well treatment. For example, the workers should be ethically treated when they make a contribution to the performance of organization. Which means the workers not only will improve the enthusiasm to the work, but also will hold the same attitude to handle their works and customers when they receive and be treated equally and ethically in the working environment. Consequently, the employees will make more profits by working in a comfortable workplace. Moreover, the performance of organization will be promoted dramatically by workers’ support.
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a form of corporate self-regulation integrated into a business model. CSR policy functions as a built-in, self-regulating mechanism that has business monitors and ensures its active compliance with the spirit of the law, ethical standards, and international norms. CSR is a process with the aim to embrace responsibility for the company's actions and encourage a positive impact through its activities on the environment, consumers, employees, communities, stakeholders and all other members of the public sphere who may also be considered stakeholders. CSR is titled to aid an organization's mission as well as a guide to what the company stands for and will uphold to its consumers. Development business ethics is one of the forms of applied ethics that examines
CSR is the commitment of a company to behave ethically and to improve its employee’s quality of life, while contributing to economic development. Companies are expected to work with CSR and it can be rewarding for both customers and companies. However, CSR can be damaging for a company if it is performed incorrectly. For example, if the organization`s CSR efforts are focused on areas
The benefit to business of good Corporate Social Responsibility is difficult to quantify as it varies depending on the nature of the enterprise. Some scholars believe that there is a business justification for CSR. That is, what is good for the environment and society will be good for company profitability. And studies have shown a slightly positive correlation between CSR and financial gain (Steiner and Steiner, 2006). However, as Freidmanism claims, the first responsibility of business is to make enough profit to cover the costs for the future. If this social responsibility is not met, no other responsibilities can be (Hargreaves, 2006). Therefore it is critical that CSR activities are included in strategy formulation and that the level of resources devoted to CSR is determined like any other strategy through cost/benefit analysis. Corporations will not throw money away they need to see it
Furthermore, there are several reasons why CSR is critical to modern business such as attracting and retaining employees, attracting socially responsible companies and reducing business costs. To start with attracting and retaining employees, it stimulates workers to increase commitments and productivities. Employees would feel meaningful by working for ethical company. In the second place, it helps to attract socially
The CSR pyramid has been relevant business organizations for decades. It states that businesses have responsibilities to a range of stakeholders other than owners. Other societal stakeholders affected, especially by the legal, ethical, and philanthropic responsibilities, include employees, customers, environment, communities, competitors, and others. (Kessler, 2013) Organizations with well-defined CSR programs tend to be more attractive to talented professionals. These programs can help establish the organizations as being great places to work. Being a highly desired employer that cares about the world will attracted the best employees.
Forbes Magazine Entrepreneurs segment published an article “Why CSR? The Benefits Of Corporate Social Responsibility Will Move You To Act”. The author of the article Devin Thorpe, connected with several corporate executives representing small and large organizations from an array of different industries in efforts to establish if CSR does in fact benefit a corporation. Based off his discussions with these business professionals and experts, Devin concluded the following:
Employees, as members of an organization, contribute a lot to the enterprise’s manufacture, management and profitability. Corporations’ CSR activities definitely have an enormous influence on the qualities of employees’ behaviors. (Nan, X. & Heo, K. 2007, p.65) Employees may react negatively when they perceive a corporate injustice because that implies a mismatching with their values and threatens their psychological demands. CSR activities on employees are consisted of many aspects, such as skill training, working condition, payment as well as health and safety. Every corporation has its own human and labor policies.
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is something that affects organizations of all sizes. Unlike many issues CSR is one that does not present solitary solutions. The challenges an organization face ultimately impact what approach they implement to address their CSR concerns. There are those organizations who make customers the center of their decisions and then there are those who focus on fixing the company issues and allowing that to transcend to the impact on customers.
Hot debates were arose everywhere in the society about the extent of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Mallen Baker (2004) states that CSR is about how companies manage the business processes to produce an overall positive impact on society. Supporters of CSR claim that Businesses and Corporations are not only about making money especially for big business. They should show social responsibility, moral standard and city spirits to the community. They should give something back to the society. Critics argue that Businesses are owned by their shareholders - money spent on CSR by managers is theft of the rightful property of the owners by
Windsor, D. (2001). The future of corporate social responsibility. International Journal of Organizational Analysis, 9 (3): 225-256.
Corporate social responsibility (CSR), otherwise called maintainable capable business, or corporate social execution, is a type of corporate self-regulation coordinated into a plan of action. In a perfect world, CSR approach would work as an inherent, automatic component whereby business would screen and guarantee their adherence to law, moral gauges, and international standards. If you are reading this introduction, chances are you work in your company’s department for community relations, corporate communications, public affairs, public relations, environmental stewardship, corporate responsibility, or corporate citizenship. In any case, it is pretty much as likely that you are a promoting administrator or an item supervisor, have obligation regarding some part of corporate charity, or are on staff at a corporate establishment. Then again, you may work at a publicizing, advertising, or open undertakings firm and be looked to for exhortation by your corporate
CSR can improve the company’s reputation and branding and this in turn improves the prospects for the company to be more effective to attract new customers and increase market share.