Corporate Social Responsibility : Business Practices

In my paper I will be discussing the topics related to corporate social responsibility. Corporate social responsibility (CSR, also called corporate responsibility, corporate citizenship, and responsible business) is a concept whereby organizations consider the interests of society by taking responsibility for the impact of their activities on customers, suppliers, employees, shareholders, communities and other stakeholders, as well as the environment. This obligation is seen to extend beyond the statutory obligation to comply with legislation and sees organizations voluntarily taking further steps to improve the quality of life for employees and their families as well as for the local community and

Corporate social responsibility is the responsibility a company takes on beyond its own economic benefit. Wikepedia (2006) states that it is "a company 's obligation to be sensitive to the needs of all of the stakeholders in its business operations" (Corporate social responsibility, para. 1). Stakeholders according to Wikepedia (2006) are all entities that might have influence on a company 's decisions. However, it should be pointed out that corporate social responsibility surpasses charitable donations and

Nowadays, many international companies take sustainable development seriously. They understand that sustainable development can enhance their quality of life and their reputation in public. Sustainable development is "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." (Brundtland, 1987) Sustainability requires monitoring and managing all the person to ensure that our economy and society can continue to exist without destroying the social and natural environment during development. The sustainability includes three pillars, which are economic, social and environment, forming a triple bottom line. The triple bottom line demands that a company 's responsibility lies

Corporate social responsibility incorporates environmental, social, and economic dimensions that provide leadership and differentiation opportunities for perceptive organizations. However,

While there is no universally accepted definition of Corporate Social Responsibility, it is usually described in terms of a company considering, managing and balancing the economic, social and environmental impacts of its activities. The notion of corporate social responsibility should be a part of the core business operations of a company, rather than a separate ‘add on’.[2]

On the other hand companies are pressured from governments ,competitors, and employees to address the environmental, social, and issues such as climate change, obesity and human rights (Bonini, Timothy & Mirvis, 2009).

Company X is a plastic injection molding manufacturer located in Highland, Michigan. The company had started in 2005 and survived the hard economic times. Company X started out by first doing applique and added 6 months ago injection molding. There are two owners, and there are less than 75 employees. Every company small or large should take social responsibility.

Apple Company is one of the largest manufacturers of computers and electronics. “Apple Company was founded on April 1, 1976, by college dropouts Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, who brought forth a new company vision of changing the way people, viewed computers” (Library of Congress, 2008). The ethical and social responsibility of Apple Company should have started with its inception; however, it did not. It was not until years later with the advent of social media and the power of worldwide communications, did Apple Company focus on ethical and social responsibilities regarding the treatment of its employees in their factories overseas. The international reports of employee maltreatment; the use of underage employees; and, documented instances of wrongful disposals of toxic matter into the environment, forced Apple to take immediate action and establish safeguards which would protect its employees, the environment and more importantly the brand name that is Apple Company.

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (CSR) is a term describing a company’s obligation to be accountable to all of its stakeholder in all its operation and activities. Socially responsible companies consider the full scope of their impact on communities and the environment when making decisions, balancing the needs of stakeholder with their need to make profit.

there were internal failures, more could have been done to ensure that the directors who were not acting ‘illegally’ acted with more consideration for their non-shareholders.

People’s lives are increasingly controlled and shaped no longer by governments but also by corporations. For example, the liberalization and deregulation have given more influence, liberty and choices to private actors.

For the past years, corporate social responsibility also referred, as corporate conscience has been a respected subject for discussion. Corporate social responsibility, unquestionably, contains more viewpoint than simply worried about the ecological impacts of associations. It came in people groups mind at the later 1880, time of essential modern advancement that associations ought to think about the thought of social obligation. Associations that are near to social obligation issues got to be worry about the principled ground of attaining to social commitment. Latter 1880 manifestation of the accountability for society has got soundness however after that period the association started to include in humanitarian force strongly (Adamsson

Corporate Social Responsibility is necessary for every organization and they have a uniquely distinctive approach to it. Let’s say for a business Corporate Social Responsibility is to manage business processes to produce a positive outcome for the society in general. For this the company needs to keep two aspects in mind while operating:

Corporate social commitment is the term used to portray the way that a business considers the cash related, characteristic and social impacts of decisions and exercises it is incorporated in. The piece of Corporate Social Responsibility in the business world has made from a fig leaf publicizing front into a fundamental piece of corporate behavior over the span of late years. Conservative frameworks are regarded, pined for and passed on additional by appropriate players in various business endeavors all around all through the world. Both investigation and corporate practice thusly see CSR as a controlling rule for business accomplishment.

The concepts of corporate social responsibility (CSR) have been evolving for decades. At the very beginning, it was argued that corporation’s sole responsibility was to provide maximum financial returns to shareholders. However, it became quickly apparent to everyone that this pursuit of financial gain had to take place within the boundary of the legal system (Carroll, 1979;1991). Bowen’s 1953 publication of ‘Social Responsibility of Businessman’ was considered by many scholar to be the first definitive book, to explain the idea behind CSR. Following Bowen’s book, a number of works played a vital role in developing the social responsibility concept (Cheit, 1964; David & Blomstrom, 1966; Carroll, 1979;1991).