Corporate Social Responsibility ( Csr )

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is something that affects all companies and should be an active factor in the company’s decision making. It is something all corporations need to care about. CSR is when business’ or corporations take part in an initiative or campaign for a cause that will benefit society and/or in some way make the world a better place (Taylor, 2015). Initially, Corporate Social Responsibility started to take shape around the 1950’s, but some say that it dates all the way back to the 1800s, the idea of CSR was seen (Carroll, 2007). One may think that because it is dated so long ago, it doesn’t have an important impact today nevertheless, it is proven that Corporate Social Responsibility is a pathway for entities to self benefit as they are in the process of benefitting society.

Rangan, K., Chase, L., & Karim, S. (2015, January 1). The Truth About CSR. Harvard Business Review, 40-49.

1. It is hard for companies to communicate their efforts in CSR to shareholders and investors. Although companies have progressed from only 20% of public companies publishing CSR reports to 72% from 2011 to 2013, there are still no universal standards established for reporting CSR information. Therefore, even the best CSR efforts can lose their value simply because the efforts are not communicated to users of financial statements. This is also in part due to CSR efforts being ill-defined. While some CSR ideas are universal many of the aspects of CSR are industry specific and hard to translate into meaningful disclosures for interested parties.

Current approaches to CSR are fragmented and/or disconnected from business goals. Many firms still consider CSR as another generic public relations problem in which media campaigns and CSR reports are used to paint the company as a positive ethical, social and or environmental advocator and supporter. For example, the annual reports discuss a firm’s sensitivities to CSR issues, but completely lack the entire story and offer no further forward commitments from the firm. Further, the ratings and rankings measurements are self-appointed by the firm, not always accurate to validate the work and direct impact to what they are measuring, and the criteria base varies widely and weighed differently in the final scoring. Worst of all the data lacks impartial auditors for validating the data to ensure the ratings have been accurately met, and data is statistically significant and a good proxy for what it is supposed to reflect. This has resulted in reactive initiatives designed to appease vocal

Proponents of CSR would suggest a number of reasons why self interested corporations, seeking to solely to maximize profits are unable to advance the interests of society as a whole:

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) involves organizations taking into account the social and environmental impact of corporate activity when making

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is the pledge a business makes where it promises to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of workforce and their family as well as the local community (Pride, Hughes, Kapoor 42). This practice helps to form or improve the positive image of the company. Businesses that follow the socially responsible model consider the impact of the company’s actions on society. This also includes promoting and supporting local, national and global causes, which is a part of CSR called corporate philanthropy, where businesses donate some of their profits or resources to charities (Taylor). Companies that show social responsibility this way must be devoted to doing so on a regular basis, because if don’t follow through with it, your organization may be viewed by the public as dishonest. Many critics of CSR believe that this model reduces the main goal of business, restricts the free market goal of maximizing profit, and also limits the ability to compete in a global marketplace (Pride, Hughes, Kapoor 47). Though critics may believe they are right, CSR gives companies a chance to address social issues caused by business’ and other factors and allows them to be a part

Unfortunately many corporations do not give back to the community in which they do business in. Also in different cultures, CSR is viewed differently both on a cognitive and emotional level. The data is taken from surveys and marketing research conducted with corporations and other organizations.

Then again CSR can be dependent on each individual company on whether it holds any importance to key corporate objectives. For example many oil companies whose product is in such high demand that it isn’t necessary for the business to adapt any CSR strategy as the product is so inelastic that people will by it regardless of image or reputation. This is controversially not the case for the oil provider giant BP who recently suffered a massive public relation nightmare after a massive oil spill, leading to a big hit in their reputation and brand image. BP has now ironically made CSR one of their core objectives to help rebuild the reputation and gain market growth.

The economic factors may remain the priorities in many of the business leaders’ minds, even if they claim to know the significance of CSR. Although nearly all the participant CEO in the UN Global Compact Study (2013) see CSR as the “key to success,” sarcasm appears when only 45% feel CSR is “very important to future success,” while around 67% choose “growth and employment” to be the top priorities to indicate future business success. The business leaders may believe in CSR and think it could bring to the greater good, but they saw lack of direct links between their companies’ value and their goodness. On the one side, conducting CSR initiatives or programs, which may include charitable giving,

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in its most simple of terms is a vision. More specifically, it is a vision that in a way almost minimizes what may be better for a company’s shareholders and investors, and increases its focus on things including the environment, its employees, its role in benefiting the surrounding communities and society, and more importantly making sure that we can continue to grow, thrive, and be self-sustaining. In short, it is a business model that puts an emphasis on the future over its profits. CSR comes from an evolving view that current and future generations deem it unacceptable for businesses and corporations to conduct business under a blanket of secrecy. All the written, and unwritten laws concerning competition as well as sustainability are being rewritten.

However, today not only is CSR thought of as a business’s self-preservation for future survival, but also one’s duty to be socially responsible to the earth and people. As defined by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, "Corporate Social Responsibility is the continuing commitment by business to contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as of the community and society at large" (1990). Although CSR is not a mandatory policy among business, many managers are adopting practices to increase profits though reputation, brand, identity and status (Ilona and Ruta 2012). Unfortunately, CSR is not widely implemented within business approach, and the demise is communications of these polies internally and externally is low, thus resulting in less effective outcomes. If management could find a way to integrate CSR into a structured strategy with polices, and concise direction and guidance, CSR aspects could be pursued and achieved on a day-to-day basis. Many workers feel confused that no such strategies exist

Today many customers will be more loyal to businesses that show CSR. A good business will know this and show CSR in one way or another. This paper will discuss two companies that have

The recent fifteen years saw a dramatic increase of the corporate social responsibility (CSR) report. There were more than 3300 CSR reports in 2008 while the number of 2002 was less than 100. More and more companies especially some multinational corporations among the world are keen to proving the sustainability, in order to improve their corporate image and credibility (Adams, 2002). This essay will explain why there are an increasing number of companies are willing to make CSR report annually, and discuss whether reporting on social and environmental activities is equal to good social and environmental performance in reality.

Currently the majority of fortune 1000 companies implements CSR reports and are trying to define and integrate CSR into all parts of their organization. CSR has become increasingly important for large companies and firms, but many debate that the responsibilities of CSR fall on the government and should not be