Critically Evaluate How and to What Extent Should Management Recognise Corporate Social Responsibility Extending Beyond the Boundaries of the Organisation

In spite of all advantages mention earlier about ethically and socially responsible business practice, it also has disadvantages, limitation and challenges. The most common and obvious limitation would be the cost that comes together with every investment a business does in order to meet all publicity’s requirements, for instance setting up Ronald McDonald House Charities. Every business has a goal which is at the top of their goal list and it is to be profitable. What is more, it is challenging to maintain the publicity’s and stakeholders’ satisfaction when investing into the society, employees and the environment.

In this paper I am going to discuss and explain my opinion on why a company Q is or is not socially responsible in the following areas company Q close a couple of stores in high crime areas, company Q started offering a very limited health conscious an organic products, company Q was approached by the local food bank for donations of day old food and company Q declined the donation request from the food bank and started throwing the food away, and company Q suspected possible fraud among its employees.

Within a competitive world, companies should become ethical throughout many perspectives. Ethics refers to the standards of right and wrong in an attempt to influence behaviour. (Kinicki 2015, p.83) In stating this, companies can be ethical within numerous occasions such as ethics and financial performance, ethical performance, ethics and sustainability and ethical competition such as competitive advantage. Despite the positive side, there are also some negative implications towards ethics.

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

The global development and globalization have increased the demand for social behavior towards large companies to make them more responsible and more committed to their environment, which has caused companies to become "Corporate Citizens" whose basic social responsibilities , ethical, labor and environmental beyond profit maximization and its position on the markets; to act in a transparently manner, helps companies to remain successful, particularly when they promote values and respect for the environment.

THE CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (CSR) MOVEMENT has grown in recent years from a fringe activity by a few earnest companies, like The Body Shop, and Ben & Jerry’s, to a highly visible priority for

CSR is the obligations of the business to pursue those policies, to make those decisions, or to follow those lines of action which are desirable in terms of the objectives and values of our society. According to (Carroll and Shabana, 2010), CSR has also become one of the most orthodox and widely accepted concepts in the business world during recent years. According to (Sweeney and Coughlan 2008) and (Maignan and Ralston 2002; Wanderley et al. 2008), Organizations increasingly use CSR activities to position their corporate brand in the eyes of consumers and other stakeholders, such as through their annual reporting . communicating about social activities does not always benefit the communicating organization, notably because CSR communication may trigger stakeholders' scepticism and cynicism (Mohr et al. 2001; Schlegelmilch and Pollach 2005).Many organizations engage in CSR because they believe that it is in the organization’s best

Despite the increasingly obvious trend of CSR, conflicts around the topic are common especially in real businesses. Conducting CSR initiatives or programs requires investing corporate resources, including charitable giving, investing in green solutions, paying for better working environment and assisting community development, for returns that are usually distant and uncertain. For the decision makers within corporations, it is hard to judge because they would be at someone else’s expense to create social value. Another conflict occurs when it comes to the role of CSR in businesses’ development: whether it is harmful or helpful for the businesses’ profitability is still quite a concern, not to mention that the difficulties to get a measurable bottom line out of CSR initiatives.

In 1953, the book ‘The social Responsibility of the Businessman’ was published by Howard Bowen and there began the first concrete step towards CSR. The definition of CSR was clearly stated in this book. He exhorted organisations to fall in line with those strategies, to put into practice decisions which are highly valued by our communities or to follow those lines of action

A sudden rise of public responses to issues media outlets reported in the 1990’s led to heightened corporate attention to corporate social responsibility (CSR). Activist organisations and public disgruntlement has resulted in increased government regulation mandating social responsibility reporting, seeking to hold companies accountable for social issues. Companies, now aware of the potential financial risks that activists and media can cause if business conduct is deemed deplorable, are still not clear how to address the risks. Seemingly obvious strategies for businesses would be either strategic or operational responses: neither commonly implemented, rather their response appearing cosmetic (Porter and Kramer, 2007). ‘Window dressing’ is

‘Embracing CSR would inevitably have consequences that would raise the cost of doing business, could well reduce revenues, and might also cause companies to sponsor low yielding investment which they would otherwise have turned down.’

“Corporations today are under a microscope. Virtually every aspect of operations is subject to scrutiny by consumers.” According to Ogilvy, If CSR issues are managed well, there will be opportunities for a company to build its reputation and differentiate itself. In today’s society, what you stand for as an organization matters way more than what you produce, sell or what services you provide.

4. “CSR is only relevant for large private sector companies.” Critically discuss providing examples from SMEs, the public and civil sectors.

Business Ethics – Business ethics are linked to social responsibility, however, it focuses on the “ethical behaviour of managers and executives in the business world” (Erasmus, Strydom and Rudansky-Kloppers, 2015: 11). Many businesses have implemented a ‘code of business conduct’ to ensure that all executive members and managers have a precise outline of what is considered to be ethical in the business environment. (Erasmus, Strydom and Rudansky-Kloppers, 2015: 11)

Companies with extensive responsibilities even argue about the system in pursuing social responsibility of business. According to Ulrich Steger, the company should prioritize the shareholders’ incessant interest but they should also be concerned of their social responsibilities, morals and environmental goals that the public expects them to be. Without a doubt, companies’ primary goal is to earn a profit. Emphasizing on profitability affects the fundamental values in the company, its morality. Companies ignore the ethics just to earn a mountainous income. This often causes extensive repercussions in the companies.