CSR: AN AGENDA FOR INCLUSIVE AND SUSTAINED GROWTH INDICATOR RAISWA SAHA DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES SRM UNIVERSITY, SONEPAT, HARYANA ABSTRACT With the expanding globalization and persistent ecological issues, role of CSR has been redefined and aims to broaden the societal context within which it operates. CSR acts as a commitment for attaining inclusivity and community development in order to reflect a positive impact on the society. In an increasingly fast-paced global economy, CSR acts as enabler and driving force in order to attain sustained growth where markets, communities and the organizations can perform well together so to gain better access in making decisions and maximize the growth . Inclusiveness not only helps in increasing the growth rate of the economy but, it boosts the productivity and employment opportunities with sustainable long-term progress. In the age of stiff competitive market environment there is a growing consensus in the minds of the individuals to contribute towards the betterment of the society and take keen interest in adopting sustainable business policies. With the enormous potential of fulfilling the expectations we need more investments in human capital and the relation-building between the stakeholders and the society. Inclusivity and Sustainability, the two very concepts are multi-dimensional in nature which leads to positive health outcomes, access to higher education, improved standards of living, development of skills,
Based on my interpretation of CSR, I see it as a voluntary obligation that companies have promised to their stakeholders to fulfill by improving, or at least not harm, the environmental and social wellbeing. When companies engage in CSR, they voluntarily promise to, for example, carry the responsibility to protect the environment and take actions against bribe or other corruptive activities related to their business. It certainly has some positive influences to specific areas based on my knowledge gained from other classes; nevertheless, when judge CSR in the context of total impacts on our society and environment, it is obvious that CSR has failed its mission to lessen the negative impacts of business based on the evidences that provided by the author. Also, since there is a strong positive relationship between CSR behaviors and consumers’ reactions to a firm’s products and services, it seems to me, now, that CSR for the most companies is just a fancy cover that helps them to create or promote a good image and reputation. The recent case that shows the failure of CSR of Volkswagen even make me believe that CSR programs may be just a marketing or public relation exercise for many
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.
In this article, “The Truth About CSR,” authors Rangan, Chase and Karim stress the importance in aligning a company’s social and environmental activities with its business purpose and values (Rangan, Chase, & Karim, 2015, 41). Outcomes of CSR programs should be a “spillover” and not a primary focus of a business, expressing concern towards social responsibility and corporations failing to contribute to society accordingly (Rangan, Chase, Karim, 2015, 42). There is a great deal of importance in companies refocusing their CSR activities on a primary goal and in providing an organized process for bringing consistency and discipline to CSR strategies (42). Rangan, Chase and Karim want corporations to understand why it is important for them to evaluate their CSR activities and refocus them towards the goal of reinforcing the firm’s societal and environmental actions, while also ensuring their actions add to the overall purpose and values of the corporation. According to the authors, even though
CSR lacks universal methods. The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) mentions that it is important to draw a distinction between CSR as part of strategic business management concept and charity, sponsorships or philanthropy. The latter applications make valuable social impacts that enhance the reputations of the companies, however, CSR is a continual effort instead of an instance. A few features that CSR should focus on are: eco-efficiency, employee and community relations, environmental management, gender balance, responsible souring, anti-corruption, stakeholder engagement and human rights. Utilizing some of these key features a company can bring competitive advantages into the market place. Increased sales and profits from operational cost savings as well as improved reputation and brand image and customer loyalty can result from a well-defined CSR strategy.
Caterpillar has always been a market seeker since its inception. Within a span of ten years, it expanded its business from the USA to Europe and Australia by supplying machinery for the World War 1. As it entered the construction industry, its influence in the market grew and so did its market share. After reaping the benefits of operating in developed economies, caterpillar started expanding its business to Asia and Africa. Although these markets were heavily dependent on the developed economies for their growth, the gradual rise of the BRICS nations who started acquiring more share in the world trade made them an attractive investment. When the global economic crisis loomed over the world’s most powerful economies, businesses in these countries became nervous and they were to incur huge losses. On the other hand, emerging markets adapted very well to the global economic crisis and proved to be a safe haven for companies. This is where caterpillar’s strategy of constant market seeking ensured that they were virtually unaffected by the global financial crisis. On the contrary, analysts saw a rise in the value of caterpillar during this period. While economies like Europe and the USA were experiencing depression in 2008, caterpillar reported an all-time record for its sales, revenue and profit per share. Its sales increased by 30 percent outside North America while it could squeeze only 7 percent growth from North America. This
Businesses have a responsibility to give back to the customers they serve and the communities they operate in. Today, many organizations have realized the importance of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in response to consumers and stakeholders becoming more mindful of social issues. Corporate social responsibility has continued to change and grow. It can be difficult to define CSR because it takes on a variety of social, economic, political and environmental formats depending on the business. Corporate social responsibility in the broadest sense is viewed as for-profit organizations becoming ‘good corporate citizens’ (Salton & Jones, 2015).
We all have responsibilities. It begins with taking care of one’s favorite toys as a child and it grows to encompass more significant aspects of one’s life. The decisions we make, the steps we take and the words we speak are vital elements of our responsibilities. It is a matter of considering the interests of others besides your own. This is the core value of being responsible. The same concept is applicable to corporations and businesses. In other words, businesses are expected to make wise actions when providing services and promoting their company. Over a series of years, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has been one of the most debated topics in the business world affecting us dramatically. That is because CSR went through different ranges of acceptability from denial to conformity in its significant goals. Hundreds of texts were published to draw attention to the major beneficial impacts of CSR to society. The text I chose addresses that businesses need to understand that they advance by lifting others. Businesses are not participating enough to give a helping hand to society. There should be an emphasis on how CSR is grounded in the reality of taking small but efficient steps to reach greater changes. Corporate Social Responsibility is the mission that equally combines three interconnected aspects of society to accomplish a successful transformation from local impacts to global changes. CSR is not an
With the spread of social marketing and CSR in the world, organizations tend to not only consider the consumers’ demands and the companies’ profit, but also take the consumers’ and societies’ long-term benefit into account. Hildebrand,D,et,al (2011) demonstrated that the CSR activities can make up the central, special and core characteristics of the company identity, the identification of the corporate can also be aroused due to CSR activities. Moreover, Porter and Kramer (2006) highlighted that CSR can aid companies create the ability to achieve corporate resource so as to build a sustainable and defensible competitive position. So the companies should consciously undertake corporate social responsibility.
The researcher also had discussions with the interviewees regarding the benefits that these CSR activities have brought to the organization. It was established that many organizations have a CSR Policy, which defines areas of concern and initiatives to improve relations with the people and environments affected by business operations (Bell, 2016). The interviewees agreed however that CSR is about more than environmental responsibility or having a recycling policy. Its initiatives take organizations beyond compliance with legislation and leads them to honor ethical values, respect people, communities and the natural environment. But most of all CSR is sustainable - involving activities that their organization can maintain without adversely affecting the business goals. Few benefits mentioned were;
“Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is the continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as of the local community and society at large” (Holme and Watts (2000) p.8). For many years business have cared solely on money however in recent years businesses have started to take interest in CSR and helping society welfare. This paper will discuss if Corporate Social Responsibility is likely to become a game changer in the near future.
CSR plays vital role in today business organizations.CSR is stands for corporate social responsibility. Corporate social responsibility also referred to as "corporate citizenship. The main motive of CSR is that the company makes profit not only for themselves while it also profitable for society. we can say that also Corporate Social Responsibility business behave ethically and contribute to economic progress while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as of the local community and society at large. There are many ways business to incorporate CSR into business models. In this essay I will describe how businesses can incorporate CSR into their business models by providing good working conditions for
Nowadays, stakeholders not only care about profits, but pay more attention to company’s actions on environmental, ethical and social aspects, which links to Corporate Social Responsibility program, as these factors may significantly change the fate of a company in a long term (Chan, 2014). According to an article addressed by CSRquest, (2016) Corporate Social Responsibility is how companies manage the business processes to produce an overall positive impact on the society through its interaction with key stakeholders such as employees and customers. Furthermore, CSR is closely linked to globalisation because whether a company has engaged in CSR programs or not has become a decisive factor of engaging in a globalised marketplace, because
However, stakeholders can be defined as including employees, shareholders, and consumers. CSR is a growing trend that is important to consumers, especially to the millennial generation. It is actually investing in the future of the company to conduct CSR and to formulate long-term, profitable relationships of trust with millennials, who are the consumers of the future. Proper CSR can also attract future talent to support and work with the organization. A 2002 study conducted by Net Impact found that more than half of the 2,100 MBA students surveyed indicated they would accept a lower salary in order to work for a socially responsible company. (Kotler & Lee, 2005). CSR can be a means of not only building a positive brand image and respected corporate philosophy, but also attracting young working talent and developing the company’s market share with the upcoming millennial
Today enterprises are more and more aware that their business success does not depend only on a strategy of maximizing short-term profits, but on protecting the environment and on promoting their social responsibility, including the interests of consumers. In a recent book by business and public policy consultant Adrienne von Tunzelmann called “Social Responsibility and the Company: A New Perspective on Governance, Strategy and the Community”, Ms.Tunzelmann argues that it is not necessary to suppose that companies face an inherent conflict in the choice between the pursuit of commercial success and contributing to the goals of society and the community in which they operate. She suggests that incorporating CSR policy into business strategy offers a number of advantages. It may, for example: be a way of motivating and building pride in employees and managers, contribute to the development of a “healthier” community, assist in identifying new markets, allow differentiation from competitors, maintain public confidence in the legitimacy of business operations, encourage a climate of trust and goodwill etc.
Man is a social animal so he cannot live alone. Society does its best to provide the individual with all the comforts amenities and facilities of life. So it is duty to do service for others. Nowadays more and more organizations are engaging in positive way often referred to as corporate social responsibility. It is important to doing a social service all organizations. CSR aims to embrace responsibility for to reassure a positive effect on the environment and stakeholders containing consumers, employees, investors, communities and others. Firstly how company practices in CSR, how company impact on Society, what activities does CSR.