Civic / Social Responsibility
Defining Civic and Social Responsibility
In a recent article concerning corporate social responsibility, it reveals; “a survey conducted by and BEYOND Communications Inc. shows big changes in how CEOs reported on corporate social responsibilities.” (Go figure - corporate social responsibility, (2005). The point of view is changing within the corporation world. CEOs are now taking note that this needs to be incorporated into the corporate structure and is a significant strategic item.
So what is the meaning behind civic and social responsibility? In the business frame of mind, it can have different meanings depending on the person you are speaking too. When asking an engineer or executive from the 50’s and 60’s civic and social responsible was viewed differently and acted upon differently as the priority may have been building and developing towns and cities looking at the future.
Today, the same dedication may not be the same or the outlook may be entirely different. It may be one of maintenance or re-engineering a project that is twenty years old. Such example would be the bridges that are in need of attention and required new structures to maintain the integrity of the structure. A group of students and professionals took this to a new level by creating a real-life opportunity and turned it into a competition that had an amazing outcome.
The Project Key words to consider are “partnerships and collaborations” especially as we discuss
or so many years our society has been thinking of forming new creative and innovative businesses, which would be more environmental and customer friendly. Nowadays a large number of different companies follow the social, ethical, as well as moral consequences when it comes to their decision making. One of the relatively new concepts involving economic and social concerns is Corporate Social Responsibility. Many of us apply this approach not only at work, but also in everyday life without even recognizing.
“Corporate Social Responsibility 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.” (Baker, Mallen (June 8,
With employees placed at the top of stakeholder groups, it’s apparent that the hypothesis for high profitability is a direct influence from positive corporate social responsibility. The boards of directors have to take the initiative to showcase positive corporate social responsibility in order to generate these results.
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
Corporate Social Responsibility (C.S.R.) is a theory practiced in the business sphere since fifty years. It refers to the duty of business organizations to adopt certain activities that will benefit the society in some way. Charity, health-awareness campaigns are few examples that a business undertakes to fulfil its objectives of C.S.R. According to this ideal, it is important for various corporations today to undertake such social activities, apart from merely focusing on their objective of profit maximization. But, is it an obligation that is most important than other objectives of business? This thought further leads us to another significant question – In contemporary settings, should corporations be guided by the concept of C.S.R.?
In other words, these socially responsible companies will evaluate not only the short and long term economic outcomes of their present decisions but also the long-term environmental and societal outcomes of their current actions. This thus leads to the triple bottom line approach of reporting environmental, social, and economic performance. In addition, Wilson from the Ivey Business Journal argues about corporate social responsibility or the CSR. The CSR has been around longer than the term and implication of “sustainable development” but has similar guidelines. From about 1953 the on, the main debate was whether corporate managers had an ethical responsibility to consider the needs of society and by 1980, it was generally and consensually accepted that corporate managers should and did have this moral responsibility. So by incorporating sustainability plans or even creating a separate branch dedicated to doing so, the company’s reputation often is increased, which over the long term, will contribute to accentuate customer loyalty, market share, and brand value and awareness. (Wilson, 2003) This case study done on Johnson & Johnson published by the IMA Educational Case Journal analyzes the impact that implementations of these sustainability
In today’s modern business world, commerce implements operation, drive and manner notions with endorsement and adoption of corporate social responsibility as a matter of course (David Henderson 2004). The stakeholder groups, for instance, governments, communities, suppliers, employees, customers and stockholders persistently claim administrators to dedicate capitals to corporate social responsibility (McWilliams and Siegel 2001, 117). Despite the fact, strategic corporate social responsibility is far more selective on being a standing corporation rate citizen and also addressing the social issues that the corporate creates (Micheal E. Porter and
Over the last several years, corporations have become increasingly focused on social responsibility. This is when the firm will engage in practices that are designed to promote and address areas that are of social interest. To include: sustaining the environment, the standard of living inside communities and improving the quality of the life in different neighborhoods. The main reason why most organizations are engaging in these kinds of activities is to favorably standout with: customers, regulators and other stakeholders. (Farrell, 2012, pp. 73 81)
Corporate social responsibility has been one the key business buzz words of the 21st century. Consumers' discontent with the corporation has forced it to try and rectify its negative image by associating its name with good deeds. Social responsibility has become one of the corporation's most pressing issues, each company striving to outdo the next with its philanthropic image. People feel that the corporation has done great harm to both the environment and to society and that with all of its wealth and power, it should be leading the fight to save the Earth, to combat poverty and illness and etc. "Corporations are now expected to deliver the good, not just the goods; to pursue
Social responsibility is an ethical framework and suggests that an entity, be it an organization or individual, has an obligation to act for the benefit of society at large. Social responsibility is a duty every individual has to perform so as to maintain a balance between the economy and the ecosystems. Ethics are moral principles that govern a person 's or group 's behavior. I like the way Wilhelm Autischer, the CSR project manager for an Austrian business describes social responsibility by dividing it into three different dimensions, economic, social, ecological. The economic dimension, not only to help the company, but also to be able to help the industry that the company is in by raising the bar of expected behavior. The social dimension refers to internal change like the way employees are treated and how they treat each other. The third dimension the ecological dimension is an attempt to secure a healthy and productive ecological environment for future generations and the future of the company. Ethics and social responsibility are almost the same thing; ethics are more focused on the individuals inside the company. Main aspects of ethics are coming to know what is right or wrong in the workplace and doing what 's right.
As the society grows the term “Social Responsibility” became increasingly important. Main reason which made social responsibility important is every entity in society has an obligation to each other as it owes its welfare and security to one another. Social responsibility is an ethical framework which suggests that an entity, be it an organization or individual, has an obligation to act for the benefit of society at large. Social responsibility is a duty every individual has to perform so as to maintain a balance between the economy and the ecosystems *. Therefore by the definition, social responsibility states that every entity in society shall act for the good of the society and environment as they owe their current situation to them. Various approaches of social responsibility emerged as a result of difference between cultures, economical, and
Social responsibility is another integral component of a strategic plan. It is essential to integrate corporate social responsibility within the daily operations of an organization. By doing so, it helps ensure that the organization is moving toward the constant development and better interest of the general public by attempting to reduce any potential negative impacts of its overall operations. As such, corporate social responsibility is an integral method of gaining a competitive advantage through the enhancement of its corporate image through the perspective of the stakeholders and general public. Knowing this, more and more organizations are allocating additional resources in an attempt to strengthen their commitment to society. This is commonly demonstrated in the reduction of environmental pollution or assisting in providing financial resources for various social causes
The issue of corporate social responsibility has recently been the subject of much debate. These debates pose the question “What responsibilities, if any, do corporations have to society and the greater good?” From a legal standpoint the answer to that question is none. Legally, corporations have no responsibility to participate in any type of social responsibility, in fact, doing so is illegal and can lead to directors and corporate officers being sued by shareholders. Although the specific law varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, the general idea is always the same, corporations are only responsible for making the greatest profits for their shareholders. For example, In Maine, Section 716 of the business corporation act reads in part: ”The directors and officers of a corporation shall exercise their powers and discharge their duties with a view to the interests of the corporation and the shareholders.” (qtd. In The Humanist). The opposition to these viewpoints believe however that the action of corporate executives participating in social responsibility will in fact not only benefit the community and the general public, but in the long run, the corporation itself along with its shareholders. Many believe, as do I, that as a society we are more likely to engage in business with corporations who give back to its consumers and who concern themselves with the betterment of our society and the world as a whole, and in turn the result for these corporations is larger
Corporate social responsibility, or CSR, has been conceptualized rather broadly as the managerial obligation to take action to protect and improve both the welfare of society as a whole and the interest of organizations. In recent years, corporate social responsibility has been becoming increasingly important and is held
Is your organizations’ bottom-line, impacted by ineffective communication of its Corporate Social Responsibility? Research indicates that the global business model, internal customers, and external customers are requiring organizations to act and respond in a moral manner that is beneficial to society. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is “a concept that suggests commercial enterprises have a moral duty to care for their stakeholders in all aspects of their business operations” (Hargett & Williams, 2009). An organization 's CSR strategy conveys the way in which they intend to responsibly engage and protect society as a whole. The CSR strategy is multifaceted and requires a subtle equilibrium of communicating the strategy, participating