Transcript CSR
Oasis Foundation Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Preface • It was Adam Smith who in his Classical Economic Model of Business expressed that free market did not always perform perfectly and stated that marketplace participants must act honestly and justly towards each other if the ideals of the free market is to be achieved. The viewpoint expressed by Adam Smith was 200 years ago still forms the basis for free – market economies in the 21st century. • The radical change caused by the Industrial Revolution popularized the notion “Survival of the fittest”, but still many great tycoons of the late 19th century were greatest individual benevolent of all the times. • The 20th century corporate were criticized as being too powerful and for practicing antisocial and anticompetitive practices. As a result new laws and labour movement got momentum. Between 1900 and 1960 the business world gradually began to accept additional responsibilities other than making a profit and obeying the law. • In the 1960s & 1970s the civil right movement, consumerism & environmentalism affected society’s expectations of business. Based on the general idea that those with great power have great responsibility, many called for the business world to be more pro active in ceasing to cause societal problems and starting to participate in solving societal problem. This was based on the view that corporation should go beyond their economic & legal responsibilities and accept responsibilities related to the betterment of society. This view of Corporate Social Responsibility is the prevailing view in much of the world today. • Thus the concept of CSR is relatively new which is a phenomenon of 1960s. What is CSR CSR is a strategic tactic to gain public support for their presence in global markets, helping them sustain a competitive advantage by using their social contributions to provide a subconscious level of advertising. It is due to the global competition that corporate/ companies have to examine not only their own labour practices, but those of their entire supply chain, from a specific perspective. Why CSR Ethical consumerism Limited natural resources resulted high consumer demand. Consumers are becoming more aware of the environmental and social implications of the product which influence their purchasing decisions. Globalization and market forces A corporate pursue growth through globalization, and have to face various obstacles in this process which resulted in limiting their growth and potential profit. Social awareness and education Shareholders and investors, put pressure on corporate to behave responsibly spread awareness & education in the intervening area. Ethics training The rise of ethics training inside corporate, some of it required by government regulation, is another driver credited with changing the behaviour and culture of corporate. The aim of such training is to help employees make ethical decisions when the answers are unclear. Organizations also see secondary benefit in increasing employee loyalty and pride in the organization. Legal issues Another driver of CSR is the role of independent mediators, particularly the government, in ensuring that corporate are prevented from harming the broader social good, including people and the environment. The issues surrounding government regulation pose several problems. Regulation in itself is unable to cover every aspect in detail of a corporate operations. This leads to burdensome legal processes , interpretations of the law and debatable grey areas . How CSR woRk & it’S Stakeholder • CSR requires organizations to adopt a broader view of its responsibilities that includes employees, suppliers, customers, the local community, local state governments, environmental groups, and other special interest groups. Collectively, the various groups affected by the actions of an organization are called "stakeholders." There are two kind of stakeholders • Primary Stakeholders • Secondary Stakeholders Primary Stakeholders • • • • • • • • Shareholders (Owners) Employees Customers Business Partners Communities Future Generations Nature Environment Secondary Stakeholders • • • • • • • Local, State & central Govt. Regulatory Bodies Civil institutions & Groups Special interest Groups Trade & Industry Group Media Competitors CSR Deals with • Environmental Issues Pollution Global warming Waste disposal Deforestation Acid rain Land degradation Global Issues • • • • Living standard of Labour Child Labour Workstation’s Condition Safety Norms Technological Issues • The growing technological change posing great threat as it restrict human independence and importance. Internet put a question mark on individual privacy & security. Biotechnology facing serious allegation for genetic engineering & cloning. Arguments for CSR • The rise of modern corporate created and continues to create many social problems. Therefore, the corporate world should assume responsibility for addressing these problems. • In the long run, it is in corporate best interest to assume social responsibilities. It will increase the changes that they will have a future and reduce the chances of increased Govt. regulation. • Large corporate have huge reserves of human & financial capital. They should devote at least some of their resources to addressing social issues. Arguments against CSR • Working on social & moral issue is not economically feasible. • Corporate should focus on earning a profit for their shareholders and leave social issues to others. • Assuming social responsibilities places those corporate at a competitive disadvantage situation relative to those who do not. • Those who are most capable should deal with social issues. In this age of professionalism corporate world are not equipped to deal with such issues. Conclusion • Research suggests that those corporate that develop a reputation as being socially responsive and ethical enjoy higher levels of performance. However, the ultimate motivation for corporate to practice social responsibility should not be a financial motivation, but a moral and ethical one Thank You