Analysis of the Concept of Corporate Social Responsibility

1 As such, the following paper is an analysis of the concept of corporate social responsibility as applied by different companies by evaluating the constructs involved, as well as the benefits accrued. What is CSR? CSR is a business approach that enabled the company or any legal institution with perpetual existence to contribute to the sustainable development goals of its region or nation through its disciplined delivery on economic, social, as well as environmental benefits to all of the company’s stakeholders. In this regard, the CSR concept relates to a broad spectrum but primarily focusing on the positive attributes as well as contributions that the company can make to the public and the environment at large. Some of the key topics involved in the concept of CSR include human rights, health and safety, corporate governance, contributions to economic growth and development, as well as good working conditions among many others.

Subsequently, it is worth noting that the effective undertaking of CSR is instrumental in promoting the corporate reputation as well as the brand image of the company. Therefore, the growth in size, impact, as well as power of modern corporations significantly defines their CSR goals as the corporations look towards correcting their respective business failures. Consequently, growth in business operations of a company is characterised by the separation of ownership from control, subsequently giving rise to the modern techniques of management. 3 These management techniques can be lauded for creating great efficiencies, but they also take home significant blame for the dilution of individual responsibility which usually stands out whenever a company gets into strife. In fact, business failures coupled with crises in corporate accountability facilitate the greater questioning of the different natures of corporate responsibilities.

In this regard, corporate leaders opt to deal with CSR issues through specialist business organizations such as the UN Global Compact, the Global Reporting Initiative, as well as the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. Indian companies, on the other hand, perceive the concept of CSR as a social investment, playing a central role in the development of business strategies. Governance View of CSR The governance view of CSR outlines the other way in which the concept of CSR can be perceive, which entails global governance mechanisms. As such, understanding CSR from this perspective is quite insightful as it enables one to realise the reason as to why the civil societies as well as governments have a special interest in CSR activities.

In fact, this particular view of CSR being a mechanism for global governance arises from the global trans-national institutions that developed during the 21st century, including the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the United Nations, the International Labour Organization (ILO), as well as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). In addition, international treaties as well as bi lateral agreements reached by governments and non governmental institutions (NGOs) also create a substantial platform for the adoption of CSR practices from a governance perspective. All companies have a responsibility to meet the demands of its stakeholders who exercise some form of ownership claims on its activities and operations across different platforms. For instance, the stakeholders can exercise material ownership in the company, which could either be financial, or non financial, or exercise informational ownership, political ownership, as well as affiliative ownership.

7 In this regard, when the companies attend to the issues and interests of a wider set of stakeholders, they end up maximizing their intangible assets, such as strategic business relationships, brand reputation, goodwill, opportunities for innovation, as well as trust, and loyalty of the customers. The key stakeholders of the company include shareholders, employees, local communities, customers, suppliers, the government, the media, regulatory authorities as well as financiers. Therefore, the main task of the management of an organization in this case relates to identifying the key stakeholders of its company in order to understand their salience for the strategic future of the company. One way or the other, the wrongs will come to light and will eventually have a significant damage on the corporate image of the company, subsequently watering down the CSR achievements already made as at the time.

Therefore, when a company implements its CSR policies and objectives, it must ensure that they cut across the entire divide of the company, primarily satisfying the needs of each individual stakeholder without jeopardising the interests of the other stakeholders. Benefits of CSR In this regard, it is advisable for companies to adopt and implement CSR initiatives and policies within their organizational cultures in order to enjoy the benefits accrued from CSR. Currently, a company that does not have a CSR plan is does not have an equal competing platform like its counterparts who have an elaborate CSR plan. The reason for this assertion is because the modern day business setting requires expects companies to be responsible and accountable for their actions and decisions.

10 The indirect approach arises when the services provided by the organization support others to make their contributions to the community. On the other hand, the direct approach is where the organization invests its own activities towards community projects and activities such as philanthropy or volunteerism. In fact, many organizations have programs that allow their workers to volunteer their services to communal duties as part of their CSR activities. c) Supporting the company to become the employer of choice Workers are the best asset that a company can have. Therefore, a company needs to make itself attractive to potential employees by becoming the employer of choice, which will in turn boost its competitive edge in the market. For instance, a company can easily achieve this through offering or similar or pro-bono services such as partnering with an NGO to support public value outcomes, such as fundraising for famine relief.

Subsequently, these CSR activities deliver public value outcomes that would otherwise never have been delivered by the company. Conclusion In conclusion, it is evident from the analysis that CSR plays a crucial role in promoting the public image and performance of a company. Therefore, it is advisable for all companies to set in place measures that would enable them to effectively implement a productive CSR framework in order to tap into the numerous benefits provided by CSR activities. Bibliography Benn, Suzanne, Dexter Dunphy, and Andrew Griffiths. " Business horizons 34, no. Council, ASX Corporate Governance. Principles of good corporate governance and best practice recommendations. Australian Stock Exchange Limited, 2003. Crane, Andrew, and Dirk Matten. " Academy of management review 26, no. Smith, N. Craig. Morality and the Market (Routledge Revivals): Consumer Pressure for Corporate Accountability.