Corporate Social Responsibility

As defined by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), 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 the local community and society at large. (http://www.amcham.com.tw/content/view/2444/387/). In other words CSR is the voluntary efforts a company undertake to gain the trust or acceptance of the public. Some companies motives for implementing a Corporate Social Responsibility into their strategy is usually based on ethical behaviour.
The question is how ethical can it be to slowly kill people or destroy a community dating back to medieval times? How much money can you give or schools can you build to justify the ills caused to people and the environment? One most important factor in any business is people. A corporation must conduct relations with employees and other stakeholders with an even handed policy while working to heed the desires and attitudes of people in the community where it operates (Wilcox, p.291). There are three ways in which corporations try to ‘bond’ with stakeholders:

Community Relations
Corporate Philanthropy
Environment

Depending on which one suits the organization best or sometimes all three, they may embark on this ‘I care about you’ campaign to gain the hearts and minds of the people…..really?... not their money? In my opinion, companies carry out CSR because they need people on their side. The best way to defeat competition is to integrate with the people you are targeting. The more people I give scholarships, the more my business will prosper. So then, is it really just to ‘give back’ to the community or employees, or is it because I need you on my side? Does CSR really exist or is it just another way of publicising your business? Not only that, but what about the ethical issues?

Though companies may carry out their services in an efficient manner, they may be viewed by the public as misleading or untrustworthy. This is where Public Relations Practitioners come in; they need to make sure that the public perception of the company is in-line with their values. The practitioner’s job is to portray the company’s image as one that fosters the social well being of stakeholders; additionally, practitioners must work outside the company to convince the public that the corporation is a worthy, caring and trusted corporate entity.

Community Relations seems the most likely candidate for most CSR programs. Good good, lets beautify the community park and then we will get them to love us!

References:

American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei CSR Luncheon: Building Trust in Business - Why Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) matters http://www.amcham.com.tw/content/view/2444/387/ May 30, 2008 [Accessed Mar. 11, 2009]