Example Of Essay On Corporate Social Responsibility

Introduction

In the international understanding of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is treated as a voluntary contribution of business to society in social, economic and environmental spheres, connected directly to the main activity of the company, and beyond a certain minimum statutory requirements.
Socially significant issues for a long time are in the public spotlight, so companies are trying as much as "behave well" without stepping on the sore spots of public opinion. Levi Strauss & Co in 1995 was forced to curtail contracts with Burma (now Myanmar) because of violations of human rights in this country. Russian company "LUKOIL" announced the introduction of international standards for environmental certification ISO and OHSAS, and shortly thereafter acquired the US company Getty Petrolium with its network of gas stations.
In this case the company does not perceive CSR as charity. In world practice activities in the field of CSR is seen as a pragmatic line of business and is one of the tools that allows, for example, to increase the reputation of business, the company's capitalization, to establish effective and balanced relations with the state, shareholders, customers, employees, partners and local communities. This work is devoted to answering the questions: What is CSR? What is the social responsibility of business? Could it bring a benefit?

Viewpoints on Corporate Social Responsibility

Opposite conclusions about what is meant by the concept of social responsibility, are generated by controversy about the goals of organizations. On the one hand, there are people who view the organization as an economic integrity, are obliged to care only about the effective use of its resources. By doing so, the organization carries out an economic function of production and services necessary for a society with a free market economy, while ensuring work for citizens and maximizes profits and remuneration for shareholders. According to this view, the true role of business is to use energy and resources in efforts to increase profits, provided that it adheres to the rules of the game and participate in open competition, without resorting to fraud and deception. On the other hand, there is the view that the organization is more than the economic integrity. According to this view, a modern organization is a difficult part of the environment, including a plurality of components on which the very existence of the organization. These components, sometimes called intermediaries (between the organization and society as a whole) are local communities, customers, suppliers, media, public pressure groups, unions or associations, as well as employees and shareholders. This multi-layered social force can strongly influence the achievement of its objectives the organization, so organizations have to balance the purely economic objectives of economic and social interests. According to this view, organizations have a responsibility to the community in which operate above and beyond to ensure the effectiveness, employment, income, and not breaking the law. Organizations should therefore devote part of their resources and efforts on social channels, obliged to sacrifice for the benefit and improvement of society. Moreover, society has developed certain repose and stereotypes about how the organization should behave in order to be considered good corporate member of the communities served.
Formed on the basis of this point of view, is largely determined by public expectations, is to ensure that organizations have a responsibility to act in numerous areas such as the protection of the environment, health and safety, civil rights, consumer protection, etc. Business has to be active socially responsible because "iron law of responsibility", "in the long term, those who do not use the power in such a direction, what society considers responsible, this power will lose." Everyone knows that social expectations for the business changed over the years, and these changes, in turn, contributed to the idea of ​​society about the role of business. It is important to make a distinction between legal and social responsibility. The legal responsibility is understood to follow specific laws and regulations of state regulation that determines what can and what should not do organization. For each question, there are hundreds and thousands of laws and standard, for example, how many toxic substances may be present in industrial effluents; how to eliminate discrimination in employment; what are the minimum requirements for product safety; What type of products can be sold to other countries. Organization, obey all these laws and regulations, behaves legally responsible manner, however, it will not necessarily be well considered and socially responsible. Debate about the role of business in society spawned numerous arguments for and against social responsibility.

Arguments in Favor of Social Responsibility

1. Favorable business long term. Social activities of enterprises, improving the lives of the local community or eliminating the need for state regulation may be in their own interests enterprises due to benefits of participation in society. In a society which is more prosperous from the social point of view, there are favorable conditions for business activities. In addition, even if the short-term costs in connection with social action are high, in the long term they can stimulate profits as consumers, suppliers and the community formed a more attractive image of the company.
2. Change the needs and expectations of the general public. Business-related social expectations have changed dramatically since the 1960s. To narrow the gap between the new expectations and the actual response of the enterprises, their involvement in the solution of social problems becomes expected and necessary.
3. Availability of resources to assist in solving social problems. As the business has significant human and financial resources, he should send them a part of social spending.
4. Moral obligation to behave in a socially responsible manner. The company is a member of society, so morality must also control its behavior. The company, like the individual members of society must act in a socially responsible manner and contribute to strengthening the moral foundations of society. Moreover, since the laws can not cover all situations, firms must come from responsible behavior in order to maintain a society based on order and rule of law.

Arguments against Social Responsibility

1. Violation of the principle of profit maximization. The direction of the resources for social needs reduces the effect of the principle of profit maximization. The company behaves in the greatest measure of social responsibility, focusing only on economic interests and social problems leaving public institutions and services, charitable institutions and educational organizations.
2. Expenditure on social inclusion. Funds allocated for social needs are for the enterprise cost. Ultimately, these costs are transferred to consumers in the form of higher prices. In addition, the firms participating in the competition in the international markets with firms in other countries that do not bear the cost of social services, are at a disadvantage in competition.
3. Inadequate reporting to the public. Because managers do not choose, they are not accountable to the public. The market system is well controlled economic performance of enterprises and bad - of their social inclusion. As long as society does not develop a procedure for direct reporting to him enterprises, the latter will not take part in social activities for which they do not consider themselves responsible.
4. Lack of ability to resolve social problems. The staff of any enterprise is best prepared to work in the fields of economy, the market and technology. He is deprived of the experience, which allows making significant contributions to the solution of social problems. Improvement of society should contribute to professionals working in the relevant government agencies and charitable organizations.

Improving Indicators of Ethical Behavior (Conclusion)

Business activities of the company and its social responsibility are closely related. Almost all areas of business activity to a greater or lesser extent include socially important components. At the core issues of social responsibility are personal values, common beliefs about good and evil. People who believe that "organizations must maximize profits, obeying the law" is likely to give a high value of profit maximization, efficiency and strict adherence to the law and the low value - altruism. These people believe that the organization behaves correctly and is socially responsible, while its actions are responsible of this value system. To make a choice in favor of correct behavior, it is important to have an initial idea of ​​ethics. Ethics deals with the principles governing the right and wrong behavior.
Organizations are taking various measures to improve the characteristics of ethical behavior managers and employees. These measures include the development of ethical standards, ethics committees, conducting social audits and training in ethical behavior.
1. Ethical standards describe a system of shared values ​​and ethical rules which, according to the organization, should adhere to its employees. Ethical standards are developed in order to describe the goals of the organization, creating a normal atmosphere and ethical recommendations for ethical decision-making processes.
  2. Ethics Committees. Some organizations create permanent committees to assess the daily practice ethically. Almost all the members of such committees are senior level. Some organizations do not create such committees, but hire experts in business ethics, called the lawyer ethics. The role of the lawyer - to make judgments on ethical issues related to the activities of the organization, as well as the function of "social conscience" of the organization.
3. Social audit proposed to assess and report on the social impact of actions and programs of the organization. Supporters of social audit believe that reports of this type may be indicative of the level of social responsibility of the organization. Although some companies have tried to use the principles of social audit, but the problem of measuring the direct costs and benefits of implementing social programs has not yet been resolved.
4. According to data obtained from studies, "corporations are much more concerned about the ethics of today than in the past, they have taken concrete steps to implement ethics in their practice." At the same time daily newspapers abound with examples of unethical behavior of employees of organizations of any type; however, we believe that the organizations have no shortage of examples of opposing ethical actions of its employees. Continuing to implement the various programs and methods described above, and ensuring that high-level executives were role models of proper ethical conduct, organizations should be able to improve their ethical standards.

References

Burke, Edmund M. Managing a Company in an Activist World: The Leadership Challenge of Corporate Citizenship. Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 2005.
Habisch, Andre. Corporate Social Responsibility across Europe. Berlin: Springer, 2005.
Spence, Laura J. Responsibility and Social Capital: The World of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004.
Sun, William. How to Govern Corporations so They Serve the Public Good a Theory of Corporate Governance Emergence. Lewiston, N.Y.: Edwin Mellen Press, 2009.