GD Topic II : Social Responsibility of Corporate Community

                  

         

                      SHOULD CORPORATE COMMUNITY  HAVE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY ?

 

            Pls comment

        thank u

      shahid

__________________

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Nice topic. Here is a
Nice topic.
Here is a document that I have prepared after going through few articles and portals.
 
What is CSR
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as the name suggests is a term which shows the responsibility taken by an organization towards the society.
 
There is no national or international governing body which controls or regulates the CSR activities carried out in different organization and as such there is also no globally accepted definition of CSR.
 
As per World Business Council for Sustainable Development
"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"
 
As per CSR Asia
"CSR is a company’s commitment to operating in an economically, socially and environmentally sustainable manner whilst balancing the interests of diverse stakeholders."
 
As per International Finance Corporation
"Corporate social responsibility is the commitment of businesses to contribute to sustainable economic development by working with employees, their families, the local community and society at large to improve their lives in ways that are good for business and for development."
 
As per European Commission
"CSR is a concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operations and in their interaction with their stakeholders on a voluntary basis."
 
csr.gov.uk
The Government sees CSR as the business contribution to our sustainable development goals. Essentially it is about how business takes account of its economic, social and environmental impacts in the way it operates – maximising the benefits and minimising the downsides. Specifically, we see CSR as the voluntary actions that business can take, over and above compliance with minimum legal requirements, to address both its own competitive interests and the interests of wider society. Click here to find out more about the case for CSR
 
CSR in INDIA
The concept of CSR came into existence in early 1970s but it took some time for the Indian Companies to understand their role towards society.  Tata Group has helped many underprivileged in India from the inception of TATA steal in Jamshedpur but there was never any strategic planning process in any organization to help the Indian society. It was only in late nineties that few companies (esp. those which are in IT industry) had came forward with a proper guideline to show their seriousness towards CSR. And now many large companies issues a corporate social responsibility report along with their annual report
 
 
Infosys Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Infosys Technologies Ltd., came into existence on 4th December 1996 with the objective of fulfilling the social responsibility of the company by supporting and encouraging the underprivileged sections of society. In a short span of time, the Foundation has implemented numerous projects in its chosen areas. The Foundation has undertaken various initiatives in providing medical facilities to remote rural areas, organizing novel pension schemes and in aiding orphans and street children. It has undertaken a large rural education program titled "A library for every school" under which 5500 libraries have been set up in government schools spread across many villages. Other activities include the reconstruction of old school buildings, setting up of rural Science Centers and schemes to provide support to dying traditional art and culture forms.
 
From TCS Website
TCS has always recognized the responsibility Corporates should have towards the wider communities they operate in. Be it girl child education in South Asia in collaboration with UNICEF or adult literacy programs in South India, TCS believes in using IT as an instrument for social development and change. Other TCS community initiatives have been in areas addressing environmental and civic problems; setting up and maintaining infrastructure for urban beautification, pollution reduction and healthcare; waste management in the office environment, tree plantation and water treatment.
 
From NTPC web site: http://www.ntpc.co.in/infocus/socialcomm.shtml
NTPC believes in growth with a human face, and pursuing people-centred development. NTPC is a socially committed organisation and a socially responsible corporate citizen. It attaches great importance to discharging its overall social responsibilities to the community and the society at large where its projects and stations are located. In this regard Resettlement and Rehabilitation (R&R) program becomes an area of sharp focus, a program that addresses people affected directly or indirectly in the wake of the projects undertaken by NTPC.
 
Reason behind CSR
If CSR is not mandatory and does not bring any profit to an organization then the question arises why companies are getting associated with it?
The reasons or drive behind social responsibility towards human and environmental responsibility is still questionable whether based on genuine interest or have underlining ulterior motives. But few motives could be.
  1. Capital Reputation
Corporate social responsibility is basically a new business strategy to reduce investment risks and maximize profits by taking all the key stake-holders into confidence. The proponents of this perspective often include corporate social responsibility in their advertising and social marketing initiatives.
 
2. Eco-social perspective

The proponents of this perspective are the new generation of corporations and the new-economy entrepreneurs who created a tremendous amount of wealth in a relatively short span of time. They recognise the fact that social and environmental stability and sustainability are two important prerequisites for the sustainability of the market in the long run. They also recognise the fact that increasing poverty can lead to social and political instability. Such socio-political instability can, in turn, be detrimental to business, which operates from a variety of socio-political and cultural backgrounds.

3. Rights to Information

Consumers, employees, affected communities and shareholders have a right to know about corporations and their business. Corporations are private initiatives, true, but increasingly they are becoming public institutions whose survival depends on the consumers who buy their products and shareholders who invest in their stocks. This perspective stresses accountability, transparency and social and environmental investment as the key aspects of corporate social responsibility

 

Current Controversy

In a recent statement, the ITC Chairman said that corporate social responsibility (CSR) involved an additional cost, both transactional and real, placing companies practicing it at a disadvantage vis-a-vis those that did not, and that, therefore, investors, customers and the government should reward CSR in economic terms.

 

 

effect of corporate social responsibilityand prices

This research was supported by grants from the Georgia State University Marketing Department and the Robinson College of Business. The authors also wish to thank Beverly Wright and Anita Whiting for their research assistance.................

This experiment examined the influence of corporate social responsibility and price on consumer responses. Scenarios were created to manipulate corporate social responsibility and price across two domains (environment and philanthropy). Results from a national sample of adults indicate that corporate social responsibility in both domains had a positive impact on evaluation of the company and purchase intent. Furthermore, in the environmental domain corporate social responsibility affected purchase intent more strongly than price did...........

gd-2 social responsibility of corporate community

h.
The land acquisition by TCS made several people homeless....if it aquires the The topic is quite apt in the modern context.In this competitive world where there is overload of competition at the corporate level,social responsibility of corporate is the key poin that is needed to be discussed.

However, it is well said that everything is fair in war and love.The competition at the corporate level is cut-throat & the main mottto of business is profit.So manufacturers often indulge in adultration of goods,degrading of quality,false and attractive advertisements in order to gain more & more profit.They dont even think of the hazards their actions are likely to produce on the society.

The social responsibility should be ingrained in the corporates.It varies from one corporate to the other,but the building of loyality in the eyes of society is pivotal in the empowerment of organisation.Once such a trust is breached,corporates are outcasted from the society.So,whenever a promise is made it must be fulfilled.

Take the example of Ratan Tata,he made a promise for bringing the peoples car 4 years ago and he fulfilled it and is still keeping it when inflation rate is so higland then to perform the social responsibility it can also help in the rehabilitaion of people living there....However it is well said by Tata & i also agree that social responsibility should not only be considered at corporate level but to be considered for all sections of society......

social responsibility of corporates

h.
The land acquisition by TCS made several people homeless....if it aquires the The topic is quite apt in the modern context.In this competitive world where there is overload of competition at the corporate level,social responsibility of corporate is the key poin that is needed to be discussed.

However, it is well said that everything is fair in war and love.The competition at the corporate level is cut-throat & the main mottto of business is profit.So manufacturers often indulge in adultration of goods,degrading of quality,false and attractive advertisements in order to gain more & more profit.They dont even think of the hazards their actions are likely to produce on the society.

The social responsibility should be ingrained in the corporates.It varies from one corporate to the other,but the building of loyality in the eyes of society is pivotal in the empowerment of organisation.Once such a trust is breached,corporates are outcasted from the society.So,whenever a promise is made it must be fulfilled.

Take the example of Ratan Tata,he made a promise for bringing the peoples car 4 years ago and he fulfilled it and is still keeping it when inflation rate is so higland then to perform the social responsibility it can also help in the rehabilitaion of people living there....However it is well said by Tata & i also agree that social responsibility should not only be considered at corporate level but to be considered for all sections of society......

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