CSR
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
May 3, 2013 | 
Author A corporation is an artificial person and as such, has the constitutional rights of an individual, that is, except for the Fifth Amendment protection against producing books and records. As a separate person, a corporation is an entity independent from the shareholders and has all the protections that a person would have other than the Fifth Amendment.
Each corporation is expected to behave as a good citizen of the community and participate in its activities in some way. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the United States is self-regulating corporate behavior. In theory, the corporation is part of the community and has an ethical responsibility to contribute to the health of the community and avoid harming the community. Some may view CSR as being at odds with the goals of a corporation, which are to take full advantage of all opportunities to increase profits for the shareholders. Others may view CSR as a corporation’s moral and ethical obligation, giving back to the local and global community that gave to the corporation in terms of providing labor and skills and purchasing products and services. Still others may perceive CSR as good public relations. No matter whether or not we eat a Big Mac, we all recognize Ronald McDonald. Most of us know that Ronald McDonald helps the families of sick children.
This article, however, is not about theory, but about practice. No laws or regulations govern CSR. Each corporation determines its own CSR programs. In practice, the bottom-line and the shareholders are the primary focus of a corporation, and CSR may or may not play an important role in the corporation. A corporation should, but doesn’t necessarily, have a legal obligation to do no harm. Unfortunately many corporations with CSR programs do harm, significant harm.
In Peru, Chevron is fighting for oil against the indigenous population. The government of Peru supports Chevron because it wants the oil from Chevron. At the same time, the government supports the police and blames the indigenous people for the deaths of the police. The indigenous people are simply fighting for their own land. Chevron, while bringing in huge profits for its shareholders, significantly harms both the earth and the people living on it in Peru. Still Chevron has a CSR program.
In Thailand, Chevron launched a long-term CSR project to encourage students to develop their schools in an environmentally responsible manner, which would boost student awareness of environmental issues. Chevron cooperates with Chulalongkorn University to develop a master’s-degree program in petroleum geology by providing $10,000,000.00 over the next five years. Although this is termed CSR, the reality is that the program is to provide Thai experts for Chevron.
The Ronald McDonald CSR image is positive, but we know that the beef that we eat is destroying the rainforest. Rainforests cover approximately 6 percent of the earth’s surface. McDonalds is the largest seller of beef. Large parts of Central American rainforests have been decimated for cattle ranching and sugar cane. McDonalds clears trees in the rainforest so that their beef will have grazing land. You know already that we need the rainforest to prevent global warming.
The intent here is not to vilify McDonalds. It is not the only corporation destroying our environment. We look at McDonalds because it has the most visible CSR image: Ronald McDonald. We notice the contradiction in what McDonalds does, McDonald the destroyer, and Ronald McDonald, the caretaker for families of sick children.
When I read an article such as this, I ask myself what can I do? If you are asking yourself the same question, and you may or may not be, you might already have ideas for what you can do. Listed below are our nine suggestions:
1. Avoid eating at McDonalds
2. Ask your friends not to eat at McDonalds
3. Eat less meat
4. Educate yourself about the rainforests
5. Know that McDonald employees are not unionized
6. Educate yourself about unions
7. Question advertisements
8. Question CSR programs
9. Become a knowledgeable and engaged consumer and citizen
When you have accomplished all nine suggestions, you’ll understand the globe needs help and you have the ability and the skill to help reduce some of the ailments that plague the rainforests. When you get that far, you’ll find others to work with to make a positive impact on our planet.
Changing Corporate Culture – What Does it Mean?
Changing corporate culture — put the term into Google and you’ll find big companies and consultants offering theories, case studies and help. Very often leaders in businesses large and small equate change management with culture change. Let’s examine what kind of change they’re talking about, and let’s see if we can describe it in plain English.
What is Corporate Culture?
Webster’s Dictionary defines corporate culture as “the shared values, traditions, customers, philosophy, and policies of a corporation; also, the professional atmosphere that grows from this and affects behavior and performance.” Got it?
Do the Google search mentioned above and you may get to read about multi-layered belief systems and organizational psychology and other things that I don’t have enough advanced degrees to understand.
Ask people for their definition, and you’ll get a variety of responses. The most common one may well be some variation of “I’m not exactly sure, but I know it when I see it.”
Do you like simple, straightforward explanations? Me too. Here’s one for corporate culture: it’s the experience, the feeling you get when you either work for an organization, or when you do business with the organization as a customer.
If you’re a leader looking to change the performance of your organization, you need to determine whether you’re fixing a few broken processes or changing the culture. Changing corporate culture is fundamental and thus more difficult. But if you pull it off, changing corporate culture can produce breakthroughs, step function improvements in your performance measures.
Two Views of the Culture
In the simple definition offered above, you noticed that corporate culture is comprised of what employees experience, and what customers experience. These are two distinct views, and while one impacts the other you need to address each view uniquely.
Ideally, you want to believe that if you make everything right for your employees they will take care of your customers. There’s some truth to that. Herb Kelleher attributes his success at Southwest Airlines to focusing on “employees first, customers second, and profits third”.
He’s wise, but pay attention to what he didn’t say. He did not say take care of your employees and they’ll take care of your customers and you’ll make money. He’s too smart for absolutes. There’s an order to things, and based on results he’s got the right order for his business. You still need to pay attention to all three things.
The Employee Perspective
Employees describe culture as “what it’s like to work here”. Indeed job seekers are always wondering exactly that as they research potential employers. Their definition of culture may be impacted by:
Office layout
Dress code
Social environment
Pay for performance (or not)
Advancement Opportunities
Stress Levels
Accountability (team, individual, management)
Availability of training
The Customer Perspective
For the customer, your culture is “what it’s like to do business with you”. Terms that may show up in their description of your culture could include:
Quality of Products
Service Levels
Responsiveness
Value
Supplier behavior vs. Partner behavior
People – their attitude, their skill level
You can probably add to each list (and you’re invited to do so by commenting or contacting the author!).
What’s the Point?
If you don’t know what your culture is, how are you going to change it? Many of the cultural characteristics described above can be measured. Others can be clearly described.
The leader who can articulate specifically what needs to be changed in corporate culture will most likely succeed. You know the other side of that coin.
Changing corporate culture won’t be easy, mostly because it’s about changing attitudes and behaviors and some people aren’t going to go with you. The clearer you can be with defining (and quantifying) what’s to be changed, the more quickly you can help those people find something else to do and get everyone else engaged.
How an organisation can act socially responsible
Acting responsibly involves an organizational behavior that is based on a certain ethic of responsibility considering the consequences of decisions and actions for a sustainable development. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) conveys the message of demonstrating a responsible behavior towards social, economic, environmental and ethical issues.
Although being socially responsible sounds pretty straightforward, in reality, it is not. Social responsibility encompasses so many different actions that, defining which organizations are really socially responsible, requires being able to choose whose success contributes to social good and satisfies societal demands in the most prominent way.
Essentially, this approach of doing business is all about choice. Socially responsible organizations choose to act responsibly and use their business strategy as a tool for social and environmental change. In doing so, they have control over the world we live in, and this control is exercised through their responsible choices. Organizations that want to be socially responsible have a variety of options to work toward that goal. Although people think that mainly non-profit or advocacy organizations can conduct responsible business, all it takes is to put in place policies and practices that create social good.
Protection of the environment
Great examples of socially responsible organizations are organizations that work toward the preservation and protection of the environment. Striving to decrease the environmental impact of energy utilization, such organizations produce environmentally-friendly products and promote the sophisticated use of environment-friendly natural gas. Through constant efforts that promote energy conservations and encourage the use of recyclable resources, socially responsible organizations aim at reducing the environmental impact of their business, while actively contributing to the improvement of the environment on a regional, national and global level.
Creation of a democratic and educated society
Organizations that work towards the creation of a choice-based, democratic society are considered socially responsible. A free society is based on the privilege of free choice. Organizations that can minimize, or even eliminate the power that a larger organization has on consumer choices and on people’s lives in general, are socially responsible organizations that satisfy social demands and alter the world. In this context, there are organizations that demonstrate their social responsibility by seeking to educate society and empower it through knowledge. Knowledge is power. A society that constantly learns new things can take a new shape and acquire a brand new culture. This new knowledge can include a variety of topics such as socially responsive investing, parenting and many more.
Education of employees
Organizations that aim at educating their employees take a liberal approach in managing their stuff. Enlightened management appeals on the cognitive aspects of each employee and their intrinsic motivations and puts them to work toward the achievement of organizational goals, but also the achievement of their personal goals. Such practices provide immense career opportunities for each individual to use their natural talents and inclinations and advance the career ladder. Besides, enlightened management creates a progressive working environment where people can communicate, exchange knowledge, and function within an organizational culture that creates greater human beings.
Conclusively, corporate social responsibility is not one thing. It encompasses a variety of actions and decisions that can really make a difference both for the organization and the society. All it takes is determination and a conscious focus on society, people and the world in general.
The Role Of Corporate Social Responsibility In Your Company'S Initiatives
Is your company’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) spotlight focused squarely on the corporate travel program? If it isn’t already, it will be soon.
A glance through the newspapers or a quick Google will reveal that green travel is on in the hearts and minds or at least on the lips of travel managers, purchasing directors and business travelers themselves. With rising international concern about global warming, much of the concern of corporations and business travellers is focused squarely on carbon emissions.
But companies must aim to ensure that they do not focus too heavily on one component of a CSR program (e.g., environmental sustainability) at the expense of other key areas (e.g., stakeholder/fiscal interests, duty of care). A sound, sustainable and accountable travel program is a natural component of any company’s commitment to CSR, and offers rich potential to advance its CSR goals.
Sustainability – To evaluate and reduce the environmental impact of travel activities
Accountability – To improve traveler wellbeing and security and promote ethical business standards throughout a company’s travel supply chain and stakeholder network
When it comes to sustainability, as Kermit the Frog sang so memorably, It’s not easy being green. Companies need accurate information to make balanced decisions about their carbon footprint. BCD Travel has recently rolled carbon emission reporting into its information management solution.
Armed with this knowledge, many companies are choosing to offset their carbon emissions.
Accountability standards should also be reflected in every company’s CSR program. Responsible Corporate Travel Management helps companies identify a central ethical code of conduct from which they successfully serve all components of their CSR program.
CSR policies should ideally contain initiatives to improve traveler wellbeing and security, as well as those to promote ethical business standards throughout the company’s supply chain and stakeholder network.
In an age in which companies prioritisation of travel-related CSR initiatives is continually evolving, a recent survey of over 200 travel managers and business travelers, conducted by the Association of Corporate Travel Executives in conjunction with KDS, points to the importance of true Responsible Travel Management, which addresses both sustainability and accountability.
In the survey, employee security was ranked as companies top concern, with 81 percent of respondents citing this as a high priority; cost reduction followed as a close second, ranked as a high priority by 77 percent of the sample. Supporting environmental sustainability trailed some way behind, with only 20 percent believing that companies consider this a High priority.
Key to the successful implementation of a responsible travel program is the recognition that there is no one-size-fits-all solution.
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Tags: Company'S, Corporate, Initiatives, Responsibility, Role, Social | 
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How Can ISO 14001 Benefit My Business?
Environmental Concerns are now of paramount consideration by company directors, owners and employees worldwide.
Since the 14001 EMS includes everyone in the business and all areas of the organization that affect the environment, it can improve an organization’s environmental performance in many ways. This improved performance comes at a cost to the organization, a cost which can be recovered by aggressively seeking benefits.
Some of those benefits are as follows:
All environmental policies and procedures are now in a consistent format
All documents are now more accessible to employees so compliance has improved
Regularly scheduled EMS reviews are ensuring both legal and ethical obligations are met in a timely fashion.
Increased Profits
The quantity of materials and energy required for manufacturing a product may be reduced, thereby reducing the cost of the product, material handling costs, and waste disposal costs.
An EMS can help reduce incidents of pollution and the associated expense of recovery.
Recycling manufacturing waste and unused inputs could increase revenues. Recycling need not be within the same facility, but with another one that can use the waste as input to their production.
Employee health and safety can be improved, thereby improving productivity, decreasing sick days, and reducing insurable risk.
Insurance claims may be reduced, thus reducing the costs of coverage and settlements.
This is just a sample of the benefits available to business; the list of benefits and potential benefits is considerably larger.
Posted in Carbon accounting, carbon emissions, Carbon footprint, Carbon management, carbon reduction, Carbon Reduction Commitment, Climate Change, CO2, CSR, Environmental accounting, Footprint, ghg emissions, Iso14001, Social Responsibility | Tags: Benefits, Business, carbon reduction, Change, Climate, Corporate, CSR, EMS, Enterprise, Environment, ENVIRONMENTAL, environmental management system, Global, Green, Greenhouse, ISO 14001, Management, Money, Social, Social Responsibility, Solutions | No Comments »
What Makes a Home a Green Home?
What Makes a Home a Green House?
One of the main topics today is about being environmentally friendly. There are many ways to become environmentally friendly about the home including water preservation and energy reduction. This not only helps with a positive action by reducing your impact on the environment, but will also save you money!
Lets take a look at what makes a home green.
Reduced Energy Use
Energy comes in many forms such as electricity, natural gas, oil, etc. The creation or use of this energy results in greenhouse gas emissions that affect our planet in a negative way.
Methods of Reducing Energy Usage
Insulation, One of the best things that you can do to make a green house is to ensure that the walls, windows, attic, and floors are all well insulated and draft free. The majority of the energy used in a home goes towards heating the house. Insulation will prevent the air temperature from escaping the home and save you money on your utilities.
Energy Star Appliances When one of your appliances has reached it’s end of life, or when you are building a new home, consider installing an appliance that meets energy star requirements. This will ensure that it will use over 30 percent less electricity or fuel than a typical appliance of that type.
Other options include advanced mechanical Systems On demand tankless water heaters, geothermal HVAC equipment, and even solar power is a great way to reduce the amount of energy that is wasted to run the plumbing, heat and air, and electrical systems in the home. While they can have a higher upfront cost than a typical unit of its kind, tax incentives from the government can offset a good deal of the extra cost and allow you to make the money back within a few years time.
Reduced Water Use
Water is another essential resource that can be preserved in our day to day use around the house.
Low Flow Fixtures Many low flow shower heads and toilets developed a bad reputation in the past because they could not live up to their less efficient counterparts. Fortunately, todays better engineered models and aerators allow you to experience the luxury and ease of use that you prefer, while additionally using a significantly lower amount of water.
Efficient Clothes Washers Many of the newer front loading clothes washers use as little as half of the water of a typical top loading washer. For families who are constantly putting in a new load of dirty clothes, this can lead to a significant savings in cost and water usage over time.
Use Rain Water For Irrigation For those who want to really cut down on water usage, storage tanks that collect rain water during a storm for latter use to water the garden and lawn can save thousands of gallons over the span of a summer.
These are just a few of the many ideas out there that will help ensure that your home is green. Environmentally friendly decisions in the home can lead to wallet friendly results over time and allow for the satisfaction of knowing you are reducing your negative impact on the planet.
At Be Seen Go Green, we offer solutions for a variety of Environmental issues. Please click on the following link to contact us.
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CSR – What Does It Actually Mean?
More and more business are talking about ‘Corporate social responsibility’, it’s definitely the buzz word of the moment… but what do they actually mean and is it something we all should be doing?
Corporate social responsibility or CSR is a concept where companies consider the interests of society and take responsibility for the impact of their activities on their employees, stakeholders and customers and also the environment.
Organizations take steps to improve the quality of life for employees and their families as well as for the local community and society at large.
Discounted gym membership, cycle to work schemes, childcare vouchers and healthy food in the office are all examples of schemes a company might offer to their employer to make the working environment a better one. A happier work environment makes for happier staff and happier staff are more likely to work harder and work more efficiently.
Companies might also want to help the environment. Shutting down computers at the end of the day, turning lights off, switching off plugs at the mains are all examples of the small things we can do every day in our office. We can also recycling paper and card, drinks cans and plastic bottles.
Corporate social responsibility is not just about what we do in our office and what our employer offers us….it is also what we can give back. Helping out local charities, holding events, taking a day out a year to help a charity, school, youth club or another local business are all ways that we can make a positive contribution to the communities we work in.
Although this might seem like obvious steps that we should all be taking in our offices and homes, the practise of CSR is subject to much criticism and debate. Some critics think that the government should be helping the communities more and that it shouldn’t be up to local businesses, other say that CSR distracts from the fundamental economic role of businesses. Some of these arguments may very well be true but it doesn’t hurt us all to do our bit, and everyone is more likely to help and make an effort if they are encouraged to by their employers. If you are encouraged to recycle at work, you are likely to start making an effort recycling at home, the same applies to being energy efficient.
CSR is being adopted by more and more companies and there is now a huge place in the market for CSR specialists. Many businesses will employ a CSR specialist to come into their work place and help them develop their strategies whether it is demonstrating how they can be more energy efficient or how they can get in touch with and how they can help with schemes in their local community.
Why Social Responsibility is Important to Your Business – Good Things Do Happen to Good People!
Many business owners and managers see corporate social responsibility (CSR) as something that’s nice to do but not really connected to growing the business and profits. Just the other day I had an experience that shows how wrong this is.
An easy way for your company to build its brand, reputation and public profile
Being socially responsible creates goodwill and a positive image for your brand. Trust and a good reputation are some of your companys most valuable assets. In fact, without these, you wouldn’t even have a business. You can nurture these important assets by being socially responsible.
It is however, crucial that you devise the right socially responsible program for your business. When used properly, it will open up a myriad of new relationships and opportunities. Not only will your success grow, but so will your company’s culture. It will become a culture which you, your staff and the wider community genuinely believe in.
Corporate Social Responsibility attracts and retains staff
Did you know that socially responsible companies report increased employee commitment, performance and job satisfaction?
Yes, it is in us all to want to do good (and perhaps be recognised for it). Our lives become meaningful when we realise our work has made a positive difference in some way. It makes all our striving worth it. In fact, a 2003 Stanford University study found MBA graduates would sacrifice an average $US13700 cut in their salary to work for a socially responsible company.
By attracting, retaining and engaging staff, doing good for others reduces your recruitment costs and improves work productivity. It’s just plain good all round!
Customers are attracted to socially responsible companies
Branding your business as socially responsible differentiates you from your competitors. The Body Shop and Westpac are companies who have used this to their advantage. Developing innovative products that are environmentally or socially responsible adds value and gives people a good reason to buy from you.
Corporate Social Responsibility attracts investors
Investors and financiers are attracted to companies who are socially responsible. These decision-makers know this reflects good management and a positive reputation. Don’t underestimate this influence; it can be just as important as your company’s financial performance. In fact, it may be the deciding factor in choosing to support your company.
Corporate Social Responsibility encourages professional (and personal) growth
Your staff can develop their leadership and project management skills through a well-designed corporate social responsibility program. This may be as simple as team building exercises, encouraging your employees to form relationships with people they would not normally meet (like disadvantaged groups).
Corporate Social Responsibility helps to cut your business costs
Environmental initiatives such as recycling and conserving energy increase in-house efficiency and cut costs. Introducing a corporate social responsibility program gives you a good reason to examine and improve on your spending!
Two important tips for you
Before you rush into your own corporate social responsibility program remember:
You must implement your program strategically. Just giving a donation is not enough. The best corporate social responsibility programs are based on a two-way relationship with you and each of the organisations you are involved with. This allows both parties to be challenged and grow together.
Your corporate social responsibility commitments should be in line with the values of your company, customers and staff. Most importantly, they must be based on a genuine concern for people and the community. You do not want the program to back-fire; making you seem hypocritical. A poor strategy will cause people to become cynical and distrustful of your company.
But all in all, corporate social responsibility makes financial sense, adds meaning to your work and makes everyone feel good!
So what should you do next?
It is a highly competitive world out there. If you want people to buy from you, work for you and invest in you – look seriously at corporate social responsibility.
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Blue Ocean Strategy
Successful businesses are either low-cost providers or niche players – thus says Michael Porter. However, many have opposed this idea and claim that it is flawed. For instance, Charles W. L. Hill, an educator, in 1988, proposed that a combination of differentiation and low-cost might be helpful for firms to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage and claimed that Porter’s model was flawed because differentiation can be a means for firms to achieve low cost. Swedish educators Jonas Ridderstråle and Kjell Nordström, on the other hand, in their 1999 book Funky Business, follow a similar line of reasoning. They argue that ‘Competitive Strategy is the route to nowhere’ and that firms need to create ‘Sensational Strategies’ which is about playing a different game.
A similar strategy proposed by W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne of INSEAD, is the ‘Blue Ocean Strategy’, which promotes creating ‘Blue Ocean’ or new market space rather than competing in an existing industry. It is in many ways similar to the ideas presented in Funky Business. For example, the ‘competing factors’ of the Blue Ocean Strategy are similar to the definition of ‘finite and infinite dimensions’ defined in Funky Business. Kim and Mauborgne claim that their strategy makes sense where supply exceeds demand. Once a blue ocean is created, it eventually turns ‘red’ over a period of time and ceases to guarantee success.
Red Ocean is the known market place (or industries), for which industry boundaries are defined and accepted, and the competitive rules of the game are known. Companies, here, try to outperform their rivals to grab a greater share of product or service demand. Profits and growth are reduced as the market space gets crowded. Products become commodities or niche with cutthroat competition turning the ocean red. Hence, the term red ocean gets coined. Blue oceans, in contrast, denote a non-existent industry or an unknown market space, where competition and demand is created rather than fought over. Competition, here, is irrelevant because the rules of the market are not set and there is ample opportunity for rapid growth and profitability. However, the corner-stone of Blue Ocean Strategy is ‘Value Innovation’, either in product, service or delivery, which creates value (not found in the current market) simultaneously for the buyer and the company.
I needed to explain the concept of ‘Blue Ocean Strategy’ in my class and was in search of some live examples that would demonstrate the above differences. With some search on the internet, I found many sites that explained the concept in detail but did not have examples. However, in the process I landed up in a website named www.ibscdc.org, where I got what I was looking for. The site contained quite a few case studies that demonstrated the concept with real life business examples. IBSCDC offered case studies like – Utility Computing: IBM On-demand, which demonstrated the introduction of a new concept called ‘utility computing’ in the IT industry by IBM; Toyota’s hybrid vehicles which helped in creation of a new market space for the company in the US; the case study of Tivo which pioneered the concept of interactive television and gave rise to a whole new industry.
However, the web site was easy to browse – across pages, with clear categorization of the case studies and tabs that took the user to the list of related case studies that the user needs. Moreover, a click on the title of the case study presented a well written abstract and other details needed by the user. It offers a huge collection of case studies related to various topics like business strategy, entrepreneurship, finance, economics, operations management, corporate governance, HR, organizational behavior, marketing, international trade, CSR, etc.
source: http://www.ibscdc.org/blue-ocean-strategy-case-studies.asp
Corporate Social Responsibility, Yay or Nay?
In the past several decades, corporations have been forming in almost every area of the world. The corporations drastically affect the area around them, sometimes for better and sometimes for worse. From this, the idea of corporate social responsibility arises. Corporate social responsibility can be defined as the commitment of a corporation to better the area in which it is located. As two every story, this one has two sides. Some people are for it and some against. Two reasons that have come up supporting corporate social responsibility are that it is good press, and that it gives its’ employees a sense of pride. Two arguments against corporate social responsibility are that a corporation’s job is to make a profit, and that people should take care of themselves. Now I will elaborate on these.
The idea that corporate social responsibility is good press is entirely true. If a corporation (especially a large, well-known one) does something that people other than employees benefit from, it makes them look good. By looking good, the corporation has a chance to get free advertising. If the good deed is covered by the media, the corporation does not have to pay a dime. So, you could almost consider the cost of the good deed as an advertising expense. An example of this is the large array of Christmas lights the Herr’s chip factory puts up every year. Although this isn’t a direct way of giving back, it gives the people in the area something magnificent to look at during the holiday season. At the same time, its gets peoples’ attention which is what advertising is designed to do. The good press created by a strong sense of corporate social responsibility also has the potential to get new investors. Many wealthy people love investing in companies that are environmentally friendly or that give back to the people in some way.
The second supporting piece of information for corporate social responsibility is that it gives the corporation’s employees a sense of pride. It would make me feel good knowing that the company I worked for helped out in the area I lived. This might motivate employees to work harder, which would make them more productive. In a sense, all of the hard work the employees put in generates the money used to benefit the surrounding area. I know people would really like the chance to say “Hey, I work for that company” when he or she over hears people talking about something good the corporation did.
Like I stated, there are always two sides to every story which means there are also reasons that people are against corporate social responsibility. One is that the corporation’s responsibility is to the shareholders. This means that corporation’s focus should be on making as much money as possible. So for a company to spend money by giving back to the community just seems wrong in that respect. Now, the fact that the publicity the company gets from giving back generates the sale to offset the cost is another topic in itself. I feel that it potentially could, but there’s no way of knowing for sure. Many stockholders only invest to make money, so they would probably feel that the company should earn money and that is it.
Some people feel that idea of corporate social responsibility is wrong because people should take care of themselves. I suppose this is kind of like a “let nature runs its course” approach. People should learn to fend for themselves, and not be dependent on the help of others. If corporations (or people) help them, they will never be able to break away and survive on their own. For instance, say you see a stray cat wondering around your neighborhood. Well one day it’s outside your house and you put a bowl of food on your step. You go inside and the cat eats your food. The next day, the same thing happens. Before you know it you are opening the door and the cat is there waiting for food. The cat has stopped looking for food elsewhere and depends solely on you for food. The same thing can be applied to people.
Corporate social responsibility is something all corporations think about. Some decide to support is because it is good press and it will give their employees a sense of pride which might raise their productivity. On the other hand, some are against it because they realize they have an obligation to their stockholders, and they feel that people should learn to take care of themselves. Personally, I am split between the two. I see very logical reasoning on both sides. If I had to choose one, I would choose to support corporate social responsibility. I think the increased cost of supporting the local area would increase revenue enough to offset itself.