Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is:
- An obligation, beyond that required by the law and economics, for a firm to pursue long term goals that are good for society
- 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 that of the local community and society at large
- About how a company manages its business process to produce an overall positive impact on society
Corporate social responsibility means:
- Conducting business in an ethical way and in the interests of the wider community
- Responding positively to emerging societal priorities and expectations
- A willingness to act ahead of regulatory confrontation
- Balancing shareholder interests against the interests of the wider community
- Being a good citizen in the community
Is CSR the same as business ethics?
- There is clearly an overlap between CSR and business ethics
- Both concepts concern values, objectives and decision based on something than the pursuit of profits
- And socially responsible firms must act ethically
The difference is that ethics concern individual actions which can be assessed as right or wrong by reference to moral principles.
CSR is about the organisation’s obligations to all stakeholders – and not just shareholders.
There are four dimensions of corporate responsibility
- Economic - responsibility to earn profit for owners
- Legal - responsibility to comply with the law (society’s codification of right and wrong)
- Ethical - not acting just for profit but doing what is right, just and fair
- Voluntary and philanthropic - promoting human welfare and goodwill
- Being a good corporate citizen contributing to the community and the quality of life
The debate on social responsibility
Not all business organisations behave in a socially responsible manner
And there are people who would argue that it is not the job of business organisations to be concerned about social issues and problems
There are two schools of thought on this issue:
- In the free market view, the job of business is to create wealth with the interests of the shareholders as the guiding principle
- The corporate social responsibility view is that business organisation should be concerned with social issues
Free market view - a summary
- The role of business is to create wealth by providing goods and services
- “There is one and only one social responsibility of business- to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profit so long as it stays will the rules of the game, which is to say, engages in open and free competition, without deception or fraud.” [Milton Friedman, American economist]
- Giving money away is like a self imposed tax
- Managers who have been put in charge of a business have no right to give away the money of the owners
- Managers are employed to generate wealth for the shareholders - not give it away
- Free markets and capitalism have been at the centre of economic and social development
- Improvements in health and longevity have been made possible by economies driven by the free market
- To attract quality workers it is necessary to offer better pay and conditions and this leads to a rise in standards of living and wealth creation
- Free markets contribute to the effective management of scarce resources
- It is true that at times the market fails and therefore some regulation is necessary to redress the balance
- But the correcting of market failures is a matter for government - not business
- Regulation should be kept to a minimum since regulation stifles initiative and creates barrier to market entry
The free market case against corporate social responsibility
- The only social responsibility of business is to create shareholder wealth
- The efficient use of resources will be reduced if businesses are restricted in how they can produce
- The pursuit of social goals dilutes businesses’ primary purpose
- Corporate management cannot decide what is in the social interest
- Costs will be passed on to consumers
- It reduces economic efficiency and profit
- Directors have a legal obligation to manage the company in the interest of shareholders – and not for other stakeholders
- CSR behaviour imposes additional costs which reduce competitiveness
- CSR places unwelcome responsibilities on businesses rather than on government or individuals
The corporate responsibility view
- Businesses do not have an unquestioned right to operate in society
- Those managing business should recognise that they depend on society
- Business relies on inputs from society and on socially created institutions
- There is a social contract between business and society involving mutual obligations that society and business recognise that they have to each other
Stakeholder theory
The basic premise is that business organisations have responsibility to various groups in society (the internal and external stakeholders) and not just the owners/ shareholders
The responsibility includes a responsibility for the natural environment
Decisions should be taken in the wider interest and not just the narrow shareholder interest
Arguments for socially-responsible behaviour
- It is the ethical thing to do
- It improves the firm’ public image
- It is necessary in order to avoid excessive regulation
- Socially responsible actions can be profitable
- Improved social environment will be beneficial to the firm
- It will be attractive to some investors
- It can increase employee motivation
- It helps to corrects social problems caused by business
Enlightened self interest
This is the practice of acting in a way that is costly and/or inconvenient at present but which is believed to be in one’s best long term interests
There is a long history of philanthropy based on enlightened self interests e.g. Robert Owen’s New Lanark Mills, Titus Salt’s Saltaire as well the work of the Quaker chocolate makers such as Cadbury at Bournville and Rowntree in York.
Enlightened self interest is summed up in this quotation from Anita Roddick (founder of the Body Shop):“Being good is good for business”
CSR behaviour can benefit the firm in several ways
- It aids the attraction and retention of staff
- It attracts green and ethical investment
- It attracts ethically conscious customers
- It can lead to a reduction in costs through re-cycling
- It differentiates the firm from its competitor and can be a source of competitive advantage
- It can lead to increased profitability in the long run
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