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Nadia
Joined: Apr 2, 2003
Posts: 4
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Gender & Age: Female & 23
Country: Greece
Province/State: Attiki
City: Athens
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Definition of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
July 29, 2003 - 04:49 AM
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Before we being to discuss Corporate Social Reponsibility is, we should first come up with a definition for it. The definition should focus on makign these areas clear: 1) What is Social Responsiblility and 2) How do the practices of corporations relate to it.My own definition is that CSR is about how companies manage the business processes to produce an overall positive impact on society.Companies need to answer to two aspects of their operations. 1. The quality of their management - both in terms of people and processes 2. The nature of, and quantity of their impact on society in the various areas.
Outside stakeholders are taking an increasing interest in the activity of the company.What the company has actually done, good or bad, in terms of its products and services, in terms of its impact on the environment and on local communities, or in how it treats and develops its workforce. Out of the various stakeholders, it is financial analysts who are predominantly focused - as well as past financial performance - on quality of management as an indicator of likely future performance.
One thing that is for sure - the pressure on business to play a role in social issues will continue to grow. Over the last ten years, those institutions which have grown in power and influence have been those which can operate effectively within a global sphere of operations. These are effectively the corporates and the NGOs. Those institutions which are predominantly tied to the nation state have been finding themselves increasingly frustrated at their lack of ability to shape and manage events. These include national governments, police, judiciary and others.
There is a growing interest, therefore, in businesses taking a lead in addressing those issues in which they have an interest where national government have failed to come up with a solution. The focus Unilever has on supporting a sustainable fisheries approach is one example. Using the power of their supply chain, such companies are placed to have a real influence. National governments negotiating with each other have come up with no solutions at all, and ever-depleting fish stocks. That is not to say businesses will necessarily provide the answers - but awareness is growing that they are occasionally better placed to do so than any other actors taking an interest.
Any suggestions?
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