CSR: To Make Brands Superior Socially
CSR: CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY Business is facing challenging times world-wide. Management of business has progressed rapidly in last 50 years. It has now thoroughly matured to higher levels of performance. The present age is a money-dominated age. Every one is running after money. Business enterprises are coming up with new strategies to earn more and more profits. Economists are bringing new philosophies to enhance prosperity.
Today the efforts and energy of the world is being spent on increasing the organizational wealth. Increased competition and commercial pressure are combining with rising regulatory standards and consumer demand to create a whole new playing field for business. Traditional expectations of business are also changing. It is no longer enough to simply employ people, make a profit and pay taxes. The entities with maximum wealth are the most powerful in the present era and capable of safe guarding their economic interests leading to the gap between rich and poor widening. It is leading to a complex situation, where some people try to find out unfair means to quickly fill this gap. It gives rise to unrest in the human mind and quickly erodes the feeling of satisfaction and happiness.
Quality expert Kaoru Ishikawa emphasizes on the role of company to keep its employees happy by stating, ‘‘the first concern of a company is the happiness of the people connected to it. If the people do not feel happy, . . . that company does not deserve to exist’’ (Ishikawa, 1985). The pursuit of economic growth does not necessarily lead automatically to social progress. In many cases it actually leads to a deteriorating physical environment, an unsafe workplace, needless exposure to toxic substances on the part of the workers and consumers, discrimination against certain groups in society, urban decay, and other social problems (Leonard and McAdam, 2003). Justice Kuldeep Singh, a judge of Supreme Court of India, while ordering the closure of more then 700 industrial units in Delhi which were actively harming ecological balance and had virtually converted river Yamuna into a sewer, observed that no one can allow economic progress and growth at the cost of ecological imbalance. As a result, corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become increasingly important in the modern era. Many Indian companies have understood the need of people and the way of utilizing the power for productive work, which turned organizations to think about their people and the people indirectly associated with the organization. The long term aspect from the organization shows a clear view towards the people management for existence in this competitive world. Society is the form of group of people which cannot be overlooked by the organizations because of their contribution towards the well being of the organization. This view is governed by the common proposition that industry has economic contrast with society. This contrast is explicit in some areas, implicit in others and opens to negotiation, but it underpins all commercial activity. The need to look beyond the purely economic objectives of a business enterprise such as making profits, ensure adequate returns to the shareholders and making provision for future growth is becoming increasingly essential for achieving enduring success in business in real terms. Today, business organizations increasingly concern themselves with a host public issue that are international in nature including trade legislation, regulations against corruption and growing concern about global issues based on industries.
FUTURE DIRECTIONS: The drive of improvement never ends. The best culture, system and plans do not remain so far long. Economic conditions, competitor’s behavior, market dynamics, technological advances and the political environment demand change. The global companies of tomorrow will have to actively work today to integrate social accountability issues into their key business processes in order to meet-and in some cases exceed-customer expectations. The ‘neighbor -of –choice strategy’ must become an integral part of a company’s culture. Companies will know that they have succeeded in organizing corporate social responsibility activities when they automatically include corporate social responsibility considerations in their decisions. In fact, the international nature of the business environment means that these responsibilities exist in those areas where business operates or seeks to operate. This is a global responsibility which lies at the heart of the business contract. The economic function of the business and its wider responsibilities are integral features of this contract. By crossing the boundary between business and the community , the community will become a key shareholder in business and business will be encouraged to give up the traditional mode of resource utilization and adopt a suitable mode for resource enrichment of the planet.
CONCLUSION: With serious money and human resources involved, how does it benefit the organization? It is not uncommon to hear of rumors that in many cases no actual work was done and projects were shown on paper to gain tax exemptions. Most companies however strongly deny such allegations as funds are strictly dedicated to such projects and monitored by company boards. CSR is increasingly becoming a part of corporate governance. However, one of the biggest advantages of such activities is the development of internal branding among employees. In almost all organizations these activities have major employee involvement. In fact, all organizations feel that the success of such initiatives always depends on employee participation. Besides, it makes leaders out of employees and helps them realize the concept of teamwork. With a growing feeling that corporates should also contribute to social activities, globally, and with a desire to improve the immediate environment where they work, many companies are taking keen interest in such activities. In reality, most companies have special departments to document the best practices of corporate social responsibility and integrate them into the organizational fabric.
Contributed By: Shoubhagya Rankan Mahakud is Presently pursuing MBA At IIPM DELHI-2007-09.
kunal_chemicalinno@yahoo.co.in
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