Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
What does the concept of CSR mean, and what are the
main activities involved?
Introduction:
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is exercised by organizations when they
conduct their business in an ethical way, taking account of the social,
environmental and economic impact of how they operate and going beyond
compliance. As defined by McWilliams et al (2006), CSR refers to the actions
taken by businesses that further some social good beyond the interests of
the firm and that which is required by law.
CSR Concept:
Stakeholder theory, which was first propounded by Freeman (1984),
suggests that managers must satisfy a variety of constituents (such as
workers, customers, suppliers and local community organizations) who can
influence corporate outcomes. According to this view, it is not sufficient for
managers to focus exclusively on the needs of stockholders or the owners of
the corporation. Stakeholder theory implies that it can be beneficial for the
firm to engage in certain CSR activities that non-financial stakeholders
perceive to be important.
A different view was expressed by Theodore Levitt, the marketing expert. In
his 1956 Harvard Business Review article The dangers of social
responsibility, he warned that governments job is not business, and
businesss job is not government. Milton Friedman (1970), the Chicago
monetarist, expressed the same sentiment. His maxim was that the social
responsibility of business is to maximize profits within the bounds of the law.
He argued that the mere existence of CSR was an agency problem within the
firm, in that it was a misuse of the resources entrusted to managers by
owners which could be better used on value-added internal projects or
returned to the shareholders.
CSR Activities:
Community skills and education, employability and social exclusion
were frequently identified as key risks and opportunities. Other major
activities were support for local community initiatives and being a
responsible and safe neighbor.
Environment most companies reported climate change and
resource use as key issues for their business, and 85 per cent of them
managed their impacts through an environmental management
system.
Marketplace the issues most frequently mentioned by companies
were research and development, procurement and supply chain,
responsible selling, responsible marketing and product safety. There
was a rising focus on fair treatment of customers, providing
appropriate product information and labeling, and on the impacts of
products on customer health.
Workplace this was the strongest management performing area as
most companies have established employment management
frameworks that can cater for workplace issues as they emerge.
Companies recognized the crucial role of employees to achieve
responsible business practices. Increasing emphasis was placed on
internal communications and training to raise awareness and
understanding of why CSR is relevant to them and valuable for the
business. More attention was being paid to health and well-being
issues as well as the traditional safety agenda. More work was being
done on diversity, both to ensure the business attracts a diverse
workforce and to communicate the business case for diversity
internally. Business in the Community also reported a growing
emphasis on responsible businesses a source of competitive
advantage as firms move beyond minimizing risk to creating
opportunities.
Source: Business in the Community (2007).
http://www.pg.com.pk/
Policies
Do health and safety policies meet legal requirements?
Are senior managers committed to health and safety?
Procedures
How effectively do the procedures:
Support the implementation of health and safety policies?
Communicate the need for good health and safety practices?
Provide for systematic risk assessments?
Ensure that accidents are investigated thoroughly?
Record data on health and safety which is used to evaluate
performance and initiate action?
Ensure that health and safety considerations are given proper weight
when designing systems of work or manufacturing and operational
processes (including the design of equipment and work stations, the
specification for the product or service, and the use of materials)?
Provide safety training, especially induction training and training when
jobs or working methods are changed?
Safety practices
To what extent do health and safety practices in all areas of the
organization conform to the general requirements of the Health and
Safety at Work Act and the specific
Requirements of the various regulations and codes of practice?
What risk assessments have been carried out? What were the
findings? What actions were taken?
What is the health and safety performance of the organization as
shown by performance indicators?
Is the trend positive or negative? If the latter, what is being done
about it?
How thoroughly are accidents investigated? What steps have been
taken to prevent their recurrence?
What is the evidence that managers and supervisors are really
concerned about health and safety?
References
http://www.ispi.org/pdf/suggestedReading/11_Lockwood_WorkLifeBal
ance.pdf
http://www.pg.com.pk/
http://monizaharie.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/armstrong_hrmpracti
ce.pdf