Introduction

CSR is one of the rare business topics whose very existence is regularly called into question. Yet almost no one denies that issues arising under its banner are important: the environment (including sustainability), obligations to employees, sourcing from developing countries and human rights issues, host country government relations, relationships with local communities, and regulating gifts and sensitive payments. Donaldson highlights that definitions of CSR range from broad ones that focus on large environmental and social problems, such as Aids, poverty, health and pollution, particularly in developing economies, to more specific ones that focus on doing business with integrity and transparency. The common denominator is that corporate activity should be motivated in part by a concern for the welfare of some non-owners, and by an underlying commitment to basic principles such as integrity, fairness and respect for persons.

The concept of corporate social responsibility therefore means that organizations have moral, ethical, and philanthropic responsibilities in addition to their responsibilities to earn a fair return for investors and comply with the law. This would seem not to sit well with the Anglo American style governance of firms which suggests that its primary, if not sole, responsibility is to its owners, or stockholders. CSR therefore takes the emphasis off the numbers and highlights the importance of other impacts of the firm. Much of the importance of CSR has been created by the global political agenda which is focused on areas such as the environment, employee conditions, human rights concerns, health effects of business practices and unethical business practices. This has put huge pressure on firms to fall into line and behave more in an ethical way. The following real life examples tell the tale of abuses. Many of the issues below