...ABSTRACT The new company law has been put in place by the government with best intentions and it is now the turn of the corporate sector to demonstrate that it will play according to the rules. The government on its part must trust the corporate sector to function honestly and also keep a watch. The Companies Act, 2013, enacted on 29th August, 2013 on accord of Hon’ble President’s assent, has the potential to be a historic milestone, as it aims to improve corporate governance, simplify regulations, enhance the interest of minority investors and for the first time legislate the roles of whistle blowers. The 2013 Act has introduced several provisions which would change the way Indian corporates do business and one such provision is spending on activities of Corporate Social Responsibility. The importance of Corporate Social Responsibility is increasing in Indian Corporate scenario because organisation have realize that ultimate goal is not profit making beside this trust building is viable and assertable with societal relationship. “Companies Act 2013: A Revolutionary Legislation or Not” “Businesses need to go beyond the interests of their companies to the communities they serve.” ~Ratan Tata, Former Chairman the Tata Group India had a long tradition of corporate philanthropy and industrial welfare has been put to practice since late 1800 A.D. Historically, the philanthropy of business people in India has resembled western...
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... But what does CSR actually mean? It can be defined as the company’s responsibility towards the environment and society. However, businesses have the primary ambition to maximize profits, which sounds in a first way difficult to combine with CSR, at least in a short-term view. Correspondingly, we could ask ourselves to what extend CSR should be totally voluntary work of companies, or in other words, what role should the government play in business, particularly in relation to social and environmental responsibility? Government certainly has to interfere in business concerning CSR, because it affects not only the companies but the whole society. But how far is government really able to influence, and owing to which measures? First of all, companies are often pushed by their own greed of gain, difficult to combine with social and ecological responsibility, which makes an intervening of the government indispensable. Influenced by shareholders and their rational desire of obtaining high returns, companies are supposed to think in a short way and do often not recognize the necessity and also the opportunities of CSR in their company. However, recent studies clearly indicated that a corporation’s commitment concerning social and environmental aspects has a positive impact on productivity of employees on the one hand and on the company’s reputation on the other hand. Therefore the government, which naturally profits from long-term successful companies, should intervene in order...
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...‘Removing ten barriers to implementing CSR in Bangladesh’ Barrier A – CSR is thought to be American protectionism – the USA labour unions are alleged to be using CSR as an excuse and are trying to force up our production costs and so get jobs back into the USA. Social Responsibility is not a new idea; it has a long history in Asia and in Europe. If CSR is part of a conspiracy to protect jobs in North America (or in Europe) why is it accepted so well and practiced so widely in the West and in so many trade sectors there? Barrier B – Some company proprietors are convinced that the “business of business is business” and so they want NGOs do their community development work and the government to fund schools, colleges, clinics and hospitals - after all that’s why they pay their company taxes and VAT! Companies need a stable society in which to trade, we need healthy, well educated and compliant workers. It’s in the long term interests of the business sector in Bangladesh to improve our corporate futures by investing in the community – in our workers and their communities - if we are to be able to manufacture and sell increasing volumes of our products in Bangladesh. Barrier C – Business owners holding the opinion that spending on CSR is an improper use the company’s hard earned profits (especially in a period of worldwide recession). These proprietors are also of the view that their companies should concentrate on making money for their shareholders and focus on giving the...
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...Phone: 508.565.1205 Fax: 508.565.1444 E-mail: glantos@stonehill.edu 1 The Boundaries of Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility Keywords Corporate social responsibility (CSR), Roles of business, Stakeholder theory, Ethical CSR, Responsibilities and duties, Altruistic CSR, Strategic CSR, Abstract Reviews the development of the corporate social responsibility (CSR) concept and its four components: economic, legal, ethical, and altruistic duties. Discusses different perspectives on the proper role of business in society, from profit making to community service provider. Suggests that much of the confusion and controversy over CSR stem from a failure to distinguish its ethical, altruistic, and strategic forms of CSR. On the basis of a thorough examination of the arguments for and against altruistic CSR, concurs with Milton Friedman that altruistic CSR is not a legitimate role of business. Proposes that ethical CSR, grounded in the concept of ethical duties and responsibilities, is mandatory. Concludes that strategic CSR is good for business and society. Advises that marketing take a lead role in strategic CSR activities. Notes difficulties in CSR practice and offers suggestions for marketers in planning for strategic CSR and academic researchers in further clarifying the boundaries of strategic CSR. Introduction It is no news that today’s business organizations are expected to exhibit ethical behavior and moral management. However, over the past half century the bar has...
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...For many companies Corporate Social Responsibility policy has become a window-dressing of respectability. Discuss with reference to theory and to at least two expamples of companies Corporate Social Responsibility is known as CSR . It is now become popular from the last 10 years. What is CSR and why does it important for the business. The answer is CSR aims to ensure that companies run their business in a ethical way. This mean they need to look at economic and environmental impact and consideration of human benefits. CSR is important to the companies because the demand from labour, consumers and the Government have been increased to be more open about their activities and they can reach the acceptable standards in their business. For the labour, CSR is an important way to increase competitive advantage, protect and raise brand awareness and build trust with consumers and labour. CSR is one of the important way to improve marketing in make the brand become popular in business. The aim of the essay is going to discuss about the rise of CSR policy and an example of Starbucks coffee and Mark & Spensers with their CSR's performance. First of all, The rise of CSR includes five trends to demonstrate the theory of CSR policy. There are Transparency, Knowledge, Sustainability, Globalization and The Failure of the Public Sector. The first trend is Transparency , it deals when most of the companies have become increasingly transparent because of the modern information technology...
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...ePublications@bond. It has been accepted for inclusion in Corporate Governance eJournal by an authorized administrator of ePublications@bond. For more information, please contact Bond University's Repository Coordinator. Corporate Social Responsibility: Impact of globalisation and international business Abstract [Extract] Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is associated with the conduct of corporations and in particular whether corporations owe a duty to stakeholders other than shareholders. Whilst the phrase ‘Corporate Social Responsibility’ may be gaining momentum, the concept itself is not new. The question as to whether corporations owe duties to broader stakeholders has been debated at various times throughout the twentieth century. Keywords corporate social responsibility, corporations, globalisation, international business This journal article is available at ePublications@bond: http://epublications.bond.edu.au/cgej/4 Corporate Social Responsibility ‐ Impact of globalisation and international business By Kim Kercher Date of publication: 11 December 2006 Introduction Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is associated with the conduct of corporations and in particular whether corporations owe a duty to stakeholders other than shareholders. Whilst the phrase ‘Corporate Social Responsibility’ may be gaining momentum, the concept itself is not...
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...Introduction Corporate social responsibility has taken on an increasingly prominent role in the business world in recent years. CSR has grown so popular that nearly every major company in the U.S. now integrates a significant commitment to social and/or environmental programs into its business model. CSR can be loosely defined as the adoption of socially beneficial and environmentally sustainable practices by corporate actors. The rise of CSR can be attributed to growing public disenchantment with traditional business practices that degrade the environment and compromise worker wellbeing, and resulting pressure from consumers and nonprofits on the private sector to reform itself. Instead of simply complying with government regulation, a company that is “socially responsible” adopts more stringent self-regulation ensuring that it is acting to minimize negative impact on the environment, its employees, its customers, and the community. The attitude that the corporate world should be responsible for adverse production effects has expanded into a broader conception of its responsibilities. It is now common to expect corporations not only to be accountable for their actions, but to contribute to solving the world’s problems. That is, corporations are now pressured to contribute to the creation of public goods like a healthy environment and poverty reduction as well as to absorb their own production externalities. Combined with the growing demand for “green” products, the private...
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...integrated into a business model. Company responsibilities functions as a built-in, self-regulating mechanism whereby a business monitors and ensures its active compliance with the spirit of the law, ethical standards, and international norms. The term "corporate social responsibility" came into common use in the late 1960s and when many multinational corporations formed the term stakeholder, and organization's activities had a major impact on the stakeholders. There has been different views towards company responsiblities wherein Proponents argue that corporations make more long term profits by operating with a perspective, while critics argue that CSR distracts from the economic role of businesses. Others argue that it is an attempt to pre-empt the role of governments as a watchdog over powerful multinational corporations. CSR is titled to aid an organization's mission as well as a guide to what the company stands for and will uphold to its consumers. There are different approaches towards social responsiblities, they are broadly clasified into two, the primary approach is Philanthropy which includes monitary donations and aids given to other organisations. Where in the other approach is garnering increasing corporate responsibility interest. This is called Creating Shared Value, or CSV. The shared value model is based on the idea that corporate success and social welfare are interdependent Many companies use the strategy of benchmarking to compete...
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...December 2009 Senior thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics at the University of Puget Sound Introduction Corporate social responsibility has taken on an increasingly prominent role in the business world in recent years. CSR has grown so popular that nearly every major company in the U.S. now integrates a significant commitment to social and/or environmental programs into its business model. CSR can be loosely defined as the adoption of socially beneficial and environmentally sustainable practices by corporate actors. The rise of CSR can be attributed to growing public disenchantment with traditional business practices that degrade the environment and compromise worker wellbeing, and resulting pressure from consumers and nonprofits on the private sector to reform itself. Instead of simply complying with government regulation, a company that is “socially responsible” adopts more stringent self-regulation ensuring that it is acting to minimize negative impact on the environment, its employees, its customers, and the community. The attitude that the corporate world should be responsible for adverse production effects has expanded into a broader conception of its responsibilities. It is now common to expect corporations not only to be accountable for their actions, but to contribute to solving the world’s problems. That is, corporations are now pressured to contribute to the creation of public...
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...applies to either the operational area of the organisation or the boardroom. On the other hand, ethics is doing what is right Corporate Social Responsibility. (CSR). There has been no definite definition of CSR, so, the theory, development and measurement has been difficult. CSR is the activity that an organisation or corporation can do to ensure that they have a duty or care to their stakeholder. (Employees, government, customers, community, shareholders pressure group etc) any decision taken by the corporation or organisation should not be based on the economic and financial grounds alone, rather it should also focus on its social, environmental and all other consequences of their activity. An organisation that embraces CSR should consider how it affect its internal and it external stakeholders. In terms of management, all stakeholders must be ethically and fairly treated. . Been socially responsible is internal and external (Mullins, 2005). This interprets that the organisation should not only look at the outside world but should also be concerned with the employees and how socially responsible the employees are. Palmer and Hartley (2002) suggested that all organisations should act socially responsible for two clear reasons, the philosophic and the pragmatic reason. The philosophic is that they should play their part with other institutions like schools and religious institutions. While pragmatically, they have to put into account the societies values and culture...
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...Business has not learned how to handle these changes, nor does it recognise the magnitude of its responsibilities for the future of civilization,”. We can say that corporate social responsibility is the balance between economic sustainability and social responsibilities . John Rockefeller said : “"I was trained from the beginning to work and save. I have always regarded it as a religious duty to get all I could honorably and to give all I could." . By definition, CSR refers to the "voluntary integration of corporate social and environmental concerns in their commercial operations and in their relations with the parties concerned,” according to The Green Book of the European Commission "Promoting a European framework for Corporate Social Responsibility" . With simple words CSR is whenever a businesses make contributions to the community , by which action showing that they are giving back to the people , which contributed for their flourishing . As a beginning let’s make something clear about the true meaning of CSR . It is not all about philanthropy or doing charity services. This being said does not make such activities unimportant....
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...Should marketers be responsible for the way their products are used by consumers? This is the main question of this essay, essentially focused on alcohol advertising targeting the young. It is very important to analyze such a subject to identify the responsibilities of each party and identify some possible solutions to preserve the health of consumers and keep good image of the corporate. The following development analyzes the responsibility of the marketers, consumers and government. That is to say that the responsibilities should be shared between these three parties. It’s clear that marketers (firms) have a greater part of responsibility than others, since they have to care about the welfare of all the stakeholders, including consumers. Marketers should work ethically and follow the corporate social responsibility. But foremost, it is important to define Corporate Social Responsibility, which is a most important concept actually in the business world. After the definition, the essay will show how marketing can drive consumers’ buying decision, demonstrate consumers’ irresponsible behavior and the government’s carelessness. Thus, what is CSR? Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is “a concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operations and in their interaction with their stakeholders on a voluntary basis” (European Commission, 2006). For some researchers, this view of the corporation stands in stark contrast with the neo-classical...
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...measurement and assessment, and sustainable natural resources management. Through the Internet, we report on international negotiations and share knowledge gained through collaborative projects with global partners, resulting in more rigorous research, capacity building in developing countries and better dialogue between North and South. IISD’s vision is better living for all—sustainably; its mission is to champion innovation, enabling societies to live sustainably. IISD is registered as a charitable organization in Canada and has 501(c)(3) status in the United States. IISD receives core operating support from the Government of Canada, provided through the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and Environment Canada; and from the Province of Manitoba. The Institute receives project funding from numerous governments inside and outside Canada, United Nations agencies, foundations and the private sector. International Institute for Sustainable Development 161 Portage Avenue East, 6th Floor Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada R3B 0Y4 Tel.: +1 (204) 958-7700 Fax: +1 (204) 958-7710 Web site: http://www.iisd.org Corporate Social Responsibility: An Implementation Guide for Business ISBN 978-1-895536-97-3 Paul Hohnen, Author Jason Potts, Editor This...
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...Chapter 1: What is CSR Organizations can be classified in 3 categories: 1) For profits: Seek gain for their owners 2) Government: Exists to define rules and structures of society within which all organizations must operate 3) Non-profits: Emerge to do social good when the political will of the profit motive is insufficient to address societies needs Stakeholders: Includes all those who are related in some way to a firm “A stakeholder in an organization is any group or individual who can affect or is affected by the achievement of the organizations objectives” could range from clearly defined customers, employees, suppliers, creditors, and regulating authorities, to other more amorphous constituents such as local communities CSR is both critical and controversial; It is critical because the for-profit sector is the largest and most innovative part of any free societies economy. However CSR remains controversial; In spite of the rising importance of CSR today for corporate leaders, academics, and bureaucrats alike, many still draw on the views of the Nobel Prize- winning economist Milton Friedman, who argues against CSR because it distracted leaders from economic goals. Friedman believed that the only “social responsibility of a business is to increase its profits”- that society benefits most when businesses focus on maximizing their financial success. David Packard, a co-founder of Hewlett-Packard however, believes “a group of people get together and exist as...
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...Corporate Social Responsibilities 1. Introduction According to Argenti,Pul.A (2007) Many companies have a separate subfunction in the human resources area to deal with community relations and a foundation close to the chairman that deals with philanthropy, but the two should be tied closely together ascompaies take on responsiblities in communities in which they operate.When constitiuencies involved and the most importantthis hs in shaping the imge of the firm, this subfunction also needs to be housed within the corporte communication function where very closely with it. Sustainable development is an idea of ensuring better quality of life which aims to protect environment, enhance social progress, use natural resources prudently and maintain high and stable economic growth. CSR is believed to have a significant influence on corporate sustainability. In the business context, CSR has emerged as a form of sustainability governance with advantages to the economic, environment and social progress. In terms of governance through policy implementation, CSR can be practiced in a strategic manner with better understanding. Policy framework can be designed using a mixture of regulations, economic instruments and communication strategies which significantly affects the environmental and social impacts from corporate activities. This might influence the level of corporate sustainability(Chamhuri Siwar and Siti Haslina Md Harizan,2008). Companies are aware that they...
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