Corporate Social Responsibility in Global Environment

Corporate Social Responsibility in Global Environment

Introduction

Corporate social responsibility by a business is the voluntary integration of business operations with the social and environmental concerns. The responsibility of a business, as perceived by many, is not only to maximize profitability and increase the value of its business by fighting competition but it goes beyond that. Each business is morally bound to give back to the community in which it operates. There are many activities that a business may undertake which come in the ambit of corporate social responsibility such as community work, environment, resolving the various social and ethical issues faced by the society and others.

Can Corporate Social Responsibility Succeed in the Global Environment?

For a very long time now it has been debated as to what should be the ideal role of an organization when it comes to corporate social responsibility. This debate is the consequence of the contrast that exists in the goals of the organization. On one hand, the responsibility of an organization is profit maximization. On the other hand, the organization is seen as a social agent who should give back to the society in which it operates (Shoemaker et. al, 2006). Each business has a different approach when it comes to aligning the long term strategic growth with the decision making by the corporation.

Today, this debate has taken a new direction, the role of an organization in an international environment. Many firms have expanded operations into new countries in order to take advantage of global opportunities, such as new markets, cheap labor and material, skilled work force and others (Saether, 2008). However, the question remains that facing multiple challenges and perspectives, can CSR initiatives succeed in global context?

Arguments for CSR

The notion of modern business has continuously created many social issues. Therefore, it is the primal responsibility of organizations to address these issues. It is in the best interest of the organization to cater social responsibilities. By doing this, corporations reduce the chance of any future government regulations. Today, bigger corporations have a huge amount of financial and human resources; therefore, it should not be problems form these firms to devote part of resources to CSR.

Many organizations, today, take advantage of resources in foreign lands and; therefore, it is their responsibility to look after the people and places of those lands. We have seen examples of many firms, who went to other ...