A study to investigate how Air Mauritius can benefit from the implementation of a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) framework

Chapter 5: Conclusion

The recent trends in world business suggest a growing disquiet amongst the public where the dissaproval of 'big business' has increasingly become the topic of scrutiny in the public forum (Baker, 2004; O'Riordan, 2008). Increasingly stakeholders are using CSR as a criterion to judge companies (Lewis, 2003). All definitions of corporate social responsibility (CSR) differ slightly amongst organisations (Boxenbaum, 2006), however, they all share common ground. In Holmes' publication 'Making Good Business Sense' (2000), he defined CSR as;

“Corporate Social Responsibility is the continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as of the local community and society at large"

While this is a general definition, it still describes the core of CSR amongst all who practice it. Central to this movement is the need for companies to move away from bottom-line profit maximisation to a suggested 'triple-bottom line' (Savitz, 2006), where corporate and societal interests intersect allowing environmental and social costs to be on par with the importance of profit.

CSR was not born out of jealousy of big corporations, but as a response to the repeated failures and scandals of once well respected big businesses, i.e. Nike, Enron, WorldCom Inc. (Ruggie, 2003; Byrne, 2002). When the failings of a business become public knowledge, the stakeholder's perceptions of the business will undoubtedly have an influence on how successfully the business can perform.

The tie between a business and its stakeholders is much more apparent than it used to be, the internet and media coverage allow everyone access to current information on a companies performance. Dickinson and Eckman (2008) highlighted how businesses must behave in socially responsible ways, where they are expected by society to exhibit a type of moral or ethical management, holding high standards of right and wrong as it relates to their stakeholders. Carroll (2001) also acknowledges how they 'must recognize and respect new or evolving ethical/moral norms adopted by society'. Ethical subjectivism sees that moral judgements are based on feelings, so theoretically to satisfy stakeholders; firms would have no choice but engage CSR. Statements like this make it clear that the essence of business has changed and so, business leaders must adapt their style and approach accordingly or risk being chastised by their stakeholders (Detomasi, 2007). In this paper I will explore the motivations for a CSR approach and look to expose whether it is something corporations really want, or a politically correct 'vail' used to counter-balance more negative aspects of the business.

CSR programmes have the potential to create significant value for Air Mauritius, at the employee, sustainability and strategic areas as well. The use of a CSR framework to unify these efforts will allow the company to translate the ownership of CSR programs on the part of employees to a more trusted brand over ...