CSR

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Corporate Social Responsibility: As a Prominent Part of Today's Business World



Corporate Social Responsibility: As a Prominent Part of Today's Business World

Introduction

In today's globalised world, businesses have evolved to incorporate social and environmental elements. Today, the revenue factor is not merely a product of productivity; rather it is an object which describes the ethical, social and environmental considerations. The business world has demonstrated rapid evolution in terms of principles and practices. The sustainability of a business is dependent on a variety of factors including “social” profile of the company. The “Social” profile demonstrates the extent to which social values are integrated in the business ethics. An organisation, integrated with social values, is likely to sustain in the competitive world compared to those lacking in this area. Therefore, the notion of Corporate Social Responsibility has been developed as a principle study in the business world.

The business operations have an impact on societies and natural environment in which they operate. Traditionally, organisations confined their function to generating revenue for the benefit of stakeholders. Today, they are required to extend their functions to acknowledge their responsibility towards the society. The extension is not required solely on a humanitarian basis; the idea has its implications in the sustainability of a business in the challenging society.

It is essential to understand the rationale behind the adoption of CSR in today's business world. For that matter, the essay explores the importance of CSR adoption in the present day. The write up investigates the concept in the light of scholarly journals. The discussion presents an analysis explaining why CSR has become a prominent part in today's business world. It begins with a brief description of CSR principles in order to establish the context for further discussion. The write up presents concluding statements towards the end.

Discussion

Description of Corporate Social Responsibility: A Guiding Business Principle

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a theme that explains the “business conduct”. In other words, it refers to the way in which an organisation does business. The CSR concept articulates a kind of business conduct in which social and environment considerations are taken into account. The main idea is to do business while improving society standards. According to Smith (2003), “The basic theme of CSR is to highlight the firm's obligations towards the society” (p.3). He emphasises that it is a matter of “obligation”; it is not about choices and preferences of the organisations. Edward & Larry presented a different interpretation of the concept. According to them, CSR refers to the belief that corporations have social responsibilities beyond pure profit (Edward & Larry,2011, p.144). They emphasise that the concept is taken up as a belief.

Figure 1: The Virtuous CSR Circle

The interpretation of the concept is unique to each researcher. However, the diversity of opinions enables us to comprehend the true manifestation of corporate social responsibility. Moreover, it allows us to understand the CSR framework on a broader perspective. In the Modern world, corporations must realise the existence of the ...