MANAGING PEOPLE

Managing People



Managing People

Task 1: Corporate Social Responsibility

With CSR receiving increasing public attention in Malaysia and UK, researchers have referred to the level of corporate social disclosure as an indicator of corporate social responsibility (CSR) development. These papers depart from the use of disclosure method and determine the CSR awareness level from the perspective of one important set of stakeholders--employees. This Study will observe the characteristics of organizations that exhibit different levels of awareness. The authors compare employees' perception of CSR awareness levels in local organizations operating in Malaysia and UK. The results will show a level of awareness in both countries.

The first decade of the new millennium appears to be the one where business social blame (CSR) is approaching of age after so many untrue dawns in past decades. The new dialogue about CSR in enterprise proposes that it is a normative, multi-level notion, whose significance depends on various perspectives and connections, and, that it changes in answer to communal trends. While earlier notions of CSR often had a regional, person-centered philanthropic focus, recent conceptions of CSR are inclusive, broad and diverse. The European amalgamation, for instance, has characterised CSR as “a notion whereby companies integrate social and ecological anxieties in their enterprise procedures and in their interactions with their stakeholders on a voluntary cornerstone” (European charge, 2002).

CSR is now a well-known expression for what, in the past, has been a collection of different and yet related terms: corporate philanthropy, corporate citizenship, business ethics, stake holding, community involvement, corporate responsibility, socially responsible investment, sustainability, triple-bottom line, corporate accountability and corporate social performance. Some of these periods have a family resemblance to each other, but numerous of these signs have other connotations as well. This lack of consensus seriously hampers theoretical development as well as research into the implementation of these policies (Goebbels, 2002, pp 171). One beginning point in terms of CSR study is to discover how companies are themselves characterising and understanding CSR. Most empirical studies of CSR have been focused on firms in the Malaysia and UK, but few have attempted to assess whether definitions of CSR differ between countries (www.stthom.edu).

In recent years, the UK Government has become increasingly conscious of the importance of CSR to its foreign policy objectives. The behavior of businesses internationally has a major impact on global stability and prosperity and on efforts to achieve a better quality of life for all. It thus impacts both directly and indirectly on the well-being of the UK people. In the UK, we believe firmly that CSR improves competitiveness and efficiency both for company's and in the wider economy. The seminar' name "CSR: Creating larger comparable Advantage", reflects that belief. And, of course, the conduct of UK companies has an obvious impact on Britain's international image and thus on the ability of the UK government to achieve its objectives (Patton, 2002, pp 101-181).

Malaysia and Britain are both major selling nations. And it is growing very quick in both ...