The Body Shop and Corporate Social Responsibility Challenges

Abstract

The paper discusses the ethical issues that relate to corporate social responsibility efforts undertaken by a company. These include the tendency of managers to overinvest in corporate social responsibility efforts in order to create a favorable impression for themselves, using corporate social responsibility as an attempt to signal a better quality for their products, managing it so as to resolve the internal and external conflicts that relate to the organization, and using it to improve the business performance of the business rather than giving something back to the community in which the company operates. These ethical issues as well as the various controversies that emerged with the passage of time on the integrity of Anita Roddick and the business philosophy of The Body Shop were tackled very well by the company. For this The Body Shop has made use of its various Public Relations campaign and corporate social responsibility initiatives. Hence, it is one example of a company that has remained dedicated to the cause of giving back to the community and has no vested interest in any of the campaigns started by the company.

Table of Contents

Introduction1

About The Body Shop2

The unprecedented growth in corporate social responsibility3

The conflicts between corporate social responsibility and ethics4

The tendency to overinvest4

Signaling the quality of products6

Conflict Resolution6

Business performance and corporate social responsibility7

Ethical dilemmas of CSR and The Body Shop10

Quality12

Conflict Resolution14

Fair trading relationship15

Conclusion15

References17

The Body Shop and Corporate Social Responsibility Challenges

Introduction

Corporate social responsibility by a business is the voluntary integration of business operations with the social and environmental concerns (Smith 2003, p. 2). 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. Corporate social responsibility has many implications for the businesses. It makes you a transparent organization in the eyes of the customers and creates a favorable impression. It also has many benefits. It is the responsibility of each business to manage the value for its stakeholders while remaining ethical and moral to customers and the environment in which they operate (Johnson 2004, p. 4).

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, p. 449). Each business has a different approach when it comes ...