Slide- CH 8

• Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) involves different responses:

  • Acceptance of CSR can be seen in social enterprises with all earnings committed to social causes or projects like Habitat for Humanity
  • CSR recognition or embracers place CSR and sustainability high on the corporate agenda, often larger corporations traded on stock exchanges
  • Cautious CSR adaptors focus on savings from environmental projects, energy cost reductions, and risk reduction
• Risks of not practicing CSR include damaged reputation, negative media coverage, consumer boycotts, lost sales and revenues, and more
• Planning and managing CSR programs involves establishing a planning process with activities like philanthropy, corporate giving, voluntarism, sponsorship, and community investment
• Corporate philanthropy is the effort of a business to contribute socially through donations of money, goods, or services in kind
• Arguments for corporate giving include expressing CSR to the community, promoting good citizenship, benefiting from volunteer sectors, and linking company success to the community's health
• Arguments against corporate giving include presuming to give funds that belong to shareholders, viewing social welfare as the government's job, and concerns about corporate power in society
• Corporate giving decisions historically made by individual executives or committees in large corporations, with reasons for rejection including inadequate financial statements or previous donations to similar organizations
• Trends in corporate giving include charitable foundations, cause-related marketing, and strategic giving to rationalize shareholder interests with corporate philanthropy
• Social venture philanthropy involves investing resources in non-profit agencies to generate a social return, applying venture capital management practices to social responsibility
• Corporate voluntarism involves employees committing time and talent to community organizations with support from employers who recognize the value of such efforts to society
• Advantages of employee voluntarism include enhancing professional skill development, benefiting the community and supported organizations, improving the corporation's image, and contributing to team building and employee retention
• Corporate Support and Policies:

  • Majority of corporations support voluntary activities by providing facilities, allowing time off, assisting with personal expenses incurred while undertaking voluntary activities, special recognition to employees, letters of thanks, etc.
  • Policies on voluntarism are of three types: Encouraging, Enabling, Promoting
  • Voluntarism is most successful where top management / CEO indicates it is worthy and commendable
• Corporate Sponsorship:

  • A partnership established for mutual benefit between a business sponsor and an event or a non-profit
  • Examples include sports, cultural, and educational events, literacy, race relations, drug abuse, environmental issues, etc.
  • Sponsorship benefits both parties, unlike corporate donations which are one-way
• Community Investment Approach:

  • Community investment (CI) is the efforts of a corporation to help develop a community and create economic opportunities through various means
  • Social enterprise is a model business operation where some or all profits are deliberately used to further social aims
  • CI bridges traditional areas of philanthropy and volunteerism with commercial-community relationships
• CSR and Indigenous Peoples:

  • Community investment illustrated by corporations in resource industries operating on or near Indigenous communities
  • Corporations must avoid redwashing, which is the deception of the general public by government and industry in trying to cover up theft of indigenous peoples' lands, natural resources, and cultural riches
• Small Business and CSR:

  • Challenges to implementing CSR in small businesses include lack of time, high expenses, lack of knowledge of CSR planning and monitoring, and resources not readily available
  • Small businesses must confront social and ethical issues experienced by large businesses
  • Some issues associated more with small businesses include participation in the underground economy, misleading advertising, improper gift giving and receiving, tax evasion, ignorance of workplace regulations, and nepotism in hiring and promotion of family members
• Differences in CSR in Large Corporations vs. Small Business:

  • Large corporations are accountable to a large number of stakeholders, responsible to society at large, concerned with brand image and reputation, and have formal planning for CSR
  • Small businesses are accountable to fewer stakeholders, responsible to local communities, concerned about retaining business, and are unlikely to have formal planning for CSR