What Is Corporate Social Responsibility?

For any organization or business to work following the owner’s wishes, it is necessary to have a specific marketing model. Most of these models focus only on making a profit; however, this is not the only way to build a business. The so-called corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a self-regulatory framework that helps a company maintain social responsibility to shareholders and society (Fernando, 2021). This essay aims to analyze this model and examine it from different perspectives, including my personal, to explore its impact on organizations.

Although this approach is relatively new, its current spread is quite large due to changing business trends. The most prominent corporations implementing this approach are such giants as Google and Microsoft (“Top companies for CSR,” 2021). Today, most companies try to avoid harming society through various means and focus their efforts on leaving a positive mark. From my perspective, CSR is a concept by which various companies can correlate their activities with the needs of society while generating income. According to the speakers, to carry out such a procedure, significant internal changes associated with the restructuring of the DNA of the entire company are required. For an organization to adopt a CSR approach, it must adhere to social responsibility norms at all levels. However, I believe this also means creating a unique culture that will guide employees to maintain this approach. For the organization’s contribution to the common social heritage to be genuinely significant, coordinated efforts of all team members are required.

Companies implement this concept uniquely, but there are several general directions usually associated with CSR. First of all, this is a reduction in the negative impact on the environment, following which measures are taken to purify the environment. Most of these actions are enshrined in legislation regulating environmental safety (“Top companies for CSR,” 2021). Other areas of research include philanthropy, sponsorship, and volunteering (Fernando, 2021). These practices are the most commonly used and are the most visible examples of corporate social responsibility.

Such patterns are often observed in large corporations that occupy a prominent place in modern media. This is because companies usually think about their social impact when they have enough funds to support their existence. When a corporation becomes large enough, its actions begin to be examined more closely. Therefore, the need to maintain its image through adherence to ethical and social norms only increases. On the other hand, small companies are often more concerned about their survival than their social footprint. However, this does not mean that CSR is reserved only for large corporations. From my perspective, virtually any business can create social responsibility programs. To successfully implement them, one just needs to have a profitable budget. They can be aimed at social change such as volunteering or charity towards local foundations, which will be a small but essential step.

In addition to influencing society, many believe that such practices benefit the organizations themselves. I agree with this point of view since following these methods affects several factors simultaneously. First of all, adherence to CSR principles positively affects the company’s image, making the business more ethical from the point of view of customers and investors (Fernando, 2021). This makes the corporation more competitive and promotes further development. Second, because CSR implementation requires organizational restructuring, bringing team members together around a common goal can help improve employee morale. Finally, using cleaner materials and actively contributing to the community creates a fairer work environment improving overall performance.

Thus, corporate social responsibility is a relevant business model that meets most modern moral and ethical requirements. To fully implement such principles, it is necessary to restructure the entire organization and the availability of funds. Therefore, well-known corporations that care about their image are doing this often. However, from my perspective, this approach can be applied at all levels of the business. CSR helps improve the quality of the lives of people around and contributes to improving the companies’ efficiency. Accordingly, the implementation of this approach is highly desirable for both small and large businesses.

References

Fernando, J. (2021). Corporate social responsibility (CSR). Investopedia. Web.

Top companies for CSR in the United States of America. (2021). The CSR Journal. Web.

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