Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a significant aspect of business ethics in many organizations today. Today, CSR is a primary managerial tool for enhancing the reputation of businesses to give them an edge over their competitors. The evolution of CSR from a being a managerial tactic in only big corporates to a necessity in almost all businesses has been rapid. Firms see CSR as an avenue for acquiring new customers and retaining the old ones since customers are believed to be more likely to purchase from businesses that support a particular cause. The adaptation of CSR by almost all kinds of business has resulted in the growth of its complexity. Issues like how it should be done and how much should be invested in it have now emerged. With them, the question of corporate social irresponsibility (CSI) has also come to light. Comparatively, CSI relates to the erroneous decisions that businesses take that negatively affect the society. This paper will explore the concepts of CSR and CSI and provide insight on whether the organization needs to engage in CSR projects.
A Description of Corporate Social Responsibility
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) may be described as how businesses strive to satisfy their shareholders while at the same time giving back to the community as well as striking a balance between their economic, social and environmental responsibilities. Simply put, businesses have to maximize their profits while at the same time helping the community and fulfilling the need to care for the environment and doing their business ethically. Companies are concerned about the opinion of their customers and another potential customer. Creating a positive image for an organization is therefore crucial for the current running of the business and its longevity. Studies have shown that the public holds a more positive image of businesses that support a cause (Popa & Salanta, 2014). This object translates to more sales because customers are more likely to purchase from the business that they a favorable opinion of.
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Even though CSR has been proven to have both short term and long term benefits for companies, some arguments have been put forward against CSR practices. The main debate about CSR has been the costs involved thus reducing profits. The others are the incapability of business personnel to efficiently use CSR for the benefit of the organizations. Additionally, some companies decide to engage in CSR projects to compensate for the adverse effects of their products. Example a cigarette manufacturer donating to cancer treatment.
A Description of Corporate Social Irresponsibility
Corporate Social Irresponsibility (CSI) involves businesses going against the expectations of the society. Their actions or inaction may not be illegal but still be considered CSI. Therefore, CSI may be termed as the failure of businesses to undertake societal expectations (Popa & Salanta, 2014, p. 2). Practices like corruption, environmental degradation, any injustices qualify as CSI. CSI practices are standard in neighborhoods that are disadvantaged. CSI has been conceptualized as a corporate settling for an option that is inferior to any other alternative after considering the effects of all the actions. Decisions that stakeholders consider irresponsible also fall under CSI practices. Corporates have been accused of diverting the opinion of the public to their CSR practices to cover up for their CSI (Popa & Salanta, 2014).
The Issue of CSR v CSI
The concepts of CSI and CSR are interconnected in many ways. The society views CSR practices as a positive aspect of the company while CSI is loathed. To provide a well-informed decision on the superiority either of the two, real-life views of both CSI and CSR need to be reviewed. CSI views environmental degradation and environmental pollution as inevitable while CSR opinions the adverse effects that businesses cause to the company as controllable, and action needs to be taken to control them. CSI views ethics in conducting business as a secondary requirement while CSR takes ethics as fundamental requirements in business. According to CSI, profits need to be achieved at all cost while CSR's views are that profits are vital but should not be attained at all costs (Popa & Salanta, 2014). After considering these views, CSR practices are essential for any business and should be undertaken unconditionally. CSR raises the organization's profile thus benefiting it in the short and long term. One notable example of how CSR helps a company can be demonstrated by the case of printing giant, Xerox. More than half of the company's employees take up in CSR projects. The projects have enabled the company to enhance its stature and increase profits.
On the issue relating to corporations ignoring their responsibilities to stakeholders for short terms gains; such gains at the expense of the longevity of the business should be discouraged. The purpose of all corporations is to make profits both in the long term and in the long run. Ignoring their responsibility to stakeholders will negatively affect their future profits. Corporations need to fulfil their duty to stakeholders to retain their customers and find new ones. If the erroneous decision is made to satisfy their greed, the plans will be compromised. The Indian branch of Unilever suffered losses after workers filed a lawsuit due to overexposure to mercury. The thermometer manufacturing plant was eventually closed. The company was more concerned about achieving profits over the welfare of its workers. As a result, the facility was closed down leading to losses.
References
Popa, M., & Irina, S. (2014). Corporate social responsibiliry versus corporate social irresponsibility, Management & Marketing . Challenges for the Knowledge.9 (2) , 137-146.
