Corporate Social Responsibility or CSR is a very wildly used phrase in today's organizations. It can be understood as "how companies manage the business processes to produce an overall positive impact on society."
The diagram shown above depicts the factors that affect the business in a society. Generally, when companies operate in an environment, they are answerable to two aspects. Firstly, what is the quality of their management, both in terms of people and process and secondly, what is the nature of, and quality of their impact on society in the various areas.
The World Business Council for Sustainable Development in its publication "Making Good Business Sense" by Lord Holme and Richard Watts, used the following definition. "Corporate Social Responsibility is the continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as of the local community and society at large".
Again it could be defined differently for different societies. Like, "CSR is about capacity building for sustainable livelihoods. It respects cultural differences and finds the business opportunities in building the skills of employees, the community and the government" from Ghana, through to "CSR is about business giving back to society" from the Philippines.
Every organization lives an impact on the environment and society. These businesses and organizations taking an initiative and going beyond the legal obligations to manage these impacts are called Corporate Social Responsibility. This many include, in particular, customers, suppliers, employees, and the communities in which they operate, as well as the level they attempt to look after the environment.
It can also be said that Corporate Social Responsibility is a means of analyzing the inter-dependent relationships that exist between business and economic systems, and the communities with which they are based. A business has many obligations to its immediate society. CSR can be explained much better as a means of discussing the extent of any responsibility a business has to its society, a way proposing polity ideas on how those obligations can be met, and as a tool by which the benefits to business for meeting those obligations can be identified.
In the past years, the general viewpoint on the role of business in society was just to make profits and increase profits. According to Milton Friedman the role of business can be summarized as following; "there is one any only one social responsibility of business - ….To increase profits". Even by the beginning of the twenty - first century, the main purpose of an enterprise revolved around this same aim. But however now businesses have considered broader aspects. The shifting background with which industries operate, formed by environmental and globalization forces affects the way that the role of business is perceived. No matter where they operate, multinational companies are expected to conduct business ethically. The fast - growing socially responsible investment (SRI) movement that raises the importance of good social and environmental performance is putting a lot of pressure to clean up the corporate act and is largely amplified by it. Study of the public opinion enhanced by omnipresent media, forces companies to acknowledge the growing expectations that government activists, NGOs, consumers, and many other stakeholders have of them. Therefore, companies are confronted with the challenge to recognize and fulfill their environmental and social responsibility.
PRESENT DAY TRENDS IN CSR
Present day industries across the world are realizing the benefits of adopting socially responsible behavior. If an organization manages successful stakeholder rendezvous, it can enjoy a strong status in the market for years to come. But this idea is still needed to be understood and implemented in a better manner by the business sector. According to the experts, non-availability of accurate information, lack of trained personnel and lack of understanding are to be blamed for the slow acceptance of corporate social responsibility. But the present condition seems to be changing as many companies are trying to accept CSR as more than just planting trees or giving away charity to the needy.
Due to the introduction of globalization, to the socio-political changes that have taken place in recent years, and to the omnipresence of technology - in particular information and communications technology - organizations in the information age are grateful to attach far more energetically to their context than used to be the case in the industrial age. In a broad sense, these connections to society and the environment is a key feature of what we mean by corporate social responsibility.
Corporate social responsibility, since the 1990s has gained increasing attention among societal actors. Also corporations are increasingly addressing the issue of corporate responsibility. It is not actually mandatory to follow the requirements, but corporations are expected to fulfill beyond the letter of the law, and the idea seems to have spread to a large number of corporations.
The corporate social responsibility (CSR) is one of the solutions prescribed by an emerging "school" of academic institutions and international consultants who seek to boost firms and economies out of the world business collapse. Broadly, they see CSR as the way out to market laziness and corporate decay, and as the shock therapy needed to save and revive the private sector as the engine of growth and progress, especially in transitional economies. The infusion of CSR interventions into the business and economic bloodstreams of Asia has been quite pervasive in this era of intense globalization, from the boardroom to the supply chain, corporate headquarters to regional subsidiaries, business models to operational application, assembly line workers to front line clients, and human rights to the protection of the environment. As a result, CSR is becoming a popular reinventing and reengineering tool of the 21st century in business circles. Not surprisingly, as CSR remedies have taken effect and Asian economic recovery has come into sight, a plethora research and conferences have emerged, sharing "best practices" culled from successful experiences. In contemporary Asia, CSR is not only being touted as a cure-all but also a potent tool that could help sustains reforms and prevent future outbreaks of organizational infections and managerial dysfunctions. Asia is witnessing a paradigm shift in terms of revitalized business practices.
Trends in France
In France, the dynamic towards CSR Started through pioneer firms with ideological purpose rather then "market driven" issues. Then in 2002 and2003, the French government worked on Sustainable Development and the implications of CSR were studied at the same time. Additional stakeholders are entering the French CSR arena: trade unions, CSR organisaions, French ISO and academics.
For several years, pioneer enterprises have committed them to environmental protection in associations like OREE or ERE. Most large transnational corporations in France take part in CSR Europe and put pressure on SMEs to adopt socially responsible behavior. Some pioneer enterprises are experimenting with "sustainability development" and CSR processes inspired by quality management systems. The large distribution sector is particularly active. An initiative called "social clause" was launched in 1998 by FCD (Federation du Commerce et de la Distribution) and includes most brands, such as Auchan, Carrefour, Casino, CORA, Monoprix, Systeme U….inspired by SA 8000, hundreds of audits in suppliers' factories have been carried out in about ten sensitive countries concerning some main sectors: textiles, toys, general store articles etc. Nevertheless FCD is not in favor of a social label because it wants to avoid discrimination concerning other non-labeled products.
The interest in CSR by the French public authorities is recent, probably because they thought their own legislation was at least equal to or better than that of other members of the European Union. They began to feel concerned about in international pressure coming from the Anglo-Saxon standardization on social reporting (GRI), social certification (SA 8000) or in relation to some proposals of social labeling (i.e. coming from Belgium) at the end of 2001. The first concerted works under the aegis of public authorities was undertaken on the occasion of the World Summit in Johannesburg in 2002. Former Prime Minister Lionel Jospin created a preparatory committee constituted by civil society actors and staged a workshop on CSR which provided the first large debate between public administration, firms, unions, NGOs representatives and academics. It brought together for the first time specialists on work topics and on environment topics.
With regard to the French concern some other proposals can be noted:
The creation of an Institute of High Studies on sustainable development for professional training;
The development of professional training in CSR and in dialogue with stakeholders;
The training of chartered accountants in environmental social audit;
Introducing sustainable development in business schools' management courses rather than specialized lectures;
Analyzing the compatibility betwwn competitiveness criteria and the principles of sustainable development on the basis of academic research;
The constitution of platforms for European meetings of CSR tools designers;
The promotion of an international agreement on CSR.
The issue of CSR in France was preceded by a long history of mistrusted industrial relations which explains the skeptical behavior of most of the actors (firms' executives, trade unions, NGOS…. The importance of social legislation can also explain that the voluntary approaches in CSR are far from French culture: most of the social partners still expect that social well-being will come from public authorities rather than from private firms. The present government and many other actors do not think of CSR as a specific concept and still approach it through sustainable development. Nevertheless we can observe an evolution in business and civil society which is bringing France closer to the western European counties than a few years ago.
INCREASING CSR INITIATIVES
This study investigates whether CSR improves long-term financial performance by satisfying customers. It finds returns on CSR can be positive or negative depending on a firm's innovation and product quality. Firms with CSR initiatives have higher financial returns when they produce high quality and innovative products. Yet, in firms that are not innovative, CSR initiatives may actually lower market value. Managers can leverage CSR for higher market returns by aligning strategy with CSR initiatives and maintaining product quality and innovation.
CSR has been shown to benefit firms by increasing customer goodwill and employee commitment. Up to 90% of Fortune 500 companies engage in CSR, but the connection between CSR and market value is not well defined. This study looks at how customer satisfaction provides the link between CSR and market value. It also analyzes how innovation and product quality influence this relationship. When firms are innovative and have good product quality, CSR improves customer satisfaction, increasing financial returns. A firm's CSR, coupled with innovation and quality, make customers feel connected to it, which leads to customer loyalty. For a company with a market value of roughly $48 billion, a modest increase in CSR ratings resulted in about $17 million more average profits in subsequent years. When firms are not innovative, CSR decreases customer satisfaction, hurting financial returns. Market value may fall because customers won't buy products that cannot keep up with their needs. When firms that are not innovative use resources to engage in CSR (rather than product improvement) customers see these firms as manipulative. Lack of innovation also signals that firms are not competitive, outweighing positive benefits of CSR and leading investors to doubt the firm's future performance.
Generate high quality and innovative technologies, products and services. Doing so will meet changing customer needs and help customers feel connected to your company, leading CSR to improve financial performance. For example, Starbucks' superior brand equity and its successful CSR initiatives with the charity CARE are in part due to its superior product quality, innovative skills and ability to sustain customer satisfaction.
Integrate CSR with your business strategy beyond corporate philanthropy. Top firms such as United Parcel Service, Alcoa and Verizon Communications invest in a host of employee related initiatives such as education and safety. These firms have employee volunteer programs that are visible to local communities, which capture favorable attention from customers. These initiatives help employees feel pride in the firm which improves customer satisfaction and market value.
Following are some of the CSR activities done in some reputed companies and MNCs of Asia:
Anand Corporate Services Limited
Anand has a longstanding commitment to addressing the needs of the society, in view of its belief that for any economic development to be meaningful, the benefits from the business must trickle down to the society at large. Anand is of the firm view that the corporate goals must be aligned with the larger societal goals. 25 years ago, the SNS Foundation, an expression of Anand's corporate social responsibility, was born. The objective of SNS foundation was comprehensive community development. The Foundation has created programs in the fields of health, education, natural resource management and life skills training, only to make sure that fellow humans could breathe easy. The long term goal of Anand CSR is to implement concepts like 'Zero Tolerance Zone for Child Labour', 'Zero Waste Zone' using strategies like Reduce, Recycle and Reuse not only at Anand/SNSF locations but extend to Anand residential areas.
Aptech Limited
Aptech Limited, a leading education player with a global presence, has played an extensive and sustained role in encouraging and fostering education throughout the country since inception. As a global player with complete solutions-providing capability, Aptech has a long history of participating in community activities. It has, in association with leading NGOs, provided computers at schools, education to the underprivileged and conducted training and awareness-camps. Aptech students donated part of the proceeds from the sale of their art work to NGOs. To propagate education among all sections of the society throughout the country, especially the underprivileged, Aptech fosters tie-ups with leading NGOs throughout the country, including the Barrackpur-based NGO, Udayan, a residential school for children of leprosy patients in Barrackpur, established in 1970.The company strongly believes that education is an integral part of the country's social fabric and works towards supporting basic education and basic computer literacy amongst the underprivileged children in India.
Avon Cycle Limited
The poor and ignorant of India's rural population turn to nearest towns and cities for healthcare. They face indifference and exploitation. Hope gives way to despair. This gave inspiration to AVON for locating MATAKAUSHALYA DEVI, PAHWA CHARITABLE HOSPITAL. Mr. Sohan Lal Pahwa, AVON's Chairman and Principal Trustee of the hospital, spent a good part of his working life devoted to philanthropy. The hospital, in its 5th year of inception, has risen to serve a model healthcare facility boasting of some bold experiments in its very early years of existence. Its support since inception has been of the order of Rs. 3 crore to date and it continues uninterrupted. Reaching out to the needy farther afield, the hospital holds regular camps in surrounding villages to propagate scientific approach to healthcare. Recently the hospital took the social responsibility concept a step further and formulated a scheme titled 'Celebrated Female Child' to enable and inspire positive and enduring environment for society's all-consuming passion for 'sons only' to end.
CISCO System Inc.
Philanthropy at Cisco is about building strong and productive global communities - communities in which every individual has the means to live, the opportunity to learn, and the chance to give back. The company pursues a strong "triple bottom line" which is described as profits, people and presence. The company promotes a culture of charitable giving and connects employees to nonprofit organizations serving the communities where they live. Cisco invests its best-in-class networking equipment to those nonprofit organizations that best put it to work for their communities, eventuating in positive global impact. It takes its responsibility seriously as a global citizen. Education is a top corporate priority for Cisco, as it is the key to prosperity and opportunity.
ICICI Bank Ltd
The Social Initiatives Group (SIG) of ICICI Bank Ltd works with a mission to build the capacities of the poorest of the poor to participate in the larger economy. The group identifies and supports initiatives designed to break the intergenerational cycle of poor health and nutrition, ensure essential early childhood education and schooling as well as access to basic financial services. Thus, by promoting early child health, catalyzing universal elementary education and maximizing access to micro financial services, ICICI Bank believes that it can build the capacities of India's poor to participate in larger socio-economic processes and thereby spur the overall development of the country. The SIG works by understanding the status of existing systems of service delivery and identifying critical knowledge and practice gaps in their functioning. It locates cost effective and scalable initiatives and approaches that have the potential to address these gaps and supports research to understand their impact. This is undertaken in collaboration with research agencies, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), companies, government departments, local stakeholders and international organizations.
Infosys Technologies Limited
Infosys is actively involved in various community development programs. Infosys promoted, in 1996, the Infosys Foundation as a not-for-profit trust to which it contributes up to 1%PAT every year. Additionally, the Education and Research Department (E&R) at Infosys also works with employee volunteers on community development projects. Infosys leadership has set examples in the area of corporate citizenship and has involved itself actively in key national bodies. They have taken initiatives to work in the areas of Research and Education, Community Service, Rural Reach Programme, Employment, Welfare activities undertaken by the Infosys Foundation, Healthcare for the poor, Education and Arts & Culture.
ITC Limited
ITC partnered the Indian farmer for close to a century. ITC is now engaged in elevating this partnership to a new paradigm by leveraging information technology through its trailblazing 'e-Choupal' initiative. ITC is significantly widening its farmer partnerships to embrace a host of value-adding activities: creating livelihoods by helping poor tribals make their wastelands productive; investing in rainwater harvesting to bring much-needed irrigation to parched dry lands; empowering rural women by helping them evolve into entrepreneurs; and providing infrastructural support to make schools exciting for village children. Through these rural partnerships, ITC touches the lives of nearly 3 million villagers across India.
Mahindra & Mahindra
The K. C. Mahindra Education Trust was established in 1953 by late Mr. K. C. Mahindra with an objective to promote education. Its vision is to transform the lives of people in India through education, financial assistance and recognition to them, across age groups and across income strata. The K. C. Mahindra Education Trust undertakes a number of education initiatives, which make a difference to the lives of deserving students. The Trust has provided more than Rs. 7.5 Crore in the form of grants, scholarships and loans. It promotes education mainly by the way of scholarships. The Nanhi Kali project has over 3,300 children under it. We aim to increase the number of Nanhi Kalis (children) to 10,000 in the next 2 years, by reaching out to the underprivileged children especially in rural areas.
Satyam Computer Services Limited
Alambana (support) is the corporate social responsibility arm of Satyam Computer Services Limited, formed to support and strengthen the vulnerable and underprivileged sections in urban India. Registered as Satyam Alambana Trust in 2000, Alambana aims at transforming the quality of life among urban population. Alambana's services are directed primarily at the disadvantaged sections in all the cities that Satyam has offices in. Volunteers from among Satyam associates and their family members lead the services and perform the required tasks.
Tata Consultancy Services
The Adult Literacy Program (ALP) was conceived and set up by Dr. F C Kohli along with Prof. P N Murthy and Prof. Kesav Nori of Tata Consultancy Services in May 2000 to address the problem of illiteracy. ALP believes illiteracy is a major social concern affecting a third of the Indian population comprising old and young adults. To accelerate the rate of learning, it uses a TCS-designed Computer-Based Functional Literacy Method (CBFL), an innovative teaching strategy that uses multimedia software to teach adults to read within about 40 learning hours.
Dalmia Cement (Bharat) Limited
The water source for the villages in and around the Dalmia Cement factory is dependent on rains. During summer months, the villagers, particularly women folk, travel long distances to fetch water for drinking and other purposes. Considering the difficulties and hardship faced by the people, the company, after discussing with the village elders and concerned Government authorities, took the initiative of making water available by:
Providing deep bore wells. So far, 45 bore wells have been provided in various villages, namely Kallakudi, Palanganathan, Malvoi, Elakkurichi, Muthuvathur, Pullabmadi, Edayathankudi etc. approximately, 300 to 400 people get adequate drinking water from each bore well.
Water tanks to store the water.
Rain and seepage water is harvested in the quarries of the company is pumped into a tank and supplied to inhabitants.
44,000 trees were planted and nurtured over a period of eight years. The presence of large trees and vast greenery has considerably improved the ecology in the area.
DCM Shriram Consolidated Limited
Shriram Fertilisers and Chemicals, is a unit of DSCL, located at Kota, 475 kms. Over the last 3 decades, various initiatives have been undertaken by the unit, in the Hadoti region (Kota, Bundi, Jhalawar districts) in ICU, ambulances, family planning, medical assistance; schools, scholarships, emphasis on girl child education; water to people and infrastructure.
Goodearth Education Foundation (GEF)
Work of GEF was initiated in 1996 with a project in the Rai Bareilly district in Uttar Pradesh. The four-year project covered 63 government schools and benefited 15,000 children. GEF is currently implementing projects in Thane district, Maharashtra (in 56 schools & balwadis), Alwar District, Rajasthan (this Project is being implemented in partnership with the NGO Bodh Shiksha Samiti, covering 71 schools & balwadis) and Solan district, Himachal Pradesh (10 Balwadis). GEF Objectives include providing equal opportunities in pre-primary& primary education to all children, and quality of education by ensuring that it is relevant, effective and activity based.
Hindustan Construction Company (HCC)
HCC plays an active role in CSR initiatives in the fields of Health, Education, Disaster Management, and Environment. Disaster Resource Network DRN is a worldwide initiative, promoted by the World Economic Forum (WEF).Trained volunteers and equipment resources from Engineering Construction & Logistics companies will complement the existing efforts of Government, NGO's and International Organizations in disaster management. It was during the WEF annual meet that the massive earthquake struck Gujarat in January 2001. The need for a trained and effective participation from industry was first felt there. The members of Engineering and Logistics segment of WEF came together to establish this network. The idea was further strengthened during the 9/11 incident where again the industry participated in the relief operations. DRN Worldwide was formally launched in New York in January 2002. And shortly thereafter, DRN - India Initiative was launched.
India Aluminium Company Limited
The Women's Empowerment project was initiated by Indal - Muri in Jharkhand where the Company operates an alumina refining plant. It was implemented in collaboration with an NGO, CARE-Jharkhand. The central problem this project has attempted to address is the very low socio-economic condition of the rural and tribal population of Silli block caused by low agricultural productivity, lack of or low cash income, unresponsive health/ Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) schemes. The Project has helped set up around 100 Self Help Groups so far, which are running successfully with members trained in various vocational income-generating skills, agricultural methods for better yields and health care initiatives. About 2000 women have been brought into the fold of this activity helping to improve not just their own lives but the quality of life of their children and families as well.
The Indian Women's Empowerment & Child Care project employed integrated package of strategies and interventions, such as:
Establishment and Strengthening of Self Help Groups (SHG) in 30 strategically selected villages;
Promotion of Nutrition Gardens and improved land / agricultural and natural resource management practices; and
Creation of demand for improved ICDS/ health services through Self Help Groups and strengthening
ICDS/ Health Department's service delivery
JCB India Ltd.
JCB India adopted a Government school, in the vicinity of the company premises as its social responsibility. They strongly believe that children are the foundation of our nation and they could be helped, we could build a better community and society tomorrow. The reason for adopting this particular school was the poor management of the school in terms of infrastructure, resources and quality of education. The company's commitment to the school goes much beyond just providing monetary support towards infrastructure and maintenance of school building.
Larsen & Toubro (L & T) Limited
Considering that construction industry is the second largest employer in India after agriculture, employing about 32 million-strong workforce, L&T set out to regulate and promote Construction Vocational Training (CVT) in India by establishing a Construction Skills Training Institute (CSTI) on a 5.5 acre land, close to its Construction Division Headquarters at Manapakkam, Chennai. CSTI imparts, totally free of cost, basic training in formwork, carpentry, masonry, bar-bending, plumbing and sanitary, scaff older and electrical wireman trades to a wide spectrum of the rural poor.
As a result of the good response it received in Chennai, CSTI set up a branch at Panvel, Mumbai, initially offering training in formwork, carpentry and masonry trades. The Manapakkam and Panvel facilities together provide training to about 300 candidates annually who are inducted after a process of selection, the minimum qualification being tenth standard. Since inception, these two units have produced about 2,000 skilled workmen in various trades, with about sixty percent of them being deployed to L&T's jobsites spread across the country. The success of this training-initiative demonstrates that adoption of systematic training techniques are bound to yield efficient and skilled personnel in the shortest possible time, and in the power to convert the potential of the Rural Youth in Construction and upgrading Rural Economy in a small way
DRIVERS THAT ARE SHAPING CSR
It can be said that there are 10 drivers for CSR that are as shown below:
NATIONAL DRIVERS
Political reforms Crisis response Cultural tradition
Socio-economic priorities Governance gaps
Market access
International standardization Supply chain
Investment incentives Stakeholder activism
INTERNATIONAL DRIVERS
INTERNATIONAL DRIVERS
National or internal drivers refer to pressures from within the county, while international or external drivers tend to have a global origin.
National Drivers
Description
Cultural tradition
CSR often draws strongly on deep-rooted indigenous cultural traditions of philanthropy, business ethics and community embeddedness.
Political reform
CSR cannot be divorced from the socio-political policy reform process, which often drives business behavior towards integrating social and ethical issues.
Socio-economic priorities
CSR is often most directly shaped by the socio-economic environment in which firms operate and the development priorities this creates.
Governance gaps
CSR is often seen as a way to plug the "governance gaps" left by weak, corrupt or under-resourced governments that fail to adequately provide various social services.
Crisis response
CSR responses can be catalyzed by economic, social, environmental, health-related or industrial crises.
Market access
CSR may be seen as an enabler for companies in developing countries trying to access markets in the developed world.
INTERNATIONAL DRIVERS
DESCRIPTION
International standardization
CSR codes, guidelines and standards are a key driver for standardization companies wishing to operate as global players.
Investment incentives
CSR is given an incentive by the trend of socially responsible investment (SRI), where funds are screened on ethical, social and environmental criteria.
Stakeholder activism
CSR is encouraged through the activism of stakeholder or pressure groups, often acting to address the perceived failure of the market and government policy.
Supply chain
CSR activities among small and medium-sized companies are boosted by requirements imposed by multinationals on their supply chains.
FUTURE OF CSR
It is first establishes that the future of market societies is not sustainable, for governments, which are suppose to be democratic, have partnered with big capital to pursue their very private interests and have abandoned their responsibility to procure the welfare of all ranks of society. Today, the goal of this partnership is to obsessively pursue, with a very short-term vision, the greatest possible shareholder value, regardless of the social, economic and environmental impact. Thus, it is foreseen that this ethos will be radically transformed by society to build a new paradigm that, coinciding with White's third scenario, redefines the purpose of business.
Yet, it considers that redefining the end of business will require the complete redefinition of the purpose of democracy and its societies. It argues that, given the pressing social and environmental decay, society will not allow the current ethos to prevail, and it is already seeking to build an ethos of real and direct democracy, participative and bottom up, that places social welfare above the private interest.
In this way, the future of CSR, as such, will disappear to assimilate itself to the paradigmatic shift in which social welfare becomes the primary purpose of business, governed by universal laws and standards that rule its activity. Yet, it is deemed that this will not occur before the term of one generation, for building a truly democratic ethos entails redefining the pillars of society, from democracy, liberalism and the purpose of business to individualism, solidarity and the precedence of the community to create an entirely new culture for the 21st Century and beyond. Thus, this shift, which is already in motion, will be accomplished gradually as more and more people worldwide take conscience of the unsustainability of the current ethos and of the urgency to build a new paradigm to bequest to future generations.
CONCLUTION
So what will be the future of CSR. It will become embedded. There is no doubt that CSR will become embedded in a company's culture and organizational profile to such an extent that it will not be noticed, explicitly, any more. There is also little doubt that the phrase CSR will disappear but the sentiments behind it will be in place. The area of business and society will continue to be one of great debate, and the corporation will certainly change its form. The private sector will still flourish as far as the next 50 years ahead but its power will be very much controlled as our own personal liberties also, become more controlled. There will not be any need for an exit strategy because business will only survive if they can show, and be evaluated to show, a clear social responsibility in their continued treatment of their stakeholders. An exit strategy will not be required simply because social responsibility will just be part and parcel of normal business practice.
CSR will continue to make inroads into developing countries, particularly through the main suppliers to the large corporations in the developed world, but also because developing country people will not tolerate corporations that have no connection with local cultures and aspirations. CSR will extend to small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) through rapid assessment and implementation tools. Companies will grapple with the big issues simply because they see failure as being had for business. Under-development, labor exploitation, curbs on migration, global warming, trade barriers, global terrorism are all major challenges for governments and corporations.
As companies cannot easily shape the macro agenda there will be increased cooperation between corporation, the UN and its agencies as well as NGOs, the so-called 'third sector'. If the leadership of nations continues to be poor then, like it or not, corporation will become even more powerful and influential.
BIBLOGRAPHY
Book references
Michael Hopkins (2007). Corporate social responsibility and international development: is business the solution? Earthscan, London, UK. Page No: 8-10, 42-43.
Samuel O. Idowu, Walter Leal Filho (2009). Global Practices of corporate social responsibility. Springer, Berlin, Germany. Page No: 60-61
J. J. Asongu (2007). Strategic corporate social responsibility in practice. Greenview Publishing Company, Lawrenceville, Georgia. Page No: 46
Dr Dan Remenyi (2007). ECMLG 2007 3rd European conference on management, leadership and governance.Academc Conferences Limited, Reading, UK. Page No: 81
Frank den Hond, Frank G. A. de Bakker and Peter Neergaard (2007). Managing corporate social responsibility in action: talking, doing and measuring. Ashgate Publishing Limited, Hampshire, England. PageNo: 93- 94
Manuel E. Contreras (2004). Corporate social responsibility in the promotion of social development: experiences from Asia and Latin America. Free Hand Press, DC, Washington. Page: 1-2
Andre Habisch, Jan Jonker, Martina Wegner, Rene Schmidpeter (2005). Corporate social responsibility across Europe. Springer, Berlin, Germany. Page No: 101-107
Deborah J. Maclnnis, C. Whan Park, Joseph R. Priester (2009). Handbook of brand relationships. M. E. Sharpe, Inc., New York. Page No: 198-200
Website references
Mallen Baker, What is CSR?. Available: www.mallenbaker.net
Kevin Long, Trends of CSR. Available: http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/Corporate-Social-Responsibility-Trends-In-India/768547
Luo, Xueming, & Bhattacharya, C.B (2010) Increasing CSR initiative. Available: http://www.globe-net.com/articles/2010/april/10/csr-for-innovative-companies-it-leads-to-better-financial-performance.aspx
Increasing CSR initiative. Available: http://www.karmayog.org/newspaperarticles/newspaperarticles_9994.htm
Dr Wayne Visser (2008) Drivers that are shaping CSR. Available: http://www.corostrandberg.com/pdfs/Future_of_CSR.pdf
