Corporate Social Responsibility

Corporate Social Responsibility

Myra L. Braxton

OMM 640 Business Ethics and Social Responsibility

May 7, 2012

Read Case 12.1: Competing Visions at Malden Mills.

My position is that, yes, I agree with Aaron Feuerstein’s view of corporate social responsibility, that it’s possible for all businesses to be responsible to its shareholders, and at the same time to be responsible too its communities and workers. Our textbook Ethics and the conduct of business by John R. Boatright also takes this position by saying: Although corporations are primarily business organizations run for the benefit of shareholders, they have a wide-ranging set of responsibilities—to their own employees, to customers and suppliers, to the communities in which they are located, and to society at large (Boatright, 2009).

Most corporations recognize these responsibilities and make a serious effort to fulfill them. Often, these responsibilities are set out in formal statements of a company’s principles or beliefs. Many companies have institutionalized corporate social responsibility (CSR) as an integral part of their operations. In addition, there are many outside groups, including non-governmental organizations (NGOs), socially responsible investors, and consultancy firms, that monitor companies’ CSR activities and provide their services. This public demand for social responsibility has led a number of rankings of CSR by outside groups and to formal reporting by corporations of their CSR performance.

Today, CSR is a worldwide movement that is gaining increasing acceptance and visibility. As companies have come to accept a social responsibility, they have also recognized the benefits of CSR activities for themselves as well as society. The most progressive companies effectively use CSR to protect their reputations and to develop and implement corporate strategy. These companies are viewing CSR less as philanthropy and more as savvy corporate-community involvement or as...