Corporate Social Responsibility

The concept of social responsibility is defined as “the obligation of organisation management to make decisions and take actions that will enhance the welfare and interests of society as well as the organisation,” (Daft & Samson, 2009). In other words a business that is socially responsible takes in consideration the impact of its actions and decision making on the external environment and responds to the issues beyond economic, technical and legal requirements, thus one step ahead then what is required by the law (Davis, 1971). But what does it mean for a business to be socially responsible? There is no certain check list for these obligations so that a business would qualified as a socially responsible, however using the theory of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and its four characteristics; Economic Responsibilities, Legal Responsibilities, Ethical Responsibilities and Discretionary/ Philanthropic Responsibilities, the concept of ‘going beyond the requirements of law’ would become distinct.

Social Responsibility:

The obligation of organisation management to make decisions and take actions that will enhance the welfare and interests of society as well as the organisation (Szwajkowski, 1986; Davis et al., 1979)

Social responsibility can cover issues which are ambiguous with respect to right and wrong – depends on people’s beliefs about actions.

An organisation’s environmental impact also must be taken into consideration. Managers must ultimately decide, on behalf of their company, their position and actions in terms of sustainable development. They must consider their strategy, cultures, values and motivations for their actions on sustainable development issues that impact on the environment, society and the company’s bottom line.

Organisational Stakeholders:

Enlightened organisations invest in a number of causes/decisions that benefit stakeholders.

Environmental responsibility has become a primary issue as both business and public acknowledge...