Corporate Social Responsibility

It is obvious that Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has become a very important element in the development of the identity and reputation of a corporation. In the period between the 1960s and 1970s the term ‘CSR’ was developed and the definition of this has been developing ever since. The main key themes of CSR are the environment, corporation governance and business standards, underpinned by human rights (Wetherly and Otter, 2008, p192).

The significance of CSR is that companies voluntarily contribute positively to the community and integrate social and environmental concerns into their business activities. They also consider their relationship with stakeholders and other people who have an interest in the running of the business, such as employees, customers, vendors and the local community (Russo and Perrini, 2009), even though each one of these may have different and even conflicting values (Wetherly and Otter, 2008, p196). Indeed, knowing people’s attitudes towards CSR, especially individuals who are involved with business activities, is very important for gaining a clear understanding of the business environment and helping to create an ethical corporation.

Nowadays, business educators bear all the responsibility for providing students, not just with business knowledge and skills, but also for delivering CSR content to them by increasing their ability to make informed decisions in future, for example, when trying to choose a job. Additionally, it helps to increase their awareness of social responsibility and ethics in business. Moreover, it helps to direct business activities towards long term goals (Kolodinsky et al, 2009) and not just short term goals for higher figures. As a MBA student at Cardiff Business School I have benefited a great deal from the modules which tackle CSR and business ethics surrounding topics, such as The Business Environment and International Business. I therefore think that people who do not have the opportunity to...