Corporate Social Responsibility Report

Table of Contents

Introduction 2

A Background to Corporate Social Responsibility 3

Perspectives on Corporate Social Responsibility 4

Classical View 4

Socioeconomic View 4

An Evaluation of Corporate Social Responsibility 5

CSR: A Legal Perspective 5

CSR: A Social Perspective 6

CSR: A Shareholders Perspective 6

Conclusion 8

Recommendations 9

References 10

Appendices 11

APPENDIX 1 : Levels of Social Responsibility. 11

Greening of Management 11

Introduction

As businesses continually operate in more open systems and consumers become more and more educated, there is now strong pressure on the corporate world to operate above and beyond the bottom line. Society as a whole is beginning to influence the actions of businesses, and executive and managerial decisions are being scrutinised on a daily basis for their impact on the greater society. The purpose of this report is to investigate the emerging issue of ‘Corporate Social Responsibility’(CSR) following a publication by the Business Review Weekly (June 29 – July 5). The report will outline the background to corporate social responsibility, some conflicting perspectives of CSR, an evaluation of CSR and finally make a conclusion and recommendations to the General Manager as to the approach the organisation should adopt for the future.

A Background to Corporate Social Responsibility

Schemerhorn et al (2004) have defined Corporate Social Responsibility as “the obligation of an organisation to act in ways that serve the interests of its stakeholders” those being all those affected by the behaviour of the organisation. It is a recognition of the fact that corporations exist for a purpose beyond making a profit. As Scott Mann has stated in his text, ‘Economics, Business Ethics and Law’, there is a wide body of evidence that supports the claims of capitalist private property as the ‘root cause of the environmental crisis.’ He recognises the obligation...