The social environment including CSR (and carrols pyramid)

Important considerations about social responsability in business are

• dealing honestly and fairly with customers
• protecting the environment through actions such as the use of sustainable materials
• dealing with bullying, harassmant and discrimination in the organisation
• the provision of accurate financial information
• resisting anti-competative practices
• whistle blowing on unethical practice within the business

Corporate social responsability

CSR is a form of self regualtion wereby companies go beyond the minimum legal requirement in an attempt to be good citizens. This behaviour is adopted by business such as co-op and john lewis. Many critics suggest that CSR is nothing more than another branch of PR. To an extent this is correct because if there was no spotlight on ethics in business there is no reason to suggest that a business would voluntarily raise costs without some form of advantage. When Unilever was at the bottom of the UKs ethical standards list then they sought to improve the ethics of the business. IT is said that if no list is made an no highlighting of bad practice is made then businesses would continue with it. 

Reasons for CSR

• marketing advantages, companies such as innocent drinks have used thier socially responsable image to their advantage and incorporated it into their marketing.
• positive effects on the workforce, innocent drinks have very low labour turnover and this is attributed to strong CSR, less turnover for labour means less costs

Reasons for doubting CSR

It is often seen as a distraction from the real business of making profit, these concerns often follow

• Reduced profitability, using very very cheap labour and exploiting workers is very profitable. If a business wants to act ethically it will have to act with a responasability that overides profit
• Reduced growth prospects, a business may not invest in another business becuase the investee is unethical. Or becuase of apparent political strife within that businesses environment
• Rejection of CSR as a public relation tool, the actions of banks such as Barclays, Loyds and HSBC have shown how hollow their CSR rhetoric is. They pretend to be acting in the…