Corporate Social Responsibility Discussion Response
Please read both discussion responses and reply with at least 100 words. Label your responses Discussion 1 & 2.
Corporate social responsibility is one of the hottest issues in corporate boardrooms these days, partly because it is becoming increasingly important to employees and other stakeholders.
1. In your opinion, why have stakeholders given CSR more attention recently?
2. Does abiding by CSR standards potentially cause companies to have conflicting objectives with some stakeholders in some situations?
Discussion 1
Re: Corporate Social Responsibility – (Cater, R)
I believe that stakeholders have given CSR more attention because of the benefits that it will have not only on an organization, but society. The return to the company will come back full circle in a sense that if the world outside the company is benefiting, then the company will thrive. This will keep an ongoing flow of positivity and reflect a good reputation about the organization. Corporate social responsibility will also have a bigger influence on the company’s employees. Employees are also looking for a return from their employers with benefits, engagement and their world outside of work. CSR is a method that companies use to make their employees want to work for them. I do agree that in today’s society CSR’s are “trending” which will attract people to an organization. Positive CSR reputations will have a positive outcome for a corporation, making it more competitive (McShane, 2018).
Abiding by certain standards could have a negative effect on the company due to the fact that having multiple stakeholders with different objectives and morals, could be detrimental to the company’s success. A company must be ready to “adjust to new values and concerns in order to meet its ethical responsibilities” (Waller & Conaway, 2011, p. 84). Constant changes in the beliefs of the consumers, environment and stakeholders will mean that the company will have to alter their philanthropic stance. Certain CSR initiatives may deter stakeholders if they do not support specific ones the company is supportive of. Though it is to attract consumers, if stakeholders disagree, they can remove their share in the company which will then affect certain subsystems in an organization; likely to take a toll on the company’s output into the external environment.
References
McShane, S. (2018). M: Organizational Behavior. [Savant Learning Systems]. Retrieved from https://
Waller, R. L., & Conaway, R. N. (2011). Framing and Counterframing the Issue of Corporate Social Responsibility. Journal of Business Communication, 48(1), 83–106. https://doi-org.bethelu.idm.
Discussion 2
Re: Corporate Social Responsibility (Weaver,A.)
Milton Friedman, an economist, said there should only be one thing on the forefront of business: use all funds and actions of social responsibility to increase profit margins (McShane, 2018). Corporate social responsibility is becoming more important in the business world because the world is getting smaller. Smaller in the sense that you do not have to live in a city with an actual building to be a part of a company. You actually do not need to live in the same country to affect change within a company, you can video conference and share thoughts and ideas with a grand audience. Stakeholders are people and groups who watch a business, not only watch a business but they have the power to affect change from outside of a company’s offices and meetings (McShane,2018). A company wants stakeholders to be happy just as well as shareholders. A firm usually invests in stakeholders to establish a positive stance to increase perception, because they know having a good force outside of employees is good for business (Carlini, Grace, France, Lo Iacono, 2019). The decision has to be made for larger firms to make impacts on community and employees for future positive outlooks. Investing resources into social responsibility that could be spent on other strategies and resources to increase positioning with other companies creates a burden financially for the company but they must think outside of just the bottom line to create a bigger footprint (Carlini, Grace, France, LoIacono, 2019). The stakeholders want to see companies who have their interest in mind when they plan future events, which in turn means loyalty from them. The company wants to have an image that is pleasing to the stakeholders and shareholders over time, to lengthen business practices. Stakeholders want to be able to feel as though the company will live up to the standards as they can get behind socially and economically.
McShane, S. (2018). M: Organizational Behavior. [Savant Learning Systems]. Retrieved from https://savantlearningsystems.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781260157666/
Carlini, J., Grace, D., France, C., & Lo Iacono, J. (2019). The corporate social responsibility (CSR) employer brand process: integrative review and comprehensive model. Journal of Marketing Management, 35(1/2), 182–205. https://doi-org.bethelu.idm.oclc.org/10.1080/0267257X.2019.1569549
