Does CSR Work? Essays -- Business Essays

Does CSR Work?Adam Smith founded the modern study of economics on the premise that all businesses be driven by the invisible hand to seek as much profit as possible while society will take carry off of itself. However, as the publics opinion of big business has steadily declined in the recent decades, big business has developed a social conscience to improve all aspects of society from worker compensation to protecting the environment to helping the needy. As Stephen Cook quests in the January 2003 edition of Management Today Everyone cares these days. You whoremonger hardly walk through the door of a major company in the western sphere without tripping over stacks of glossy reports carnal knowledge you how they care for the environment, their community, their stakeholders. John G. Ruggie believes that the increase in corporate social responsibility (CSR) stems from three reasons 1) companies have made themselves targets by doing bad things in the past (Shell in Nigeria Nike in Indonesia), 2)public perception that the global marketplace is more police-able and international rules and standards are more enforceable, 3) companies large growth as made them the only ones capable of policing themselves in a global capacity. However, two questions arise from this new branch of the corporate hierarchy 1) does CSR produce results? And 2) does the public care about CSR.Gereffi et al. and John G. Ruggie both indicate that the social pressure has pushed corporations to act Under increasing pressure from environmental and labor activists, multilateral organizations, and regulatory agencies in their home countries, multinational firms are implementing certification arrangementscodes of conduct, production guidelines, and monit... ...ally responsible, only a minority will punish socially irresponsible companies. Cook indicates similar trends in the UK where only 20% of the people would be prepared to boycott a product on social grounds. Cook, goes on to in dicate, however, that the number of people who care is steadily increasing theres been a 40% surge in UK purchases of fair trade products giving a better deal to third world farmers. As more and more of the worlds population becomes aware of the growing need for corporations to maintain a strong sense of social responsibility, corporations are adopting self-regulatory policies to please the public and enhance their testify reputation. All this benefits both the consumers and corporations until a company makes another Enron-like blunder. Then all the good credentials these pacesetting companies have accumulated disappears instantly.