Corporate social responsibility

Abstract

"We must stop speaking of companies purely as "economic" or "business entities" and recognise that companies should behave as responsible citizens ". This is a study on the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility, a concept which although new to some jurisdictions, has been under discussion for over three quarters of a century. It is imperative from the outset to establish the parameters within which this study will approach this concept. In fact the aim of this study is to tackle Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), by first establishing what a company is, and then debating in whose interests a company should be run. This is where one encounters the traditional view of a company, and the more contemporary idea that a company should be run with a wider perspective and responsibility towards a much wider range of interests. The aim of this study is to suggest that the time has come for corporations to acknowledge the concept of "stakeholder interests'', and to move away from the idea of "shareholder primacy". As a general introduction to the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility, reference may be made to an excerpt from an article which featured in 'The Company Lawyer' which defines the notion of CSR, albeit non-exhaustively, as follows: "Actions generally lumped together under the heading 'socially responsible behaviour', might be divided into four general categories: (I) contributions or conduct towards the community, society generally and the environment; (2) behaviour towards consumers of the company's goods or services; (3) behaviour towards employees and suppliers; and (4) charitable giving" This study will not be focusing on corporate altruism, but rather it will focus on the context within which companies operate in this day and age and it will also analyse whether a shift in emphasis from the traditional concept of shareholder primacy has taken place so as to ensure that companies are in fact operating in a socially responsible manner. Further, what if any, mechanisms are in place to ensure that the principles of CSR are indeed adhered to.