Corporate Social Responsibility Policy

Corporate social responsibility policy can be approached in two ways. An holistic approach or a corporate social responsibility policy which looks for tangible results sometimes defined as the self interest approach.

The holistic approach ensures an organisations resources are diverted toward good works and sustainability in the understanding that long-term this will benefit the company. Many corporate social responsibility policies include elements of good works that have little to do with the strategic focus of the organisation. The motivation behind these corporate social responsibility policies tends to be a question of ethics. Below the surface there is little consensus in ethical debate to support these policies. More genuinely the holistic approach stems from the stakeholder management framework presented by Freeman (1984) and the need for large organisations to manage the risks presented to them by acting on a global scale.

The self interested approach should not be interpreted as a cynical or even selfish approach. It is the basic presumption that at a fundamental level a free market economy, as Adam Smith (1776) first observed, works because of its participants acting in self interest. A company should expect returns on its corporate social responsibility policy otherwise it makes it difficult to sustain. In turbulent economic times or a change of leadership some corporate social responsibility policies are the first casualty. Mahony (2007) and Porter (2003) argue that all corporate social responsibility should be linked into the creation of strategic advantage to ensure that the beneficiaries of any policy are not left high and dry because of something as relatively mundane such as a change in leadership. The self interest approach argues it is the obligation of anyone creating corporate social responsibility policy to ensure it is imbedded into company strategy to the extent that it could support and help a company through less favourable economic market conditions.

Whilst there is nothing innately wrong with engaging in corporate social responsibility policy on a holistic level, focusing on activities that follow the self interested approach will help the sustainability of programmes and ensure longevity for beneficiaries and society. Employer engagement can help with the tactics of any corporate social responsibility policy by helping organisations link into funded schemes for disadvantaged groups. By researching and matching government and charitable schemes, project managing the bureaucracy involved and providing manpower, we can help both your corporate social responsibility policy and the myriad of funded organisations that find it difficult to market themselves effectively. Feel free to contact Simon Mahony directly to discuss any aspect of your corporate social responsibility policy.

Freeman, R.E. (1984), Strategic Management: A Stakeholder Approach, Pitman, Boston.
Mahony, S (2007), “Is CSR a minority phenomenon that excludes SME’s and only sustainable with regulatory change?” diss., Warwick Business School
Porter, M.E. & Kramer, M.R. 2002, "The Competitive Advantage of Corporate Philanthropy", Harvard business review, vol. 80, no. 12, pp. 56-69.
Smith, A. (1776) Edited by Edwin Cannan, 1904., Smith, Adam (1776). The Wealth of Nations. Reprint edition 1937 edn, Modern Library, NewYork.