Corporate social responsibility is a concept that has existed for a long time now. CSR can be traced back in the ancient periods where workers used to be punished in case they became careless and injured others in the course of executing their duties. Another instant that showcases corporate social responsibility during the ancient periods is when the Ancient Rome Senators could grumble due to the failure of businesses in the contribution of sufficient taxes that would help to fund military campaigns (Lee and Philip 6). CSR grew to a new level during the industrial revolution since the businesses had begun to grow exponentially. There are debates regarding corporate social responsibility since there are people opposed to the concept, but the benefits involved cannot be understated.

The ideology of CSR has come about due to the pressure of trade union movement and the business side of growing leftist sentiment. Institutions of civil society started to demand that businesses should provide protection for their workers and guarantees for their labor. People have varying opinions about social responsibility. Milton Friedman asserts that businesses have only one business responsibility of ensuring that they indulge in a free and open competition that lacks fraud and deception while operating profitably (Lee and Philip 17). Most of Friedman’s views regarding corporate social responsibility were meant to show that it is more of a smokescreen for collectivist and socialists theme. Greider on his part argues that “companies should be concentrating on making money in order to remain efficient instead of focusing on CSR that takes the needs of the society into consideration” (Lee and Philip 24).

Not everyone agrees with the views postulated by Friedman and company regarding corporate social responsibility. Michael Porter argues that companies are now using social programs for promotional purpose and as tools of enhancing public relations. Hollender, the Seventh Generation CEO on his part views transparency as the stepping stone towards establishing favorable responsibility (Salcines et al. 33). Li Huaizhen who is China Minsheng Investment Corp’s President asserted that when a company has fulfilled its part with regards to CSR and ensured the formation of a community that has shared interests, the community will definitely support the company and welcome the projects that it might have. Li Huaizhen viewed social responsibility as a kind of investment for an organization since the social value and the company’s interests are closely connected.

Corporations can show social responsibility in different ways. Offering consumers best services is one way of demonstrating this aspect. Employees are being trained sufficiently on ways of handling consumers to ensure this happens successfully. Organizations also ensure that they provide customers with high quality products at all times as a way of showing social responsibility. Participation in community activities has also gained widespread recognition as a way of showcasing CSR. This includes activities such as fund rising, participating in community sports and visiting children’s homes among others. Companies, on the other hand, show social responsibility towards employees by offering them favorable working environments. Favorable environment ranges from the interaction with employees to remuneration prospects (Salcines et al. 52). Keeping employees happy is vital for any organization since they are the most valuable assets that ensure all the other assets are operating as it is required. Motivated employees work towards ensuring that the company remains a going concern since they want to remain there for as long as they can. Social responsibility towards stakeholders is enhanced by way of ensuring that their funds are invested in the best way possible. It is upon the company’s management to ensure that there is no indulgent in ultra-vires transactions.

It is apparent that the concept of CSR has been subjected to numerous criticism and debates in the past years. This is because there are people that do not think it is that important for business, while there are others that argue it is just a fad that is going to evaporate with time.  Those that argue in its favor try to show how it has a long-term positive effect on businesses while critics argue that it tends to shift from the fundamental economic responsibility of businesses. Despite these arguments, there is no denying of the benefits that businesses accrue as a result of implementing corporate social responsibility. CSR entails taking responsibility of the company for the effects on social and environmental wellbeing. It is more about incurring short-term costs with the objective of benefiting in the future. Large companies can have huge detrimental effects in the countries that they operate hence it is important to encourage businesses to practice CSR. A good example is oil spills that are likely to come about with large organizations. This is something that would have detrimental effects on the environment.

There are numerous reasons that show why corporate social responsibility is important. Among the reasons is that it helps in improving the public image of a company. Companies that practice CSR are regarded as being philanthropic compared to those companies that do not show interest in this area. Toms Shoes and Pedigree are good examples of businesses that have been able to achieve this aspect through CSR. For there to be creation of a positive image as a result of corporate social responsibility, the consumers need to know of their existence. When the programs are not recognized, it would not have an effect on this aspect. It is good to remember that consumers feel good when they are shopping in businesses that are perceived to be helping the community. This is because there is the feeling that they are making their contributions to the same community in an indirect manner (Boardroom Intelligence). Among the ways that corporations can improve the public image is by offering support to non-profits through volunteerism, monetary donations, in-kind donations of services and products, and enhancement of strong partnerships. However, if the philanthropic acts are not publicized, companies will not have the opportunity of being regarded as being favorable by the consumers.

CSR also helps in boosting employee engagement. It has been evidenced by surveys that most employees enjoy working in businesses that showcase good public image. Happy employees are known to result in production of better output. There is always increased efficiency due to the sense of belonging. Lee and Philip (67) assert that nearly 60% of the employees that feel proud of the organization’s social responsibility tend to be more engaged. This is something that would make employees attract the best talent in the organization. Employees with superior skills and capabilities usually desire something extra that will make them more interested to be associated with an organization. It also becomes possible to retain hardworking employees that value corporate social responsibility. A company that CSR programmed is likely to attract employees that are similar-minded. This is a good thing for the organization since this gives it an opportunity to employ employees likely to uphold transparency given the things that attract them.

Corporate social responsibility increases media coverage too. Sometimes regardless of how much a business is concerned about the environment does not matter when people do not know about it. When a company is doing good for the community, there is the possibility of establishing positive relations with local media outlets. This ensures that these outlets are likely to cover the stories that are being conducted by the relevant business. The better the benefits that a business brings to the relevant community, the more the media coverage it is likely to receive (Boardroom Intelligence). The opposite also happens when the business is doing something negative given that bad news sells. The coverage given by the media as a result of operating socially is a good thing since it comes as a means of free advertising. More people become aware of the existence of the business hence the probability of increasing the consumer base becomes high.

Corporate social responsibility also helps to attract and retain investors. While investors are putting their funds in companies, they always want to be assured that the funds are being used in the desired manner. This does not mean that corporations are only expected to have sound business budgets and plans, but there is also the need of strong CSR proponents. Companies that donate to deserving parties and encourage their employees to volunteer time within the same regard tend to show investors that there is more to those companies than just making profits (Brammer et al. 16). Impacting the lives of others results to lasting positive memories for the people involved. This is something that the world will not forget, and the company involved will continue to accrue benefits in the long-run as a result. Investors are interested in putting their funds in such companies due to the viability of being in operation in the long-run. They want to be involved with a company that has a potential of prevailing the difficulties of the business world due to the positive name that has already been established.

Organizations implementing corporate social responsibility stand to benefit from corporate partnerships too. This happens when an organization’s social responsibility to the community is similar to that of another organization. These corporations might come to an agreement of joining hands on this issue so that they can have an even bigger impact on the course they intend to fulfill. Such an association is likely to affect the organization will less popularity or recognition. The organization can now be regarded to as being superior due to its association with another superior organization (Boardroom Intelligence). This is something that can easily catch the eyes of the consumers and influence them to try the products or services of the other company more so when the two are operating in different industries.

CSR has also become important in the establishment of positive government relations. Companies that have established varied CSR programs tend to find it easy why dealing with different government regulators including the politicians. Organizations placing social responsibility at the core of the business are likely to adhere to pollution regulations since they care about the wellbeing of the society (Brammer et al. 9). As a result, it becomes difficult to find the corporations at the wrong side of the law. These corporations are also likely to establish varied developmental projects in the area of operation. Such practices show a sense of good faith from the organization as the developments go a long way in enhancing economic growth. The government is likely to realize such projects due to the positive impact involved. As a result, when the government is developing policies, there will be consideration of such organizations and the type of impact that might accrue to them (Hughes 1). A typical reader should care about this since it gives more insight as to why most companies are implementing CSR. The policies coined will be working to favor the organizations in the relevant industries of operation. This is because the government wants these organizations to remain operational for a foreseeable future due to the way they are enhancing the lives of the community. The corporations involved will definitely benefit from the positive relations with the government from a profitability point of view (Hughes 1). Depending on the industry involved, the corporations also stand favorable chances of clinching government contracts.

Corporate social responsibility has become a beneficial tool for organizations in the creation of competitive advantage. Organizations that adopt CSR policies ensure that other parties involved in the supply chain have done the same thing. Not many organizations are able to adopt CSR on such a scale. As a result, this makes the organizations doing it to come out as being superior in the eyes of the public. The organization is likely to receive preferential treatment at the expense of the others.

In conclusion, the importance of corporate social responsibility cannot be ignored given the benefits that are likely to accrue to organizations involved. Despite the benefits that come with CSR, some companies do not accept the relevant responsibilities in good heart. Most of them tend to admit that they only adopt social responsibility prospects for marketing purposes. There are cases where other organizations have been coerced into adopting corporate social responsibility hence they have not instituted the program with the desired vigor and enthusiasm. People have varying opinions regarding CSR. There are people viewing it as a “fad”, which they expect to lose value with time (Hughes). However, there are those that view corporate social responsibility with high regard. People in favor of CSR believe that the strategy encompasses an integral component for any organization. This is because the strategy helps to integrate procedures and policies associated with environmental, social, human rights, ethical and consumer concerns into the business core strategy and operations. This helps in maximizing the development of shared value for all the stakeholders involved. As a result, organizations are able to reap benefits such as improved employee engagement, attraction and retention of investors, gaining competitive advantage, increased media coverage, and improved public image.

Most businesses are now bending under the obligations and expectations to be socially responsible. CSR is a broad concept that does not have a clear-cut definition, and this is why it usually creates uncertainty. It can be divided into external and internal CSR. There are organizations that choose to implement either of these and neglect the other. Internal CSR is more concerned with the policies that govern the employees. External CSR, on the other hand, is more concerned with the external framework that takes into account all environmental and social aspects (Hughes). This is why sometimes people find it difficult to ascertain whether a certain corporation undertakes corporate social responsibility or not; depending on which aspect is being analyzed. However, many people tend to agree that corporations should be more accountable for the impacts that they have on relevant stakeholders and for those they hurt or help.

Works Cited

Boardroom Intelligence. “The Importance Of Corporate Social Responsibility.” Financier Worldwide, 2015, https://www.financierworldwide.com/the-importance-of-corporate-social-responsibility/#.WdztU2hL_IV.

Brammer, Stephen, and Dirk Matten. “Corporate Social Responsibility And Institutional Theory: New Perspectives On Private Governance.” Socio-Economic Review, vol 10, no. 1, 2012, pp. 3-28.

Hughes, Brian. “Why Corporate Social Responsibility Is Essential For Brand Strategy.” Huffpost, 2016, https://www.huffingtonpost.com/brian-hughes/why-corporate-social-resp_b_9282246.html.

Lee, Nancy, and Philip Kotler. Corporate Social Responsibility: Doing The Most Good For Your Company And Your Cause. Hoboken, N.J., Wiley, 2013,.

Salcines, Juan Luis Paramio et al. The Routledge Handbook Of Sport And Corporate Social Responsibility. Hoboken, Taylor And Francis, 2013,.

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