The corporate social responsibility movement and law's empire: Is there a conflict?

At the heart of corporate governance and social responsibility discourse is recognition of the fact that the modern corporation is primarily governed by the profit maximisation imperative coupled with moral and ethical concerns that such a limited imperative drives the actions of large and wealthy corporations which have the ability to act in influential and significant ways, shaping how our social world is experienced. The actions of the corporation and its management will have a wide sphere of impact over all of its stakeholders whether these are employees, shareholders, consumers or the community in which the corporation is located. As globalisation has become central to the way we think it is also clear that ‘community’ has an ever expanding meaning which may include workers and communities living very far away from Corporate HQ. In recent years academic commentators have become increasingly concerned about the emphasis on what can be called short-term profit maximisation and the perception that this extremist interpretation of the profit imperative results in morally and ethically unacceptable outcomes.1 Hence demands for more corporate social responsibility. Following Cadbury’s2 classification of corporate social responsibility into three distinct areas, this paper will argue that once the legally regulated tier is left aside corporate responsibility can become so nebulous as to be relatively meaningless. The argument is not that corporations should not be required to act in socially responsible ways but that unless supported by regulation, which either demands high standards, or at the very least incentivises the attainment of such standards such initiatives are doomed to failure. The paper will illustrate by reference to various chosen cases that law’s discourse has already signposted ways to consider and resolve corporate governance problems in the broader social responsibility context.3 It will also illustrate how corporate responsibility can and must be supported by legal measures. Secondly, this paper will consider the potential conflict between an emphasis on corporate social responsibility and the regulatory approach.4 Finally, this paper will place the current interest in corporate social responsibility within the broader debate on the relationship between law and non-legally enforceable norms and will present some reflections on the norm debate arising from this consideration of the CSR movement

CONFIDENCE CRISIS AND EXITING NAIVE REALISM THROUGH INTEGRATIVE THINKING

The confidence crisis invites increasing emphasis on social responsibility as a corporate marketing strategy, adopted by management which cannot choose ethical indifference. We need better rules and people, the virtue that follows science heading us down the right path towards overcoming the paralyzing insecurity of economic blood flow and shaping the complexity of current affairs drastically but correctly, in order to develop social virtues and responsibilities. Since globalization is no longer what it used to be, and unfair competition is considered to be one of the causes of distrust in the corporate sector, being on the way towards the knowledge society, we are forced to become integrative thinkers and to identify solutions to the crisis, in a context in which economic concentration resulted in changing the nature of competition, and economists and politicians live in different worlds, it is imperative to harmonize in the identification of good measures of welfare research, understanding what must be adjusted and what mustn’t. Travelling through time to the destination where our judges are the future generations, we owe it to them to find appropriate answers in relation to what is authentic in addressing the crisis of faith, who sells what and who is buying it, with the adequate mental model to break the cobweb of this confidence and regain trust. This is all based on an overriding need to produce knowledge for wisdom, maturing interdisciplinary dialogue, becoming architects of conversations generating responsible action, cultivating the ability to work with others with a similar vision.confidence crisis, courage, corporate social responsibility, economist, politician, conversation architect, clash model

Funding advertising self-regulation in South Africa : an industry - ethical imperative or a “grudge - purchase” calculation?

The study explored the general level of awareness of the Advertising Standards Authority of South Africa (the ASASA) as a personification of advertising ethics within the South African Landscape. It questioned whether the Advertising Communications Industry viewed the sustainable funding of the ASASA as a cost-constraint, or as an inherently ethical Corporate Social Responsibility / Corporate Philanthropy imperative. The descriptive design allowed for electronic surveys to be circulated via two essential Advertising Industry Representative Organisations (the ACA and MASA) to extract data from advertising agencies and marketers across South Africa. Results suggest that respondents are acutely aware of the existence and purpose of the ASASA as a vessel for ensuring ethical advertising, but that the predominant motivator seems to be the avoidance of additional government intervention, and not an ethical imperative or Corporate Social Responsibility / ethical function. The data further suggest that entities who offer financial support prefer sporadic, ad hoc funding, rather than committing to sustained financial assistance. Larger companies with higher annual turnover appear more likely to provide funding than smaller entities. A low response rate prevented any attempt at statistical analysis to allow for correlational findings. Recommendations to address such concerns in future research are provided.M.B.L.Graduate School of Business Leadershi

Analyzing the Intersection of Transparency, Issues Management and Ethics: The Case of Big Soda

This article critically analyzes the ethics of Coca-Cola’s public relations strategies through the lens of corporate social responsibility, issue management, and moral legitimacy. Corporate legitimacy is essential for corporate survival and, in today’s complex environment, expectations for legitimacy have shifted. Corporations are called on to consider their roles in the context of the greater good. These changes call for an examination of what constitutes ethical communication for public relations practitioners. While theoretical advancements in the area of ethics sketch the landscape for providing for greater transparency in what the aims of organizations should be in providing for ethical communication, more needs to be done to examine the specific content of this communication. Toward this end, the authors seek to extend conversations and draw from Habermas’s theories of communicative action and Principle U to propose a new direction for evaluating public relations ethics

Corporate brand management imperatives: Custodianship, credibility, and calibration

Copyright 2012 by The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.Marshaling case study research insights, this article advances our knowledge of the strategic management of corporate brands. Strategic corporate brand management requires commitment to three critically important imperatives: senior management custodianship; the building and maintaining of brand credibility; and the dynamic calibration of seven identities constituting the corporate brand constellation. This article draws on research dating back to the 1990s and is also informed by the identity-based view of corporate brands perspective and by recent scholarship on the AC4ID Test—a strategic, diagnostic, corporate brand management framework

Innovative Corporate Social Responsibility in Botswana: The Debswana Mining Company Study Case

This paper presents a study case on innovative corporate social responsibility as a very important aspect of management planning and, in the process, explores some trends and new ideas pertaining to corporate social responsibility in mining industries. Some pertinent literature is reviewed as a theoretical frame to introduce the presentation of the Debswana Mining Company case to show innovative corporate social responsibility in the mining industries in Botswana

Corporate Social Responsbility in Business Courses: How Can Generation Y Learn?

This paper deals with the teaching of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in Business courses to Generation Y Business students in Australian universities. Generation Y students embody particular characteristics that may seem paradoxical, such as placing an increased emphasis on an improved materialistic lifestyle alongside green marketing or climate change issues. Generation Ys also highly value a balanced work-leisure environment but are comfortable with living on high levels of debt and expenses. The question then emerges: what is the most effective method of educating Generation Y Business students about CSR? A three-fold approach is proposed: a foundation of life-long learning about the theory and principles of how one goes about making intrinsic decisions in life and business, incorporating concepts of CSR into Business units, and then applying these concepts in Business Internships

What do we mean by corporate social responsibility?

There have long been conflicting expectations of the nature of companies’ responsibilities to society. However, for those businesses that do undertake what might be termed “corporate social responsibility”, what is actually socially responsible behaviour as opposed to management of corporate image management or other activity aimed predominantly at business benefits? This article reviews definitions of corporate social responsibility from both practice and the literature and looks at theories to explain why such behaviour takes place. The literature has strong divides between normative or ethical actions and instrumental activities. The article concludes by posing the question of when instrumental activities become business activities rather than largely social responsibility