CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Capitalism is the prevailing economic system of the world of today. It is associated with private entities having complete ownership of factors of production. It has led to the development of corporations as controlling factors of the economy. Capitalism has also led to great levels of competition. The high levels of competition have led to increased access by consumers to a variety of goods at very affordable prices. Consumers have had great benefits from capitalism because as businesses work hard by being unique and having success in the market, consumers have had the chance of getting access to a great variety of commodities. Capitalism has fueled technological advancements that have produced great products that have improved the lives of consumers (Belayeva, 2014).

The question is, however, do companies operate for the benefits of consumers or their benefits regarding profit and increased market share. One of the biggest debate is the consequences that production processes have to the environment. Capitalism can be said to have had great implications on the environment because of the need to compete in the world. In this sense, production processes occur at the expense of the environment, and the costs are met by other parties other than the organizations that cause them. Capitalism has led to negative development externalities that are associated with unsustainable production associated with greed for power and profits. These are some of the factors that show how businesses fail to consider the society they produce for. Corporate social responsibility is a great aspect that companies need to consider. It is important because it ensures that operations carried out by such organizations are sustainable (Belayeva, 2014).

Industrialization fueled capitalism and companies exploited resources from the society without looking for ways of replenishing it back. As a measure of giving back to society companies initiated what is termed as corporate social responsibility. These are measures that make companies operate responsibly in relations to the economic and social aspect of the society they are. Most of the resources that companies use for their production process comes from the society. It is therefore important for these companies to give back to the society from which they took a lot of resources from (HERSHEY HIGHLIGHTS SUSTAINABILITY ACHIEVEMENTS, 2016).

CSR is a regulatory mechanism an organization uses to ensure its operations are in line with the laws, standards regulation and norms of the society. CSR stands a tool of representation of the consumers who have not been represented by these organizations for many years. They operate as part of businesses ethics and have grown to be recognized as standards by the ISO. As much as an organization focuses on their targets regarding profits and market share, they need to understand that sustainability is important and thus they need to ensure they practice corporate social responsibility. However, CSR does not mean taking part in charities. Most organizations fail to understand the true definition of corporate social responsibility. This is a term associated with the need for these organizations to add social value to the society. Charities do not fall as part of social responsibility. Social value is important and needs to be added in a continuous process. It is the responsibility of these organizations to ensure that whatever they give back is of sustainable value to the society and should stand as one of their primary targets (HERSHEY HIGHLIGHTS SUSTAINABILITY ACHIEVEMENTS, 2016).

References

HERSHEY HIGHLIGHTS SUSTAINABILITY ACHIEVEMENTS. (2016). Confectionary Production, 82(5), 7.

Belayeva, I. (2014). SOCIAL RESPONIBILITY IN THE SYSTEM OF CORPORATE MANAGEMENT. International Multidisciplinary Scientific Conference On Social Sciences & Arts SGEM, 349-356.