CSR - A matter of ethics or business?

“Stakeholders want companies to make a profit, but not at the expense of their staff and the wider community.”

   

                                            Brian Gosschalk, CEO, MORI

The term Corporate social responsibility expresses a series of actions that businesses adopt in order to solve social and environmental issues. This is part of the ethical conduct towards the community in which they operate. The actions of corporate social responsibility are developed in two main lines, the actions inside the company, like the staff, and those on the external environment, like the wide enviromnment in which they operate.The actions concerning the staff , are actions that a company does in order to improve the working conditions of the employees. Some examples can be the  educational programs in which companies offer employees additional benefits, care centers and creative activities for their children,moreover additional health insurance programs can be offered. The actions concerning the wider society in which a company operates can be either social, cultural or even environmental. There is the view that businesses use CSR in order to promote themselves and to gain publicity. And that is where PR comes. CSR it's a field that the communications team is handling because it definitely has to do with the overall image of the company in society. Especially now that NGO's are ready to attack companies at any time, and the appreciation of corporates from the public is lower than ever, CSR is a tool for PR to show the importance of caring for the society and all the ethical issues that are raised.

No matter what the aim of CSR is, we can't miss the fact that today ethics play an important role in every kind of business and that is what makes the public embrace a certain corporate. Giving back to the society is a priority for everyone that works and makes profit through business. Social performance will keep reinforcing the ethical profile of corporates so both the public and companies can co-exist and co-operate under the best circumstances.

 One of the most attacked corporate in the world McDonalds introduces their social responsibility