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bIOill'Ollicfll;J;, 'this perception l~ lwld not

only by CSl, advocntca but ulso by bus I
IIP-lillC!xl!l:ullvo,'lIIIllil\HI!lvos - n Iuct cvi

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while pursuillg its economic goals alld

dent
in
their
public
speeches.
unnual
reo
adheres 10 moral standards it is ethical and
., /:'.
.
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ports,
nl:d
proclamations
of
charity.
This':
r~sponsibJc,:Vhcn,T~.tas.start~d the pracI
., "
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1,;'
. ", assull1ptlon,howcvcr,nccdstobcchcc!<cd
..
.vucc
of provident fund 11119..',J and the
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When Adam Smith, a professor of moral,. government regulation on this came out
z:-:'
philosophy, talked about the bcuevo-i' only in 1952,itwassocialresponsibilityto; -:
" lence and self-interest of the .-'
.
wards its employees, These
butcher and the baker, hc ' Just donations,
acts reflect a CUllCCI'IlIor
. t"-t- ~~tKAT [3HAL
knew that benevolence was.'
I h
f
. what tile stakeholders rc~
in short supply but self,in,' m t ie u. scn~c 0, ,; -: gard as just, protect their
r/
i .::
atural disasters such as Katrina,
terest abound. Ideologicalresponsible .. ~ ~ : . right~ and enhance thei.r . ~J'-"I: : ..
tsunami.earthquakcs audsoon have ly, markets translate the' . .
.
... ,"
physical and psycho lop\ \: .r'
seen a surge in corporate donations, .. interests and values of the . stakch older
~
C:1lwcll-bcinv; :IIlUtlley bcn- .
\j;J public speeches of CEOs, and annual rc..'.. majority into business ac-.'
.
t.
cfit not onl/lhc stakeholdports 'of companies being loaded with" tivity and serve the utility'
ll1unugemen
/ run.
. crs but also the business.
\
c.orpora.tc social responsibility (CSI~) ini- '" ?f "maximum good of max- . the risk of being.
Th~sc could be acts of CS1,
Q
U:ltlves.mdeed,lheproponcntsofCSRhave
: imum numbers", through ... '. '.
'.
or just good 1ll~11l:\1~emcllt.
succeeded in pushing it to the forefront, ' participation
and i ncluPCICCIVccI either as
By trcruing rhc stnkeholdcrs
~'.\ o.
. inthe psyche of the public.and business " sivcncss - much rcvered.
a marketing eHOIt or' responsibly,. business ad. alike, Without denying the importance of . contemporary values .. '.,
,....
varices both Its own as well
;
.corporatl2-dv1iati.un~;therc is a. need to.'
Docs this mC<lI1th~t~~si-. 'a token of political
as thc sta~\.e.1101ders'inter~_-""'::reassess
the socla.l role .of buslI?cSS by'. ncss has no responsibility?
ctn
'
.
ests and It IS this beh~v- .
---, . : ' .
answenng two questions. First, why lSevCIy- No. CSR, most commonly -; carre
e~s
. lour that has more sustainbody talking about CSR, and second,
expressed as corporate phi- '"
. ....
able social impact.
what is the social responsibility of business?
lanthropy, involves donations from top man- . .. . Appropria tely made donations along
. - Asking businesses to show proof of .agement. Since it involves the investors'
with a sense of responsibility
towards
social responsibility assumes that business . money, it requires detailing of issues like : the stakeholders, reflect CS1\; just dona- . I
as an institution falls below the "ethical
shareholders' consent and disclosures of tions, in the absence of r cs p o usib!e
I
standarcls"unlcssdemon~tratedoLherwise.
CSR activities to the investor, The social ,stakcholdcr management, run the risk of
,....
Theperceptionufabusincsslcaclcra~,self-'
.rolc and responsibility of a business gets
being perceived either as a marketing cf- .
. ," . "
ish and exploitative and the belief that prof- manifested more ill the way business deals : fort or a token of political correctness.
. . . its serve only businessmen, require busi- .. with all its stakeholders. The business does'
I
. , .. nesses to make conscious efforts to step up .. :sowithin the legal framework, and if it docs
.
The'writer is associate professor, . \'
. CSR activities and make them more visi- .. not, it is illegal and most of the times i.r-Departillento[
Milntl9cm.entStudies, liTDelhi
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