Corporate Social Responsibility
Corporate Social Responsibility is a much talked about subject these days. Every company seems to be adopting it, and generating press about their efforts at being a good citizen. Well according to one study in Business Week, philanthropic efforts by corporations have actually dropped in comparison to those 25 years ago.
The study used a much more quantitative measure to conduct this study, rather than basing it off the popular press. It notes that in contrast to 25 years ago, when corporations donated 2% of their pre-tax earnings for philanthropic causes, companies nowadays only allocate 0.7% of their earnings. I guess that companies have started finding it easier (and cheaper) to publicize good actions than to actually do them. After all, the only thing that matters to their business is what the public thinks of them, rather than how much good they are actually doing. However, I agree that just looking at a single figure is not reflective of all the efforts, but it is definitely better than a purely qualitative measure.
The study could be improved by looking at a number of factors, ranging from conducting surveys of employee happiness to having a detailed analysis of each of the company’s efforts (and “crimes”). It should also be noted that the simple action of donating a significant portion of a company’s revenue does not make it a socially responsible one, as it could be causing damage (like undercutting employees or pollution) or having poor practices in so many other ways. Similarly, a company does not need to donate to be responsible. It could just prevent pollution, increase expenses (by offering higher wages) or even generate awareness.
Despite the study being flawed, I still feel that it does hold truth. The only way to inculcate the concept of CSR is to bring out the truth about companies, both the good as well as the bad ones. Society in itself will need to make a more of an effort to ingrain these concepts, and prevent itself from being swayed by simple press releases and media articles.
