Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

Dr. Gordon Rands Western Illinois University

Key Questions About CSR

What is CSR? What does it Mean? How does the CSR Concept Apply to a Business Decision? What are the Arguments For and Against Businesses Assuming Non-economic Social Responsibilities? Which of these Arguments do You Agree with, and Why?

What is CSR?
Corporate social responsibility is seriously considering the impact of the companys actions on society (Bauer). Social responsibility is the obligation of decision makers to take actions which protect and improve the welfare of society as a whole along with their own interests (Davis & Blomstrom). The idea of social responsibility supposes that he corporation has not only economic and legal obligations, but also certain responsibilities which extend beyond these obligations (McGuire).

Carrolls Four-Part Definition of CSR

The social responsibility of business encompasses the economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic [discretionary] expectations placed on organizations by society at a given point in time.

What is entailed in each responsibility category?

The 4 Responsibility Categories

Discretionary [Philanthropic]
Ethical Responsibilities Legal Responsibilities Economic Responsibilities

Applying Carrolls Categories to the River Blindness Case

What responsibilities, if any, does Merck have in each category?
Which are most important? Why?

What should Merck do? Why?

Key Questions Regarding Carrolls CSR Categories

Are the categories stable or dynamic?
If they change over time, how? Is the implicit priority of categories right? How can this be useful to managers?

What are Some Arguments Against CSR?

What are Some Arguments for CSR?

Some Concluding Questions

Who Determines What the Social Responsibilities of a Business Are? Should This be the Case? What if Managers Disagree with these Expectations? What are some Implications for Companies and Managers?

An Alternative to Carroll: Woods Principles of CSR

Institutional Level -- Principle of Legitimacy:
Society permits businesses to exist, allows them to have power, and grants them legitimacy. If businesses abuse their power, they will lose it.

Organizational Level -- Principle of Public Responsibility: Businesses are responsible for outcomes
related to their primary and secondary areas of involvement with society; i.e., those problems that are strongly related to the firms activities and interests

Individual Level -- Principle of Managerial Discretion: Managers are always moral actors. Within
every domain of corporate social responsibility, they are obliged to exercise such discretion as is available to them, toward socially responsible outcomes.