People in the various parts of the world have different social and economic status. When we evaluate the disadvantaged, we do it not only in financial terms but also in other aspects of life. There are people who are physically and mentally challenged, others are living in war torn countries, while some suffer from the lack of medical and education facilities.
While some individuals or countries suffer from the challenges stated above, others enjoy privileges that they have not necessarily earned. Over the years, corporate social responsibility has been embraced and many companies have gone out of their way to give back to the society. It may not bridge the gap between the underprivileged and the privileged but it helps to improve the lives of those with a lower social status.
“You should be the change you wish to see in the world” as Gandhi put it, therefore as an individual you ought to take this responsibility and help the less privileged in the society. Based on personal values, I believe that though we may never interact with these people and never visit poor and war torn countries, we should reach out and assist them with the things we have been blessed with. The small and genuine contribution of each individual will collectively have a great impact on the lives of the people we are reaching out to.
Based on Christian values, you should love your neighbor as you love yourself.
It is not necessarily victims’ fault that they find themselves in certain circumstances and neither have you done something extraordinary to be at your position. If tables were turned and you found yourself facing these hardships, would not you wish that someone reached out to you and assisted to go through it?
For corporate social responsibility to have the desired results and to be implemented successfully, individuals need to have a sense of responsibility. The developmental approach and relational approach can be used by an organization to have the best results during the implementation of policies as discussed by Mirvis (95). We are the agents of change in the society or in every aspect of our lives, hence our individual moral standing determines how well we implement the social responsibilities.
A person who believes in doing the right things will implement the policies meant for the well-being of others who are suffering. A workforce with proper moral standing will not watch the management making decisions that will hurt the society, and neither will a leader whose morals are straight thrive in the organization making profits at the expense of less fortunate in society (Castka, Bamber and Sharp).
The success of an organization can be affected by various factors, which include but are not limited to environmental and economic factors. If people do not support an organization then it is bound to fail, these people provide raw materials, labor and even influence the publicity of the company. The community is a serious factor that influences organizations’ success and should not to be disregarded. Corporate social responsibility activities will be used to evaluate the company’s moral standing in the eyes of the society (Isikman et al, 819).
Maintaining amiable diplomatic relations is a key goal for most of the world’s leading nations. However, due to the widening gap between the rich and the poor, the probability of attaining this goal is gradually turning into fantasy. Indeed, it is virtually impossible for the whole world to be happy when some members of the society can hardly manage to get food or satisfy other basic needs, while others have much more than they actually need.
This easily discernible gap between the rich and the poor fuels the development of hostilities and can easily lead to local neocolonialism. Consequently, amiable diplomatic ties are severed. It is possible to avert such scenarios if the endowed nations adopt a caring attitude towards the affected countries. This can be achieved through cancellation of trade impediments and write-offs of defective debts owed to them by the poorer countries.
Professional responsibility requires ethical utilization of government, corporate, business, or individual expertise in ways that can improve the lives of others. In order to uphold the principles of professional responsibility and leadership, financially fortunate members of society, corporations and governments should implement protocols aimed at assisting developing economies to reduce the number of people living below the poverty line.
It is not a single-handed task to implement the corporate social responsibility program policies, therefore employees should not leave it to management to formulate and implement the policies. Social responsibility implementation will need flexibility of the management since the standard of CSR keeps changing with time as discussed by Bamber, Castka and Sharp.
It may be a mistake that the corporate social responsibility exists for companies only, however this is not the case, it is a collective role of the society. Churches, non-governmental organizations and the youth as well as social groups should take up corporate social responsibility to make it a success.
As you reach out to the less fortunate always bear in mind that what you do, no matter what economical implication on your end it can have, will mean a lot to those on the receiving end. Instead of sitting back and watching others go through hardships, make your little contribution towards making the world a better place. You will also get satisfaction from doing what you know is right.
Works Cited
Isikman, Elif, Zeynep Gurhan-Canli and Vanitha Swaminathan. “The Effects Of Self-Construal And Moral Identity On Company Evaluations: The Moderating Roles Of Social And Personal Relevance Of Corporate Social Responsibility Activities.” Advances In Consumer Research. Business Source Complete. Web.
Castka, Pavel, Chris Bamber and John M. Sharp 2004, Implementing Effective Corporate Social Responsibility and Corporate Governance. A Framework. PDF file. 10 Dec. 2012.
Mirvis, Philip. “Employee Engagement and CSR: Transactional, Relational, And Developmental Approaches.” California Management Review 54.4 (2012): 93-117.