Corporate Social Responsibility: Exploring Carroll's Pyramid

Management
Course Code: ____
Title of the TMA: _________________
SUSS PI No: ____________
Name: ___________
26 MARCH 2019

BUSINESS, GOVERNMENT AND SOCIETY 1
Introduction
Corporate social responsibility is the set of commitments that are required to be
carried on by the business organisations to address the needs and issues of the varied range of
stakeholders (Moon, 2014). Over the years with the increased globalisation, need for the
transparent and efficient business practices, and consideration of objectives and values of the
society as a whole, the framework of the corporate social responsibility has widened
considerably (Morrison, 2015). The following work is aimed to explore the various aspects of
the corporate social responsibility through theoretical research on various related concepts
and models combined with research on CSR initiatives undertaken by companies. The work
would primly be focussed on the Carroll's Pyramid of Corporate Social Responsibility and its
various components.
Background of CSR
The concept of Corporate Social Responsibility came into light in the year 1953, in
the notable work of Howard R. Bowen, namely the “Social Responsibilities of the
Businessman” (Katamba, Zipfel, Haag, & Kazooba, 2012). Some of the most noted
international entities that are dedicatedly established for the governance of business
enterprises and their functions are the World Business Council for Sustainable Development,
the International Organization for Standardization, UN Global Compact, Global Reporting
Initiative, the Organization for Economic cooperation and development, and others (Zientara,
2017).
Carrol’s Pyramid

BUSINESS, GOVERNMENT AND SOCIETY 2
One of the most celebrated theories on the said concept is that of Archie B. Caroll,
popularly known as Carroll's pyramid. According to Carroll, CSR activities of an
organisation are comprised of following four categories of societal expectations namely, the
economic, the legal, the ethical and finally the discretionary, as described in the following
figure (Carroll, 2016).
The ethical responsibilities and philanthropic responsibilities comprise of the
foundational tiers of the CSR Pyramid along with the legal and economic responsibilities.
The normative expectations of most of the societies revolve around the fact that business
organisations must conduct their operations in an overall ethical manner that goes beyond the
compliance of the laws and regulations (Schwartz, 2011). The prime reason for consideration
of ethical responsibilities in the foundation tier of the said model is that the businesses must
honour the moral rights of consumers, employees, owners and the community; and dedicate
its resources for the protection of the same, as the business cannot function without the
contribution of these and in isolation. Some of the functions that form the part of the said tier
include embracing corporate citizenship, devising a sound corporate governance structure,
recognition of the business integrity and ethical behaviour while striving to achieve the
business goals. While the corporate citizenship means to produce higher standards of living
and quality of life for the surrounding communities, the corporate governance structure refers
to the collection of the policies, structure, people and roles to facilitate the management to be
fair and accountable (Tricker, 2015).
Philanthropic responsibilities include all forms of voluntary or discretionary activities
of the businesses as an objective to participate in social activities. The chief reason for the
inclusion of the responsibility in its foundation tiers is that "as the corporates gather their