Exploring the Various Aspects of Corporate Social Responsibility

Name: John Eric Yeo Jinwei
PI number: Z1510198
TMA 01
Question 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, the need for the transparent
and efficient business practices including consideration of objectives and values of the
society holistically, 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 primarily 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).
Carroll’s Pyramid
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 resources
from the society, they must pay back the same.” The companies adopt a range of means to
give back to the society such as gifts of monetary resources, volunteering campaigns by the

companies involving its employees and other members, donations of the products and
services, literacy or health campaigns for the families of the labours or the employees, and
the overall community development. Most of the entities engage in the said activities as a
practical means to build up their goodwill by the demonstration of their good citizenship.
According to Carrol's model, though both the responsibilities comprise the definition of CSR
while ethical responsibilities hold more value, the philanthropic responsibilities are more
voluntary in nature. The businesses cannot be regarded as unethical just because they do not
engage in a desired level of philanthropy.
In the context of the economic responsibilities, it is essential to note that as the societies
sanction the functioning of the business organisations, they also establish a wide range of
standards and statutes through the regulators for the business activities to be governed.
Adherence to these makes sure that the business practices are within the ambit of the fair
business practices as formulated in the federal, state and local level laws. The chief difference
in the legal responsibilities and the other responsibilities of the CSR framework is that the
legal responsibilities are mandatory to be complied with as per the national or state laws of a
region in which the business is established. The failure to abide by such laws would lead to
penalties or other legal actions for the entities.
Question 2
Current trends as depicted by the corporate examples
With increased complexities in the business transactions and consequent increase in the range
of the stakeholders, the idea has become a global notion with a wide range of national and
international organisations working for the same. Sustainable reporting has lately become a
compulsory requirement of the financial statement preparation in many countries. It refers to
the systematic and comprehensive reporting of the economic, environmental, and social and
governance performance of an enterprise for the reporting period in question.
The corporate sustainability initiatives can be developed on the lines of the UN Sustainable
Development Goals. United Nations is one of the notable organisations that has developed a
list of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, and the companies across the globe are
increasingly adhering by the same to address the variety of the global challenges (United
Nations, 2019). The following segment would describe the corporate initiatives that can be