PROMOTING CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY.

Running head: PROMOTING CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
PROMOTING CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND ADDRESSING
ETHICAL ISSUES IN SMES: A CASE STUDY OF THE PARABLE OF A SADHU
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Author’s Note:

PROMOTING CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY1
Introduction
As opined by Trevino and Nelson (2016), business ethics had become an important
catch-phrase of the modern-day business world and the business enterprises are required to
have personal responsibility for the damage that they are causing towards the planet or for
that the environment. Crane and Matten (2016) are of the viewpoint that the business
enterprises in order to take personal responsibility for their business activities and also for the
purpose of contributing in a meaningful way towards the improvement of the condition of the
planet are taking the help of the construct of corporate social responsibility (CSR). However,
it is seen that the major problem arises because of the fact that the business enterprises try to
solve or resolve the different issues which are of importance from the perspective of the
planet only upto the extent it is suitable or feasible for them (Ferrell & Fraedrich, 2015). As a
matter of fact, it had been seen that the majority of the business enterprises only supports the
different environmental causes or issues upto the point at which it does not interferes with
their profitability, business strategies and the other aspects of their business operations (Kolk,
2016). This in turn had given rise to the situation wherein it had been seen that although the
different business enterprises of the world are trying to resolve or address the diverse issues
or the challenges that the contemporary world is presently facing, none of them are taking
complete ownership for the issues or challenges. This report intends to analyse the problem
of promoting CSR and addressing ethical issues in small-scale enterprises and also the role
that the leaders and the managers in promoting ethical behaviour or the promotion of CSR
through the usage of the case study “The Parable of the Sadhu”.
Overview of the Case Study
The case study under discussion here, namely, “The Parable of the Sadhu” by Bowen
McCoy takes the help of a parable of a sadhu to highlight the manner in which the business

PROMOTING CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY2
enterprises support the different CSR issues or the ones which is adversely affecting the
sustainability of the planet only to the point that it fulfils their own interests (McCoy, 1997).
This is important from the perspective of the contemporary world wherein it had been seen
that although there are a plethora of issues which is adversely affecting the stability of the
world and although the enterprises are trying to resolve the same yet it had been seen that no
concrete solutions for the same have been found till now. This even happens in the case study
under discussion here wherein it is seen that although all the members of the case study are
concerned regarding the condition of the sadhu and also his well-being and even willing to
help him in their own way yet none of them is willing to go out of their way for the complete
resolution of the same. More importantly, even in the particular case of McCoy, who is the
narrator of the case stud, is really concerned about the condition of the sadhu but he too is
concerned regarding getting to the peak before the melting of the ice rather than taking the
risk of wasting time for helping the sadhu (McCoy, 1997). This as a matter of fact is
coterminous with the condition of the modern-day business world wherein it is seen that the
majority of the business enterprises are merely concerned about getting to the top and support
the different CSR issues as per their own convenience.
Analysis of the behaviour of the people in the case study
An important aspect of the case study under discussion here is the fact that rather than
explicitly stating the unethical behaviour of the business enterprises regarding the CSR
policies followed by them, the case study uses the different characters who are present in it as
symbolical representations of the different business enterprises of the contemporary times.
Furthermore, the manner in which these individual characters behave in the case study is
coterminous with the way in which the different business enterprises behave in the real-world
practical scenarios (McCoy, 1997). As a matter of fact, it is seen that McCoy and Stephen are
really concerned about the sadhu and try their best to help him yet at the same time they are