Corporate Social Responsibility: Integrating Ethics and Strategy

This essay delves into the multifaceted concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), emphasizing its significance for modern businesses. It examines the ethical dimensions of CSR, highlighting how companies integrate social and environmental considerations into their operations. The essay explores various approaches to CSR, including ethical and business case models, and analyzes their respective strengths and limitations. It discusses the importance of integrating CSR into core business processes, considering factors such as market dynamics and stakeholder engagement. Furthermore, the essay examines strategic CSR, emphasizing the creation of shared value and the integration of moral values into decision-making. It concludes by underscoring the importance of leadership, ethical decision-making, and employee engagement in fostering a robust CSR framework that contributes to long-term organizational success and societal well-being. References from various academic sources support the analysis.

Running head: CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Corporate social responsibility
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Introduction:
Corporate social responsibility has emerged as a priority that is inescapable for business
leaders in every country. It is an approach contributing to sustainable development by providing
social, environmental and economic profit to all stakeholders. Activities involved in social
responsibility are a platform of innovation, prospect and competitive advantage. For this
purpose, corporations are required to use the framework guiding core business activities for
analyzing the social responsibility prospects. The current corporate social responsibility
approaches are disconnected in the sense that greatest opportunities for providing benefit to
society is uncertain (Hansen et al., 2016). Companies considered factor of being socially
responsible after they were surprised of public issues being a part of business responsibilities.
Enlightened self-interest is appealed by sustainability principles that invoke the foundation line
of social, economic and environmental performance.
Discussion:
Ethics of business incorporates responsibilities that are within cultural, environmental
and social structure of communities along with the factors inside workplace. In many areas,
ethical responsibilities have exemplified through acceptable standards of social practice of
company. The operations of company might have impact on environmental, social and financial
aspects of society that are mainly regarded as ethical issues as it involves obligations and
responsibilities to all stakeholders along with environment and society. Environmental issues
such as property rights, liability and negligence and basic ethical concepts such as
responsibilities and rights influence businesses (Wood & Logsdon, 2016).
Ethics is regarded as one of corporate social responsibility approaches, which focuses on
ethical aspects rather than generating the profits from engaging in socially responsible activities.

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It is believed by the supported of ethical approach to CSR that organization should engage in
such activities as it is considered as morally right thing to do. Moral consideration is one of the
issues that take precedence over factor of company’s interest in an event of conflict between
narrow economic interest of company and moral considerations. The ethical approach to
corporate social responsibility necessities that company for some moral reasons accepts potential
loss for profit. The reason is attributable to the fact that sometimes the demands for profits are
overridden by ethical demands such as interest concerns. As per Utilitarianism theory, interests
of all stakeholders is taken into account by company indicates that they should consider the
interest of groups such as local community as important as faraway strangers (Mason &
Simmons, 2014).
The core process of organization integrates corporate social responsibility factor and it is
argued that resource dependency theory of firm form the basis of CSR. Business case approach
to social responsibility leads to creation of opportunism that will favor the most profitable cases
of CSR. Factor that are considered profitable are regarded as ethically desirable on part of CSR.
A severe ethical detachment and ethical complacency risk might be created by business case
model that leads to deficiency in CSR direction. CSR should be included in broader terms in
decision making of company due to increasing public debate and globalization. Market dynamics
of competitors helps in determining the success strategy of the social responsibility (Shaukat et
al., 2016). Such approach help in embedding the social responsibility factor into entire business
process so that related issues are triggered to all level in organization and people act and
communicate on the same. Changing the mindset of corporate will help in initiating CSR
activities on part of employees and acts in a more responsible way and creating long-term
benefits for organization (Christensen et al., 2014). Business case approach can be regarded as

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self-determination theory that can be used to motivate people within organization who are
skeptical about CSR.
Furthermore, organization should take efforts to legitimize using instrumental arguments
for increasing corporate profits. However, there are inherent limitations to approach of business
case CSR because it leaves institutional blockades and results in opportunism because of social
issue agenda. It is essential for organization to make the combination of orientation and
economic constraints towards collective and individual moral values and integration of such
values in decision-making process of organization (Porter & Kramer, 2006).
The article provides with the implication of stage model of CSR and the last stage of the
model emphasize on addressing the moral foundations of social responsibility. With the
evolvement of social standards and progressing of science, the force of operations of company
on society changes over time. Difference in competitive positioning in any industry is
attributable to different cut of social issues. Issues relating to corporate social responsibility can
be important for business locations and units that offer opportunities for undertaking CSR
initiatives.
Apart from strong leadership, integrating of business with social requirements requires
good intention. For prioritization and identification of social issues, some companies have
engaged operation management into the process. The management of CSR efforts incorporates
philanthropy and has embedded social responsibility into social dimension. If the corporate
philanthropy were embedded in the efforts of social responsibility, it would help business in
generating profit if consistent investment is made using the socially responsible principle.
Strategic CSR is considered as far more effective that helps in addressing the social harm created
by business activities (Schrempf et al., 2016). Social issues that affect the performance of

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company is categorized into standard social issues, social impacts of value chain and social
dimensions of concepts that are competitive in nature. Business will be required to think in a
dynamic way for perceiving social responsibility. Creation of shared values will help in
addressing social issues as it will help in brining self sustaining solutions that are independent of
government or private subsidies. Organization can create positive influence on society in the
form of purchasing of goods and capital investment (Nijhof & Jeurissen, 2010).
Increased awareness of social issues would result in boarder level of employee
engagement and considering environmental care as crucial part of their working life. There are
some ethical challenges confronted that business leaders confronts when revising and
constructing policy of CSR. In this regard, companies face dilemma whether they focus actively
doing right things or they should focus on avoiding harmful actions. Economic and social values
are created within organizations using powerful tools such as addressing of constraints to social
competitiveness and pioneering innovations of value chain (Hansen et al., 2014).
Conclusion:
Ethics is not regarded as matter of choice that is to be exercised by company and top
management cannot preach it. The basis of ethical organizations is leadership and ethical
decision-making. In order to make progress in area of CSR, workforce group should be willing
to commence change on social front. Analysis of article depicts that exits paradox between
mechanisms for removing institutional blockades and development of CSR framework on
intrinsic employee motivation. Organization that works in a competitive environment has the
prerequisite of paying attention to economic constraints. In order to embed CSR into the
corporate framework, economic constraints should be combined with ethical and moral values. It
has been ascertained from the analysis of article that organization that uses business case

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approach on CSR front will help in addressing a range of broad social and ethical issues faced by
company. Strategic CSR employed by companies go beyond the mitigation of value chain
impacts and corporate citizenship. Therefore, strategic CSR will help in monitoring
environmental and social consequences of activities.

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References list:
Christensen, L. J., Mackey, A., & Whetten, D. (2014). Taking responsibility for corporate social
responsibility: The role of leaders in creating, implementing, sustaining, or avoiding
socially responsible firm behaviors. The Academy of Management Perspectives, 28(2),
164-178.
Hansen, S. D., Dunford, B. B., Alge, B. J., & Jackson, C. L. (2016). Corporate social
responsibility, ethical leadership, and trust propensity: A multi-experience model of
perceived ethical climate. Journal of Business Ethics, 137(4), 649-662.
Herrera, M. E. B. (2015). Creating competitive advantage by institutionalizing corporate social
innovation. Journal of Business Research, 68(7), 1468-1474.
Huang, C. C., Yen, S. W., Liu, C. Y., & Huang, P. C. (2014). The relationship among corporate
social responsibility, service quality, corporate image and purchase
intention. International Journal of Organizational Innovation (Online), 6(3), 68.
Mason, C., & Simmons, J. (2014). Embedding corporate social responsibility in corporate
governance: A stakeholder systems approach. Journal of Business Ethics, 119(1), 77-86.
Nijhof, A. H., & Jeurissen, R. J. (2010). The glass ceiling of corporate social responsibility:
Consequences of a business case approach towards CSR. International Journal of
Sociology and Social Policy, 30(11/12), 618-631.
Porter, M. E., & Kramer, M. R. (2006). Strategy and society: the link between corporate social
responsibility and competitive advantage. Harvard business review, 84(12), 78-92.

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Schrempf-Stirling, J., Palazzo, G., & Phillips, R. A. (2016). Historic corporate social
responsibility. Academy of Management Review, 41(4), 700-719.
Shaukat, A., Qiu, Y., & Trojanowski, G. (2016). Board attributes, corporate social responsibility
strategy, and corporate environmental and social performance. Journal of Business
Ethics, 135(3), 569-585.
Wood, D. J., & Logsdon, J. M. (2016). Social issues in management as a distinct field: Corporate
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