Social Responsibility: Global Political Economy and Business Success

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This essay delves into the critical role of social responsibility in contemporary business, particularly within the framework of the global political economy. The paper defines social responsibility, also known as corporate social responsibility, as a business's obligation to generate profit while considering environmental and societal impacts. It emphasizes sustainability, ethical standards, and philanthropy. The essay argues that socially responsible businesses are more likely to succeed in the current global landscape, highlighting the influence of international agreements, organizations like the United Nations, and the importance of business ethics in fostering efficiency and fairness. It examines the impact of global initiatives like the Sustainable Development Goals, and the challenges posed by carbon cap and trade mechanisms. The essay further discusses the significance of climate change, referencing international instruments such as the Rio Convention, Kyoto Protocol, and the Paris Agreement. The essay also explores how ethical standards and corporate philanthropy influence international trade and investment, as well as the benefits of social responsibility, including increased consumer base, enhanced brand reputation, and employee morale. The essay concludes that companies prioritizing environmental and societal concerns are better positioned to compete and thrive in the global political economy, supporting this assertion with examples and research findings.
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Business and Environment
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Social Responsibility 1
Notably. Social responsibility in business is also known as corporate social responsibility.
Essentially, social responsibility implies the implied re expressed obligation of businesses to
generate profit while being mindful of other variables such as the environment and
society.Simply, social responsibility implies sustainability of the environment, ethical standards,
and Philanthropy. At the global level, international trade and investment agreements contain
corporate responsibility clauses ,there are global organizations such as the United Nations which
roll out sustainable development goals to which member states have obligations, benefits of
partaking in socially responsible business and the global ranking of responsible competitiveness
encourage .Further, business ethicsplays a key role in international trade because it promotes
efficiency and fairness hence it is important to socially responsible countries. Generally,
effective social responsibility of companies is largely voluntary despite the obligations. As to the
question whether only socially responsible business will succeed under the current global
political economy, my view is in the affirmative.
Unfortunately, the global political economy is a strong advocate for sustainability.
Specifically, the United Nations which is an international political body has rolled out the
sustainable development states to which member states are obligated to adhere. The United
Nations through sustainable development goals seeks to address climate, environment
challenges, prosperity, poverty, peace, and justice inclusive of inequality (United Nations.Org
2019).Despite the global efforts advocating against environment degradation, major setbacks
have been fronted in the form of carbon capping and trading .Essentially, carbon cap and trade is
an effort by different governments to provide incentives for companies to reduce carbon
emissions resulting from industrial ventures. There are two sides to carbon cap and trade.
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Social Responsibility 2
Whereas some economists argue that the incentives under cap and trade reduce air pollution, it
encourages maximum carbon emissions to the atmosphere hence promoting carbon emissions in
the long run (Kenton 2019).Basically capping and trade encourages companies to emit up to a
prescribed level of carbon emissions into the environment within a given period of time. In a
way, the cap prescribed a maximum limit to which companies might be encouraged to produce
more carbon emissions as long as it doesn’t exceed the prescribed limit. The corruption of such
systems defeats the purpose.
Worth noting, a sustainable environment, and climate change are part of the
sustainable goals of development. Climate change is a topic of massive importance to the global
political economy. This can be evidenced by global treaties, conventions advocating for climate
change measures by member countries. For instance, there is the Rio Convention. Basically, the
Rio convention seeks to outlaws human interference with the climatic system. Notable the Rio
Convention is also known as the United Nations framework convention on climate change. This
convention basically encourages the establishment of climate friendly initiatives by United
Nation’s Member states (European Council 2018). Other notable international instruments on
climate action include the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris agreement. Despite the non –coercive
nature of the international instruments, member states that have ratified and acceded to these
instruments are obligated to undertake the obligations of the instruments .This goes to show the
persuasive nature of such global instruments to social responsibility of multi and Trans- national
companies. The fact that the global political environment has provided
treaties,conventions ,guidelines on climate change and sustainable development means the issue
of social responsibility is important for trade and investment at that international level(Almeida
& Llach 2018).
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Social Responsibility 3
Notably, ethical standards are key to the success of the global business environment as it
is nationally. Simply put, ethical standards in business denotes some form of social, ecological
mandate for businesses(Kopperi N. d).The importance of business ethics at the national level are
of equal importance at the global level. Through upholding ethical business standards, the
political economy at the global levels seeks to protect shareholders, the environment, and society
as a whole. The benefits arising from social responsibility are a motivator for multi and trans-
nationals to partake thus making them attractive in the global trade environment. Usually, non-
governmental organizations are supported by companies considered to be socially responsible
(Fontaine 2013).In this context, social responsibility denotes advocating for children, women,
disabilities rights or poverty elimination initiatives. Through environmentally conscious acts by
companies, consumers might be persuaded to purchase more of their products hence increased
consumer base for companies. Owing to the benefits of being deemed socially responsible,
companies are able to retain, attract and expand their consumer base. Also, the involvement of
business in socially responsible activities drives attention and traffic to those companies'
operations. For instance Visa Inc has rolled out a financial inclusion platform that is socially
inclusive(Murphy 2019).
Moreover, such companies get to outshine the competition. In the case of the Tesla Inc,
Elon Musk seems to have succeeded in influencing environment friendly customer base (Murphy
2019). According to the 2017 findings of the Cone communications survey, sixty eight per cent
of consumers in America were keen to associate with companies that are taking an active role in
environmental action. Additionally, eighty seven percent of American customers were willing to
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Social Responsibility 4
buy products from countries advocating for social issues (Elsey 2018). For corporate bodies,
their participation in charitable causes is called corporate philanthropy.(Milne Library
N.d).Essentially, businesses get no returns on chartable acts or donations hence it counts as
money not used for the direct benefit of the company. However, due to the benefits accruing
from corporate philanthropy such as brandings on community projects, companies engage in
charitable acts. Whereas there is no obligation for national, multi and trans-national companies to
be charitable ,philanthropy goes a long way in forging international trade and political relations.
This proves the assertion that social responsibility is necessary for global trade and political
economy (Youde 2018).Currently, there is a global awareness as to the need to address climate
changes and protection of the environment hence companies wishing to compete, invest and
trade at the international level have a reason to consider being socially responsible. Social
responsibility is voluntary hence cannot be sued.
Also, for companies that engage in charitable causes, they are regarded to be attractive
due to the fact that they are giving back to society and the environment (Zilfar 2019). In a way,
charity makes a country attractive and gives it an attractive reputation to investors, shareholders,
and society .Notably, companies partake in charitable courses hence those that partake in
philanthropy are considered exceptional. Owing to the benefits of charitable courses by
companies include raising the morale for employees to be part of the organization. According to
a survey of a thousand conducted by O.C.Tanner, employee morale is boosted by organizational
charitable courses to society( Beckstrand 2018).For the global political economy, expatriates
might be motivated to join socially driven companies as contrasted with non-charitable
companies and organizations. For instance, there is the Responsible competitiveness index that
ranks companies based on their corporate responsibility. Definitely, a high ranking on the index
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Social Responsibility 5
is likely to boost the profile of the top ranked companies at the international trade level (Zu
2013).Additionally, responsible competitiveness encourages efficiency, productivity, and
strategies which is key to the success of business at any level. The ranking of responsibleness on
global coverage is likely to encourage companies to partake so as to maximize their opportunities
in trade and investment globally.
Unfortunately, employee morale is essential to company performance .For national
companies, disgruntled employees produce unattractive outcomes hence such companies may
not compete at the global trade level. This goes to show that companies that practice corporate
citizenship or responsibility have better outcomes due to motivated staff who are attracted to
socially motivated companies. Recent studies indicate that millennials are attracted to
organizations and companies they consider responsible in the social ecological sense (Almeid &
Llach 2018).From the above assertions. It is clear companies likely to compete and excel at the
international political global economy are those environment and society conscious as compared
to profit-oriented only organizations. As to whether socially responsible organizations get some
business at the international level, the answer is in the affirmative. This is because charitable acts
are more appealing to consumers. For instance, the findings of cone communications and Echo
research indicate that ninety percent of consumers switch brands due to noble causes. Further,
the research unearthed the fact that companies not considered socially irresponsible are at risk of
losing consumers (Frontstream 2014).Typically, charitable acts are good attention traffic which
is good for companies involved in global trade and investment ventures thus boosting
responsibility.
Remarkably, corporate responsibility maximizes the benefits of international trade thus
making the assertion that social responsibility is key to global trade success. This is because
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Social Responsibility 6
international trade and investment opportunities are conscious of sustainable development
making corporate firms that are responsible socially more competitive on the international trade
levels (Globalt Ansvar N. d). Moreover, the inclusion of corporate social responsibility terms on
international trade and investment agreements is proof of the relevance of corporate
responsibility at the global level. In the event that companies are to compete on the international
level, the requirement to be responsible socially is expressed hence companies that do not agree,
do not get to compete on the international trade. This makes it mandatory for companies and
organizations to prioritize economic and societal good above profit making. In a way,
responsibility is required of countries crossing national borders hence making it a requirement
for organizations to engage in successful business opportunities at the international level.
Overall, international companies consider compliance with sustainable development a
requirement for business partnership. In the event that multi-nationals belong to countries that
have ratified international instruments such as convention on climate change their success at the
global level might depend on that.
Despite the emphasis on socially responsible companies, it is unlikely that all companies
competing at the global level are responsible when it comes to the environment and societal
needs. Unfortunately, international organizations such as the United Nations provides guidelines
for corporate social responsibility for implementation by the member countries. However, the
organization cannot force other countries to be responsible socially hence it is a setback to
sustainable development. Due to the unscrupulous nature of business some companies might get
away with environmental degradation. In the case of corruption of cap and trade mechanisms
companies might manipulate the system to their advantage hence they are still able to compete
with other companies at the international level. This corruption of carbon emission control
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Social Responsibility 7
mechanisms defeats the purpose of responsibility by businesses. Further, there are countries not
parties to international organizations advocating for sustainable businesses hence they might
succeed at the international level in the event that they trade with countries not parties to the
international agreements requiring socially responsible businesses. Overall, the success of social
responsibility is hinged upon the voluntariness of the companies and their countries to invest in
corporate social responsibility(Zulfiqar 2019)
Essentially, corporate social responsibility refers to mindfulness of the environment and
societal needs alongside profitability by business entities .There exist benefits of being socially
responsible for businesses. Some of these reasons include compliance with international
obligations, social conscious reputation, increased customer base, increased business traffic,
efficiency, and productivity. Despite the incentives that come with corporate responsibility some
countries are not parties to international instruments such as the United Nations which has rolled
out sustainable development goals guide, the Kyoto protocol and the Paris convention among
other instruments obliging member states to implement the same. Due to the voluntary nature of
the responsibility by companies to society and the environment, not all companies subscribe to
the concept of being socially responsible. Also, the fact that there are no penalties for not being
socially responsible, some companies opt out of the concept. Corruption of cap and trade
mechanisms and other climate control measures has made some companies successful despite
being practically responsible socially. Overall, corporate social responsibility makes businesses
more successful at the global level due to international trade and investment instruments in place.
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Social Responsibility 8
References
Almeida, M.A.M & Llach, J. (2018).Socially responsible companies: Are they the best
workplace for millennials? A cross national analysis. Online Wiley Library. [Online].Available
at https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/csr.1675[Accessed 6 Oct 2019]
Beckstrand, G. (2018).Corporate charity is what inspires greater employee
engagement.Entreprenuer.com. [Online].Available at
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/306225[Accessed 6 Oct 2019]
Elsey, W. (2018).Why your company should be more socially responsible.Forbes.com.
[Online].Available at
https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinessdevelopmentcouncil/2018/05/30/why-your-
company-should-be-more-socially-responsible/#331b1b092c32[Accessed 6 Oct 2019]
European Council. (2018).International agreements on climate action. Council of the European
Union.[Online].Available at
https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/policies/climate-change/international-agreements-climate-
action/[Accessed 6 Oct 2019]
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Social Responsibility 9
Fontaine, M. (2013).Corporate social responsibility and sustainability: The bottom line?.
International Journal of Business and Social Science Vol 4, No .4. [Online].Available at
http://www.ijbssnet.com/journals/Vol_4_No_4_April_2013/13.pdf[Accessed 6 Oct 2019]
Frontstream. (2014).Why socially responsible companies get more business.Frontstream.com.
[Online].Available at https://www.frontstream.com/blog/socially-responsible-companies-get-
business[Accessed 6 Oct 2019]
Ganthi, A. (2019).Social Responsibility. Investopedia.[Online].Available at
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/socialresponsibility.asp.[Accessed 6 Oct 2019]
Globalt Ansvar. (N .d). Strengthening the responsible competitiveness of Countries and
companies in a globalized world. Government of Sweden.[Online].Available at
https://www.government.se/contentassets/f56fca0e27f6400ea2687f25122de213/strengthening-
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Oct 2019]
International Lbour Organization.(20160.Corporate social responsibility in international trade
and investment agreements.ILO.Org.[Online].Available at
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wcms_476193.pdf[Accessed 6 Oct 2019]
Kopperi, M. (N. d).Business Ethics in the Global Economy.Cmu.edu.[Online].Available at
https://www.andrew.cmu.edu/course/80-241/guided_inquiries/articles/
bus_global_econ.html[Accessed 6 Oct 2019]
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Social Responsibility 10
Milne Publishing. (N .d).Corporations and their social responsibility. Milne Publishing.Edu.
[Online].Available at https://milnepublishing.geneseo.edu/good-corporation-bad-corporation/
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Murphy, B.C. (2019).Why social responsibility is important for business. Investopedia.
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United Nations. (2019).About the sustainable development goals. United Nations.Org.
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