Corporate Social Responsibility Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 2

Corporate Social Responsibility - Essay Example CSR is also known as Corporate Conscience or corporate citizenship. It basically refers to the responsibilities that companies have to the locals within the communities they operate. Companies incur short term costs by engaging in CSR activities with no guarantee of immediate financial benefits. Nevertheless, CSR promotes positive environmental and social changes in the society, which lays a good foundation for further business activities for the businesses. Another significant component of CSR policies is the self-regulation mechanism. CSR grants companies the freedom to regulate themselves in terms of monitoring their business activities to ensure they comply with the legal framework in place as well as adhering to accepted ethical standards and international norms for doing business. However, some CSR models allow firms to go beyond the regulatory frameworks by engaging in actions that promote social good in the community (Glac, 2014, p. 66). Essentially, the main objectives of CSR are embracing responsibility for corporate actions and encouraging organizations to create a positive impact on the environment and various stakeholders in the business activities such as consumers, investors, local communities, and employees. CSR is the commitment that companies have in creating policies that integrate their responsible business operations with responsible practices, as well as timely reporting on the progress made towards implementing the outlined CSR policies. Initially, CSR strategies only focused on philanthropy as the main means of relating with the community (Hiller, 2013, p. 299)). However, the expansion of the concept of CSRS over the years has led to broadening of the scope of corporate responsibility to include commitments to improving the quality of lives of the community as well as other key stakeholders in the company, and contributing towards a