Corporate Social Responsibility In The Society

CHAPTER -1 :

THE CONCEPT OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY.

INTRODUCTION

FORMATION AND ROLE OF CORPORATION IN SOCIETY

The origins of corporations can be traced to ancient Rome and India. They continued to exist in different forms and for varying purposes throughout the Middle Ages, including most notably Stora Kopparberg, which was granted a charter from King Magnus IV of Sweden in 1347 for the purpose of engaging in mining activities. The formation by royal charter of The British Honorable East India Company in 1600 and the Dutch East India Company in 1602 signaled the beginning of the corporate entity as a tool of multinational commerce and globalization. Whether they are formed as a result of royal charter, or legislative action, or by

CSP is defined (Wood, 1991), as “a business organization’s configuration of principles of social responsibility, processes of social responsiveness, and policies, programs, and observable outcomes as they relate to the firm’s societal relationships.” Measurement and reporting of the social performance of profit oriented firms forms the core of CSP. The National Association of Accountants (NAA, 1976) Committee on Accounting for CSP described the term ‘Corporate Social Performance’ as “The term corporate social performance reflects the impact of a corporation’s activities on society. This embodies the performance of its economic functions and other actions taken to contribute to the quality of life. These activities may extend beyond meeting the letter of the law, the pressures of competition or the requirements of contracts.” (NAA Committee Report,

Here, a detailed CSR review is to be conducted to identify priority CSR risks, opportunities and impacts, followed by an exercise involving stakeholder engagement to obtain the views of all concerned areas. Once the reporting and management system of the CSR is put into motion, regular audits and Board / top management – level reviews need to be conducted to ensure that the system is performing as planned. (Developing a CSR Management and Reporting Framework)

Finally, organizations may report on their CSR practices in their annual performance report under a different section, or may even produce an exclusive report focusing on CSR practices and issues relevant to the organization. This is a cyclic process – one of continual improvements. The learning curve is never-ending.

It has been said that, there is no cookbook recipe for an organization to guarantee its commitment towards CSR. In fact, many organizations already have processes in place to manage several of the components of CSR, but few, if any, have achieved a systematic, structured response that reflects the priority issues from a business perspective. (The Status of Corporate Social Responsibility in India- A Note., May 2005)

THE EVOLUTION AND GROWING