Responsabilité sociale des entreprises (document en anglais)

Introduction :

In our modern world the increase of the consumer awareness and concerns of his health and environment has raised the necessity and the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) which can be described as “a business philosophy that recognize the social, cultural, and environmental consequences of business practices and subsequently demonstrates actions that appear to further some social good, beyond the interests of the firm and that which is required by law” (Pickton & Broderick 2005:22).”

This essay will be answering to the following question : can corporate social responsibilities be characterized as a new business ethic or is it a green washing exercise ?

I. CSR : a new business ethics

The importance of CSR nowadays has raised the need of a new business ethic (moral principles and values that guide a firm’s behavior) which is more environmental friendly and focus more on societal needs and be more transparent in terms of information.

1. The stakeholder theory

This theory is based on the fact that companies are not only managed by the shareholders’ interests but there are also others “actors” who can be harmed or benefits from it activities and hence needed to be respected and taken into account by the company such as customers, employees, communities associated with the company or suppliers. This parties that are affected by the company’s activity have an important role when coming to the company’s publicity. Indeed, in order to be trustful, the company has to behave in a more “ethic” and altruist way and shows to its customers that their satisfaction and well-being in terms of health, environment etc.. are their ultimate goal. Example of Johnson and Johnson in the 80s, (Business Ethics, De George) mention their famous credo

2. Concept of utilitarianism

The concept of utilitarianism consists in thinking that the proper course of action is the one that maximizes the “greater good rather than individual interests”. As consumers may have concern about the environment, companies have tried to reduce their impact of the environment by finding safer way to produce and pollute less. DANONE for example has managed to reduce the gas emission from the manufacturing of the bottles of its 2 leader’s water brands Evian and Volvic by 30%.

3. Concept of corporate philanthropy

This concept could be defined as “the charitable donations of profits and resources given by corporations to nonprofit organizations. Corporate philanthropy generally consists of cash donations but can also be in the form of use of their facilities or volunteer time offered by the company's employees. Donations are generally handled directly by the corporation or by a foundation created by the firm.” (business dictionary). A lot of companies do have their own nonprofit organization such as McDonald’s or get involved in great causes. KFC has for instance helped UNICEF providing food to millions (be more prcise) of people in Africa this year. This concept implies that companies are willing to favor their customers need over their own interests in order to build a relationship with them and increase the brand loyalty. When talking about fair trade for example, it can be said that a sort of implicit agreement has been signed between the company and the customers who are willing to pay more for a fair trade product as long as the company guarantees them that the product come from a local farmer who has been justly rewarded.

4. Labels + organizations keep an eye on CSR’s breach of trust

Labels created make it harder for a firm to mislead the customers neither on the contents of it products nor on the impact that this one will have on the environment. To be able to put the European biological label on it products, a firm has to respond to strict criteria for example. Some organizations such as the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) aim at regulating the corporate social responsibilities and avoid customers misleading. Association which represent employees’ rights also make sure that this one work in good conditions and are willing to denounce any injustice or poor working condition. That is the kind of thing that a company tend to avoid because if the employees are vocal about their poor working conditions, then that makes bad publicity for the firm.

5. Benefits of these theories/concepts

The benefits of these theories is that they tend to improve profits by promoting respect to their company in the market place and reinforcing customer’s loyalty which is very important for the company’s long-term health. But as the ultimate aim of a company is to make profits and a market ethic policy need time to be efficient, companies have to face the following dilemma: increase profits in the short-term no matter what it takes or make decisions that are ethically justified or fair?

II. CSR : a public relations tool

As globalization has risen to new challenges in the competitiveness area, companies are willing to do whatever it takes to increase its attractiveness on the market and corporate social responsibilities appear to be a tool which can help building a positive brand image and give good publicity to a firm.

1. The pyramid of social responsibility

According to Carroll’s pyramid of social responsibility (Carroll, Archie B,2000) the corporate social responsibility has four layers . The economic responsibilities which are

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