Four Approaches to Csr free essay sample

Some said that it is perfectly legal while some say that they declared bankruptcy to avoid financial obligations to suppliers, labour unions or competitors. There are four approaches to social responsibility. Draw the spectrum of approaches to CSR Social responsibility is demonstrated by the organizations determination to treat customers, employees, and investors fairly and honestly. An organizations social responsibility is ranked from the lowest stance to the highest stance. The lowest stance an organization can utilize is the obstructionist stance.Moving up a level is the defensive stance followed by the accommodative stance which leads to the highest level, the proactive stance. Firstly, the lowest level of social responsibility is the Obstructionist Stance. In this level, a company does as little as possible to deny or cover up violations. For example, employees breathing in fumes of a chemical spill which is hazardous which led to their deaths. Doctors arrived on the scene to determine the cause of death only to discover that the organization would not reveal what ingredients were utilized in the chemical. The characteristics of this situation led to the believe that the organization took an obstructionist stance towards the employees, environment and the social welfare of the community. The characteristic of an obstructionist stance is the organization doing very little to eliminate the problem. The second scenario explains a situation in which a car manufacturer refuses to initiate a recall on a defective component. The car manufacturer took an obstructive stance since they did not want to admit they were at fault.For this stance, it fits into the criteria of being Economic Responsibility. The business responsibility is to produce the goods and services that the society wants and to maximize profits for its owners and shareholders. In this current society, companies with this stance won’t be able to be gain much success as they are not doing enough for the society. Second level would be the Defensive Stance. In this level, a company does everything required of it legally but no more. Continuing from the case where the car manufacturer refuses to recall back the defective component.After the government and legal authorities interfere in that situation and ordered the car manufacturer to take responsibility, they finally take actions and recall back the defective component. This shows that they took defensive stance. A defensive stance has characteristics in which the organization will adhere to the minimum of what the law requires of them. Another example explains a situation in which an oil tanker spilt a lot of oil on the coastline. They refused to accept responsibility at first which means they took an obstructionist stance. Later on after several court hearings they began to pay for the damages.They took a defensive stance in that they performed the minimum of what was required by law. Another example would be Nike which does produce their wares legally, however, focus towards profit-maximization, and moved their production line to China. The salary earned by the Chinese factory workers employed by Nike do not justify the living conditions and amount of effort put into operating the factory. This stance can be linked to the criteria for being Legal Responsibility. That is, business are expected to fulfill their economic goals within the framework of legal requirements imposed by the governments and authorities. The third level is the Accommodative Stance. In this level, a company meets its legal and ethical requirements and also goes further in certain cases. An example would be a scenario which explains a situation in which the customers of a restaurant are killed and injured by a madman who decided to shoot up the place on day when they were eating lunch. The CEO discovered the situation and took action immediately to resolve the situation. The CEO took an accommodative stance in that they offered to meet the legal requirements as well as ethical requirements. This stance is related to the Ethical Responsibility criteria of CSR performance.It includes behaviours that are not necessarily codified into law and may not serve the corporation’s direct economic interests. To be ethical, organization decision makers should act with equity, fairness and impartiality, respect the rights of individuals. Unethical behavior occurs when decisions enable an individual or company to gain at the expense of others. Eg. Student loan case. Advisor get tips from the money lender. The last and highest level would be the Proactive Stance. In this level, a company actively seeks to contribute to the well-being of groups and individuals in its social environment. Starbucks for example.They are willing to help improve the living conditions of the coffee bean farmers by paying a fair price to certified fair trade suppliers. This will ensure that the coffee bean farmers will not be bullied on the pricing by the suppliers and at the same time motivating the farmers to produce high quality coffee beans. When an organization takes a proactive stance they are meeting the requirements of the law as well as taking that extra step to actively contribute positive changes for the community. There is one company that really stands out among the others when I think of an organization that takes a proactive stance on a daily basis.An example would be the Ronald McDonald Charity Home. It’s special that there was a correlation between the fast food chain and the place where families lived while their children received medical treatment. Ronald McDonald Charity home provides a home away from the hospital for sick children for free. They have one in Hospital UKM. Lastly, this stance is closely related to discretionary responsibility. It is purely voluntary and is guided by a company’s desire to make social contributions not mandated by law, economics, or ethics.It includes generous philantrophic contributions that offer no payback to the company and are not expected. Taking the proactive stance and fitting into the discretionary responsibility is the highest criterion of social responsibility as it goes beyond social expectation to contribute to the community’s welfare. Constructive and honest evaluations. Give and take theory. What companies can do to be more involved with CSR. Benefits of CSR (customers, job applicants, sales growth, profits, stock price, company efficiency). Link it to pre, conv, and post conv of moral development of the management team.