Journal Number 10 – “CSR”

What is Corporate Social responsibility? According to the video presented in class, it is “good business for good society for today and tomorrow. “ Personally speaking, I completely agree with this definition as it is very simple and it is what I have come to realize after all of the previous class sessions. This is especially the case when we have discussed how SAS was able to sustain double digit growth despite competition and significant events that affected the global markets. They have achieved this feat by investing significantly in their employee’s welfare. They have provided benefits which were unheard of and  other companies would not normally provide like free day care for employee’s children and restaurant quality meals to name a few. This lead to employee job satisfaction that further lead to dollar amounts for the company as employees are more motivated and inspired to work.

What struck me the most during this session is it enlightened me more about what really CSR means. Previously, I view it as something done only by big corporations that has enough means to have such programs in place and because they are required by law. However, after this session I now know that yes companies use this as a tool for marketing but it is not just that as at the same time it encourages others to do the same. In essence, it is a win-win solution for the company as it is being rewarded for doing good to the society.

In addition to the above, I also realize that indeed it pays to appreciate how the company makes money than how they spend it. Here in our country, there are many tycoons who do admirable philanthropic acts through their foundation. People look up to them and praise them as normally people associate CSR with charity. However, if you look a little deeper you will find that they may be committing unethical practices in generating money from their businesses which funds the admirable programs of their respective foundations. I praise them for their charity but I do not agree that they will justify the means because of the end result. I believe that they can still achieve the same results without resorting to what they are currently doing as being a responsible member of the society is proven around the world to pay back dividends in the future.