Дипломная работа: Социальная ответственность корпорации в современных условиях (на примере ОАО "Востокгазпром")

Moreover, CSR is international in nature. Although it can take different forms in different countries, it is more often than not about the internationally applicable behaviour of multinational companies. CSR has a relationship to globalization, is the subject of an international debate and has attracted the attention of intergovernmental organizations.

Key areas for CSR realization

In fact, there are the main four areas that emerged from the 'Winning with Integrity' framework by Business in the Community in 2000, which were adopted as common labels by other organizations and by many companies.

Marketplace. The central issue area is that of marketplace issues - in other words, how your business shows responsibility in how it makes its money. It's not just about ethical niche brands that sell specifically to customers that are activist shoppers. It's about the expectations that underpin the trust between the company and its customers, its suppliers and its shareholders.

It is obviously that you have to retain trust. In order to do this you shold deliver on your promises, you look after the other person's interests, and if you get it wrong, you help to put it right again. But of the social responsibility issues that most get companies into the spotlight for the wrong reason - it is usually marketplace issues.

Environment. Needless to say, climate change looms large over the future of successful business. We now better now than at any time before how high the stakes have become. Anyone with children has a stake in future generations and the ability of the environment to support life. But environmental good practice is also about business efficiency - it's about the best use of valuable raw materials, and feeding the benefits of action straight through to the bottom line.

The author beliefes that companies can take customers with them in their attempt to reduce their environmental impact. Moreover, we can design successful businesses that add value to people's lives without having to make more and more "stuff" that has a high environmental cost. And when we really get to grips with the huge cuts in carbon emissions we will need to meet, will companies be able to rise to the challenge.

Workplace. As a matter of fact, one of your company's biggest positive impacts on society will be the jobs you provide, and the wealth you put into the community via the wages you pay. But a big positive can be a big minus if you discriminate - or you provide soul destroying meaningless work that takes no account of your people's right to a private life. And the simple fact of the matter is that if people are your company's greatest asset, you need to invest seriously to begin to realise the returns.

It is obviously that, if you pay out good money to recruit talent, but then find you can't keep hold of it, it may be that you're missing out on a basic truth of human nature - people need to be developed, and challenged, and nurtured for them to be motivated to meet your business goals. And if you hold people back because of their sex, or the color of their skin - or you insist that if they've left the office before 7pm they don't have what it takes to make a senior manager, or if you think training is a mugs game because people might leave - then you're certainly not getting the most from your recruitment.

Not to mention the fact affair, recent surveys of business leaders have suggested that the ability to recruit and hold onto key talent is one of the biggest emerging issues for businesses. And there is plenty of evidence as well that the corporate reputation of the business - including its social responsibility - is seen as a key factor for a significant number of recent graduates considering where they should go.

Community. In particular, a successful company needs to operate in a healthy, thriving community - the kind of community your employees will want to live in, with the kind of schools they will want to send their kids to. If you think your business can be a little island of prosperity in a sea of deprivation, think again. And come to that, you need to be seen as a good neighbor to those communities. If you want to operate well, and to be able to expand or change when the time is right, you need the goodwill that comes of being an active supporter of the community - not a hostile intruder.

Potential business benefits.

As a matter of fact, the scale and nature of the benefits of CSR for an organization can vary depending on the nature of the enterprise, and are difficult to quantify, though there is a large body of literature exhorting business to adopt measures beyond financial ones). Orlitzky, Schmidt, and Rynes found a correlation between social/environmental performance and financial performance. However, businesses may not be looking at short-run financial returns when developing their CSR strategy [61].

Besides, the definition of CSR used within an organization can vary from the strict "stakeholder impacts" definition used by many CSR advocates and will often include charitable efforts and volunteering. CSR may be based within the human resources, business development or public relations departments of an organization [62], or may be given a separate unit reporting to the CEO or in some cases directly to the board. Some companies may implement CSR-type values without a clearly defined team or programme.

The business case for CSR within a company will likely rest on one or more of these arguments:

Human resources. A CSR programme can be an aid to recruitment and retention [59], particularly within the competitive graduate student market. Potential recruits often ask about a firm's CSR policy during an interview, and having a comprehensive policy can give an advantage. CSR can also help to improve the perception of a company among its staff, particularly when staff can become involved through payroll giving, fundraising activities or community volunteering.

Risk management. Managing risk is a central part of many corporate strategies. Reputations that take decades to build up can be ruined in hours through incidents such as corruption scandals or environmental accidents. These events can also draw unwanted attention from regulators, courts, governments and media. Building a genuine culture of 'doing the right thing' within a corporation can offset these risks [65].

Brand differentiation. In crowded marketplaces, companies strive for a unique selling proposition that can separate them from the competition in the minds of consumers. CSR can play a role in building customer loyalty based on distinctive ethical values [67]. Several major brands, such as The Co-operative Group, The Body Shop and American Apparel [68] are built on ethical values. Business service organizations can benefit too from building a reputation for integrity and best practice.

License to operate. Corporations are keen to avoid interference in their business through taxation or regulations. By taking substantive voluntary steps, they can persuade governments and the wider public that they are taking issues such as health and safety, diversity or the environment seriously, and so avoid intervention. This also applies to firms seeking to justify eye-catching profits and high levels of boardroom pay. Those operating away from their home country can make sure they stay welcome by being good corporate citizens with respect to labour standards and impacts on the environment.

Current drivers of CSR.

In fact, the practice of CSR is subject to much debate and criticism. Proponents argue that there is a strong business case for CSR, in that corporations benefit in multiple ways by operating with a perspective broader and longer than their own immediate, short-term profits. Critics argue that CSR distracts from the fundamental economic role of businesses; others argue that it is nothing more than superficial window-dressing; others argue that it is an attempt to pre-empt the role of governments as a watchdog over powerful multinational corporations.

Corporations may be influenced to adopt CSR practices by several drivers [7]:

Ethical consumerism. In fact, the rise in popularity of ethical consumerism over the last two decades can be linked to the rise of CSR. As global population increases, so does the pressure on limited natural resources required to meet rising consumer demand (Grace and Cohen 2005, 147). Industrialization in many developing countries is booming as a result of technology and globalization. Consumers are becoming more aware of the environmental and social implications of their day-to-day consumer decisions and are beginning to make purchasing decisions related to their environmental and ethical concerns. However, this practice is far from consistent or universal.

Globalization and market forces. As corporations pursue growth through globalization, they have encountered new challenges that impose limits to their growth and potential profits government regulations, tariffs, environmental restrictions and varying standards of what constitutes labour exploitation are problems that can cost organizations millions of dollars. Some view ethical issues as simply a costly hindrance. Some companies use CSR methodologies as a strategic tactic to gain public support for their presence in global markets, helping them sustain a competitive advantage by using their social contributions to provide a subconscious level of advertising. (Fry, Keim, Meiners 1986, 105) Global competition places particular pressure on multinational corporations to examine not only their own labour practices, but those of their entire supply chain, from a CSR perspective.

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