Table of Contents
The surrounding world is full of elements, which create a system of principles, followed by the humanity. Today, corporate social responsibility is a main part in the performance of each company. It has a myriad of standards, which aim to reduce the negative influence of the industrial activity and to protect the humanity from its own mistakes. The following paper discusses the factors of the CSR development, the debate around the connection between CSR and globalization as well as CSR and law. All sections contain enough information in order to understand all the arguments, included into the topic of CSR. By the end of the discussion, it would be possible to realize the interconnection between CSR and globalization in terms of the development of society. In general, the discussion is a reflection of the thought that CSR and globalization are interdependent on one another.
Factors of CSR Development
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) became one of the most critical issues in the contemporary world. It is an important part of the performance of many companies, which need to minimize their negative influence on the surrounding environment and to take care of the community, in which they operate. In fact, the debate around following the CSR standards by multinational corporations is one of the most alarming discussions in the modern world. The myriad of factors, which influence the development of standards, is among the most controversial topics, related to CSR. (Kuye & Idowu, 2014). The following factors have an outstanding significance in the development of CSR.
First, it is essential to mention globalization, which is a part of the development of the CSR standards. It influences human rights, environmental protection, and anti-corruption as well as health and safety issues (Kuye & Idowu, 2014). In this way, globalization has one of the most significant influences on the evolution of the CSR system, followed by each company. Second, it is necessary to remember that such organizations as the United Nations and the International Labor Organization continuously create and optimize standards, which should be followed by each company (Schembera, 2016). Declarations, principles, standards, and other instruments create norms for the companies, which are mandatory. The third factor focuses on the public access of any consumer to the information reflecting company’s performance. It is a common principle, which makes the performance of each company transparent. The fourth factor, which influences the development of CSR, focuses on the ability of the potential partners and investors to focus on the sustainability of the company’s performance from different points of view. CSR creates a specific image and reputation of the company, which further affects the decisions of the potential investors, searching the appropriate enterprises.
The myriad of factors, which influence the development of CSR, is broader than many critics consider it to be. In fact, it is worth mentioning that CSR dictates the standards of the performance of each company. In addition, the surrounding world creates specific performance criteria, based on the natural environmental needs. These needs also result from the activity of companies, which means that the development of the CSR standards has a cyclic character. It also shows that CSR standards change along with the pace of the business development and human activity in general.
The Debate
The primary focus of the debates, related to CSR, was based on the question of whether the companies should take care of their own income, or they are responsible for all the stakeholders. The subject started its development in the 20th century and continued to rise in the contemporary world along with its evolution (Ross, 2014). However, each era had its own triggers for the development of the debates, which had their significant influence on the performance of each company. In general, the main debate focused on the power of national and multinational corporations. However, the rapid transformation and evolution of the surrounding world made it necessary to focus on the environmental issues and social problems along with the human rights. In addition, the main debates focused on the role and goal of the activity of the corporations. It aimed to analyze the performance of each company from the point of view of its usefulness (Sridhar, 2011). In the middle of the 20th century, the society started to think about the creation of environmental standards due to a rapid development of various industries, which had a negative effect on the surrounding world (Ross, 2014). In addition, the society introduced the need to protect consumer rights, which also made the companies follow new principles of the consumer rights protection.
The contemporary debates in their essence focus on the past issues, brought to the surface in relation to the CSR development, and address the needs of the society from the global and community perspectives. In addition, the world still debates whether there is a need to expand the standards of the CSR in order to contribute to the improvement of the activity of each company.
The Connection between CSR and Law
The company’s obligation is to follow the standards of the CSR and to ensure the reduction of its negative influence on the surrounding world. However, there are cases, when the company tries to avoid taking responsibility for the welfare of the environment and community. For example, there are situations, when companies have extremely inappropriate working conditions or when they hire children in order to reduce the costs, spent on the employees. It occurs not only within small companies, but also among famous corporations. Unethical marketing can also contribute to the unpleasant reputation of the companies, which will have to pay for their neglect of the commonly used standards. In fact, the point of globalization is that CSR standards remain the same for all companies. It is a core part of the business development, which builds the essence of social protection. If the company fails to meet the standards, it receives a negative feedback of the community and ruins its reputation.
A failure to provide an adequate compensation for the employees is also another reason, which can lead to the problems with law. There are many cases, when the companies try to make machinations and lie to their employees about the payment. It is an unacceptable illustration of business incompetence, which usually hides a fraudulent activity.
A fatal design flaw or broken parts of the products, which can lead to the death of a customer, also indicate that the company did not manage to meet the standards of CSR. It also means that no organization will attempt to justify the performance of such companies. Therefore, such a company almost loses its reputation, which can hardly be restored.
Finally, the main problem with law manifests itself in the inappropriate regulation of the company’s activity, which does not meet the environmental standards. Unfortunately, it is another problem, which is a part of the contemporary business issues. An environmental damage is one of the most significant CSR issues, which destroy the reliability of the companies, when they fail to protect natural resources. In fact, each country aims to participate in the development of standards, which will control the performance of all companies according to the conditions of the specific environment. In general, it is essential to consider the role of the globalization in the establishment of the international CSR standards, which meet the criteria of each company striving to have a safe environment.
Globalization
One of the main examples of the influence of globalization on CSR standards lies in the idea that many years ago CSR was developed by activists in some regions. In fact, today, globalization affects the performance of each company. It is applied by many countries and environmental organizations, which make it obligatory for each business entity to follow the standards. In addition, many years ago CSR standards were developed locally in different parts of the world. Today, it is one of the most crucial fields of the human activity, which encourages companies to preserve the surrounding world for future generations (Sridhar, 2011). One of the peculiarities of globalization in terms of the CSR is that the contemporary multinational corporations aim to make investments in the international business, which can open or stabilize the position of the company in the new market. In fact, multinational corporations remain a focal point in the CSR, which is justified by the size and the scope of the activity of the corporations.
However, the most significant issues of the CSR take place in less developed countries, which suffer from poverty and unemployment. Such places have difficulties with understanding and applying the CSR standards successfully. Corruption and lack of transparency make it difficult for the companies, which belong to these countries, to follow the standards. In fact, the corruption can hardly be targeted in such countries due to the weak governmental system and the inability of the international organizations to interfere in the internal affairs of the country. Nevertheless, such situation continues to have a global influence on the surrounding world by damaging the environment.
In fact, the contemporary stage of the business evolution led to the idea that the developing countries are open for the investments of multinational corporations. It happens for the reason that these business entities are capable to contribute to the national budget and enhance the development of the economy. From this perspective, globalization and CSR keep their activity in the same direction. In general, the influence of globalization cannot be left without attention, as long as it creates a specific environment for the development of the whole world. Each sphere of life is affected by environmental protection and social awareness. These two issues aim to solve the problem of environmental damage and other social issues, which appear in the society because of the harmful activity of the companies.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is essential to mention that CSR has a continuous nature of optimization. It aims to protect the humanity from its mindless activity, which does not consider the capabilities and resources of the nature. In general, the protection of natural heritage and human rights lies in the core of the CSR. Under the influence of globalization, it is possible to see the effect of the CSR standards on the evolution of less developed countries. The current situation shows that the majority of the developing countries need the support of the multinational corporations. In this way, these countries aim to improve their national economy and social sustainability. All in all, the discussion showed that there is a direct connection of CSR and globalization, which creates a cyclic interconnection between them. In future it is likely to see more transformations in the society, which will introduce new CSR standards in order to regulate the human activity.