Corporate Social Responsibility Definition

Corporate Responsibility Defined:

The corporate responsibility definition is self-explanatory; the term simply refers to a corporation’s willingness and ability to help its community, as well as impoverished areas throughout the world. Often referred to as corporate social responsibility, the corporate responsibility definition refers to a form of self-regulation. In most instances, social responsibility programs are formally instituted by companies by integrating such efforts into their respective business models. As a result of this integration, corporate responsibility functions as a self-regulating, built-in mechanism, where a business monitors and subsequently ensures its active compliance with the spirit of the law, international norms and the adhered of various ethical and environmental standards.

Goals of Corporate Responsibility:

The goal of corporate responsibility is to be fully aware of the corporation’s actions and to encourage a positive impact on the environment, the community, its employees, stakeholders and all other members of the public. Furthermore, the corporate responsibility definition encourages public interest by improving community development projects. Corporate responsibility enables corporations to develop relationships with their local communities through the institution of community service projects and the elimination of practices that harm the environment and public sphere. Corporate responsibility is often included in a corporation’s business model to maintain a triple bottom line: people, planet, profit.

Approaches to Corporate Responsibility:

A corporation can aid a community in a number of ways. A common approach for corporate responsibility is a community-based development approach, where the corporation will work with local communities to better themselves. For example, corporations commonly set-up or fund educational facilities, as well as development centers for impoverished adults, in poor communities. Furthermore, Executive Officers of large corporations often donate exorbitant sums of money to children’s hospitals and charitable organizations--this money is used to purchase vaccines or medical equipment.

The majority of corporate responsibility projects are established in impoverished nations or areas. An exceedingly common approach of corporate responsibility is philanthropy. This initiative includes monetary donations and aid given to local organizations and impoverished communities in developing areas. That being said, some organizations do not like this approach for it does not build the skills of the local people, whereas a community-based corporate responsibility initiative typically leads to a more sustained development.

Another common approach to corporate responsibility is to incorporate a socially-conscious strategy into the business model of the organization. This ability to seamlessly intertwine business with community outreach creates a model where the company’s resources and efforts to produce a profit are proportionately attached to sustaining and helping a community.

Perhaps the most common form of corporate responsibility is found in a simple process—corporations, especially now, should take responsibility for their impact on the environment and society. To do this, the corporation must incorporate social and environmental accounting into their day-to-day business model.