Corporate Social Responsibility

Corporate Social Responsibility is about how companies manage the business processes to produce an overall positive impact on society.
Companies need to answer to two aspects of their operations. 1. The quality of their management - both in terms of people and processes (the inner circle). 2. The nature of, and quantity of their impact on society in the various areas.
Corporate Social Responsibility is the continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as of the local community and society at large.

1. Social responsibility becomes an integral part of the wealth creation process - which if managed properly should enhance the competitiveness of business and maximize the value of wealth creation to society.
2. When times get hard, there is the incentive to practice Corporate Social Responsibility more and better - if it is a philanthropic exercise which is peripheral to the main business, it will always be the first thing to go when push comes to shove.

Operating a business in a manner that meets or exceeds the ethical, legal, commercial and public expectations that society has of business. A concept whereby companies decide voluntarily to contribute to a better society and a cleaner environment. A concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operations and in their interaction with their stakeholders on a voluntary basis.

But as with any process based on the collective activities of communities of human beings (as companies are) there is no 'one size fits all'. In different countries, there will be different priorities, and values that will shape how business act. And even the observations above are changing over time. The US has growing numbers of people looking towards core business issues.
 It is a key difference, when many business leaders feel that their companies are ill equipped to pursue border’s societal goals, and activists argue that companies have no democratic legitimacy to take such roles. That particular debate will continue.