Is Corporate Social Responsibility Just Public Relations - Literature review Example

Is Corporate Social Responsibility Just Public Relations? by al Affiliation April 16, Introduction Contemporary organizations have evolved to incorporate altruistic goals, while retaining the need to sustain financial success. With external factors consistently influencing the achievement of organizational goals, global organizations have expanded their mission, vision, and values statement to include principles of equality, diversity, business ethics, and corporate social responsibility (CSR). Previous business strategies that seem to be effective in generating sales and profits suddenly need to be re-evaluated in terms of the impact of taking into consideration the best interests of the clientele, or of the general public, in conjunction with attaining financial objectives. Detractors of CSR could assert that incorporation of CSR policies or principles in the organization’s code of ethics is just a matter of public relations – pursued to create a positive image for the firm. The current discourse hereby aims to evaluate the statement and respond to the following questions, to wit: “CSR is just public relations”. Is this a fair evaluation? To what extent has CSR evolved beyond PR into a strategic tool for organizations to enhance their reputations, strengthen their brands, and gain competitive advantage”. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) defined CSR as “a management concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operations and interactions with their stakeholders” (n.d., p. 1). Concurrently, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), on the other hand, defined CSR as “the continuing commitment by business to contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as of the community and society at large” (n.d., p. 1). These two (2) definitions apparently contain diverse thrusts and elements. UNIDO emphasized CSR as a management concept that incorporates social and environmental issues as integral components of the organization’s operations. On the other hand, WBCSD’s definition sees CSR as a commitment undertaken with the paramount aim of contributing to economic development; and only corollaly objectives of improving the quality of life of their stakeholders. As emphasized by the WBCSD, there is no standard and universal definition of the term since “CSR means very different things to different people, depending upon a range of local factors including culture, religion, and governmental or legal framework conditions” (n.d., p. 1). Therefore, depending on priorities of private or public organizations, their respective incorporation of CSR principles and philosophies would differ in thrust, components, as well as frameworks for applications. CSR and Public Relations In an article written by Goodwin & Bartlett (2008), the authors explored the relationship between CSR and public relations (PR). Goodwin & Bartlett (2008) traced the evolution of the term and referred to Clark (2000) as contending that “CSR and public relations were most similar, highlighting the fact that both public relations and CSR aim to understand their stakeholder environments in order to respond to society’s demands” (p. 3). Public relations is actually defined by the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) as “the discipline which looks after reputation, with the aim of earning understanding and support and influencing opinion and behaviour. It is the planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain goodwill and mutual understanding between an organisation and its publics” (CIPR, n.d., p. 1). There were commonalities shared by CSR and PR in terms of containing “similar objectives; both disciplines are seeking to enhance the quality of the relationship of an organization among key stakeholder groups. Both disciplines recognize that to do so makes good business sense” (Clark, 2000, p. 376). Moreover, Goodwin & Bartlett (2008) identified that CSR as sharing similar streams with PR, such as: management function, communication management, and relationship management. The findings were explicitly communicated, to wit: “public relations and CSR (are seen) as a management function that seeks to guide the organization in its strategy, a communication function in creating and disseminating information about the organization and its role in society, and as a relationship management function in developing ethical, accountable and socially responsible relationships with key stakeholders” (Goodwin & Bartlett, 2008, p. 16). Therefore, these findings attest that CSR and PR are separate disciplines which share similar goals in terms of undertaking endeavors that result to generating a positive image for the organization, while looking after the welfare of the public. Is Corporate Social Responsibility Just Public Relations? From the information gathered on the relationship between CSR and PR, it could be deduced that CSR is not just PR. Asserting that CSR is just PR is not a fair evaluation. In fact, there were findings which indicated that CSR has been found to be devoid of stressing the role that communication plays in promoting commitment to social responsibility (Clark, 2000). Some organizations who profess commitment to CSR do not acknowledge the need to promulgate or publicly announce their CSR principles. As such, this evidently attests to that their CSR efforts are not merely undertaken for PR purposes. As it is, the presence and commitment to CSR principles have enabled the generation of immense benefits through reflecting a positive image, as well as attracting customers to patronize the organizations’ products and services. From the evolution of CSR and PR presented by Clark (2000), the authors identified the period within which CSR was noted to be compared to PR. Specifically during the meeting of the Association for Education in Journalism held at the Boston University in 1980, Bernays was identified to have averred that “public relations is the practice of social responsibility” (James E. Grunig & Hunt, 1984, p. 47). After that, CSR was allegedly evaluated to be more of a process and a responsibility, than merely being considered a reputation building aspect asserted in PR (Clark, 2000). In addition, CSR is considered as a commitment of management where four (4) distinct responsibilities to societies were reported to be an integral part of: “economic, legal, ethical, and discretionary… (Likewise)…four main responsiveness strategies (were also outlined): reactive, defensive, accommodative, and proactive” (Carroll, 1979, pp. 497 & 505). As such, CSR takes a more responsible and accountable stance to society through the duties noted, as contrasted to PR endeavors. As such, CSR eventually transcended to becoming a strategic tool for organizations to enhance their reputations, strengthen their brands, and gain competitive advantage. Through various studies of organizations that incorporated CSR in their organizational principles and policies, the transformation and postive impact confirmed that CSR evolved from its initial thrust of providing enhanced reputation (PR) to gaining increased core competencies in their fields of endeavors (Rogriguez, 2007). The findings of Rodriguez (2007) confirmed that “corporations that undertake social initiatives, strategic CSR,and philanthropy, exceed what is expected of them, and as a result, value and benefits accrue to the company” (p. 80). In fact, as revealed, “according to a study by Cone Communications, 9 out of 10 consumers would refrain from doing business with a corporation if there existed no corporate social responsibility plan” (Double the Donation, 2015, p. 1). The finding is corroborated in another study which asserted that perceptions of people on CSR influence the manner by which they categorize an organization as reputable or not (Forbes, 2015). Some of the organizations that belong to the top 10 companies with the best CSR reputations are as follows: Microsoft, Google, and Walt Disney Company, as the top three. In addition, employees who work for a company which promotes strong CSR commitments have been observed to be happier and therefore exhibits greater productivity and increased job satisfaction which facilitates contribution to the organization’s goals. Conclusion Various studies which traced the evolution of CSR attest to the fact that CSR extends beyond PR. Though these disciplines shared common components in terms of the goal of doing something good to stakeholders, CSR was noted to have evolved to possess greater commitment and responsibilities in spheres that included other macro-oriented perspectives: the economy, environment, politico-legal aspects, as well as conforming to ethical, legal, and moral standards. References List Carroll, A., 1979. A Three-dimensional Conceptual Model of Corporate Social Performance. Academy of Management Review, Volume 10, p. 758–769. CIPR, n.d.. What is PR?. [Online] Available at: http://www.cipr.co.uk/content/careers-cpd/careers-advice-and-case-studies/what-pr [Accessed 16 April 2015]. Clark, C., 2000. Differences between public relations and corporate social responsibility: An analysis. Public Relations Review, 26(3), pp. 363-80. Double the Donation, 2015. Why Corporate Social Responsibility is Important in 2015. [Online] Available at: https://doublethedonation.com/blog/2013/10/corporate-social-responsibility-2015/ [Accessed 16 April 2015]. Forbes, 2015. The 10 Companies With the Best CSR Reputations. [Online] Available at: http://www.forbes.com/pictures/efkk45mmlm/the-10-companies-with-the-best-csr-reputations/ [Accessed 16 April 2015]. Goodwin, F. & Bartlett, J., 2008. Public Relations and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) - Working Paper. [Online] Available at: http://eprints.qut.edu.au/15427/1/15427.pdf [Accessed 16 April 2015]. James E. Grunig, J. & Hunt, T., 1984. Managing Public Relations. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich College Publishers. Rogriguez, A., 2007. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): Responsibility or Innovation? An Analysis of the Feedback between CSR activities and the expectations placed upon corporations. [Online] Available at: http://dspace.mit.edu/bitstream/handle/1721.1/59783/671247177.pdf?...1 [Accessed 16 April 2015]. UNIDO, n.d.. What is CSR?. [Online] [Accessed 16 April 2015]. WBCSD, n.d.. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). [Online] Available at: http://www.wbcsd.org/work-program/business-role/previous-work/corporate-social-responsibility.aspx [Accessed 16 April 2015]. Read More