here
has always been a need to analyse and respond to societal processes and
unrest. But in the times when we are faced with global economic crisis,
there is an urgency to renew our commitment to social issues. Reduction
in public and private spending on social programmes throws up further
challenges for the sustenance of efforts towards development. The book
advocates countering this trend through ‘global social entrepreneurship’
and the use of innovative, inexpensive and locally customised solutions.
The authors review three theoretical approaches to strategic ‘Corporate
Social Responsibility’ (CSR), which can be defined as voluntary CSR
actions that enhance a firm’s competitiveness and reputation. It is
stated that the end result of such activities should be an improvement
in financial and economic performance of the organisation. After careful
examination of recent empirical evidence, the authors conclude that
economic implications of strategic CSR have the greatest potential for
advancing this field of inquiry. They further note that theories related
to strategic leadership should also be incorporated into this
perspective. In the remainder of the article, they provide focused
summaries of the articles presented in this special issue and outline an
agenda for future research on strategic CSR and environmental
sustainability.
Using in-depth and
contemporary case studies, the book demonstrates how to define, measure
and achieve socially and environmentally sustainable growth. The book is
organised in three broad themes. The first theme defines social
responsibility and environmental sustainability and describes
performance measures in each of these areas. The second theme offers
four in-depth cases of social endeavors in newly formed organisations.
The third and final theme offers four in-depth cases tackling issues on
environmental sustainability. The book not only motivates social
entrepreneurs to build new models of sustainable growth, but also to
scale existing solutions and to create new public-private partnerships (PPPs).
This book advocates global social entrepreneurship through the use of
innovative and low cost intensive solutions, suitable to local needs and
environment. In a more analytical perspective, ethics involve concepts
of right and wrong, fair and unfair, and moral and immoral. Beliefs
about what is ethical serve as a moral compass in guiding the actions
and behaviours of individuals and organisations. The editors distinctly
point out three categories of managers, which stand out with regard to
their prevailing beliefs and commitments to ethical and moral principles
in business affairs: the moral manager, the immoral manager and the
amoral manager. By some accounts, the population of managers is said to
be distributed among the three types in a bell-shaped curve, with
immoral managers and moral managers occupying the two tails of the
curve, and the amoral managers, especially the intentionally amoral
managers, occupying the broad middle ground.
The moral case for
social responsibility boils down to a simple concept: "It’s the right
thing to do" or "What is the right thing to do". The basic principle in
business with regard to social responsibility holds that it is in the
enlightened self-interest of companies to be good citizens and devote
some of their energies and resources to the betterment of stakeholders
such as employees, the communities in which it operates and society in
general. There’s ample room for every company to tailor its social
responsibility strategy to fit its core values and business mission,
thereby making its own statement about "how we do business and how we
intend to fulfill our duties to all stakeholders and society at large."
Corporate sustainability involves strategic efforts to meet the needs of
current customers, suppliers, shareholders, employees and other
stakeholders, while protecting and perhaps enhancing the resources
needed by future generations to come.
In today’s world,
there is absolutely nothing that lives in isolation. Everything is
interlinked, including sustained economy and sustainable environment.
Without sustainable environmental initiatives, prospects of a sustained
economy are limited. However, a planned approach to educate stakeholders
and make them a part of the team helps in finding a successful solution
– for environmental champions as well as for those who focus on
developing sustainable business models.
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