Corporate Social Responsibility Paper Essay, Research Paper

Corporate Social Responsibility is a corporation that is responsible, not only for themselves, but also the employees, local community, environment and global impact. As history has shown us, a greedy or ignorant corporation can do vast amounts of damage to an environment, community, and people. Everything from using unsafe chemicals, to the clearing of acres of forest just to turn a profit. Almost always, in the past, business owners never looked to the future, or at any possible reactions to their illegal or unsafe measures.

With the general populous becoming more aware of the surrounding work environment, it becomes harder for a corporation to work outside of the legal parameters set by the World Trade Organization, local governments, various unions and fair business orientated organizations.

Socially, economically, and globally, employees and communities expect more responsibility from the corporation of today. With the economy being as good as it is, and more people educated in law and ethics, it is easier today to get the corporations to be responsible for their actions.

By being responsible, an organization will follow current work trends in waste disposal, workplace safety, training, family/work life, education, and giving back to a community. Some of the best organizations today are where they are because of the way they treat employees and the community.

The pyramid theory by Archie Carroll appears to be a more straight forward definition that encompasses all industry as one, very generalized. The Archie Pyramid Theory is reminiscent of Maslows Hierarchy.

In Maslows Hierarchy, one level of need must be obtained before another. Maslow believed that workers were human. To prove his theory, he performed a psychological evaluation on early 20th century workers. He found that before a person can even think of feeling safe at a job, that person s basic necessities of life must be met first. Basic necessities are defined as, but are not limited to, food, shelter, and clothing.

After the first level was reached, the worker would move on to a second level. There are five levels in his theory. The fifth being a stage called self-actualization. Defined as (in my words): being all that you can be. Having reached, and are currently basking in, the prime of your life accomplishments. (i.e. Bill Gates, Henry Ford, Lee Iacocca, etc.) (This would be another paper.)

The manner in which Archie Carroll has designed his pyramid appears to work well enough to deliver a reasonable explanation for his theory. For an organization to achieve a level of business where they can donate to a charity, they have to have a strong economic base. By taking care of the finances first, guarantees longevity of the business so that a level of philanthropy may be achieved.

Legal and ethical issues need to be addressed simultaneously. There may have been a time, about 80 years ago, when all that mattered was the legal issues. The ethical manner in which one conducted business didn t become popular until some time later. This is the only part of the pyramid that I would suggest for a change. Instead of a level two and three, combine the two. They are equally important in today s society.

Overall, the pyramid is a very good way to portrait Corporate Social Responsibility. It is not a very good depiction for a person who has no knowledge of the subject and is seeing the pyramid for the first time.

The impression I have gotten from the authors of the book, they seem to leave the definition of Corporate Social Responsibility up to the reader. They write in an essay manner, leaving little room for the reader to decipher an opinion from them. The essays and cases they write about are very serious matters. They require a lot of thinking and research, and the decision makers in the cases must have been under much pressure trying to get a fair deal for all involved.