Corporate Social Responsibility

Paper Summary:

This paper examines corporate social responsibility. The paper explains that this is a term used to describe the way a corporation operates in regard to the community and environment in which it resides and the ethical and moral standards in which it conducts business. The paper looks at how corporate social responsibility is quickly becoming an increasingly important issue as consumers are holding corporations progressively more accountable for their methods of business practices and operations. The paper then discuses how in today's current global economy, corporations can no longer operate on the level of autonomy that was once common, and how this is evident in the increasing decentralization of the traditional corporate hierarchy that is becoming more common in corporations across the nation. In conclusion, the paper shows that companies must evolve with time and generational changes in order to maintain success and long-term profitability.

From the Paper:

"Regardless of these positive aspects of Costlos' corporate environment, the net losses posted for the last two quarters denotes a need for fiscal policy and business model change while attempting to maintain its' current level of stakeholder confidence. As the fifth largest retailer in
the United States, Costlo has an inherent responsibility to not only shareholders but to employees', suppliers and the communities in which it operates as well.
"Over the years, the topic of corporate social responsibility has been gaining ground both in popularity and importance. The traditional Friedman or shareholder view of a corporations' only role in social responsibility is to "...use its resources to engage in activities designed to increase its' profits..." (Friedman 1970) in itself may be narrow though it is nonetheless true."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Friedman, Milton. "The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase Profits." The New York Times Magazine. Electronic Version. 13 Sept. 1970. <http://colorado.edu/studentgroups/libertarieans/issues/friedman-soc-resp-business.html>
• Gilmour, Bill, Doug Main and Julian Chu. "Consumer Products 2010. Executing to Lead in a World of Extremes." May 2004. <http://www-03.bim.com/industries.consumerproducts/doc/content/bin/Consumer_products_2010.pdf>
• Graham, Carol, Robert Litan and Sandip Sukhtankar. "Cooking the Books: The Cost to the Economy." August 2002. < http://www.brookings.edu/comm/policybriefs/pb106.htm>
• Grow, Brian, Steve Hamm and Louise Lee. "The Debate Over Doing Good." 15 Aug. 2005< http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_33/b3947109_mz017.htm>
• Hymowitz, Carol. "Corporate Social Concerns: Are they Good Citizenship or a Rip-Off for Investors?" 6 Dec. 2005. <http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB11335510543971626.html?mod=todays_free_feature>

More papers on Corporate Social Responsibility:

• Term Paper # 93112 : "Corporate Social Responsibility"
• Research Paper # 60009 : "Public Relations and Corporate Social Responsibility"
• Analytical Essay # 143882 : "Corporate Social Responsibility"
• Research Paper # 73953 : "Corporate Social Responsibility"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: