Organizations throughout their existence have always generated their profits at the expense of others. In all the existing processes of an organization, it is always necessary to make use of resources (human, financial, material, technical or technological).
Previously, companies only looked for their own interests and nothing else, they were not interested in anything other than good results in terms of profits. The activities they carry out affect the quality of life of their staff, either positively or negatively.
Just as the activities of organizations affect the lifestyle of their collaborators, the actions they carry out have positive or negative impacts in the area or region where they are established, that is, the processes carried out by companies can generate so many benefits as damages to the adjacent communities, as well as to the environment.
In more recent years, companies have changed the way they think, not only thinking about themselves, but also about the other factors that help them achieve their goals.
Organizations currently reward society, the environment and their collaborators, part of the benefits it achieves with the activities carried out by these factors. This is how "Corporate Social Responsibility" was born.
Basic concepts
The following concepts define the term of Corporate Social Responsibility (hereinafter CSR):
- Responsibility: a person who is aware of his actions, who knows that these are the indirect or direct cause of an act, which can be imputed and the person must answer for these acts (Ucha, ABC Definition, 2008). Social: it is a sociological concept that refers to the relationships established in a community, that is, the term social encompasses all relationships between living beings (Wikipedia, 2017). Social responsibility: commitment of citizens, public and private institutions, social organizations, in general, to contribute to the growth of the well-being of local and global society (Fernández García, 2010). CSR: business vision in which the company's respect for people, ethical values, community and environment is grouped (Cajiga Calderon, 2008).
Another concept of CSR is the following:
- CSR: business philosophy that originates from the idea of providing benefits to society as compensation for the possible damages that the installation of the company may have caused (Ruiz Otero, Gago García, García Leal, & Lopez Barra, 2012).
It can be said that CSR is a methodology that organizations have adopted to return a little of the benefits they generate, through the elements taken by the environment, society and its personnel, that is, the impact that companies cause in These factors are remunerated in different ways.
CSR
In more recent years, administration within organizations has been forced to gradually put aside the traditional way of managing itself, which only focused only on obtaining benefits and good economic performance, as the only point of reference for the social welfare of community.
The growing concern for CSR is a philosophy that, for several years, has been attracting the attention of organizations (specifically, large corporations), civil societies and public institutions. CSR has its origin in the growing concern of society in ethical, social and environmental aspects.
Some of the organizations that manage to survive and enjoy success today are those that collaborate at the same time the social, economic and environmental dimensions of business. It should not be forgotten that companies are ideas that become projects, which are developed by people, with people and for people (Domínguez Martín, 2011).
Companies, like individuals, must comply with certain legal guidelines and be responsible, behaving civically and ethically before society, since it expects organizations to be responsible for their actions, and companies are good citizens.
CSR must be based on the values described by the company and must be reflected in an integration of policies, activities and programs throughout the organization's processes to make it part of the company. However, otherwise, there would be a risk when applying practices that, although they are socially responsible, by not following established guidelines or mandates, CSR is in danger of suspending itself in the face of any activity, business crisis or change of direction of the organization.
CSR principles
Organizations transform products or services to meet customer demands and thus meet their needs, in order to generate the maximum possible benefit.
Currently new trends in market economies, they not only have as a goal to increase the benefits obtained, but also to demonstrate through CSR in their administration. The trend has mainly developed in developed societies, which believe that organizations should give back or return to society part of the profits they achieve through their activities.
The organizations express that in addition to having responsibilities and obligations with their partners, they must also respond for the environmental and social impacts and damage of their activities. The company's reasons for emphasizing social responsibility tasks are because they generate competitive advantage, by increasing and enhancing the good image of companies towards customers.
For companies today it is vital that in the execution of their activities, they make use of sustainable policies, that is, policies that meet and satisfy the needs that are present and future, but without neglecting society's requests.
The principles under which CSR is governed are as follows according to (Creative commons, 2013):
- Compliance with national legislation that is in force and with special care in international standards, for example: Human Rights, UN standards regarding the responsibility of transnational corporations and other commercial companies. Global character: CSR influences all areas of the organization, as well as its participants and geographic areas where it carries out its activities. Therefore it affects to some degree the entire value chain that is required for the development of the activity, provision of the service or production of the good. CSR acts on objective ethical Commitments, which in this way become obligations for those who It acquires them. It is presented in the impacts that business activity generates, in the social, economic and environmental aspects.It focuses on the satisfaction and information of the expectations of the interested groups.
Table 1 shows the difference between CSR and philanthropic activities
Table 1: Differential matrix between CSR and other company situations. Source: (Fernández García, 2010)
The actions carried out by CSR should not be confused with sponsorship activities, donations or business strategy, which only seek to clean up the image of the organization or improve its reputation with the consumer.
Another point that should not be confused or associated with, is marketing with cause, which is a technique by which an organization commits to provide support to a social project in exchange for benefiting its image.
CSR is a very profitable administrative tool that is applicable to the basic activity of the organization, which must be permanent within the company and that requires managers to be committed to it.
Degree of commitment of an organization to CSR.
To detect how committed the organization is to CSR, the following areas can be observed:
- Ethical principles and values: refers to the integration of principles in decision-making to carry out the strategic processes and objectives proposed by the company. The basic principles are the ideals and beliefs that serve as a reference point for decision making. This point is known as a "value-based business approach." Support to the community: they are the activities that the company carries out to increase the impact of its contributions, be these monetary, product, time, knowledge or other resources that are destined to the communities. Responsible Marketing: Policies that include a set of consumer-related organizational decisions and binds with product integrity. Environmental care:the organization's commitment to the environment and sustainable development Condition of the work and employment area: it alluded to human resources policies that affect employees, such as compensation and benefits.
CSR dimensions
CSR covers different aspects of the organization; Comprehensive responsibility implies the analysis and delimitation of the scope that the company will achieve, this scope is established and related to the different needs, values and expectations that form the work and being of the people and societies with which it interacts; the dimensions or levels of CSR can be grouped as follows
- Internal economic dimension: responsibility is based on the generation and distribution of added values among collaborators and shareholders; market conditions are not only considered, but equity and justice are also included. External economic dimension: includes the creation and distribution of useful and profitable products and services for society, as well as its contribution to the public cause through the tax contribution. In addition, the organization must participate in the delimitation and application of the economic plans of the area where it is located and the country. Internal social dimension: includes the shared and subsidiary responsibility of collaborators, managers, shareholders and suppliers for the care and inculcation of the culture and quality of life at work, as well asthe full and integral development of all. Sociocultural dimension and external policy: it implies the carrying out of actions and own and union contributions selected to contribute with time and resource to the development of conditions that allow and benefit the growth of entrepreneurship and the full development of societies and communities. Internal ecological dimension: it is the total responsibility of the company regarding the consequences it causes on the environment, the actions it performs when executing its processes, preparing its products and by-products; With this in mind, organizations see the prevention and repair of the damage they cause. External ecological dimension: includes carrying out specific activities to contribute to the preservation and improvement of ecology,for the good of humanity today and future.
Carrying out the analysis of each dimension, leads to the definition of concrete action strategies so that each company acts according to its context, takes charge and cost of preparing complete individual or group projects.
According to Ruiz Otero, Gago García, García Leal, & Lopez Barra (2012), the areas of work in CSR are the following:
Work areas in which CSR is developed
- Ethical social responsibility: includes a behavior focused on the justice of organizations with the social groups with which it is related. Economic social responsibility: it is the way in which wealth is generated in the organization and how it is divided among interest groups. Legal social responsibility: includes the commitment that must go beyond compliance with legal factors.
Areas that influence CSR.
The work areas in which CSR is developed influence and affect different areas of company administration, which are the following:
- Human rights: human rights define that organizations have a duty to observe, promote and respect human rights. Companies as social organizations have the obligation to comply with international human rights rules. Labor rights: the International Labor Organization (ILO) has decreed more than 200 standards regarding labor conditions. Some of them stipulate the four main rights of the worker: free association, prohibition of forced labor, prohibition of child labor and non-discrimination. Environment: The UN recognizes sustainable development as a global objective. Within this area, there are agreements clarifying the responsibilities of the organizations with respect to the impacts generated by their processes,products and services in the quality of air, water, biodiversity, climate, among other factors. Consumer protection: this area is based on the following eight principles established by the UN directorate for consumer protection: the right to access basic goods and services, security, health, the right to information, to choose, to be heard and to claim, the right to education as a consumer and finally the right to sustainability. Health: companies are obliged to contribute to non-discrimination, regarding access to health goods and services, mainly to the most fragile groups in society (Creative commons, 2013).This area is based on the following eight principles established by the UN Directorate for consumer protection: the right to access basic goods and services, security, health, the right to information, to choose, to be heard and to claim, the right to consumer education and lastly the right to sustainability. Health: companies are obliged to contribute to non-discrimination, regarding access to health goods and services, mainly to the most fragile groups in society (Creative commons, 2013).This area is based on the following eight principles established by the UN Directorate for consumer protection: the right to access basic goods and services, security, health, the right to information, to choose, to be heard and to claim, the right to consumer education and lastly the right to sustainability. Health: companies are obliged to contribute to non-discrimination, regarding access to health goods and services, mainly to the most fragile groups in society (Creative commons, 2013).Companies are obliged to contribute to non-discrimination, in terms of access to health goods and services, mainly to the most fragile groups in society (Creative Commons, 2013).Companies are obliged to contribute to non-discrimination, in terms of access to health goods and services, mainly to the most fragile groups in society (Creative Commons, 2013).
Stakeholder (stakeholders) of CSR
One of the main challenges that organizations face in recent years is meeting the needs of people and groups that interact with each other.
Stakeholders or interest groups (public, private, individual or group) are related to organizations and have great influence on the behaviors that companies develop.
The stakeholders with which a company can interact or interact are very varied and are not just shareholders, workers, partners, investments, customers, suppliers, unions, competition, among others.
Companies also have their interests fixed in relation to other institutions: non-governmental organizations, the media, the public administration, social partners and the general public.
Companies are determined to interact with stakeholders, in order to know their opinions on some social issues, because they can put a lot of pressure on the general public.
Figure 1: Stakeholder for organizations. Source: (Roman López, 2016).
conclusion
CSR is a very efficient method, through which organizations can increase their level of competitiveness by meeting the demands of society; Because companies take what they need from communities, they expect something back.
CSR generates benefits for both the company and the environment that surrounds it, and it is a policy that provides organizations with a good image and prestige for customers.
The boom that CSR has had in companies has been very large and profitable for the parties involved in the context that encompasses this responsibility. This responsibility has resulted in many organizations today applying policies that are friendlier to the environment around them, their staff, and customers.
Thesis proposal.
Increase the competitiveness and credibility of SMEs in the Orizaba region, contributing to the improvement of organizations' social responsibility practices.
Gratitude
I am deeply grateful to the Technological Institute of Orizaba for contributing to my professional training to this day, to the National Rabbit for Science and Technology (CONACyT) for the financial support that it gives me to continue with my master's studies, to the teachers of the Master's in Administrative Engineering for giving me the opportunity to enter the program and lastly to Dr. Fernando Aguirre y Hernandez for promoting the culture of writing and reading articles.
References
Cajiga Calderon, JF (2008). The concept of corporate social responsibility.
Cemefi, 1-35.
Creative commons. (2013). Introduction to Corporate Social Responsibility. CSR Observatory, 6-33.
Domínguez Martín, R. (2011). Corporate Social Responsibility. CEOE - PYME, 10-57.
Fernández García, R. (2010). Corporate Social Responsibility: A new business culture. San Vicente (Alicante): Editorial Club Universitario.
Roman López, T. (October 18, 2016). Gestiopolis. Obtained from:
Ruiz Otero, E., Gago García, ML, García Leal, C., & Lopez Barra, S. (2012). Human resources and corporate social responsibility. Aravaca: McGrawHill Education.
Ucha, F. (November 06, 2008). ABC definition. Obtained from:
Wikipedia. (September 05, 2017). Wikipedia the free encyclopedia. Obtained from:
Wikipedia. (September 04, 2017). Wikipedia the free encyclopedia. Obtained from:
Market economy: it is the organization and allocation of products and services that arise from the game between supply and demand (Wikipedia, 2017).
Download the original file
