In the last 30 years, technological advances have brought a series of improvements to the management and operational processes within organizations. Among these advances in technology we find the improvements that have been promoted when managing information and communications within our companies. Among these advances we find the Internet, including in this definition all the software and hardware necessary to access it, which has totally changed the way of doing business and providing services. In this sense, the organizations that have realized the benefits and opportunities of the use of these technologies are those that have remained competitive over the years, constantly evolving.
According to the above, we can affirm that companies are in the constant dilemma of adapting or not to the changes in the social, economic and technological environment that a globalized economy such as the current one requires. This means in the search for solutions that allow them to remain positioned and give them a competitive advantage over the competition. For this reason, organizations must project into the future, be in constant evolution and innovation, adapting to the requirements of customers and the market, without improvising and without forgetting what the goal is, to meet customer requirements, maintaining sustainability at any proof, be socially responsible and above all comply with national and international legal requirements.
Social responsibility and ICTs in business strategy
This is how the use of the technology that is available to companies becomes a business strategy, specifically in the approach and satisfaction of customer needs, cost reduction, better business image, efficiency and operational effectiveness, penetration in new markets, among others. For this reason, we can consider that the inclusion of technologies is a continuous and irreversible process in which it must be deepened if it is to remain in the market for a long time.
On the other hand, we find that, in addition to technology, a trend is also developing in a parallel manner that also modifies the strategic planning of organizations in the medium and long term to face emerging competitive environments, and thus focus on improving the quality of life of people and the environment, based mainly on legal compliance and respecting the globally accepted principles of environmental protection and sustainable development.
This “new approach” known as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), is globally directed towards the dignity of the human being, decent work and sustainable development. This is why an organizational leadership must be taken as a reference, which must be integrated with the policies of our companies, the organizational culture and the market, but making evident its social and human sensitivity as part of its vision and objectives.
Currently in Venezuela the CSR approach is mainly aimed at complying with legal requirements, the expansion and positioning of organizations in the long term, based on the implementation of a corporate strategy inside and outside the companies. This strategy is mainly focused on the perception of the environment of our company, that is, the corporate image that we project
For this reason, we can mention that if both strategies are adequately integrated and used to support management, they can become excellent allies in the education and training of the company's internal and external human talent, as part of an improvement initiative. social, the relationship with customers and the environment, the acquisition of new customers and the vision that the organization projects, because not only is it enough to be appreciated by society as a "good company", but as an organization that leaves a contribution to its community and is committed to the advancement and improvement of the environment, be it social or environmental.
In the same way, they can provide speed in the access, storage and transmission of information in real time, which can be extrapolated to the improvement of the organization's social programs so that they reach more people and with higher quality, which in the long run it will be reflected in the image we project.
On the other hand, the problem arises when the economic situation hits our ability to invest, which results in us beginning to ask ourselves the question of What are we going to invest in? Answering this question becomes complicated when we know that we must invest in other aspects to stay operational. What we must try to remember is that companies with a global corporate vision, socially responsible, will be the ones that achieve long-term sustainable development, where their strategic planning will guarantee them to be competitive and well positioned, but rather, they will become recognition from its customers and consumers, which in turn becomes recognition and respect from the competition.
