In the framework of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), organizations and firms give to the community, environment, and economy. It is clear that an act like this, of giving, enriches the society on the receiving end. That being said, organizations and companies today increasingly understand that the act of giving to another also has a business value for the contributing organization. Companies today are very aware of the advantage and of the contribution to the community. They have internalized the fact that they will begin to benefit as soon as they allocate resources to social responsibility. Contributing to the community brings about a change in the organizational image of a company. Volunteer activities and contributions to the community generally have a positive influence on the company's business reputation. This chapter explores these aspects of CSR.
Getting money is not all a man’s business: To cultivate kindness is a valuable part of the business of life. -- Samuel Johnson
TopIntroduction
In the framework of CSR- Corporate Social Responsibility, organizations and firms contribute to the public in three ways; community, environmentally and economically. This type of contribution is called The “Triple Bottom lines” (Ellington, 1998; Fry & Slocum, 2008), and enhances society greatly. Many companies today set community assistance as a goal based on the premise that an organization or company cannot function without the support of the public. A company will give back part either of the “payment” it receives from the public, financially or with another form of aid.
Today more than ever there is an emphasis on the positive influence of organizations and business on the community. The phenomenon of CSR is well known and has expanded in its activities across the entire world. Organizations and companies today increasingly understand that the act of giving to others has a business value for the contributing organization as well.
The basic idea behind CSR is that the business and community sectors are intertwined and share social, economic, and cultural reciprocity. Cooperation between these sectors are expressed in different ways, so that each side contributes to the other (Carroll & Shabana, 2010; Morgenson et al., 2103; Wolf, 2013). For example, the business sector may take care of environmental quality in a certain location, and the community will reward it with publicity and a positive reputation. Coca-Cola, for instance, took care to maintain and develop public parks in certain areas and the people in these locations rewarded the company by publicizing the company’s good ideas and promoting its reputation (The CSR Profile of Coca-Cola Company, n.d).
There is no doubt that both sides reap benefits from these actions. Contributing to the community puts the company at an advantage by all the positive publicity it receives. Companies today are very aware of the advantages of contributing to the community and internalized the fact that they will begin to benefit as soon as they allocate resources to social responsibility.