CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
CSR - Corporate Social Responsibility
CSR – is an idea that emerged several decades ago and over time has become more and more recognizable.
Initially, it was mainly associated with the activities of large corporations and their influence on modelling the lifestyle of society.
At this point, it is necessary to consider what CSR is.
According to this philosophy, companies should take responsibility for their policies and their impact on customers, suppliers, employees, the environment and the local community. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a large corporation or a small local family business. Companies operating in accordance with the assumptions of CSR are positively perceived as more human, and not only focused on making pure profit.
Such activities increase the value of the company by:
- building teams motivated by trust and commitment
- improving the quality of services provided and manufactured products
- reducing operating expenses
- strengthening the bond between the brand and the customer
- increasing profits
The CSR strategy in the company is also associated with image related benefits. It inspires trust, builds a positive image of a company that aims not only at sales and profit, but also the good of people. Socially responsible business pays attention to people not only in its immediate surroundings, but also to the environment and the world in which it operates.
We currently live in a world where the awareness of the society is changing very quickly. This is due to the level of education and access to new technologies that facilitate our functioning. People are focusing more and more attention not only on financial benefits, but also on the surrounding environment and on interpersonal relationships.
The long-term perspective of CSR pays off.
Here are some aspects:
- Investors and lenders – are more interested in cooperation with responsible companies that, in addition to good financial results, are managed in a transparent manner, have good relations with local authorities and the community. Many entrepreneurs make financial credibility dependent on social credibility.
- A growing group of consumers and other customers puts emphasis on loyalty in business – the increasing social awareness of customers means that when deciding to buy products of a given company, they are guided by trust in it and its image. The “green nature” of products or services is also becoming more and more important.
- Proper relations with local authorities – Companies that actively participate in the life of the local community and undertake long-term cooperation in the field of social investments. This facilitates their efficient functioning and helps to win the favour of local residents and local authorities.
- Increased competitiveness – Increasing competitive advantage is another asset supporting the introduction of CSR principles. In particular, in case of Polish enterprises, the implementation of these principles may have a significant impact on building a position on global markets, where expectations regarding meeting responsible business standards are more obvious.
- Increasing the level of business culture in the company – By taking up the challenges of social responsibility, the company raises its standards of conduct towards: employees, customers, suppliers. These changes affect shaping of the company’s organizational culture based on trust, responsibility and transparency for all stakeholders.
- Creating a positive image of the company among employees – Thanks to the introduction of CSR, employees can also be motivated in a non-financial way. Ethical conduct, acting for the benefit of the local community, care for the environment, the image of the company in the eyes of the employee are improving. Employees treat the company and its authorities with more respect, seeing that part of its activity is aimed at solving important, also for them, social problems.
- Attracting and retaining the best employees – When the company’s image improves and employees trust it, the company’s attractiveness on the labour market also increases, which allows it to attract new and retain the best employees.
