Corporate social responsibility

Text 1. Be ready for comprehension check-up.

Write one more question to add to the quiz above. Ask a partner to answer it.

Ex.4. Do the quiz individually. Then compare answers with a partner.

Ex.3. Match the word and its definition.

a.Premium pricing 1.the price the company receives after

accounting for discounts, promotions,

and other incentives.

b.Promotional pricing 2. the strategy of consistently pricing at,

or near, the high end of the possible price

range to help attract status-conscious consumers.

c. A loss leader 3. the process of determining what a

company will receive in exchange for its products.

d.Price lining 4. manufacturing cost, market place,

competition, market condition, quality of product.

e. The effective price 5. refers to an instance where pricing is

the key element of the marketing mix.

f. Pricing 6. the use of a limited number of prices for

all your product offerings.

g.Pricing factors 7. a product that has a price set below the

operating margin.

1.If you go for a meal with someone you don’t know well, do you

b) offer to pay the whole bill?

c) suggest dividing the bill into equal parts?

d) offer to pay the whole bill but expect them to pay next time?

e) try to avoid paying anything?

2.What do you think about people who do not pay the correct amount of tax? Is this

a) a serious crime?

b) morally wrong but not a crime?

c) excellent business practice?

3.If you lend a colleague a small amount of money and they forgot to pay it back, do you

a) say nothing?

b) remind them that they owe you maney?

c) arrange to go for a drink with them and say you’ve forgotten your wallet or purse?

UNIT 5.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR for short, and also called corporate conscience, citizenship, social performance, or sustainable responsible business) is a form of corporate self-regulation integrated into a business model. CSR policy functions as a built-in, self-regulating mechanism whereby business monitors and ensures its active compliance with the spirit of the law, ethical standards, and international norms. The goal of CSR is to embrace responsibility for the company's actions and encourage a positive impact through its activities on the environment, consumers, employees, communities, stakeholders and all other members of the public sphere. CSR is the deliberate inclusion of public interest into corporate decision-making, and the honouring of a triple bottom line: people, planet, profit.

The term "corporate social responsibility" came in to common use in the early 1970s, after many multinational corporations formed. Proponents argue that corporations make more long term profits by operating with a perspective, while critics argue that CSR distracts from the economic role of businesses. Others argue CSR is merely window-dressing, or an attempt to pre-empt the role of governments as a watchdog over powerful multinational corporations.

Development business ethics is one of the forms of applied ethics that examines ethical principles and moral or ethical problems that can arise in a business environment.

Some critics believe that CSR programs are undertaken by companies such as British American Tobacco (BAT), the petroleum giant BP (well-known for its high-profile advertising campaigns on environmental aspects of its operations), and McDonald's to distract the public from ethical questions posed by their core operations. They argue that some corporations start CSR programs for the commercial benefit they enjoy through raising their reputation with the public or with government. They suggest that corporations which exist solely to maximize profits are unable to advance the interests of society as a whole.

Another concern is that sometimes companies claim to promote CSR and be committed to sustainable development but is simultaneously engaging in harmful business practices. For example, since the 1970s, the McDonald's Corporation's association with Ronald McDonald House has been viewed as CSR and relationship marketing. More recently, as CSR has become mainstream, the company has beefed up its CSR programs related to its labor, environmental and other practices. All the same, in McDonald's Restaurants the observers ruled that it was fair comment to say that McDonald's employees worldwide 'do badly in terms of pay and conditions' and true that 'if one eats enough McDonald's food, one's diet may well become high in fat etc., with the very real risk of heart disease.'

Royal Dutch Shell has a much-publicized CSR policy and was a pioneer in triple bottom line reporting, but this did not prevent the 2004 scandal concerning its misreporting of oil reserves, which seriously damaged its reputation and led to charges of hypocrisy. Since then, the Shell Foundation has become involved in many projects across the world, including a partnership with Marks and Spencer (UK) in three flower and fruit growing communities across Africa.

Critics concerned with corporate hypocrisy and insincerity generally suggest that better governmental and international regulation and enforcement, rather than voluntary measures, are necessary to ensure that companies behave in a socially responsible manner. Others, such as Patricia Werhane, argue that CSR should be considered more as a corporate moral responsibility, and limit the reach of CSR by focusing more on direct impacts of the organization as viewed through a systems perspective to identify stakeholders.

Answer the following questions:

1. What does CSR mean?

2. What is the generallyaccepted definition of sustainable development and what does it entail in practice?

3. What is the difference between CSR and charity?

4. What are the views of CSR critics?

5. What kind of conflicts can arise with respect to companies that proclaim their commitment to CSR?

6. What do advocates of CSR say and what are their arguments in favor of this concept?

7. Does it pay to be a good corporate citizen?

8. What do you think is the proper role of business in society?

Ex.1. Complete these views on CSR with a suitable expression:

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