Corporate Social Responsibility of Ngos
‘CSR isn’t Charity’
I could hear the sound of my wall-clock ticking and when it was blowing up at 11 pm, the one that I had been waiting for was online on Skype. At this very late at night, an ordinary 26-year-old girl should tuck into her bed and sleep tight; however, she just came back home and had her dinner. Being busy with her position as Practice Head of T&A Ogilvy Vietnam, managing a group of practical and rigid technological-related clients, she is supposed to be stressed out. However, miss Quynh Trang appears to be very satisfied with her current job as “I can help those practical people see another dimension beside machines and theoretical principles, which is the truest taste of life where humanity and sympathy for their disadvantaged fellows come in”.
Yes, it’s the feeling that Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) gives to each person. Feeling good, feeling proud and feeling optimistic.
Ever since CSR becomes one big part of every company, no matter they are big or small, a concern is raised whose answer is controversial:
“CSR is from guiltiness or willingness for the good of the society?”
Reproduced from T&A Ogilvy 2011
Reproduced from T&A Ogilvy 2011
According to Keinert (2008), CSR is “describing the relationship between business and the larger society surrounding it…” (p. 38). CSR doesn’t mean the same to everyone (Keinert 2008). Some may see it as a type of branding; some may see it as an advertising tool; and even worse, some see it as an action to ease the guiltiness in the mind of companies’ management board. In most cases, people do not see CSR as an action of a group of people but of a particular top person in the company only.
Miss Trang affirmed that only a small part in the purpose of CSR is branding so we do not have to be afraid that people misunderstand our action. However, the companies themselves have to clarify the differences between CSR and Charity. We can either financially support poor people or give time
I could hear the sound of my wall-clock ticking and when it was blowing up at 11 pm, the one that I had been waiting for was online on Skype. At this very late at night, an ordinary 26-year-old girl should tuck into her bed and sleep tight; however, she just came back home and had her dinner. Being busy with her position as Practice Head of T&A Ogilvy Vietnam, managing a group of practical and rigid technological-related clients, she is supposed to be stressed out. However, miss Quynh Trang appears to be very satisfied with her current job as “I can help those practical people see another dimension beside machines and theoretical principles, which is the truest taste of life where humanity and sympathy for their disadvantaged fellows come in”.
Yes, it’s the feeling that Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) gives to each person. Feeling good, feeling proud and feeling optimistic.
Ever since CSR becomes one big part of every company, no matter they are big or small, a concern is raised whose answer is controversial:
“CSR is from guiltiness or willingness for the good of the society?”
Reproduced from T&A Ogilvy 2011
Reproduced from T&A Ogilvy 2011
According to Keinert (2008), CSR is “describing the relationship between business and the larger society surrounding it…” (p. 38). CSR doesn’t mean the same to everyone (Keinert 2008). Some may see it as a type of branding; some may see it as an advertising tool; and even worse, some see it as an action to ease the guiltiness in the mind of companies’ management board. In most cases, people do not see CSR as an action of a group of people but of a particular top person in the company only.
Miss Trang affirmed that only a small part in the purpose of CSR is branding so we do not have to be afraid that people misunderstand our action. However, the companies themselves have to clarify the differences between CSR and Charity. We can either financially support poor people or give time
References: Canon 2012, Kyosei: Canon’s Corporate Philosophy, homepage, Canon Inc., viewed 30 August 2012, http://www.canon.com/about/philosophy/index.html . Keinert, C 2008, Corporate Social Responsibility as an International Strategy, Physica-Verlag Heidelberg, Leipzig. Solomon, R 2008, ‘The art of client service’, Kaplan, New York. Weltzien Hoivik, H, & Shankar, D 2011, ‘How can SMEs in a Cluster respond to global demands for corporate responsibility?’, Journal of business ethics, vol. 2, no. 101, pp.175-195 Zullo, R 2011, ‘Labor Unions and Charity’, Industrial and Labor Relations Review, vol. 64, no. 4, pp. 699-711. Proof of life