[Global HR Forum 2011] Corporate Social Responsibility Takes on Greater Role

Corporate Social Responsibility Takes on Greater Role

- Money should never be the purpose. Money is the outcome

 

In a nod to the growing importance of corporate social responsibility (CSR), the second plenary session took off with the topic “Creation of a New Corporate Competitiveness: Social Marketing and Utilizing Human Resources.”

 

“Business has to be on the right side and it should create positive impacts on the world,” said Professor Rajendra Sisodia of Bently University. “Being on the right side starts with having higher notions. Money should never be the purpose. Money is the outcome. When you have a higher purpose, you can attract the community and customers,” he added. He also said that companies should create win-win ways that create multiple kinds of values.

 

 

As the first speaker, Robert Pickard, president and chief executive of Burson-Marsteller Asia Pacific, gave many specific examples in the real world. He commented that social marketing and brand marketing have merged over the years and the boundary has become indistinguishable. Defining public relations disasters as “everything that famously goes wrong in the world today,” he threw the question of whether we should deem events such as Toyota's recall, the Tiger Woods spectacle and the BP oil spill as a PR disaster or simply an individual’s responsibility. He also mentioned the China oil spill incident. “This incident showed the collective consciousness of online China. Clearly, it showed the power of social media,” he said.

 

He went on to stress the social responsibility of corporations. “A few years ago, people believed that the government had solutions to all problems such as debt, food crisis and environmental problems. But now, the majority of consumers and executives believe that large multinational companies play a broader role in society that transcend their traditional roles,” he said. Thus, he required a new approach in terms of public relationship. “It’s important that executives communicate with people in a highly customized way making people feel important. The key to success as a social business is finding the corporate responsibility that aligns with your corporate objective,” he concluded. 

 

 

 

Russ Hagey, senior partner and worldwide chief talent officer at Bain & Company, said that “building a new business model and talent model that integrates social responsibility is very important.” He defined corporate responsibility as “the way a company integrates social, environmental and economic sustainability concerns into its strategy, operations and interactions with stakeholders.”

 

Mr. Hagey presented a survey of 1,450 employees at Bain & Company. The results of the survey showed that employees value sustainability and that CSR items such as reducing overseas pollution, eliminating child labor and sourcing green energy rated highly. “This clearly shows that a new kind of leadership is required,” he said.