Corporate Social Responsibility and Areas of Impact - Assignment Example

It respects cultural differences and finds the business opportunities in building the skills of employees, the community and the government". Other definitions from the same report define CSR as the “business of giving back to society” In the United States, CSR has been defined more in terms of a philanthropic model in that companies are free to make profits by any means available then donate a certain share of the profits to charitable causes. For the company to receive any benefit from the giving is seen as tainting the act.

Interestingly enough the European model is much more focused on operating the core business in a socially responsible way, complemented by investment in communities for solid business case reasons. Social responsibility becomes an integral part of the wealth creation process - which if managed properly should enhance the competitiveness of business and maximize the value of wealth creation to society. For instance, the CSR definition used in the by Business for Social Responsibility is: "Operating a business in a manner that meets or exceeds the ethical, legal, commercial and public expectations that society has of business.

On the other hand, the European Commission hedges its bets with two definitions wrapped into one: "A concept whereby companies decide voluntarily to contribute to a better society and a cleaner environment. A concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operations and in their interaction with their stakeholders on a voluntary. When you review each of these, they broadly agree that the definition now focuses on the impact of how you manage your core business.

Some go further than others in prescribing how far companies go beyond managing their own impact into the terrain of acting specifically outside of that focus to make a contribution to the achievement of broader societal goals. It is a key difference when many business leaders feel that their companies are ill-equipped to pursue broader societal goals, and activists argue that companies have no democratic legitimacy to take such roles.