Corporate Social Responsibility: The Legal Context - Essay Example

One of the limitations of this committee is that it did not address the matter of the roles and responsibilities of corporate organizations to the societies. Wider interpretations on the recommendations of the committee show that the dominant attitudes and practice for corporate bodies were largely controlled by the factor of financial performance (Committee on Corporate Governance 1998). One lesson that was learnt from this report is that regulation seeks to broaden the interests of organizations beyond financial aspects to the interests of the community.

Changes in perceptions have emerged with regard to the manner in which corporate bodies should engage in matters of governance. There is an increased need for the players in the industry to extend their focus beyond matters of financial and organizational performance to a wider perspective of social welfare (Out-Law, 2010). Annual financial reports vary in the manner in which they approach the matter with wide variations in the nature and performance of companies (Copp, 2006). As a result, it has become appropriate for companies to operate in ways that embrace the concepts of good governance with regard to the nature of their practices on matters of corporate social responsibility.

On this, certain developments have emerged with the need to anchor a more collaborative and all inclusive approach within the understanding of corporate governance. The decentering of the roles of governance and the application of the aspect of devolution is one of the issues that attend to the subject of corporate governance. (Dewing & Russell, 2003). Introduction of Regulatory Measures Much of the developments in corporate governance in the UK over the past decades have been predicated on the matter of transparency in financial disclosures.

One prime example of irregular banking practices is the Bank of Credit & Commerce International (B.C.C.I), which ran an intricate cover up of scandals by falsifying records that misrepresented information and misled shareholders and stakeholders before it was discovered (Beaty & Gwynne, 1991). The UK has carried out structural and legislative changes that aimed at increasing the levels of visibility through systems and effectiveness in the undertaking of tasks (Kershaw, 2012, p. 42). The realization of the profits and revenues have been considered as outcomes of proper management systems that require constant focus and attention in order for them to meet the required standards in accordance with new stipulations (Dewing & Russell, 2003).

Critics contend that the regulatory mechanisms have reduced the space for personal initiative by converting the leadership of the corporate bodies into errant personalities of amorphous assemblies of stakeholders. Studies on corporate governance contend that the aspect of performance is a collaborative reality that comes about by the networking of positive forces within and without the organization (Hannigan, 2012). The awareness of the influence and impact of negative administrative forces has been used in ways that affirmed the need to introduce some levels of legal