Russia as a Formidable Economic Force - Research Paper Example

 The majority of these are interested in placing their listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). So in addition to 76 already UK-listed Russian companies (May 2007), 60 more are expected in 2008. (Can u plz provide a reference? I am unable to locate this content on www.rbc.ru.). This trend calls for a rethinking and restructuring of several Russian business ethics and morals – as both the paradigms of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and the methods of reporting - are found to be different in different countries and regions.

In Russia, CSR is practiced mostly on a reactive basis, and, often as a means to combat an adverse situation. This translates into the non-judicious allocation of resources, and wastage of money and time. On the other hand, western organizations seem to have realized that CSR could be used as a competitive advantage if practiced proactively and with discretion. McKinsey’s 2005 opinion survey (Heidrick and Struggles, 2007) has shown that international investors would pay up to one-third more for stocks of transparent Russian companies with good corporate governance (all else being equal).

This directly means that Russian organizations can benefit largely by streamlining their CSR processes. Another push factor for the Russian organizations to adopt and better their CSR efforts is the international requirements and standards for the same. The Russian firms that seek listings in the UK and other countries, have to undergo a process of corporate restructuring which involves altering their paradigm of CSR.Given the importance of Corporate Social Responsibility for the Russian organizations that aspire to get listed in the UK, there is a need to evaluate the extent of advantages and disadvantages that can accrue by following the global standards on CSR.