Of CSR, corporate culture, and MAP
by Miki SaxonMilton Friedman said, “The business of business is business,” but the definition of “business” has changed.
To this end, I read a good post Saturday about CSR by Bryan Ong, but I take major exception with the introductory paragraph, especially the words I’ve bolded,
“The primary goal of any business is to make money and in today’s world, it is not just about making money and profits. More and more large organisations are beginning to understand that there needs to be a good balance of both evil and good. Evil in the sense of making money and good where the organisation consider the interests of both environment and humanity.”
I think that the damage a company does is far more representative of evil than its cash flow or profits. I think that saying they should balance is almost like saying that if a company doesn’t make a lot of money it can’t/won’t do much damage, a statement that is obviously untrue, as I’m sure Bryan would agree. (I know several small companies that don’t make much money, but are doing major ecological damage.)
However, as Bryan does point out, to work, CSR needs to be deeply embedded in your corporate culture.
So, before you jump on this bandwagon, check out your MAP, and that of your executives. Granted, CSR is quickly becoming a necessity in today’s competitive world, but people aren’t stupid, so faking it is practically a death wish.
CSR absolutely mandates walking your talk for it to be successful.