IJSSER

Title: RETHINKING CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: NEED TO SYNTHESISE ETHICS, MORALITY AND LEGALITY
Authors: Dr Radhanath Tripathy
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Dr Radhanath Tripathy Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, Moti Lal Nehru College (Eve), University of Delhi
MLA 8 Tripathy, Dr Radhanath. "RETHINKING CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: NEED TO SYNTHESISE ETHICS, MORALITY AND LEGALITY." Int. j. of Social Science and Economic Research, vol. 3, no. 12, Dec. 2018, pp. 7386-7396, ijsser.org/more2018.php?id=534. Accessed Dec. 2018. APA 6 Tripathy, D. (2018, December). RETHINKING CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: NEED TO SYNTHESISE ETHICS, MORALITY AND LEGALITY. Int. j. of Social Science and Economic Research, 3(12), 7386-7396. Retrieved from ijsser.org/more2018.php?id=534 Chicago Tripathy, Dr Radhanath. "RETHINKING CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: NEED TO SYNTHESISE ETHICS, MORALITY AND LEGALITY." Int. j. of Social Science and Economic Research 3, no. 12 (December 2018), 7386-7396. Accessed December, 2018. ijsser.org/more2018.php?id=534.
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Abstract: The idea of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has always been an integral part of business organisations as a consequence of their sense of moral obligation towards the society. Traditionally, the private companies and corporations have been voluntarily engaged in doing a variety of social welfare and developmental activities as a matter of charity guided by philanthropic considerations. However, the present socio-economic complexities caused by globalisation and market economy call for an intensive CSR linking it to the broad goals set by ‘sustainable development’ agenda. At the present time when many unethical practices and socially irresponsible behaviour are being adopted by private companies including MNCs, the utility of voluntary approach based on moral consideration is being questioned and a mandatory approach based on legal obligation (CSR law) is advocated in place of the former. However, the experiences from few counties having adopted mandatory CSR indicate that the legal obligation leads to formalism and stifle innovation in CSR agenda fixing and their implementation. Business houses and CSR managers bound by legal obligations may only be fulfilling a mere formality unless strongly driven by ethical and moral considerations to contribute to the betterment of people, society and environment under the broad framework of sustainable development. Mere outlay of funds without a practical plan of action catering to the needs of the intended and targeted sections, though will entail expenses, but will ultimately fail in bringing the desired result. Therefore, it is argued, in this paper, that a wholistic approach needs to be developed integrating both ‘legal obligation’ and ‘moral and ethical consideration’. In order to address the complex socio-economic issues caused by the present market economy, all private companies including MNCs needs to be very committed and innovative in designing and implementing CSR projects going beyond the standards set by the law. The CSR managers should not confine themselves to the basic requirements of law; rather they should exhibit a high level of professionalism and be proactive in designing CSR programmes that attain the goals of sustainable development.

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