What Makes a Business Virtuous: Draft 1

By Kelsey Sampson

Although it is highly important for businesses to have corporate social responsibility programs, it is inadequate if the core business does not cover their more basic responsibilities. 

Cotopaxi's "Do Good" mission is at the heart of their CSR

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is any business action that addresses widespread social, community, environmental, or other issues by utilizing company resources (usually in the form of profits). Especially in the 21st century, the emergence of CSR programs in more businesses has led individuals to question what the role of business should be in approaching social issues. There has also been a push businesses to address more basic responsibilities, such as diversity in the workplace or minimizing their carbon footprint.

Planning my Post about Corporate Social Responsibility

A doTERRA employee holds a girl she
met through the company's CSR program

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is any business action that addresses widespread social, community, environmental, or other issues by utilizing company resources (usually in the form of profits). Especially in the 21st century, the emergence of CSR programs in more and more businesses has led individuals to question what the role of business should be when approaching social issues. As many readers (and myself) will be entering the workforce soon, understanding what CSR is and what it should be doing will likely lead to a more fulfilling work experience. Read more to see how I plan to use historical, rhetorical, and personal connections to discuss CSR. 

Five Theses on Corporate Social Responsibility

Cotopaxi's "Do Good" mission is publicized at a Questival event

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is any business action that addresses widespread social, community, environmental, or other issues by utilizing company resources (usually in the form of profits). Especially in the 21st century, the emergence of CSR programs in more and more businesses has led individuals to question what the role of business should be when approaching social issues. In my “Hot Spots in Business” post, I discussed “give-back” programs and arguments that CSR goes beyond the scope of what business should be. In my next “Historical and Communication Connections” post, I looked at ways CSR programs are tied to era and rhetorical themes. Historical connects include the increased empathy for the plight of others found in the Romantic Era, and communication connections include the ways that companies represent their CSR programs through different mediums to boost their company’s ethos. Read more to see five claims surrounding corporate social responsibility. 

Hotspots in Business Revisited

In my previous post, I discussed three hotspots in my field of study, business:

Volunteers through Vivint's CSR program

1. Corporate Social Responsibility (Corporate social responsibility is a means for businesses to use their profits to address social issues, but some argue that this goes beyond the responsibility of business.)

• Historical Connections During the Romantic Era, a theme that emerged was increased empathy. In reaction to the empiricism of the Enlightenment, a shift was made from hard-cut systems and skepticism to an emphasis on feelings, compassion, and identification with the plight of others. Moreover, during the Romantic Era society became more concerned with looking after more vulnerable groups rather than just the elite few. In many ways, the Romantic Era’s push for empathy is mirrored as Millennials and Generation Z-ers demand that their workplace goes beyond their normal business to helps vulnerable groups. Just as in the Romantic Era, individuals are expecting the businesses they work for to consider the plight of others and then use the profits and resources they have to help those individuals in the form of CSR programs.
  

Hot Spots in Business

Hot Spots in Business

• Give-back programs

Especially within the past ten years, businesses have seen significant demand for their business model to include a “give-back” program. Also known as corporate social responsibility (CSR) or social impact work, these programs are expected to address a social problem using business products, manpower, or revenues. For example, a company might use its resources to address unsafe parks in Salt Lake to poor access to water in rural Kenya. There is little disagreement on whether solving social issues is a good thing or not; the controversy is raised, however, in if business should be the means to do so. Milton Friedman, a highly recognized economist, argues that give-back programs go beyond the scope of what businesses should be. He states that “there is one and only one social responsibility of business to use its resources… [and that is] to increase its profits… without deception or fraud.” Anything beyond that, Friedman argues, is the wrong way to do a good thing. (See https://lucidmanager.org/milton-friedman-corporate-social-responsibility/.)