BW Communities

Analysis: Social Realisation

BW Online Bureau Nov 08, 2014

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><root available-locales="en_US," default-locale="en_US"><static-content language-id="en_US"><![CDATA[Let us steer clear of coffee makers who define their customers only as the people who pay for their coffee and the rest of the world as non-entities. If I was a coffee brand and I was sure that the quality of my coffee deteriorates after seven days, I will make sure that the coffee which is not as good as I want my brand to be is not made available to anyone. It is bad marketing. It is bad marketing as I am asking my customers to challenge me and ask me if they are getting ‘just about seven days' experience' each time they do not like the coffee. I am generating mistrust while assuming that I am trying to say to the customer I value you. It is definitely not social responsibility. Now let us talk about corporate social responsibility (CSR). One, social responsibility cannot exist in a vacuum. It has to be seen in a value framework that determines the way the organisation works. If the organisation believes in the environment and audits its processes for their impact on the environment and then funds a project which protects the environment, it is an example of corporate social responsibility. If the organisation pollutes and has a high carbon footprint and then funds a project on environment, it is not responsibility. It is a ritualistic undoing of guilt. CSR runs parallel with integrity. An organisation that does not pursue integrity in letter and spirit cannot definitely be socially responsible. If the organisation supports corrupt practices to save taxes, and then tries to run a school for street children, does it really understand how the corrupt practices are leading to decreased access to development in the country? And how these corrupt practices in turn are the cause of the child being on the street in the first instance? CSR is not charity; it is a duty. Each corporate has an opportunity to make profit in a discriminatory world. The discrimination and lack of equal opportunity may not be due to the actions of the corporate house. It is definitely due to the actions of many of its vendors and customers. It is, therefore, the duty of the corporate to decrease the impact of discrimination and lack of equal opportunity in the context that the organisation works in. It can do that through many of its practices and not just by sharing a minuscule part of its profits. It can be inclusive in its recruitment. It can be fair in its trading. It can be honest in planning its taxation. It can be much more diverse. It can support the work-life balance of its employees. It can provide good insurance cover to people for lean periods in business. It can insist on best labour practices when it outsources contractual services. All this makes the society an enabling environment. And all this is CSR. The organisation can also set aside some of its profits to support the development of the community it serves in a strategic manner. But the organisation has to be predictable and consistent when it does this. The CSR efforts cannot be linked to marketing the brand through surrogate advertising such as in case of a brand, which sells alcohol and supports health clinics in Haryana. It cannot be water harvesting projects that the organisation runs across the country, while it is fighting legal battles about depleting water resources in the country. It cannot be tokenistic vocational training in SEZ areas to create employment for young people when the land in the area has been bought at a very cheap price. All these methods lack respect for dignity and lack integrity. These cannot be seen as social responsibility. CSR is definitely not a branding exercise. It is not comparative. There is no ranking of who is more responsible and who is not. Besides, the customer is very unlikely to make decisions based on the CSR efforts that an organisation undertakes. There are various other ways of distinguishing one's brand. Those who try to sustain social responsibility by linking it to branding are just people who have not realised the importance of working in an environment that is enabling rather than working in an environment that is discriminatory and a barrier. We talk of liberalisation as a reform that all of us are still waiting for. In my opinion, conceptualisation of CSR as a duty is the paradigm shift, which will transform communities. Organisations that recognise this and follow this will be able to work within value-based frameworks and be the real leaders. So, Om and Shabad, let us not accidentally discover the lack of CSR as we drink our coffee. Let us audit ourselves and ask ourselves if we are really responsible and actually have the will to shoulder any CSR. As otherwise, these efforts just don't make any sense. Dr Achal Bhagat is a consultant psychiatrist and psychotherapist at Apollo Hospital, Delhi. He is also the founder director of Saarthak, a mental health NGO. <script type="text/javascript"> var intro = jQuery.trim(jQuery('#commenth4').text()) var page = jQuery.trim(jQuery('#storyPage').text()) if (page.indexOf(intro) < 0) { jQuery('#commenth4').attr('style', 'display:block;') } </script> (This story was published in Businessworld Issue Dated 05-10-2009)