Social Responsibility

Being Socially Responsible means that people and organisations must behave ethically and with sensitivity toward social, cultural, economic and environmental issues. Striving for social responsibility helps individuals, organisations and governments have a positive impact on development, business and society with a positive contribution to bottom-line results.

The idea that companies should embrace its social responsibilities and not be solely focused on maximizing profits. Social responsibility entails developing businesses with a positive relationship to the society which they operate in. According to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), this relationship to the society and environment in which they operate is "a critical factor in their ability to continue to operate effectively. It is also increasingly being used as a measure of their overall performance."

Individual Social Responsibility (ISR) to achieve Corporate Social Responsibility (CSP)

ISP  may appear to be a new concept in relation to CSP, but it is a concept as old as The Golden Rule — Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. ISR expands on this by promoting a proactive stance towards positively influencing and affecting the people and environments outside your immediate circle. ISR is at the roots of CSR, because a corporate comprises of individuals and hence determines the social responsibility culture it creates. This is the intermingled relationship between CSR and ISR. Individuals are becoming more socially responsible and, in response to this Corporations and Companies need to become more socially responsible to meet consumer demand.

The International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) states: “In the wake of increasing globalisation, we have become increasingly conscious not only of what we buy, but also how the goods and services we buy have been produced. Environmentally harmful production, child labor, dangerous working environments and other inhumane conditions are examples of issues being brought into the open. All companies and organisations aiming at long-term profitability and credibility are starting to realise that they must act in accordance with norms of right and wrong.”

Socially responsible individuals are demanding companies and organisations to become more socially responsible.