Public Issues and Corporate Social Responsibility, Essay Example

Public Issues

Public issues are determined as mutual concerns of the organization and at least one of the stakeholders, It is greatly influenced by stakeholder expectations and how the corporation is able to meet them. Some examples of public issues a company can anticipate are: safety, privacy and green policies.

Environmental analysis is a way to prepare to respond to public issues and anticipate them before they fully develop. There is a need for environmental intelligence to gain information about the organization’s environment that can help prevent risks and take advantage of opportunities. Environmental intelligence allows the company to respond to public issues as soon as they arise.

Social environmental intelligence consists of information gathered on customer, competitor, economic, geophysical, legal, political, social, technological and economic environments. All the above environments influence public opinion about the corporation and can create risks, as well as opportunities. Using the eight strategic radar screen method is built on the perception that all the factors are interdependent.

The issue management process consists of five steps: identifying the issue, analyzing it, generating options, taking action and evaluating results. These steps are built upon each other, and they influence the outcome of the company’s reaction. For example, if the organization fails to identify the issue in time, it will not generate options quickly enough to tackle the issue.

Stakeholder engagement is an interactive method to gather intelligence about environmental intelligence issues. The main drivers of stakeholder engagement are common goals, motivation and organizational capacity. In order to make engagement to work in the most effective way, there is a need to develop a stakeholder network and develop a formal and informal communication strategy.

Corporate Social Responsibility

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is an approach that requires corporations to use their power in the democratic society in a responsible manner. It relates to not only the obligation of the organization to stakeholders, but the public and the society as a whole. The larger to corporation is the greater economic power it will possess. Corporate social responsibility also indicates how accountable the company is for its actions’ impact on the environment and society.

A business has several responsibilities. However, these should always be aligned with the mission and vision of the organization. Responsibilities are prioritized based on public perception of issues, as well as the public profile and vision of the leadership.

The stewardship principle describes the role of corporate leadership as acting in the public’s interest. This principle indicates that businesses should develop their strategies in a way that all members of the public benefit from its operations. Corporate managers, according to this principle, are assigned a public trust.

Possibly the hardest task for corporate leadership is to balance legal, social and economic responsibilities. This means that when an organization considers introducing a new product that is predicted to be more profitable than previous versions, it needs to assess its impact on the social environment and the public, examine the legal background of introducing the product, while ensuring that the business generates profit for its shareholders.

Often, there is a conflict of interest between the different principles that exist in the corporate environment. While the main aim of embracing CSR is to balance responsibility with power, there are several arguments for and against the principle. The debate is mainly based on the conflict of the public’s and the corporation’s economic interest.