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CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND ORGANIZATIONAL IMAGE

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1     BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

Today, increasing numbers of companies are beginning to appreciate the rising importance of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). They can no longer overlook societal expectation. Corporate Social Responsibility is rapidly becoming one of the principles and important priorities which modern businesses should adopt regardless of their size and type (Jiyoung, 2007:7). Recently, businesses are expected to take account not only of their economic interests but of their societal and environmental impacts as well. They are responsible for delivering sustainable development where they operate – locally, regionally and globally. Corporate social responsibility goes beyond the old-fashioned and altruistic philanthropy of the past. Instead, now it is an all year round responsibility for business. In spite of mixed evidence on the financial impact of corporate social responsibility, the largest and most powerful global corporations embrace it as their core business principle.

Hardelman and Arnold, (1999) explained that Corporate Social Responsibility seems to be something of a holy grail to invigorate the business only if they can discover it. In his view corporate social responsibility is very elusive. How to integrate corporate social responsibility into business is one of the biggest challenges that today‟s business face. In the past decades, there has been a significant change in the relationship between business and society. As witnessed by governments‟ lack of capability to solve social problems, the public‟s expectation for business has begun to increase (Smith et al, 2001). In Nigeria, business organizations are expected to be socially responsible to the environment they operate. Thus, many companies see themselves as caught between social demanding and maximizing short-term profits (Porter and Kramer, 2002). Therefore, this prompt the enactment and implementation of CSR bill to enforce the practices of corporate social responsibility by the companies and by Nigerian. Government as published in Nigerian daily independent newspaper 29th January, 2009. In this millennium, however, the demands for corporate social responsibility have become more specific and more imperative than they used to be; the public began to demand that businesses make social issues a part of their strategy (Lantos, 2001). Not only general business associations, but the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and the Business for Social Responsibility (BSP) Promote Corporate Social Responsibility. A number of organizations have started to rank companies on the performance of their corporate social responsibility and these rankings have had a significant effect on both the publics and investors. As a result, Corporate Social Responsibility has become a priority for business, i.e. it is no longer a business option but a fundamental (Smith, 2003).

Communication is a means of engaging employees towards compliance with the principles of responsibility. Well-functioning communication is an essential part of the whole process of implementation of corporate social responsibility in small and medium-sized enterprises. Responsibility as orientation should be set to the highest level of organization and communication used to inform and engage employees in an effort to build a socially responsible company. Principles of responsibility intersect all elements of the internal communication system of the organization. Support open dissemination of the contents of all communications between employees and initiate the feedback can be considered as a prerequisite for implementing the principles of responsibility to organizational processes. Depending on the actual communication system, small and medium-sized enterprises can use to communicate the principles of responsibility towards employees by numerous formal and informal communication tools – regular meetings, intranet site, e-mails, bulletin boards, posters, banners, brochures, internal magazine, informal stuff meetings, presentations and videos of responsible behaviour, support anonymous boxes for feedback and new ideas, valuation responsible employees. Principles of responsibility should appear already in the formulation of corporate mission and be included in the organizational values. Intranet as a tool for formal communication should support the open dissemination of information. The effectiveness of meetings depends on the readiness of invited staff and quality of processed documents and subsequent registrations from them. To inform employees about the principles of responsibility in the organization, it is appropriate to create posters, brochures, or videos, disseminate information through the internal magazine. Implementation of the principles of responsibility means creating an environment within the organization that will promote openness and fair treatment.

Corporate social responsibility connotes the commitment of companies towards encouraging community growth and development and voluntarily eliminating practices that are not in accordance with public interest. It is thus the deliberate inclusion of public interest into corporate decision making and the honoring of a triple bottom line: People, Planet and profit (Solihin, 2009). It is believed that if corporations or businesses establish an understanding with host community where such businesses are located, an understanding anchored on the protection of the people from the adverse effects or impacts of its activities, this will further enhance the operation of such companies in the organization. However, oil companies in the Niger Delta have been found to be practicing CSR in the form of donations and charitable concerns to less privileged, contributions, sponsorship and charitable gifts devoid of consideration of their different sizes and scope of activities instead of long lasting CSR programmes. The host communities on their part perceived those donations as not sufficient but deceptive and destructive to the environment compared to the damage being caused by the companies especially those with expanded scope of activities. According to the host communities, the region has over the years been deprived of its resources that were expected to bring about good life to its inhabitants (Inokoba and Imbua, 2008). Prior to the discovery and exploration of oil and gas resources in the region, the primary occupation of the people was fishing and farming. It was however noted that oil activities have destroyed the subsistence economy of the people and the environment suffers degradation occasioned by oil spillages has made life extremely difficult for the local people. (Fedelis & Kimiebi, 2011). In view of this, the study aim at finding out the role of corporate social responsibility in image of building (provision of garden for organization)

1.1           Statement of the Problem

The vital role of community development as a virile instrument of social, economic change and transformation of society cannot be underestimated. Possessing a strong Corporate Social Responsibility profile means a cost rather than as asset that can be invested in. However, the growth in socially responsible investments and in Corporate Social Responsibility awareness assures organizations that the future champions will be those who proactively balance short-term financial goals to meet shareholder demands, with building long-term sustainability to satisfy stakeholder demands.

One factor that has made it necessary for companies to integrate CSR into

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