Corporate Social Responsibility
Date
2011-06-08
Authors
Poswa, Sanele Qabuka
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Abstract
South Africa has seen considerable economic growth over the past ten years;
however, the poverty gap has grown faster than the economy. This indicates
that poor households have not shared the benefits of economic growth that
have been reaped by South African businesses. Consequently there is a need
for South African businesses to be good corporate citizens and contribute
towards alleviating the poverty that plagues the communities in which they
operate.
This study investigates the motives of selected South African companies for
engaging in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), and the strategies that they
employ to align their CSR with poverty alleviation.
In-depth interviews were conducted by the researcher with the managers
responsible for CSR in the selected South African companies, using a uniform
interview schedule.
Key findings revealed that the motives of South African companies for engaging
in CSR are that CSR is entrenched in the values of the company. Some
companies aim to build sustainable communities. Several companies expressed
the need to comply with legislation around CSR, for example the BBBEE Code
of Good Practice, the King Report on Corporate Governance and the JSE SRI
Index. For others the motive is to manage the reputation of the company.
The strategies that the companies employ to align CSR with poverty alleviation
include aligning CSR with business imperatives, aligning CSR with national
imperatives, forging effective partnerships, the involvement of employees and
leadership in CSR, and finally developing key focus areas.
While companies acknowledge that they have a role to play in socio-economic
development, there is no explicit commitment to poverty alleviation. However,
the companies’ CSR initiatives are well targeted at alleviating poverty through
their indirect, trickle-down approaches.
Description
MBA - WBS
Keywords
Corporate social responsibility, Poverty