Corporate Social Corporate Social Responsibility: a convenient Responsibility: a convenient

oxymoronoxymoron

Dr Crawford SpenceDr Crawford Spence

School of ManagementSchool of Management

University of St AndrewsUniversity of St Andrews

The Development of CapitalismThe Development of Capitalism

• Emerged out of feudalism in the 14th century

• Objects and Subjects

• How does humanity deal with ‘the other’

The emergence and development The emergence and development of the ‘corporation’of the ‘corporation’

• Corporate form first emerged as a force in 1600s

• Initially seen as a means to specific, publicly-defined objectives

• Unleashed a monster that outgrew public control– objectives have now changed

Corporate Social ResponsibilityCorporate Social Responsibility

• Has its roots in the social pressures of the 1960s and 1970s

• Corporations recognised the need for them to be perceived as ‘good citizens’

• CSR can be understood primarily as a strategy aimed at creating consent

The Logic of Corporate Social The Logic of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)Responsibility (CSR)

• Not very social

• Profoundly irresponsible

• But it is corporate

1. Health and Safety 1. Health and Safety

• Anglo American – one of the world’s largest mining companies

• Operates largely in South Africa

• Has a very well developed initiative to tackle HIV/AIDS

Anglo American “Anglo American “Report to Report to Society 2005”Society 2005”

“(ART) has proved extraordinarily effective both in terms of keeping HIV infected individuals healthy and free from AIDS and also in terms of reducing absenteeism and improving productivity.”

• “Results to date show that HIV/AIDS costs to Anglo companies would constitute 2% of payroll if ART was not available”

Company Strategy for HIV/AIDSCompany Strategy for HIV/AIDS

Health and Safety in GeneralHealth and Safety in General

Health and Safety in ContextHealth and Safety in Context

• What is the primary motivation behind this?

• The objectification of human beings

• Human Resource Management

2. The Ecological Crisis2. The Ecological Crisis

What Ecological Crisis?What Ecological Crisis?

Environmental ManagementEnvironmental Management

• Organisational attempts to manage environmental impacts– Reduce energy consumption– Reduce waste produced– Reduce resource use– Report on Environmental performance

• done primarily on a ‘per unit’ basis

The illusion of ‘eco-efficiency’The illusion of ‘eco-efficiency’ 

Environmental Management in Environmental Management in ContextContext

• What is the primary motivation behind this?

• The objectification of the environment

• A resource to be managed

Corporate Social Corporate Social Responsibility?Responsibility?

• The logic behind CSR is clear to see

• The actual CSR activities undertaken by corporations are driven by a ‘business case’

• Nevertheless, an image of Responsibility is maintained

BP’s advertising in contextBP’s advertising in context

• Since leaving the GCC in 1997, BP have marketed themselves as ‘Beyond Petroleum’

• However, investment in renewable energy is relatively slight

• BP has a commitment to expand its fossil fuel production by at least 3.5% per year, (though this figure is likely to top 5% during 2005-6).

CSR in summaryCSR in summary

• ‘Corporate’ and ‘Social Responsibility’– Can these two live together?

• Only through the objectification of human beings and of nature

• The suffocation of non-economic relationships

 

Respecting ‘the other’Respecting ‘the other’

• Need to radically redesign forms of economic organisation– Primacy of ownership structures

• Different conception of humanity

• Different relation to nature