Assignment 1 2.2 Two-Faced Capitalism: Unmasking Corporate Social Responsibility Christian Aid is a non-governmental organization British American Tobacco: It claims to be uphold- (NGO) dedicated to supporting those which work ing high standards of employee health and safety, among unreached peoples where hitherto our Lord has but contract farmers in Kenya and Brazil claim they had no people for his Name." The organization has more suffer from chronic ill health related to growing than 90,000 native missionaries in the field, establishes tobacco. more than 52,000 churches a year, and conducts evangel- Coca-Cola: It emphasizes using natural resources istic campaigns through print and broadcast media. It was established more than 50 years ago and provides assist- responsibly, but a subsidiary in India is accused of depleting the water supply in local communities. ance to victims of persecution, diseases, and disasters. In 2004 the organization published the report Behind The NGO no longer trusts corporations and wants the Mask: The Real Face of Corporate Social Respons-governments to be responsible for the ethical oper- ibility . The report states that corporations make loud,ations of corporations. It recommends that the UK public commitments to principles of ethical behay. government adopt new laws to make corporate and iour and undertake "good works" in the communities social environmental reporting and disclosure manda- in which they operate. On the surface, this looks like tory, frame new responsibilities for company directors, selfless philanthropy and might even be motivated by and change the law to enable people harmed by British a genuine wish to help communities. These initiatives companies' overseas operations to seek redress in UK courts. have resulted in some benefits, but at times have merely been to defend operations or counter public criticism. According to Christian Aid, CSR reporting is merely the Questions use of fine words and lofty statements to describe initia- 1. What are the implications of this report for the tives that usually do not benefit those who need help. fundamentals of capitalism? The report contains case studies to illustrate the fail- 2. Should government regulate the CSR reporting of ure of CSR to deliver on what corporations have prom- corporations? ised. Among the allegations are the following: 3. How should the corporations identified in the Shell in Nigeria: It promised to be a better corporate report respond? citizen, but fails to clean up oil spills and runs com- 4. Will this report change the practices of the munity development projects that are ineffective. corporations mentioned? Sources: "Corporate social responsibility: Two-faced capitalism," The Economist, January 24, 2004, 53-54; Christian Aid, "Behind the mask: The real face of corporate social responsibility," http://www.christianaid.org.uk/; and Christian Aid, http://www.christianaid.org/. Due: Week 2