Abstract
Corporate social responsibility has become one of the most important issues in the business strategies of the Global North. The European Union is currently working on the issues caused by the recent economic crisis, which has created negative impacts on the business and financial success of the corporations. The paper explores the report article focused on the renovated practices of corporate social responsibility in the countries of the European Union. The paper also discusses the issues and differences many of the UAE based companies have to face due to the lack of understanding of the importance of corporate responsibility.
Corporate Social Responsibility
Corporate social responsibility is highly important in the contemporary world. In order to stay on top of the competition, many companies and introducing various strategies and changes to their interactions with the stakeholders and in business operations. The companies show concern about their reputation on social and environmental levels because, in our globalising world, it is crucial to take into consideration such massive issues and the protection of the environment and social equality. Modern companies have multiple responsibilities for their actions and relationships with society and the world around them.
It is a well-known fact that the organisations that are proved to be ignorant or indifferent towards these important aspects quickly find themselves in the middle of big scandals, which may ruin their reputation and affect their business in a very negative way. This is why the promotion of social responsibility around the countries of Europe will serve as a positive factor for the achievement of success in business, especially on the global arena.
Main Areas of Discussion in the Article
The article about the new strategy the European Commission is employing in order to improve the corporate social responsibility (CSR) describes the views and opinions of the Commission on the current problems with the social responsibility policies, the main challenges in the corporate field of Europe (Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions 2011). The changes and measures suggested and applied all around Europe are being followed and carefully monitored. The data collected by the researchers in analysed in order for the experts to see how the new strategies work, if they are successful, what differences and impacts they make and if some changes and alterations need to be performed.
The new policies and the promotion of corporate social responsibility are required because it helps the companies create a better and stronger network of relationships with their existing and potential consumers, win the trust of the stakeholders and the citizens of Europe. Besides, companies with better reputations have no problems in the employment market. The policies are being created in order to give the companies a chance to develop more trusting relationships of partners. Clients, workers, business partners are more likely to engage in work with a company if it is known for a great reputation, wise attitude towards the society and knowing its responsibilities towards the environment.
The changes and improvements are being represented to the corporate social responsibility policies because of the circumstances Europe and the whole world have to deal with currently. Not so long ago, the crisis has hit all of the biggest economies of our world. Many people were affected by it, thousands of workers were fired from their jobs, and many companies lost income or went bankrupt. Today the society of the world is experiencing the consequences of that big crisis. One of the negative outcomes of it is the current lack of trust between the companies and their stakeholders, their clients, their employees.
This is why corporate social policies are created, and this is what they are directed at. The policies are the programs and projects that are employed by the companies in order to improve the understanding and trust between the business partners, workers and customers. By means of promotion of such policies, the companies are improving their chances for the economic growth and development of their business.
The article explores the impacts the new policies have already made on the business field of Europe. The data collected during the research of the effects of the new programs shows that the companies are aware of the positive influences of CSR. This is why the number of companies that signed up to the principles of CSR has grown significantly within the last five years. The companies that adopted the new policies and practised them for a while tend to learn how to deal with the most important and common issues they face during the business making process. The managers of such companies start applying special tools for dealing with the problems that occur. These companies and their employees and clients are satisfied with the changes and promote CSR.
Even though the new policies have proved to be successful and helpful, there are still challenges that the European Commission has yet to cope with. The article reports that a number of European companies have only integrated environmental and social concerns into their work process partly. Many of the organisations fail to perform proper appreciation and respect for human rights and the core labour standards established by the new policies. Twelve of all the European Union member countries do not have appropriate policy frameworks that would be encouraging CSR.
Responsible business conduct is based on the adoption of long-term programs and following them in order to be more successful at having opportunities of developing innovative products and working out new business models that would be more suitable for the changing corporate world. These changes in the large organisations will make a significant contribution to the well being of the society, and it will help create more productive business and better atmospheres at the workplaces, which will definitely make a positive influence on the success of the companies on the business arena.
The Lessons that Can Be Learnt by the Authorities in the UAE
It is a well-known fact that the Middle Eastern countries have started a very successful development that quickly makes them ones of the most influential participants of various global business operations. The United Arab Emirates is a country with a very powerful economy and its progress is rapid and is moving impressively fast. The leaders and managers of big corporations based in the United Arab Emirates understand the advantages of providing renovated corporate and social policies. Some of the companies in the UAE are using the employment of social responsibility as a tool for winning new business relationships and trust among potential customers. They have noticed that social responsibility and modern business conduct are helping their success quite a lot and improve the loyalty among their clients.
At the same time, many of the UAE based companies are struggling to understand the nature and structure of CSR. Their business strategy does not work through CSR, this is why some of the policies and innovations were non-applicable for such organisations. The mangers of these companies need to be properly educated about contemporary business strategies and CSR promotion. In order to improve their business performance, these companies need to come to the realisation of the importance of corporate responsibility and readiness to practice it within the work process.
The corporations based in the United Arab Emirates need to pay attention to such experiences as the support of disabled people and citizens with special needs. Another highly important practice these companies in the UAE need to learn is taking care of the impact they make on the environment and start protecting our planet from pollution, harmful emissions and trash. There are training available for the companies that are willing to engage into the new practices, the educational courses are directed at the promotion of higher standards of business, cost reduction and more responsible treatment of the environment (Flynn 2012).
Reference List
Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions. (2011). European Commission, 681. Web.
Flynn, S. (2012). Corporate Social Responsibility in the UAE. Web.