[maahi_prasad]

great initiative !!!!
here is the info from my side on rupee apprecaiation before the day ends..

1.The biggest beneficiaries from the Rupee appreciation are importers, as the Dollar is now worth less for every rupee or to put it in different terms, less rupee can buy more dollar denominated assets/commodities/goods. Among the importers, companies from energy dependent sectors are likely to benefit in a significant manner (energy, paints and few textile majors).
2.Companies that source raw materials from the global markets and are largely domestic demand driven could potentially witness margin improvement.
3.Besides companies, rupee appreciation is also a positive for the government's financials and capital goods sector (most of the equipments are imported, as the country is technology deficient).

[calvin_wonders]

Hey great work Puys ! especially Geminigals pdf and quick response set the tone for the day and then useful insights from Isha and Surabhi (especially regarding clarification of ECB mentioned in pdf helped a lot.)

A couple of things i think will really help in making discussions even more effective.

One of them is that instead of copy pasting from some source let's write our own points briefly and clearly explaining the logic.This makes things more easier to understand and retain.In the end we can give the link so that anyone interested in full news can read there.

Second let's focus on topics which require us to do more research and are relevant social and economic issues which impact our society and economy on large.Still for any suggestions please PM and use the thread for discussion of topic of the day only.

So let's start with today's topic.

Since TISS itself was formed by a trust and many of it's alumni and professors are involved in similar projects and who knows,maybe when we join TISS we are going to want to work for one, let's shift out attention to-

Corporate Social Responsibilty and it's impact on Indian Society
and another angle - Reality or Myth ?

We can cover various well known Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives
by various national and MNC's (eg Infosys,TCS , Microsoft etc has a CSR wing )and theeir positive impact and how it can be used for upliftment of various sections of society.

Also the coverage where these initiatives have failed and why will help,

So let's get started.

[tallsummi]

hi all,

check out this site[India Together].

i think it will be useful for GD.:yell:

Cheers,
Summi

[gaurav1012]

Hi,
So this is my first post....
I have tried to give gist of CSR... It does not really answers the question.. but i will try to give this answer in my next post.. this is just an introduction to CSR


There are four core principles that define the essence of CSR

• Minimize harm i.e. work to minimize the negative consequences of business activities and decisions on stakeholders, including employees, customers, communities, ecosystems, shareholders, and suppliers.
• Maximize benefit i.e. contribute to societal and economic well-being by investing resources in activities that benefit shareholders as well as broader stakeholders.
• Be accountable to key stakeholders
• Support strong financial results for shareholders

Having looked at the core of CSR let us look into the history and try to find out the factors that fueled rise of CSR
1.rapid expansion of NGO sector
2.There was growing recognition that globalization and economic liberalization were altering the balance of rights and obligations that structure the behavior of corporations. TNCs were enjoying new rights and freedoms as a result of economic liberalization and globalization without commensurate obligations and responsibilities most notably in developing countries.
3.Several environmental and social disasters and injustices linked to large corporations became high-profile international issues around which activists mobilized. For example- Union Carbide gas leakage in Bhopal, Shell’s activities in Nigeria, Child labor in football industry, deforestation and mining activities, collapse of Enron etc

Coming towards the Advantages of CSR

• CSR can enhance a company’s competitive advantage;
• some forms of CSR, such as eco-efficiency or recycling, can actually reduce costs;
• CSR is good for staff morale and motivation; and
• CSR is a proxy for competent management and associated qualities related to innovation, the ability to anticipate and deal with risks, and learning and using knowledge effectively.

In the words of Edward Cadbury, George Cadbury’s eldest son:
“The supreme principle has been the belief that business efficiency and the welfare of the employees are but different sides of the same problem. Character is an economic asset; and business efficiency depends not merely on the physical condition of employees, but on their general attitude and feeling towards the employer.”

Challenges Faced
the most important of which is that ‘there is no reason to suppose that [there will be any relationship] between [a] company [’s] actions to reduce poverty and [its] profitability’
and Also there can be difference in definitions like defining Stakeholders.

New way to integrate Business and Social Responsibility part of Business
the best way to achieve win-win situation is to focus at the Bottom of the pyramid population. According to C K Prahlad ‘what is needed is a better approach to help the poor, an approach that involves partnering with them to innovate and achieve sustainable win-win scenarios where the poor are actively engaged and, at the same time, the companies providing products and services to them are profitable

[ebullience]

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) can broadly be defined as the commitment of businesses to contribute to sustainable economic development by working with employees, their families, the local community and the society at large to improve their lives in ways that are good for business and for development.

WHY CSR????

• A significant number of investors consider a company’s social performance while making investment decisions
• In the richer countries, social responsibility contributes greatly to the brand image of a company
• Companies ignoring social responsibility run the risk of losing market share
• North American consumers represent the most socially demanding market for companies
• Citizens of the developing world are increasingly putting a lot of pressure on companies to assume greater social responsibility

72% of India’s top 50 companies undertake CSR initiatives supported by well-defined CSR policies. Countries like South Korea (52%), Thailand (42%) and Singapore (38%) were behind India in CSR penetration levels.

Studies show that mostly three types of CSR interventions are commonly practiced by companies; namely,

• community involvement
• socially-responsible production processes
• socially-responsible employee relations.

Highly targeted are sectors like health & education, with interventions ranging from adoption of public health facilities by corporates, supplementing existing government programmes like the midday meal programme, assessing & improving learning outcomes in primary education through teacher training, leveraging ICT for improving learning outcomes, etc.

The two other waves reflect a threshold change in the conceptualisation of CSR such that it is no longer regarded as part of a company’s external affairs but that it reflects the way in which the company does its business.

While some countries have endorsing policies in place for recognising corporate CSR contributions, others have put in place partnering policies aimed at encouraging PPP for improving community service delivery. PPP policies in the health sector adopted by various states in India which allow adoption of public healthcare facilities by corporates, or leveraging the services of professionals from the private sector for delivery of public health services, are an example of this type of policy. However, it is increasingly becoming clear that all stakeholders (viz the government, private sector organisations, development agencies, NGOs and other constituents of civil society) would need to work together to address the development needs of the country.

Cheers

[mockingabird]

Every person with a "normal" threshold of commitment to the society will at some point of time in his life aspire to give something back to the society he lives in. CSR in the corporate world facilitates the employees to do do this. CSR activites are carried out as a parallel activity that does not hinder the employee's normal course of work. It leads to a lot of personal satisfaction and a feel good factor.

Recently, a corporate firm signed a MOU with a construction company enunciating the fact that they should not employ any children while working on their project as a client had pointed it out to them during a visit.

From the corporate perspective it is again giving something back to the society, engaging their employees and their family in an activity that boosts their morale and encourages team building.

By highlighting the fact that they are concerned and committed to the society they live in, they enunciate the fat that they are "committed" and it does the brand name of the company a lot of good. A feel good factor in the society and a definite niche in the hearts and minds of t he local people and its clients

[hahahamedicine]

CSR - whether its a myth or reality?

CSR is a myth - (just bullet points, second level supporting data/examples are there.... mostly the line of arguments)

grossly, organizations uphold the 'brand' thru the CSR vertical. its getting those brownie points and giving an image of philanthropy being the prime idea

social respon' cannot be a tertiary, good-will bloodline for the society - then it wud be like the fundamental duties of our constitution which is there for all to follow but not being legalized people care two hoots while the fund' rites r all so much heavily thrown arnd.

its a 'feel gud factor' in corporate india whereas the social fabric needs quite a lotta support n repair - the importance levels r skewed

social repon' at individual levels doesn't require a CSR wing to get unleased - charity begins at home and then social groups n then u have the phila' org' like RK Mission, Bharat Sevashram Sangh etc. where one can participate n contribute - area of work, main focus is business/profit etc. so everything done would have the dopings of 'selfish interest' whereas society needs much more than divided attention

still at a very nascent stage in india (right now-yes)

also linked with/to tax benefits for the parent organizations and hence again, fringe benefits fuel CSR

why not fund NGO and siphon funds to them? NGO's lack proper infra' and funds (mostly) and people r paid pea-nuts! so the commitments of such people @ NGO's are wavering - why cant companies adopt the NGO's instead of having 'publicized' CSR 'shadow' corridors?

when can a corporate house really get into the CSR domain? when it has generated a lotta cash flow and grown to become a significant blob on the radar... but that many conglomerates/business-house(s) aint there in the country now

with GDP of 8-9 why hasnt the wellness index of india gone anywhere? how do we really measure the radiance of CSR on the face of indian social scenario? have we really seen a change - not just an example of Tatas or Infy but more of an overhaul where there has been an impact. without a google search, without digging into archives, do we have cases where CSR has turned the tables? we know of CSR, we even have latent or direct participation there but its not resulting in a face-lit STILL.

the corporates operate outta cosmopolitan areas, SEZ's and the social ailments are there in the rural fringes - providing the money and appointing sumone to hedge in would not get create an impact. now a business house has its own streamline. a full-time team working in CSR, very few, to name some would be TVS Group, Chennai, then Tatas, Infosys - ya, the good work is done but then, the 'layers' are not penetrated - not that deep. its more of again sub-urban developments which cannot be considered high in the pareto analysis.

we do not have any company laws and regulations by which CSR can be enforced - goodwills never last long and can always be compromised; their effect also takes time to show...

a subtle point is - the rate at which the industry is going, the SoL is going up and money is being flushed into the system.... if CSR is a reality, it shud be proportionate and not like some aftereffect. it remains a myth till it engulfs and becomes an umbrella for quite a lotta social evils/lacunas.

again a subtle point - ask any employee of any major business house (ur average plain Jane or John) about their project timeline/profit/delivery or even the company qtr turn-over and %age growth (even for its competitors!)... they wud have data fountains but then ask CSR investment, CSR goals/projects and objectives, approaches etc. - most wud not have the answers. we do not enquire whether a company has an active CSR thingy when we decide to shift jobs and join some higher pay-master.... for the avg employee, CSR is not important in his corporate life. and a corporate is made of its employees only.... as an individual SR might be important and active but for a corporate we still do not have that awareness/maturity/binding... hence CSR is STILL in the penumbra zone...light 'n shadow, part glorified, part recessive/eye-wash, overall still to be a dream come true...

[maahi_prasad]

Ok this is my take on it .. . Now why should companies whose major objective has been to maximize profits for the benefit of their shareholders worry at all about serving the interest of society at large?
The answer to this is simple and yet somewhat circular in nature. A
business cannot succeed in a society which fails. This, therefore, clearly
establishes the stake of a business organization in the good health and well
being of a society of which it is a part. More importantly, in this age of
widespread communication and growing emphasis on transparency, customers
of any product or service are unlikely to feel satisfied in buying from a
company that is seen to violate the expectations of ethical and socially
responsible behaviour. We find, therefore, that to a growing degree companies that pay genuine attention to the principles of socially responsible behaviour are also favoured by the public and preferred for their goods and services.

[hahahamedicine]

@ mahi..

exactly the point there...

CSR is a 'necessary evil' for the pillars of various industries... u have to woo and make believe people into a certain kinda image/reflection to grab the share of pie!
who does CSR coz of the noble upsurge inside? and with the colored glasses, u do not see the real picture n so CSR in india is pretty cliched... pretty nascent and all a big hoopla of image-building/makeover

and again... its never come to the forefront.. these mite be part of corporate presentations n brand/adver' strat' but as a bread n butter aspect... they aint in the radar.
its still very cosmetic - all done for a sham.... ya u have fringe benefits but then still... not quite doing justice to the 'mudda'

[shailja seth]

Wat r the basic things dat v luk 4 in an organisation b4 v join it?Ofcourse pay package...but then v definitely consider its "Work culture","customer base" n its goodwill in d market...Exactly.now wat is this work culture...n wat is customer satisfaction...??its just built throu a effectively implemented CSR cell...
The basic customer responsibilties dat a corporation cud cater 2 cud b -providing a creche 4 the children of working mothers,providing facilties 2 pregnant women 2 work on an offline basis i.e.2 work sitting at home..providing health n medical insurances.One big social responsibilty of providing a clean n non polluted environment cud b solved simply by planting trees in its campus...by using only paper bags n no poly bags they could again save us 4m water pollution...Generally employees plan out trips n tours 2gether...they do plan movie trips on weekends...rather 1 weekend they cud devote 2 visiting old age homes n orphanages...They can easily associate themselves wid some programmes like-eardication of polio.
Now the points dat most of u wud raise is dat all these solutions sound rather like a myth dan a reality...
The point is dat its the attitude dat matters!Wat it takes 2 implement dese is just a little attitude..n like sum1 said dat its a circular chain...y vil a corporation do all dis?simple...jus 2 improve its say/goodwil in d market...just 2 improve the no of its satisfied customers...n 1nce 1 company does dis...the rest vil simply follow..Its hardly a dream or a myth coz its already being implemented at sum level in sum companies on india...This vil ofcourse give personal satisfaction 2 employees n also provide dem wid sum time 2 relax admist the stress of work...so its gud 4 all....its a symbiotic relation u c!