Corporate Social Responsibility
Troy Lafferty, Gonzaga University and Donna M. Schaeffer, Marymount University
tlaffert@gonzaga.edu and donna.schaeffer@marymount.edu

Do consumers perceive organizations that promote corporate social responsibility more positively than organizations that do not adhere to this philosophy?

(Source: National Institute of Health)

(Source: NASA)

Issues range from:

Efforts to Define CSR:

Universal Declaration of Human Rights United Nations, 1948
The UN Global Compact United Nations, 2000
International Labor Standards International Labor Organization, 1918	>

Profitable Companies:

	Mission Statement: Build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis Dedicated to promoting Fair Labor and Environmental protection where Patagonia products are made.
	We are committed to creating a business where all our products, raw materials, byproducts, and the processes by which they are made are not just sustainable, but restorative-enhancing the potential of all life's systems, both human and ecological. (Seventh Generation, 2008, 2007 seventh generation corporate consciousness)
	Recipient of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Safer Detergents Stewardship Initiative Award
	uses only natural ingredients incorporates business strategies that are environmentally sustainable recycling
	Recipient of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Safer Detergents Stewardship Initiative Award
	Company Values: Capitalism and the wealth it produces do not create opportunity for everyone equally. We recognize that the gap between the rich and the poor is wider than at any time since the 1920’s. We strive to create economic opportunities for those who have been denied them and to advance new models of economic justice that are sustainable and replicable. By definition, the manufacturing of products creates waste. We strive to minimize our negative impact on the environment. The growing of food is overly reliant on the use of toxic chemicals and other methods that are unsustainable. We support sustainable and safe methods of food production that reduce environmental degradation, maintain the productivity of the land over time, and support the economic viability of family farms and rural communities. We seek and support nonviolent ways to achieve peace and justice. We believe government resources are more productively used in meeting human needs than in building and maintaining weapons systems. We strive to show a deep respect for human beings inside and outside our company and for the communities in which they live.
	One of the top 100 place to work by Working Mother magazine In the top 30 companies for executive women by the National Association for Female Executive In the top 50 corporations for supplier diversity by Diversitybusiness.com
	plans to eliminate excessive overtime in their contract factories educate employees regarding their rights in the contract factories regularly updates the public disclosure of more than 700 contract factories around the world Member of the Global Alliance
	score of 100% by the Human Rights Campaign's corporate quality index
	provides employees with diversity network associations one of the first companies to offer employees same sex partner benefits

Survey Findings:

20% of respondents familiar with all companies on the list

Seventh Generation most unfamiliar

100% of participants had purchased products from at least one of the 10 listed companies

Only 28% of the recipients stated environmental or social awareness of a corporation was their reason for choosing the product

100% percent of the participants chose to buy the products based on quality

85% of the respondents said brand recognition was a factor in their purchase of a particular product.

85% of the participants mentioned the high price was the biggest factorin not purchasing goods from these companies

42% of the respondents stated they were likely to purchase products by companies known for their environmental stance

42% of the participants stated they were likely to purchase products from companies that support human rights

30% stated a company violating human rights would affect their purchasing habits

28% said it would be unlikely that human rights violations would affect their purchasing of a product

30% said they would unlikely support a price increase to benefit the environment

70% of the respondents stated organizations should be very responsible concerning the environment

Conclusions:

Organizations must provide products and services that satisfy the customer

Environmental concerns (see The Story of Stuff )

There is little agreement on what the term "social responsibility" means

There are individual-level efforts from individual organizations

Globalization presents new challenges

Thre is a growing awareness of abuses of human rights

There is an increase in poverty levels

Leadership education must include attention to the ethical implications of being a leader