The structure and functions of corporate social policy. Corporate social policy as an economic necessity
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YAKOVLEVA Victoria Viktorovna
Development of corporate social policy
in modern Russian society
Specialty: 22.00.04 - Social structure,
social institutions and processes
dissertation for a scientific degree
candidate of sociological sciences
Saratov 2010
The work was carried out at the State Educational Institution of Higher Professional Education "Saratov State
Technical University"
| Supervisor - | Doctor of Sociological Sciences, Professor Romanov Pavel Vasilievich |
| Official opponents: | Doctor of Economics, Professor Zemlyanukhina Svetlana Georgievna Doctor of Sociological Sciences, Professor Figlin Lev Aronovich |
| Leading organization | Russian State Social University, Moscow |
The defense will take place on December 16, 2010 at 2 pm at a meeting of the dissertation council at the Saratov State Technical University at the address: 410054, Saratov, st. Polytechnicheskaya, 77, Saratov State Technical University, bldg. 1, room 319.
The dissertation can be found in the scientific and technical library of the Saratov State Technical University.
Scientific Secretary
dissertation council V.V. Pechenkin
GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF WORK
The relevance of the dissertation research. The financial and economic crisis, which began in 2008, has updated the academic and public debate on the social sphere of companies. The massive cuts and wage cuts that have begun have raised the question of the limits of business responsibility to workers and society. Many companies have revised their philanthropic programs and reduced the cost of supporting their employees. Discussions about the resource possibilities of the organization and effective social management, about the further development of its strategies and tools, revived in society.
The crisis exacerbated the problem of the low efficiency of programs aimed at the quality of life of employees at domestic enterprises, which was due to the lack of methodology and technologies for their formation and implementation. In addition, the crisis clearly showed that during the period of stability that fell on the beginning of the 2000s, stable and developed institutions were not created to regulate the relationship between business, the state and society; in fact, the mechanisms for coordinating the interests of these groups did not work.
These problems are the result of the Soviet model of social policy, which was exacerbated by the crisis of the nineties. The institution of paternalism, which was formed during the years of Soviet power, based on the mechanism of equal distribution, no longer corresponded to the new market conditions. Since the state social policy in the USSR has always been associated with employment and labor achievements, the ongoing reforms, first of all, influenced various forms of support for workers from organizations. Enterprises faced difficulties in adapting to new market conditions, many of them changed their form of ownership, all had to go through several economic crises. As a result of the reforms, organizations emerged with different models of corporate social policy. Small and medium-sized businesses have completely abandoned any kind of support for their employees, limiting themselves to paying wages.
At the beginning of the 2000s, the economy stabilized. Many managers began to understand that personnel is a resource for the development of the enterprise, and effective strategies in relation to employees help the organization to be competitive not only in the labor market. However, the absence of a formed and stable institution of socially responsible business prevents qualitative changes in the policies of specific enterprises in relation to human resources. There is a clear lack of theoretical and methodological groundwork and mechanisms for the implementation of programs aimed at workers, their families and the local community. Insufficient attention to social support of workers from the state also affects. As a result, employees cannot feel secure enough.
The variety of forms of social policy in Russian companies, the need to make changes to the corresponding strategies at the state level, to include such activities in strategic business planning and evaluate its effectiveness determined the relevance of the dissertation research.
The degree of elaboration of the problem. The theoretical and methodological study of the problem is based on the fundamental works of a number of foreign and domestic sociologists. M. Weber, analyzing the origins of modern capitalism, pointed to the connection between Protestant ethics and the characteristics of the capitalist economy. He showed how Protestantism stimulated the emergence in economic life of new forms of behavior based on rationalism and entrepreneurship, which later became the basis for the development of socially responsible business. V. Sombart noted the need to comprehend the new phenomenon. He introduced the concept of social policy and identified its levels, including the level of enterprises. K. Polanyi showed the need to create mechanisms in the market to protect workers. T. Parsons believed that business companies also have political goals. R. Barker believed that the principles of social policy implementation are influenced by the traditions and values of society. He emphasized that its subject can be not only the state, but also organizations from the sphere of business and civil society.
The welfare state is one of the central concepts in theories of social policy. T. Marshall believed that economic and political change leads to the emergence of winners and losers, and that this process forces the state to address inequality issues through specific programs and services. G. Geller proposed the concept of a social state based on the rule of law and gave its interpretation. In his opinion, this is a state that seeks to provide every citizen with decent living conditions, security, and, ideally, to create equal life chances. V. Beveridge outlined the basic principles of the "welfare state" and pointed out the close connection between social policy and state economic policy aimed at ensuring full employment. G. Espin-Andersen identified several models of such a policy, depending on the level of state intervention, decommodification and stratification of society, he also proposed to shift the emphasis from the payment of benefits to investment strategies. N. Manning focused on the political system of social security management and proposed his own classification. In the works of R. Titmuss, models of support are distinguished, which differ in their organizational principle and consequences for citizens. Analyzing the current problems of domestic social policy, V. Yarskaya-Smirnova came to the conclusion about the growing role of local municipalities in the development of the regional managerial crisis, and also outlined the necessary conditions for overcoming it. I. Grigorieva stated about the need to include individuals and groups in social policy as equal actors.
A critical analysis of the approaches to solving social problems that have developed among representatives of the Russian elite is presented in the works of V. Minina and O. Shkaratan. I. Yasaveev speaks about the differences in the methods of constructing everyday reality by citizens, politicians and the mass media, who sees this as one of the fundamental problems of our time.
The analysis of Russian reforms, methods of assessing the effectiveness of social policy, understanding its connection with the world of everyday life, we find in the works of representatives of the Saratov school of sociology E. Yarskaya-Smirnova and P. Romanov. The research of L. Konstantinova is devoted to institutional analysis and patterns of development of social policy in modern society. The concept of quality is considered in the works of L. Figlin, human capital - Y. Bychenko, social administration - V. Lysikov, A. Slepukhin.
At the end of the twentieth century, the question of changing the paradigm of modern social policy became relevant. As a guarantee of welfare, the concept of quality was proposed, the main categories and methods of measurement were identified (T. Atkinson, D. Gordon, A. Walker). The relationship between social quality and civil society is investigated in the works of N. Grigorieva.
Corporate social policy is analyzed within the framework of the theories of social contract and corporate responsibility. A. White analyzes the process of participation of corporations in the process of developing broad agreements at different levels of society, accepting new challenges of the time. J. Habermas criticizes modern institutions of social protection and speaks of the need to replace clientist relations with the state with the responsibility of civil society. According to M. Fridman, the role of business is to increase profits and comply with the “rules of the game”. K. Davis believes that the social environment can significantly affect the achievement of the organization's goals, therefore, business should channel part of the income through social channels. S. Seti and A. Carroll identified the levels of business responsibility. E. Yukholin identified four stages in the development of corporate social responsibility. G. Bowen believes that the duty of businessmen is to implement such a policy, make such decisions or follow the line of action that meets the goals and values of society. He examined how the concept of social responsibility can be extended to business and bring social and economic benefits to business decisions.
The works of V. Gimpelson, R. Kapelyushnikov, S. Kara-Murza, V. Yadov are devoted to changes in corporate social policy during the period of transformations. V. Kabalina and T. Sidorina analyze the consequences of municipalization. S. Barsukova and N. Tode give an assessment of the reforms in the field of labor legislation. Russian business as a subject of social policy and its relationship with the regional authorities are explored in the works of A. Chirikova. The relationship between the state, business and society is presented in the studies of N. Abercombie, V. Borisov, V. Krivosheev, who analyze the features of the institution of social partnership in Russia. Various aspects of the regulation of labor relations are highlighted in the works of Y. Denisov, I. Kozina, O. Rogacheva. B. Horowitz, A. Kostin, N. Zubarevich touch upon the problem of social responsibility of Russian business.
While recognizing the importance of these studies for the analysis of various levels of corporate social policy, it should be noted that many aspects of the studied phenomenon require further discussion. An analysis is needed at the decision-making level, assessing the effectiveness of social strategies and the quality of services provided. The results obtained will increase the degree of transparency of the system of social policy of enterprises, open the field of criticism and reform of the analyzed system, provide access to participation in the formation of the corporate social policy of the state, business, and civil society institutions.
The purpose of the dissertation work is an analysis of the forms and principles of corporate social policy in modern Russian society.
To achieve this goal, the dissertation posed and resolved the following tasks:
- to compare approaches to the analysis of the welfare state and corporate social responsibility based on a review of classical and modern research;
- to assess the role of Russian corporations as a subject of social welfare in the system of relations between the authorities and society;
- trace the dynamics of changes in social policy models in business organizations as a result of social changes and crises;
- analyze the regulatory documents that determine the standards for the implementation of programs aimed at the well-being of workers, their families and the local community at enterprises and methods for evaluating such activities;
- on the basis of the analysis of data from the VTsIOM polls and a series of interviews with senior managers at the enterprises of Saratov to reveal the peculiarities of the development of Russian corporate social policy in various directions;
- based on the opinions of experts, to assess the nature of the contribution of corporations to public welfare;
- provide a classification of types of corporate social policy.
As object of research there are social processes influencing the development of domestic corporate social policy.
The subject of research is corporate social policy in the context of social change.
Key research hypotheses. Small and medium-sized businesses in Russia have not yet developed a common concept of corporate social policy shared by all stakeholders, which negatively affects the sustainability and transparency of companies' activities in this area. The effectiveness of social policy in achieving the well-being of target groups depends not so much on the volume of costs as on the quality of social programs and a well-thought-out strategy. The transformation of the welfare state in Russia leads to a significant change in the forms and approaches of corporate social policy.
Scientific novelty of the dissertation consists in setting, substantiating and solving the problems of sociological analysis of Russian corporate social policy and can be formulated as follows:
- the assessment of the Russian model of corporate social policy through the prism of relations between the authorities, business and society is given;
- the analysis of changes in the forms of participation of companies in building public welfare in the course of structural transformations of Russian society was carried out;
- the conditions and factors influencing the content of corporate social policy were identified and systematized;
- the stages of development of social responsibility of companies in Russia are highlighted;
- the author's program and tools were developed, an original sociological study "Assessment of the development of social policy at the enterprises of the city of Saratov" was carried out;
- systematization of models of social policy of enterprises has been carried out.
Consistent theoretical substantiation of the research concept, the application of various sociological approaches to the study of social policy in business organizations, the compliance of research methods and methodology with modern trends in the interpretation of data obtained in qualitative and quantitative sociological studies, comparison of the interpretation of the empirical data obtained with other research results of domestic and foreign scientists - all this allows us to judge reliability and validity the results of the dissertation research.
Theoretical and methodological foundations of the research. Studies of the institutional characteristics of corporate social policy are carried out using the theories of structural functionalism by T. Parsons and R. Merton. In accordance with Bourdievist sociology, social policy is presented as a universe consisting of two realities, represented by "types of capital" and a symbolic matrix. A business organization is interpreted from the standpoint of stakeholder theory as a means of reconciling and meeting the interests of various stakeholders. The analysis of accessibility to corporate social benefits is carried out in the light of the concept of the dual labor market by P. Deringer and M. Piore. The typology of models of corporate social policy is carried out based on the work of L. Yakobson.
The use of general sociological methodology made it possible to interpret empirical data, trace the dynamics of corporate social policy in Russia, identify the features of its development, and create a typology of corporate social policy. The methodology of applied research and tools is based on the developments of G. Batygin, N. Devyatko, P. Romanov, V. Semenova, V. Yadov, E. Yarskaya-Smirnova.
The empirical basis of the dissertation work. The analysis of regulatory documents defining the standards for the implementation of social policy at enterprises and methods of its assessment: The Labor Principles of the United Nations Global Compact, Tripartite Declaration on Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy, Information note on corporate social responsibility and international labor standards, Promoting a European framework for corporate social responsibility. Green Paper; international standards ISO 9001: 2000, ISO 14000, SA 8000, AA 1000S, Workplace standard for the EU countries, international standards of auditing; social responsibility indices Dow Jones Sustainability Index, RepuTex SRI Index, FTSE4Good, Corporate Philanthropy Index, Det social index, Russian business social investment index, Expert RA ratings; Sustainability Reporting Guidelines, Social Charter of Russian Business. A secondary sociological analysis of data from a survey of enterprises conducted by VTsIOM in 2002-2003 was carried out (survey of experts N = 301, survey of workers N = 1479). A series of semi-structured interviews with senior executives or company executives in Saratov was carried out (N = 15; August-October 2009).
In the course of the applied and theoretical sociological research, the following results were obtained, formulated as
1.1. Concept, essence of social policy and corporate social responsibility
Social policy in an applied, practical sense is usually understood as a set (system) of specific measures and measures aimed at the livelihood of the population. Depending on who these measures come from, who is their main initiator (subject), the corresponding types of social policy are distinguished - state, regional, corporate, etc. Social policy always takes place not only from a purely theoretical standpoint, but also in practical life. Another thing is that social policy can, unfortunately, be erroneous, weak, deformed, etc., because in a broad sense and from a scientific point of view, it is not so much a system of measures and measures as a system of relationships and interactions between social groups, social strata societies, in the center of which and their main ultimate goal - people, their well-being, social protection and social development, life support and social security of the population as a whole.
Social policy is a multifaceted process and a structurally complex phenomenon. Only one or two indicators and criteria, albeit very important, for example, the level of wages, unemployment, etc., is problematic to give a real and comprehensive assessment of its state.
When pursuing social policy, it is important to evenly take into account the entire field of its coverage, not getting carried away with some areas and not forgetting other areas. It is hardly possible to recognize a strong and correct social policy, within the framework of which its subjects turn their attention only to the development of education, culture, etc. and do not pay it to the problems of employment, motivation, retirement benefits, etc.
Of course, one cannot exclude a system of social policy priorities that differ in their set depending on specific stages and conditions of development, regional and corporate aspects and characteristics.
Real, concrete social policy is carried out, as a rule, at the regional, municipal and corporate levels. It is here that it finds its final embodiment and fixes its effectiveness and impact.
The effectiveness of the implementation of social policy at any level - federal, regional, corporate, largely depends on the economy, budget support, financial resources of the state, subjects of the Federation, municipalities, enterprises, etc.
Social policy is the relationship of social groups regarding the preservation and change of the social status of the population as a whole and of its constituent classes, strata, social, socio-demographic, socio-professional groups, social communities (families, peoples, population of a city, village, region, etc.) .NS.).
A common understanding is being formed in society that social policy should be absolutely transparent for citizens. Gone are the days when strategies and programs were developed behind closed doors. The formation of public opinion regarding the business and social reputation of enterprises will stimulate managers who claim long-term success, good name and high prestige to take civilized business methods seriously.
Modern business is involved in many connections and relationships: with consumers and experts, partners and competitors, lenders and investors, authorities and consultants, journalists and public organizations. Of no small importance in this system of connections and relations are sponsorship, patronage and charity associated with organizational, economic, first of all, financial support for projects and programs in the social sphere, science, education, culture, art, activities of relevant institutions and organizations, collectives, undertakings , initiative groups, individuals. Often these projects and programs go far beyond the scope of direct activities of commercial, industrial, trading firms.
Business social responsibility is multifaceted. It includes:
1. Property liability to investors, shareholders and creditors for their property;
2. Before consumers and clients - responsibility for the quality of goods and services;
3. Before employees - responsibility for workplaces, employment, labor protection;
4. Before the population - for the protection and restoration of the environment;
5. Before the state - for the observance of laws, including the payment of taxes. It is important to understand that social responsibility of a business is possible only under a number of conditions:
· The main thing is the ability of the business to make independent decisions, responsibility cannot be a duty;
· Responsibility is also an understanding of the consequences of independently made decisions - the consequences and results of both immediate and subsequent, mediated;
· The ability to see the goals and meaning of business development in the context of the development of society;
· The desire to make decisions that contribute to the development of society.
As a result of a long and continuous process of capitalist development of Western countries, a complex and balanced system of regulation of the relationship between private entrepreneurship, the power of society in the field of socio-economic development of countries and individual territories has been formed. Currently, in different countries, the participation of business in solving social problems is either strictly regulated within the framework of the current commercial, tax, labor, environmental legislation, or is carried out independently under the influence of specially established incentives and benefits. In Russia, this process is at the initial stages of its development and is taking place under the conditions of the dominant position of the state, extremely weak development of civil society institutions and the oligarchic development of business. The rules for the interaction of these institutions, the role of individual parties and the measures of their participation in social development are just being formed. The term "corporate social responsibility" appeared in the mid 70s of the last century in the United States and Europe. Corporate responsibility to society is a philosophy of behavior and a concept for the business community, companies and individual business representatives to build their activities with an emphasis on the following guidelines:
Production of quality products and services for consumers
Creating attractive jobs, paying legal wages and investing in human development
Strict compliance with the requirements of the legislation: tax, labor, environmental, etc.
Building good relationships with all stakeholders
Effective business conduct focused on creating added economic value and increasing the welfare of its shareholders
Taking societal expectations and generally accepted ethical standards into account in business practice
Contribution to the formation of civil society through partnership programs and local community development projects.
Corporate social responsibility today is becoming a modern style of business activity, which has a significant impact on the process of making management decisions, taking into account the interests of all stakeholders. Henry Ford, a man famous for his sober mind and common sense, doubted the advisability of charity, considering its expansion, and therefore the creation and increase of jobs, a more justified social contribution of business.
Some types of responsibility are expressed and enshrined in laws, i.e. are legal in nature. Some are moral in nature, but this does not make them less stringent - for example, control by public organizations and the media. Corporate responsibility to society is defined as a philosophy of behavior and a concept of building the business community, individual corporations and enterprises of their activities in the following areas:
1) production of quality products and services for consumers;
2) creating attractive jobs, paying legal wages, investing in human development;
3) compliance with the requirements of the legislation: tax, environmental, labor, etc .;
4) effective business conduct, focused on creating added economic value and increasing the welfare of its shareholders;
5) taking into account public expectations and generally accepted ethical standards in business practice;
6) contribution to the formation of civil society through partnership programs and projects for the development of the local community.
In this expanded understanding of corporate social responsibility, attention is drawn to the fact that most of the noted areas of business activity contain economic principles of entrepreneurial activity, ethical and legal norms of doing business. The social component is presented here through investments in human development and contribution to the formation of civil society through partnership programs and local community development projects.
Corporate social responsibility is the voluntary contribution of the private sector to social development through the mechanism of social investment. Social investments of a business are material, technological, managerial and other resources, as well as financial resources of companies, directed by the decision of the management to the implementation of social programs developed taking into account the interests of the main internal and external stakeholders, on the assumption that the company will receive (although not always and not simply measurable) social and economic impact. Another important definition of the studied problem field is social investment, which is understood in the study as a purposeful long-term company policy in relation to local communities in the regions of presence and society as a whole. The social investment program meets three criteria:
· Availability of strategic goals;
· Return on investments;
· Availability of organizational standards.
Social investment itself takes an insignificant place today in the implementation of corporate social responsibility, although in 2003-2004. a significant growth of interest in him was noted in such companies as NK YUKOS, SUAL, ROSBANK and others. There are 4-5 examples of social investment programs at the level of leading corporations, they are always carried out in partnership with international funds or large Russian non-profit organizations. These include, for example, the partnership between NK YUKOS and the Eurasia Foundation under the program for the development of small businesses in the territories of the company's presence. At the regional level, only one example is known - OAO LUKOIL-Perm, which, in partnership with the Perm Region administration, has implemented a program for the development of folk crafts and is holding competitions for social projects.
In the past few years, many Russian companies have been rethinking the role, place and ultimate goals of business. The topics of the formation and promotion of an attractive image of the company, the development of corporate culture have become relevant. Increasingly, we are talking about social partnership, social responsibility and, accordingly, about social investments. If at the dawn of the new Russian business the concept of "investment" had the only meaning - long-term investments in business, then later the meaning of this concept has significantly expanded. Thus, the support of people directly connected with the company - personnel, families of employees, veterans who have gone on a well-deserved rest, began to be associated with social investments of the business. However, over time, it became clear that the area of social investment is somewhat broader, including the entire spectrum of interaction between business and society. Modern Russian business is mastering new technologies of interaction with society so far for it. This “engagement” process often takes the form of two main forms of social investment — charity and sponsorship. Increasingly, business is integrating with culture, science, healthcare, education, art, and sports. Nevertheless, the main business of a business remains business - no more, but no less! Why does business need social investments? This question can be answered by listing several reasons.
1. At the end of the 90s, the Russian market was saturated with goods with approximately equal consumer properties. Buyers gradually realized this, rightly believing that the whole difference between various products most often comes down to different packaging and advertising gimmicks. In a saturated market situation, the consumer begins to react not so much to the product, to its quality, and price, but to the brand (brand), the reputation of the company and its top officials. What is called the image factor of competition begins. Competition is squeezed out of the market into the social environment, the social context of business activity. Markets are moving in the same direction. The business community is keenly aware of new trends. For example, back in 1998 -1999. Baltika began to focus on its environmental focus: information appeared on beer bottles that the company's production does not harm the environment.
2. Companies in which long-term investments have been made are economically interested in a positive image and decent reputation. The higher the reputation, the higher the market value of the stock. Fewer companies can boast of a good market price if they do not fulfill the tasks that the public is supposed to do. An example is one of the largest telecommunications companies in Russia, VimpelCom JSC, the first Russian private firm to place its shares on Western stock exchanges and succeed in attracting significant investment. Competent reputation management contributed to the fact that after the default of 1998, VimpelCom shares fell by an average of 20%, while the shares of other Russian companies - by an average of 80-90%.
3. The state is unable to carry out measures for social protection of the population in the required volume and effectively solve social problems. This is especially acute in the Russian regions. Therefore, business structures are increasingly being asked to take their place as new subjects of social policy. In Soviet times, the entire local social and cultural life - schools, kindergartens, hospitals - traditionally "hung" on the shoulders of large and not so large enterprises. Until now, large companies, having already been privatized, support social enterprises. This voluntary-coercive tradition has its drawbacks and advantages. In the current conditions, the minuses have become much more. But the business environment is already forming its own “social habits,” aimed primarily at improving the “living environment”. For example, in OJSC Yukos Oil Company, the Veteran-Petroleum Fund was created, which manages 10% of the company's shares. The fund finances the migration of workers from the northern territories, giving its own employees confidence in the future. Such an active social policy becomes the key to the successful functioning of business in the region.
4. The growing social involvement of business is associated with the development of the non-profit sector (NPO). The perception of business as a partner in social events is already fully formed and meets with understanding among NGOs, entrepreneurs themselves, and authorities. An example is the Social Partnership contests held within the framework of the Okrug Fair of Social and Cultural Projects of the Volga Federal District http://www.literra-scripta.ru/lab/books/pages.php?b_id = 15 - _ftn4. The competitions bring together the resources of the commercial, non-profit sectors and the state to solve specific acute problems - from helping the homeless to the development of Internet education. On average, for each budgetary ruble, it is possible to attract three rubles of donations and deposits. Approximately every eighth project submitted receives the necessary support.
5. Charity and sponsorship projects perfectly complement the marketing and PR activities of any company http://www.literra-scripta.ru/lab/books/pages.php? B_id = 15 - _ftn5: expand the circle of business partners, create more opportunities for advertising, contribute to the development and strengthening of corporate culture, strengthen the positive publicity. And, of course, they serve as a constant and conscientious proof of the stability of business in the region, in the country. Thus, Alfa-Bank, the largest domestic private bank, has been consistently implementing a program for the development of Russian culture for many years. This activity is inseparable from his corporate cultural and intellectual image. Support for cultural property is an excellent assistant in promoting a bank as a sustainable financial institution.
6. The need of business for social stability and social trust is growing. Social stability or social conflicts and, as a consequence, political stability or upheavals are the subject of choice for the business world, perhaps to a greater extent than for ordinary citizens. Trust in a business decreases when it is carried away exclusively by the growth of profits, avoids participating in solving important social problems, shows irresponsibility, and gives less than is expected of it. The demonstrative lack of control and impunity of shadow business in Russian conditions is aggravated by the lack of legal guarantees, real traditions of democracy and civil society. Modern business is, first of all, a business based on reputation. Striving for a sustainable reputation will inevitably lead business to partnerships with government bodies or non-profit structures in solving urgent social problems.
7. The need for new technologies for working with personnel is another important reason for the social activity of business http://www.literra-scripta.ru/lab/books/pages.php? B_id = 15 - _ftn6. The innovative nature of modern management, the requirement for permanent innovations impose radically different requirements for personnel management. The main thing is not so much the incentive system in the form of rewards and punishments as the motivation of specific employees and the formation of optimal conditions for work, as well as for the development of a sense of belonging to a common cause.
The social sphere and charity today is the most fertile zone, investing in which large business can effectively improve its relations with the population, - the conclusion is made in the ROMIR (Russian Public Opinion and Market Research) study, dedicated to the attitude of the population towards big business. 44% of respondents said that companies are not sufficiently involved in the development and implementation of social programs in the regions of their presence. Approximately the same picture is observed in the attitude of respondents to the participation of large companies in regional charity: 48% speak of insufficient activity of large companies in this direction. One of the results of the study was the conclusion that the position and activity of not only the business itself is important for the development of charity and social activities of the company, the initiative from the other side is important. That is, we need some institutions that are professionally involved in charity work, where initiative people work who know how to properly manage money.
Although there is no antagonism in the attitude of the population towards big business, the majority of Russian citizens consider privatization to be unfair. Therefore, corporate social programs are perceived by them not as a gesture of goodwill, but as a payment of debts to pensioners (who created national wealth, which a narrow circle of people became control over as a result of privatization), disabled people and other socially vulnerable citizens. It is in response to these expectations that many companies are focusing on charitable programs. At the same time, among highly educated socially active citizens, new expectations for business are being formed. They have fewer claims against large entrepreneurs, since they believe that the success of modern business is determined not so much by the value of assets obtained in the course of privatization, but by competent decisions in the post-privatization period. From the point of view of M.I. Liborakin, the most significant signs of socially responsible behavior are: production of quality goods at a reasonable price (79%); protecting the health and safety of employees (76%); environmental protection (72%); contribution to the Russian economy (62%); fighting poverty (58%); assistance in natural disasters and catastrophes (57%); and, which is very important, non-involvement in any form of bribery and corruption (53%). For this group, the following business actions turned out to be less significant: provision of individual targeted social assistance (43%); support of charitable organizations (40%); support for arts and culture (34%). Business has few programs that appeal to this category of citizens, for example, programs for socially responsible consumers. There are two different perspectives on how organizations should behave in relation to their social environment in order to be considered socially responsible. According to one of them, an organization is socially responsible when it maximizes profits without violating laws and government regulations. From these positions, the organization should pursue only economic goals. According to another view, an organization, in addition to its economic responsibility, must take into account the human and social aspects of the impact of its business activities on workers, consumers and the local communities in which it operates, as well as make some positive contribution to solving social problems in general. Three stages can be distinguished in the development of social responsibility of Russian companies:
· 1991-1998 - restructuring of the social infrastructure of companies in the course of privatization, revival of the traditions of pre-revolutionary charity and patronage;
· 1999-2001 - gradual transition from one-time assistance to individuals and organizations to financing targeted programs; formation of ideas about corporate social responsibility in the business environment and society as a whole;
· 2002-present - the beginning of the institutionalization of corporate philanthropy, the allocation of corporate and private foundations, development, involvement of non-profit organizations in the implementation of corporate programs, professionalization; active discussions on social responsibility issues.
There were two turning points in this process:
· 1998 - due to the default, Russian companies sharply reduced their investments in the social sphere, and their attention to the efficiency of investments increased by the same amount.
· 2003 - the Russian business community publicly declared its desire to be socially responsible. The Yukos affair drew a lot of public attention to the responsibility of companies, sparked an open discussion on the formation of rules for doing business, and stimulated the interest of the business itself in interacting with civil society.
In the early twentieth century, some business leaders expressed the belief that corporations must use their resources in a way that benefits society. In the late 1960s - early 1970s. the academic and business communities have put forward the thesis of the social responsibility of business, thereby bringing socientical expectations beyond the category of profitability. In the sphere of responsibility of corporations, the requirement was introduced to comply with not only legal, but also ethical norms of interaction with society. Unlike the legal norms enshrined in legislation, the requirement for compliance with ethical standards was initially purely advisory in nature. However, TV in the 1990s. recommendations gradually began to take the form of imperatives. In the context of changing views on the role of business in the life of society, there has been a certain reassessment of the role and place of corporate philanthropy, the scale of which began to amount to billions of dollars. In contrast to the classical philanthropy of business leaders of the 20th century, which was predominantly personal and sporadic in nature, modern corporate charity is a peculiar and rather complex mechanism of interaction between business and society. Corporate philanthropy becomes, in fact, an independent activity of a strategic nature. Understanding corporate philanthropy in the context of business social responsibility does not negate its voluntary nature. The expansion of charity is limited by the fact that it entails either the transformation of the main economic mission of corporations, which is to maximize profits, or the substitution of the social functions of the state.
Russian corporate social responsibility is currently at the initial stage of development and in many respects has the features of business leaders with a characteristic high personal motivation. In recent years, Russian business has begun to talk more and more consciously about social responsibility. A new vision by business of its place in the development of society will inevitably entail a change in the approach to assessing the role of charity in corporate development strategies. In recent years, the issues of motivating corporate philanthropy have received some attention in scientific and practical discussions. However, the database of the discussions was research, which had a predominantly sociological character. The main emphasis in most studies was made on the social, moral and organizational problems of donors. In the few works that raised questions of economic motivation for charitable activities, they usually referred to tax issues. From an economic point of view, charity is a mechanism for the redistribution of financial resources between its owners (individuals, institutional entities) and their consumers. The motivation for charity is the set of circumstances that induce an individual or company to make an act of charitable donation. The motivation for charity is determined by the internal needs of an individual or organization and a set of external circumstances that have a significant impact on the adoption of charitable decisions.
For some reason, understanding the motivation for private philanthropy is essential for analyzing the motives of corporate charitable behavior. In particular, many provisions of the theory of corporate charitable behavior are built taking into account or on the basis of the postulates of the theory of private philanthropy.
Internal economic motives of the charitable behavior of a private donor (individual) are associated, first of all, with the expansion of the boundaries of his capabilities as a member of the community; charitable behavior allows him to interpret himself in relation to society as a more "respectable" and socially adapted individual, which can bring him certain benefits.
The motivation of private charity is not limited only to a set of internal motives, but is also the result of the influence of the external environment. The main external determinants of philanthropy include the level of personal approach and the cost of a charitable resource. The price of a charitable resource is understood as the difference between the amount of a real charitable resource and the amount of tax exemption received as a result of an act of charity. The price of a charitable resource depends both on the general state policy of taxation of individuals and on the level of tax benefits provided by the state to private donors. Charity is moderately dependent on the price of the charitable resource and only slightly dependent on income.
Along with the level of personal income and the cost of the resource's charity, the external determinants of charity also include demographic factors (gender, age of the donor), as well as factors such as the level of education, social origin, profession, social activity of the donor, and others.
An important aspect of the current tax reform is the rejection of the widespread provision of tax incentives, including incentives to corporate donors. Assessing the results of the tax reform that has begun will take time. However, according to the results of 2002, it can be noted that after the abolition of tax incentives, there was no sharp decline in charitable activity. All major corporate donors have maintained and even announced an increase in their charitable programs. The problem of CSR analysis in Russia is the problem of interaction between business, government and society in the development and implementation of social business programs. Moreover, this applies to both internal and external social projects.
In the relationship between government and business, the main role is played, of course, by the government, and the subordinate is by business. The very possibility of implementing social projects is set precisely by the authorities. Building one or another tax policy and another policy in relation to business at the federal and local levels, the authorities can create conditions or hinder both the development of business in general and social projects of business.
An excessive tax burden reduces revenues and hinders the social activity of businesses. Administrative arbitrariness (administrative racketeering) operates in the same way. At the same time, a significant part of business “donations” does not reach social consumers. Therefore, civilized business is interested in greater transparency of its social contributions, in the ability to determine the direction of spending its funds for social purposes. On the other hand, the information openness of the social activity of business carries certain threats to its development.
The report "Information openness of the policy of Russian companies" talks about the possible risks of such openness and the implementation of an active social policy. These are risks such as a conflict between managers and shareholders, a possible increase in taxation, dissatisfaction with investors, a conflict with local authorities, an increase in product prices due to spending on social projects, and increased vulnerability to competitors. The complete secrecy of business also poses serious threats. If the business does not begin to move towards greater openness on its own, does not find benefits in this, this can lead to a format of coercion. Which can be quite destructive in terms of added value creation.
The value of corporate social responsibility (CSR) to a business can be measured in various ways, based on both quantitative and qualitative indicators. The introduction and consistent implementation of corporate social responsibility policies by companies provides a number of final economic benefits. The most significant result of corporate social responsibility is improved financial performance. The business and investment communities have long debated the existence of a real link between socially responsible business and positive financial performance. Another economic benefit of corporate social responsibility is the reduction in transaction costs. Certain corporate social responsibility initiatives, in particular those focused on protecting the environment and improving working conditions, can significantly reduce companies' costs by reducing waste and recycling inefficiencies or by increasing labor productivity.
Thus, at present, corporate social responsibility is the main form of charity in Russia. In general, charitable activities are quite high, the bulk of donations falls on the share of large businesses. The largest corporate social responsibility is shown by large companies, and the smallest - by small and medium-sized businesses. This seems quite understandable. Since small business is extremely underdeveloped in Russia and does not have the necessary financial base even for its own development. For any attitude to corporate social responsibility, it should be noted that the development of corporate social responsibility creates more favorable conditions for improving the social climate in Russian society and serves to improve the quality of life of the population.
And social capital, traditions and established infrastructure), and this dependence leaves a strong imprint on the results of reforms in the regions. 3.2 Prospects of social relations in modern Russia Realizing the imperfection of the existing system of social security in the field of health care, education, provision of housing for the population, new concepts and solutions are needed ...
Institutional forms have been worked out or material resources are lacking; on the other hand, charity gives an opportunity to manifest the best human qualities. 1. The Phenomenon of Charitable Activity in Russia When addressing an object, it is logical to start by defining its boundaries. The authors of articles on charity use very different interpretations and definitions of this phenomenon. Their...
Ideas; 5) management of the created enterprise. One of the most difficult tasks of an entrepreneur, according to modern Russian analysts, is the search for new ideas (from a new industrial product to a new organizational structure) and their implementation. 3.2 Types and forms of entrepreneurship Nowadays there are many entrepreneurial structures, each of which is characterized by its own ...
For holding competitions in various spheres of society: Autonomous non-profit organization "Institute of Public Design" in the field of sociological research and monitoring of the state of civil society; The All-Russian Public Fund "National Charitable Fund" in the field of support and social services for the poor and socially unprotected categories of citizens, ...
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Introduction.
1. The concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR)
1.1 The concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR).
2. Theoretical foundations of corporate social policy: definition, basic principles, approaches.
2.1 CSR: a concept in development
2.2 Development of CSR in Russia
Conclusion
List of used literature
Introduction
Corporate Social Responsibility is a concept whereby organizations are socially inclusive, taking responsibility for the impact of their activities on customers, suppliers, employees, shareholders, local communities and other public stakeholders. This obligation goes beyond the statutory obligation to comply with the law and implies that organizations voluntarily take additional measures to improve the quality of life of workers and their families, as well as the local community and society as a whole.
CSR practice has been the subject of much controversy and criticism. Advocates argue that there is a strong business case for CSR, and corporations reap numerous benefits from operating for a broader, longer-term perspective than their own short-term profits. Critics argue that CSR distracts from the fundamental economic role of business; some argue that this is nothing but an embellishment of reality; others say this is an attempt to replace the government's role as controller of powerful multinational corporations.
Today, the structure of relations between business and society is being transformed: society expects from entrepreneurs not only high-quality goods and services at an affordable price, but also social stability. In a market economy, any company faces wider public circles: banks, investors, intermediary brokers, own shareholders and market partners, customers, suppliers, local, municipal and federal authorities and media representatives. Thus, the need to pursue a socially responsible policy is determined not so much by the authorities as by pressure from the consumer market.
1. Corporate social responsibility
1.1 The concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR)
The topic of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is one of the most discussed in the business world today. This is due to the fact that the role of business in the development of society has significantly increased, and the requirements for openness in the business sphere have increased. Many companies have clearly realized that it is impossible to successfully conduct business operating in an isolated space. Therefore, the integration of the principle of corporate social responsibility into the business development strategy is becoming a characteristic feature of leading domestic companies.
The modern world lives in conditions of acute social problems and in this regard, the social responsibility of business is especially significant - enterprises and organizations associated with the development, manufacture and supply of products and services, trade, finance, since they have the main financial and material resources that allow them to work for solutions to the social problems facing the world. The understanding by business leaders of their key importance and leading role in such work led to the birth at the end of the 20th century of the concept of "corporate social responsibility", which became an essential part of the concept of sustainable development not only of business, but of humanity as a whole.
In world practice, there is an established understanding of what corporate social responsibility is. Organizations that operate in this area define this concept in different ways.
Business for Social Responsibility: Corporate Social Responsibility means achieving commercial success in ways that value ethical principles and respect people, communities and the environment.
International Business Leaders Forum: Corporate Social Responsibility is understood as promoting responsible business practices that benefit business and society and contribute to social, economic and environmentally sustainable development by maximizing the positive impact of business on society and minimizing the negative.
World Business Council for Sustainable Development: defines corporate social responsibility as the commitment of businesses to contribute to sustainable economic development, labor relations with workers, their families, local communities and society at large to improve their quality of life.
“Center for Systemic Business Technologies“ SATIO ”: Business Social Responsibility (SOB) is a voluntary contribution of business to the development of society in the social, economic and environmental spheres, directly related to the main activities of the company and going beyond the minimum specified by law.
Business social responsibility is multi-level.
The basic level assumes the fulfillment of the following obligations: timely payment of taxes, payment of wages, if possible - the provision of new jobs (expansion of the working staff).
The second level involves providing workers with adequate conditions not only for work, but also for life: raising the level of qualifications of workers, preventive treatment, housing construction, and the development of the social sphere. This type of responsibility is conventionally called "corporate responsibility".
The third, highest level of responsibility, according to the participants in the dialogue, presupposes charitable activities.
The internal social responsibility of business includes:
1. Labor safety.
2. Stability of wages.
3. Maintaining socially significant wages.
4. Additional medical and social insurance for employees.
5. Development of human resources through training programs and training and professional development programs.
6. Providing assistance to workers in critical situations.
Administrative / social budget - financial resources allocated by the company for the implementation of its own social programs.
The Corporate Code is a formal statement of the values and principles of business relationships between companies. The code contains declared minimum standards and guarantees companies to comply with them, as well as require compliance with these standards from their suppliers, contractors, subcontractors and licensees. The Code is not a law, therefore it is binding only for those who have pledged to comply with them.
The mission of a socially responsible company is the officially formulated position of the company in relation to its social policy.
The priorities of the company's social policy are the documentary main directions for the implementation of the company's social programs.
Social programs are activities voluntarily carried out by the company to protect nature, develop personnel, create favorable working conditions, support the local community, charitable activities and good business practices. In this case, the main criterion is the compliance of programs with the goals and strategies of business development. The social activity of the company is expressed in the implementation of a variety of social programs, both internal and external. Distinctive features of social activity programs are the voluntariness of their implementation, systemic nature and connection with the mission and development strategy of the company.
The types of social programs can be the following: companies' own programs; partnership programs with local, regional and federal governments; partnership programs with non-profit organizations; programs of cooperation with public organizations and professional associations; programs of information cooperation with the media.
Management of corporate social programs consists of the following stages:
Determining the priorities of the company's social policy;
Creation of a special structure for the management of social programs;
Conducting training programs in the field of social responsibility;
Implementation of social programs of the company;
Evaluation and communication to stakeholders of the results of the company's social programs.
Areas of social programs:
Good Business Practice is a social program area of a company that aims to promote the adoption and dissemination of good business practices among the company's suppliers, business partners and customers.
Environmental activities and resource conservation are the direction of the company's social programs, which are carried out at the initiative of the company in order to reduce the harmful impact on the environment (programs for the economical consumption of natural resources, reuse and disposal of waste, prevention of environmental pollution, organization of an environmentally friendly production process, organization of environmentally friendly transport).
Socially responsible restructuring is a direction of the company's social programs, which is designed to ensure that the restructuring is carried out in a socially responsible way, in the interests of the company's personnel.
Socially Responsible Investing - Investing that involves not only generating financial income, but also achieving social goals, usually by investing in companies that operate in an ethical manner.
Corporate social responsibility is not just a fashion statement, but a vital necessity. Social innovations implemented as part of CSR strategies not only allow companies to demonstrate their citizenship, but also become an important marketing tool that gives an opportunity to stand out, develop new products and directions, create an emotional connection between the brand and the consumer, thereby contributing to the growth of loyalty.
Chapter 2. Theoretical foundations of corporate social policy: definition, basic principles, approaches
2.1 CSR: a concept in development
A business institution that emerged as a result of social development, therefore, organizations engaged in business, in theory, should bear some responsibility to society, corresponding to certain social expectations. However, the context and content of this responsibility remain subject to controversy, both scientific and practical.
Currently, in the most general sense, corporate social responsibility (CSR) is understood as a philosophy of behavior and the concept of building the business community, companies and individual business representatives of their activities aimed at meeting the expectations of stakeholders for sustainable development. However, the correct definition of the term corporate social responsibility is still a difficult task. Consider the evolution of this concept1.
Since the 1950s. in the world management literature, primarily American, many relevant concepts have been developed, among which the most famous are "social responsibility of business", "social responsibility of businessmen", "corporate social responsibility", "corporate social sensitivity", "corporate social activity", "Corporate social integrity". Developing consistently, these concepts did not so much replace each other as accumulated previous achievements. In the 1980s. This series is a continuation of the concepts of “stakeholders” and “business ethics”, which have experienced a rebirth when applied to the broader context of social responsibility. By the beginning of the XXI century. came the turn of the theories of "sustainable development" and "corporate citizenship".
The approach of A. Caroll, one of the world's leading experts in the field of business and society relations, seems to be quite well-grounded, proposing to link all of the indicated set of concepts with the development of the theory of corporate social responsibility as a "core", consistent with alternative concepts or transforming into them.
It seems that it is this approach that makes it possible to transfer the problem from general reasoning about the role of business in social development to an analysis of the activities of a particular business enterprise, strictly speaking, not necessarily related to the corporate sector.
Legal responsibility implies the need for business to be law-abiding in a market economy, the compliance of its activities with the expectations of society, fixed in legal norms. Ethical responsibility, in turn, requires business practice to be in harmony with the expectations of society, not specified in legal norms, but based on existing moral norms. In a way, legal responsibility reflects the compliance of business with formal rules and institutions, and ethical responsibility reflects informal ones. Philanthropic (discretionary) responsibility encourages the firm to take actions aimed at maintaining and developing the well-being of society through voluntary participation in the implementation of social programs.
For every organization doing business, society is a system of stakeholders, including individuals, groups and organizations that influence the decisions made by the company and / or are influenced by these decisions.
Accordingly, corporate social responsibility can be defined as a rational response of a company to a system of conflicting expectations of stakeholders, aimed at the sustainable development of the company.
Thus, corporate social programs, first of all, should be viewed from the standpoint of rationality and benefit in the long term. The scale and scope of corporate social policy will depend on the specific goals (short and long term) pursued by the company and many external conditions.
Table 1. Model of corporate social performance
|
Principles of corporate social responsibility |
|
|
Corporate Social Awareness Process Assessment of the business environment (context). Stakeholder management (actors). Problem management (interests). |
|
|
Corporate Behavior Results Impact on society. Social programs. Social politics. |
Long-term social programs are nothing more than investments. The concept of corporate social investment can be interpreted as follows.
Corporate social investments (CSI) are the material, technological, managerial, financial and other resources of the company allocated for the implementation of corporate social programs, the implementation of which, in a strategic respect, presupposes a certain economic effect by the company.
The definition of KSI lies in the concept of rationality and benefits of the company from investments in the social sphere.
Corporate social responsibility, which includes active social investment, theoretically leads to obtaining long-term competitive advantages, including by reducing the risks of damage to stakeholders in the short term. Thus, the formation of social capital3 (mutual trust) takes place both within the company and in interaction with external stakeholders. As in some models of social capital formed through constant cooperation, the company develops its CSR policy in several stages.
Many companies, although they focus on "strategic CSR", do not evaluate it strategically. A responsive CSR appears, which leads to the ideologization of the decision-making process and a significant spread in the criteria for choosing the directions of social investment. Thus, the final goal of the investment is not achieved, due to low performance, overruns are observed, which negatively affects the financial performance of the company.
2.2 Development of CSR in Russia
In Soviet times, the concept of CSR in its pure form could not exist, although enterprises had a lot of social infrastructure facilities on their balance sheets (for example, in the 1980s, 30 million people used enterprise-owned medical institutions, 1.5 million children annually rested in enterprises owned by enterprises in sanatoriums6), in conditions of public ownership, it is difficult to separate state social programs and programs of specific enterprises.
In Russia, the concept of corporate social responsibility began to appear with the transition from a planned system in the economy to a free market, in connection with the privatization of enterprises and corresponding changes in the social infrastructure supported by business (mainly by the owners of privatized organizations).
Researchers identify several stages in relation to social infrastructure on the part of owners of privatized enterprises7:
· 1st stage (beginning - mid-1990s). A sharp reduction in the social infrastructure of enterprises. A spontaneous and uncontrolled process of dumping "social" from enterprises. As a result, more than two thirds of social facilities were transferred from enterprises to municipalities.
2nd stage (1998-2000). The period of social infrastructure stabilization. Enterprises began to use a long-term planning horizon, weighing the short-term benefits of dumping the social sector and the long-term benefits of maintaining it. As a result, the process of transferring social infrastructure to municipalities slowed down.
3rd stage (2000s). Optimization of the profile activities of the social infrastructure. The use of social facilities began to be considered by enterprises as part of the implementation of a deliberate social policy. The problems of social responsibility have become topical. Business was growing up in the country.
At present, at the stage of optimization, from the point of view of the classical theory of CSR, the situation is as follows. A whole range of both complementary and mutually exclusive interpretations of social responsibility was revealed by a study conducted by the Public Opinion Foundation 8 based on the materials of expert interviews. The diversity of interpretations is emphasized by the original systematization proposed in this study, which divided them into seven main types based on two criteria: the object - "to whom is the responsibility" (own employees, the region, society as a whole) and the type - "what kind of responsibility" (legal or moral)
In accordance with this, the following were highlighted:
1.formally legal interpretation of social responsibility (legal responsibility, expressed primarily in the timely and full payment of taxes);
2. corporate approach (social policy at the enterprise), presented in two versions - paternalistic (the "owner" must "fatherly patronize" his employees) and formal (the need for "honest partnership");
3. sociological understanding of social responsibility (the need to form the social infrastructure of society);
4. social responsibility as charity (predominantly "moralizing approach");
5. a distributive interpretation (the thesis “the rich should share”, understood in the spirit of “reasonable egoism”);
6. "technological" approach (production of quality goods and services);
7. regional responsibility (responsibility to the "territory" of doing business).
It is important to note that the overwhelming majority of the respondents to this study, one way or another, noted legal responsibility as the most important attribute of CSR.
Internal and external social policy
It seems important to divide the social policy of the corporation in accordance with its addressees into internal and external.
Internal corporate social policy is a social policy carried out for the employees of his company, and therefore limited by the framework of this company.
External corporate social policy - social policy pursued for the local community in the territory of the company or its individual enterprises9.
Internal corporate social policy is based on the prevailing opinion of society about the need for the company not only to provide profit and pay taxes, but also to take care of its employees. However, society does not send very clear signals to business regarding its wishes. Therefore, the company often forms its social policy based on its own ideas about this process.
Typically, “in-house” investment programs do not go beyond the following costs:
· Development of personnel, improvement of the professional and qualification level of employees;
· Formation of corporate culture;
· Recreation and health improvement of employees and their families;
· Attraction and support of young people, including in educational programs;
· Sports programs;
· Provision of material assistance;
· Assistance to veterans;
· Implementation of various programs for children.
Internal corporate policy is aimed, as a rule, at the development of social capital, by strengthening ties, including informal ones, between employees, as well as between company management and employees, and at increasing the human capital (health, education) of employees.
More and more companies are participating in various external social projects (federal and regional), initiated both by the authorities and independently. The main areas of social partnership between business and government:
· Participation in financing the large-scale investments initiated by the government in religious, medical, sports, cultural facilities;
· Support of activities and formation of a base of medical, educational and cultural institutions;
· Assistance in organizing cultural and leisure activities;
· Conducting educational projects for the population;
· Support for innovative projects aimed at developing the local community;
· Support for vulnerable groups of the population.
The most important and widespread are programs of external social investment in monotowns. They are carried out, respectively, by city-forming enterprises, mainly for additional funds, in addition to tax payments to local budgets. Taking into account the fact that the majority of the population of the territories where large companies are present work at the city-forming enterprises, there is actually a convergence of domestic and foreign social policies.
In some cases, the external social policy of the company helps to eliminate the failures of the state in certain areas of the social sphere; often municipal and regional authorities coordinate and even shift a significant part of the social burden onto enterprises.
2.2 Business Development and Social Responsibility
corporate social responsibility program
The term CSR itself began to be widely used in the early 1970s, although this abbreviation was rare. The term "stakeholders" (interested parties), that is, persons who are influenced by the activities of the organization, has been used to describe corporate owners other than shareholders since about 1989. CSR began with business ethics - a type of applied ethics that considers ethical principles and moral or ethical problems that can arise in the business environment.
Social responsibility of business is the responsibility of business entities for compliance with norms and rules implicitly defined or undefined by legislation (in the field of ethics, ecology, mercy, philanthropy, compassion, etc.) that affect the quality of life of individual social groups and society as a whole. Responsibility arises as a result of ignoring or insufficient attention of business entities to the requirements and demands of society and manifests itself in a slowdown in the reproduction of labor resources in the territories that are the resource base for this type of business. Business social responsibility (CSR) is a voluntary contribution of business to the development of society in the social, economic and environmental spheres, directly related to the main activities of the company and going beyond the minimum specified by law. This definition is rather ideal, and cannot be fully translated into reality, if only because it is simply impossible to calculate all the consequences of one decision. But social responsibility is not a rule, but an ethical principle that should be involved in the decision-making process. Obligation here is internal, in front of oneself, and is based on moral norms and values acquired in the process of socialization.
Potential business benefits. The extent and nature of the benefits of CSR to an organization can vary depending on the nature of the enterprise and are difficult to quantify, although there is extensive literature encouraging businesses to take more than financial action (eg Deming's Fourteen Points Balanced Scorecard). Orlitsky, Schmidt, and Reins found a relationship between social and environmental performance and financial performance. However, a business cannot focus on short-term financial performance when developing its CSR strategy. An organization's definition of CSR may differ from the clear definition of “stakeholder impact” used by many CSR advocates, and often includes charitable and voluntary activities. The CSR function can be formed in the HR department, business development department or in the public relations department of the organization, or it can be transferred to a separate unit reporting to the CEO, or in some cases -- directly to the board of directors. Some companies may use similar CSR values without a well-defined team or program.
Staff... A CSR program can focus on recruiting and retaining staff, particularly in the competitive market for university graduates. Potential employees are often asked during interviews about the firm's CSR policy, and having a comprehensive policy can be beneficial. In addition, CSR can help improve the perception of a company among its staff, especially when staff can participate through a payroll system, fundraising activities or social work in the local community.
Management of risks... Management of risks -- central to many corporate strategies. A reputation that took decades to build can be destroyed in a matter of hours by incidents such as corruption scandals or environmental disasters. These events can also attract unwanted attention from courts, governments and the media. Creating a corporate culture of “good behavior” of our own can minimize these risks.
Legislation and regulation... Another motivation for CSR is the role of independent intermediaries, in particular government, in ensuring that corporations do not harm the overall social good, including people and the environment. CSR critics such as Robert Reich argue that governments must define social responsibility through legislation and regulation to enable businesses to behave responsibly. Regulatory issues raise several issues. Regulation alone is unable to comprehensively cover every aspect of a corporation's business. This leads to cumbersome legal processes involving interpretation and contentious gray areas (Sacconi 2004). General Electric is an example of a corporation that failed to clean up the Hudson River after releasing organic pollutants. The company continues to insist on attribution of responsibility in litigation while clean-up stands still (Sullivan & Schiafo 2005). Second question -- it is a financial burden that regulation can impose on a national economy. This view is shared by Bulkeley, who cites as an example the actions of the Australian federal government to avoid compliance with the Kyoto Protocol in 1997 due to concerns about economic losses and national interests. The Australian government has argued that signing the Kyoto Pact would do more economic damage to Australia than any other OECD country (Bulkeley 2001, p. 436).
Conclusion
CSR is divided into the following categories:
1. Enterprise. Support and development of initiatives aimed at supporting promising entrepreneurs and enterprise development.
2. Education. Promote the creation of new opportunities for youth.
3. Culture and art. Helping a variety of creative activities and consolidating the community.
4. Environment. Supporting efforts to protect the environment and improve the quality of life.
The concept of CSR originated in 1992 at the Rio de Janeiro summit.
In recent years, interest in CSR has grown significantly; first of all, this applies to large oil and gas and metallurgical companies. The most important obstacle on the way of CSR approval is the focus of companies on short-term profits, as well as the lack of a stable institutional environment, which does not allow enterprises to invest in long-term projects.
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Characteristics of corporate governance models adopted in different countries, current trends in their development. Types of corporate social responsibility, their features. The mechanism of business participation in social support of society through corporate funds.
Alexandra Moskovskaya
Recently, more and more often we hear about the increase in social spending of companies, the expansion of social programs of the largest corporations, the emergence of new and new named charitable foundations, the publication of social reports of well-known companies, the adoption by business associations of charters and memorandums on the benefits of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and transparent business conduct. Each self-respecting company acquires its own social “mission”, which sets out the principles of corporate social responsibility. In the internal social policy, medical and pension insurance programs are being extended, social packages appear at new private enterprises. Well, if the management cannot organize a full-fledged system of corporate benefits and services, it tries to create at least the appearance of a social package. One gets the feeling that social assistance and social activity are gradually becoming the norm for business behavior in Russia, and it is this, and not the discourse on CSR in and of itself, that is a new phenomenon in Russian economic and social reality.
The question arises: are we witnessing the formation of a norm or imitation Is business developing in the direction of public dialogue? What influences the "socialization" of business: pressure from the state, a general trend towards the internationalization of the economy, or some other factors
1.Foreign social policy: social responsibility becomes the norm
A feature of the current stage of development of corporate social policy in Russia is its institutionalization, in other words, the establishment of stable meanings and practices for the implementation of social projects. Signs of "socially responsible behavior" are found primarily in the external social activity of business.
Firstly, despite the individualism, impulsiveness and arbitrary nature of charity widespread in Russia, in this area the largest donors are gradually being consolidated and common norms are being developed. Associations, clubs and forums of philanthropists discuss common problems and opportunities to lobby for useful legislative or administrative decisions. Thus, charitable activity finds in the person of these associations and their members informal arbiters who can influence both the mechanisms of charitable activity and its goals.
For example, the Donors Forum, an international coalition of the largest charitable organizations operating in Russia, defines its goal as contributing to "the development and growth of the effectiveness of charitable activities, both from the point of view of those who provide funds and from the point of view of society." In recent years, there has been an increase in the share of Russian members in this organization, which has already reached 40%.
Secondly, the practice of the 2000s was the financing of socially significant projects by business structures with the participation or with the patronage of the state, as well as other public structures. This direction of social activity of business should not be confused with charity, since its essential point is the presence of a public or quasi-public - state - order. Discussion of the question whether the state can formulate the interests of the whole society is good or bad, would lead us far beyond the scope of the topic of the article. Another thing is fundamentally important - whoever carries out such an order, the existence of such a mechanism testifies to a certain agreement between business and society, while in the traditional form, charity would depend on the momentary whim of the benefactor.
Thirdly, business representatives today take an active part in various advisory bodies and structures responsible for the implementation of social policy at the federal and regional levels. In particular, he is actively involved in the development of housing and education reform. Thus, six business representatives (three in each group) work in the working groups of the priority national projects "Affordable Housing" and "Education". The most important areas of social policy are the subject of keen discussion with business. In the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP), out of 18 advisory bodies, five are devoted to different aspects of social policy. There are also other large business associations in other large business associations - the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Association of Russian Managers, the All-Russian Organization of Small and Medium-Sized Businesses "Support of Russia", etc. Thus, in fact, business is involved in determining the directions and mechanisms of social politicians.
Fourth, the business community is actively working on developing CSR norms and standards, regularly adopting charters and memoranda, which today not only serve as a recognition of the idea of social responsibility, but formulate certain social obligations of business to society and its representatives. One of these documents, adopted by the Association of Managers in 2006 - the "Memorandum on the principles of corporate social responsibility" - fixes the "maximum program" in the form of a list of obligations that the business voluntarily assumes. It includes good business practices, staff development, safe working conditions and health protection, environmental protection and resource conservation, restructuring in a socially acceptable way for the local community, development of local communities, and the promotion of charity and volunteering.
A similar genre document of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs is more stingy and restrained in obligations and focuses on the fair conduct of business and the honest fulfillment of related obligations to counterparties (Social Charter of Russian Business as amended in 2007). At the same time, the Social Charter of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs introduces into circulation the concept of corporate citizenship, which is popular for such documents in Western countries, which implies a broader interpretation of social obligations, rather than only conscientious fulfillment of obligations to employees, partners and consumers of services. In addition, as a result of long discussions on the issues of social reporting of business, the RUIE has also developed "Recommendations for the use of basic indicators of companies' performance in corporate non-financial reporting." The purpose of the document is "to provide organizations with a system of reliable indicators of economic, social and environmental performance that meet international standards in this area and, at the same time, adapted to the Russian accounting system and legislation, suitable for use in non-financial reporting." The scorecard is based on the fundamental documents of the UN and the EU, as well as the guidelines of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), one of the most influential and well-known corporate social reporting systems in the Western world. If the recommendations of the RUIE, after a pilot survey and discussion, are accepted, it will be an important achievement in the field of normative regulation of corporate social responsibility in Russia. But the very fact of the existence of such a document is an important step towards the establishment of common standards for the social activities of business.
It is no secret that it is big business that is involved in many of the listed forms of social activity, which can be spurred on to this by political ambitions and the internationalization of business relations. To what extent the processes running in it relate to medium and small businesses
We can say that CSR is largely proportional to the size of the business. First, the amount of social investment depends on the total amount of funds at the disposal of the enterprise or company. Therefore, the social initiatives of small and medium-sized businesses cannot be compared with the activities of large corporations in terms of volume, organization, or public outcry and are of a more intimate nature. Secondly, due to the above reasons, the social assistance provided by small business cannot bring it the same significant reputational benefits that a large business brings, which reduces the motivation for such activities. Third, the impact of CSR decisions made by business organizations is stronger for large players and weaker for small ones. The data from a survey of the business climate by means of a survey on a nationwide sample show that small and medium-sized businesses perceive business associations as supporting structures rather than as a sphere of manifestation of their own activity. And since (according to the same survey) support for small and medium-sized businesses from business associations is small, there are no close contacts, which means that there is a direct influence of business associations on the behavior of medium and small entrepreneurs, including CSR. Fourth, the social policy of companies and CSR as a whole is determined primarily by the internal conditions and needs of doing business - in particular, by competition in the labor market and the possibilities of reproduction of labor resources. To a greater extent, this is a problem of large enterprises working in the real sector of the economy, rather than small ones working primarily in the service sector. Mass production and concentration of labor force create a great threat of a shortage of labor resources, and as a result - social and economic risks, which are much less in small business.
At the same time, in general, the spread of social responsibility standards has an undoubted effect on all players, although the methods of socially responsible behavior differ among representatives of large and small businesses. This is quite consistent with international experience, in particular, the EU, where there is also a difference in the styles and methods of social activity of large and small businesses, and the latter is distinguished by freedom in choosing the forms of organizing social activity. And yet, in general, “socially responsible” behavior in small business manifests itself in many of the areas that are typical for large business. This is the spread of private charity, the provision of social services to workers, the support of local social institutions such as orphanages, schools, cultural and leisure organizations. Often, assistance is provided in kind - in the form of free goods and services produced by the company.
According to a survey conducted as part of a survey of the business climate that my colleagues conducted in the summer of 2006 and in which the majority of respondents were representatives of small and medium-sized businesses in accordance with the proportions of the all-Russian sample, 22% of respondents understand as a socially responsible business not only the fulfillment of obligations to employees, but also financing of social programs and participation in social support of territories (see Table 1). At the same time, among the representatives of small businesses, such are one-fifth, and among medium and large (which were combined due to the small number of enterprises of the latter in the general population) - 24%. Another 45% of all respondents (43% of small businesses and 46% of medium and large) believe that social responsibility is not limited to fulfilling obligations to employees and implies financing social programs. Thus, 67% of the surveyed business representatives (63% - in small business) understand social responsibility broader than fulfilling obligations to pay decent wages and taxes. The respondents 'answers to the question about the frequency of actual social assistance, not related to social assistance to own employees, clarify the respondents' estimates. Social support for the territory, organizations and individuals over the past year was provided by 34% of small businesses and 52% of medium and large, including often and very often it was done by 20% of the surveyed small businesses and 32% of medium and large. These data indicate the prevalence of a broad understanding of CSR, which is consistent with the data of other independent studies. Moreover, there is some reason to believe that support for a broad understanding of CSR in the business community has increased. Thus, according to a 2003 survey by the Association of Managers, at least 37% of top managers adhered to a minimalist interpretation of CSR (“providing jobs” - 11%, “ensuring decent wages” - 11%, “compliance with laws” - 15%).
A notable fact found in the course of the business climate survey is that the broad interpretation of CSR turned out to be more typical for the younger generation of entrepreneurs (see Table 1) than for the older generation. This observation can serve as an additional argument in favor of the novelty and substantive conditionality of the current trends in the development of the social policy of business, as opposed to the paternalism of the Soviet era. Summing up, it can be argued that there is undoubtedly an indirect influence of the social norms of doing business, established in large companies, on small and medium-sized businesses. This influence is all the more significant since the largest corporations are much more involved in political alliances with the authorities and are subject to institutional borrowing from the experience of developed countries, where CSR and corporate citizenship standards were established much earlier. Thus, small and medium-sized businesses show, so to speak, a “pure” effect of the spread of social responsibility norms in the Russian business community.
2. Domestic Social Policy: Economic Pragmatism versus Soviet Paternalism
Despite the increase in the norms of contributions to social programs in some of the largest holding companies, the lack of detailed statistics on social expenditures of enterprises, as well as its significant lag, do not allow us to accurately assess the growth of social expenditures of enterprises in Russia as a whole. At the same time, qualitative surveys show an undoubted increase in the importance of social programs in the life of Russian companies.
The latest published data from Rosstat date back to the early 2000s and rather reflect the features of the previous stages in the development of relations between employers and employees. In the first half of the crisis 90s, the reduction in social expenditures of enterprises took place primarily due to a reduction in wages, which showed unprecedented flexibility for market economies in Russia, sometimes dropping below the subsistence level. The expenditures of enterprises on social support of workers even increased, being called upon to compensate for the fall in wages. At this time, such benefits as subsidies for the maintenance of children in preschool institutions, supplements to pensions, the ability to purchase goods at reduced prices in retail outlets owned by the enterprise became widespread, while social facilities and housing construction were still preserved at enterprises. In the second half of the 90s, the deepening economic crisis forced enterprises to curtail social programs and abandon the non-core assets of the social sector. Social benefits provided on a regular basis to most workers have been supplanted by lump-sum benefits such as material assistance or retirement benefits. According to the Federal State Statistics Service, from 1995 to 2002, the share of wages in the structure of social expenditures of enterprises increased from 61% to 72%, while expenditures on social protection, housing, cultural and social services decreased.
The favorable economic environment that arose for domestic production after the 1998 crisis made it possible to increase social spending. This primarily affected wages. With regard to spending on social protection and services to employees, the reduction in the social obligations of employers, which they themselves perceived as forced in the 90s, was gradually institutionalized by the beginning of the 2000s. Employees got used to the reduced social obligations of employers, trade unions lost influence, because they did not fulfill a protective function in the most difficult period for the economy and employees, and new people gradually came to the management of enterprises - both owners and management. It was at the beginning of the 2000s that the first discussions about CSR took place, in which employers defended a minimalist (or liberal) understanding of CSR as fulfilling obligations to pay decent wages and tax discipline, since both were at that time the first conquests of a "vibrant" economy ...
When I talk about the institutionalization of the new employer-employee relationship, I mean, first of all, sustainable practice, not formal regulation. As for collective agreements as regulatory documents, in their main points they were similar to each other at different enterprises and were "written off" from the Labor Code - that is, they almost did not include additional social obligations of employers in comparison with those determined by the state. The vagueness of the positions of collective agreements allowed employers to interpret them depending on their financial capabilities, and in the second half of the 90s they did not fulfill them at all (this was the case with the payment of wages, benefits, etc.). According to the Goskomstat, in 1998, voluntary spending on social protection amounted to 1.9%, and spending on cultural and social services - 1.5% of the total costs of enterprises for labor. Today's Labor Code leaves many issues of employment and the provision of social services at the mercy of collective bargaining regulation within enterprises and companies, and therefore, ultimately, at the mercy of employers.
It is in the given historical context that the surge of interest in the topic of CSR and social policy should be perceived as a new stage in the development of relations between employers and employees.
Here are the explanations of the employers themselves about the benefits of social packages.
Telecommunications company, new, private: “As an employer, I want employee productivity to increase, or at least not decrease, to maintain it at a certain level. I must provide a salary that you can live on, help you be healthy and at the same time invest money to constantly teach you and improve your qualifications ”(from an interview with a top manager).
The furniture factory was bought out by a new owner and rebuilt practically from scratch: “If you want you to have solid personnel, you have to work. Not just inviting people to work, paying salaries, but creating a positive image of the enterprise from all sides ”(from an interview with the director).
A petrochemical plant after a complete change of ownership and top management, the average age of representatives of the last 28-35 years: "The social package at any enterprise serves primarily to attract employees to the enterprise, this is ... the reputation of the enterprise" (from an interview with the CFO). “… In general, I am in favor of a social package, and a rather voluminous one” (from an interview with the director).
Small business, furniture manufacturing, new, private: “Social benefits appeared gradually. At first, with the sick leave, they decided to pay at least a little to the person if he was sick, bad, when nothing at all. We did not think that this could be a control lever. It's just that people who came from state-owned enterprises must have something ”(from an interview with the director).
As you can see from the above quotes, the social package is a tool for managing human resources - both cash and potential. Its functions include: 1) motivating personnel and ensuring high labor productivity, 2) maintaining the health of employees and, thereby, reducing costs associated with temporary disability and disability, 3) attracting and accumulating the best personnel, 4) creating a favorable reputation of the enterprise in front of social environment, which means consumers and potential labor force, 5) maintaining social standards that are in other enterprises, in other words, the competitiveness of the enterprise in the sectoral and inter-sectoral labor market.
To what extent is the presented approach to the social package (and hence to corporate social policy) new for the management of Russian companies?
First, management itself is new. We have already pointed to data from the Business Climate Survey, which showed strong support for social responsibility on the part of the younger generation of business leaders. According to the Labor Flexibility Survey, Soviet management itself largely left enterprises in the 1990s. The average age of industrial directors in 2001-2002 was about 50 years, the average length of service was 7-8 years, and at the enterprise - about 12 years. This means that the then leaders came to the enterprises quite young in the early 90s and took office after privatization. With regard to the present period, this question is clarified by the data of the MTO survey. According to him, numerous changes of owners and management teams at enterprises in the real sector have led to the fact that most of them practically do not have old management personnel and personal continuity with the leadership of the Soviet period has come to naught. After it, professional continuity also disappears. The new 30-year-old executives in the past are not industry engineers and technologists, but finance and management specialists. So far they do not constitute the majority, but the trend is evident. The new management of companies and corporations is implementing a new approach to enterprise management - it is viewed primarily as business management, and not technology, as it was in Soviet times.
Secondly, despite the formal continuity of the social package as the basis for internal social policy and social responsibility of employers, its structure has gradually changed, its functions and orientation have been rethought.
As a result, the abstract goal of caring for the worker, declared by the socialist ideology in Soviet times, has receded into the background - although it still remains in rhetoric. Along with it, the inappropriate and unjustified use of funds by the economic strategy went away - today's management counts money. On the one hand, many social facilities are excluded from companies, and the corresponding services for employees are bought on the market, which saves companies' money. On the other hand, there is a segmentation of social services by target groups of workers, which also reduces the dispersion of funds. The most significant element in the structure of the social package is still some massive social services or benefits that are provided upon the fact that the employee belongs to the enterprise. Their share in total social spending may decline. At the same time, the publicly available part of the social package “works” for the general motivation and commitment of the company, so its radical reduction is inappropriate. In industrial companies, this type of social services includes health and pension insurance, and in the new service sector, where social packages are more modest, it can be subsidies for food and payments for mobile phones. This category of social package includes expenses for cultural events.
As for other types of social assistance and services, they are increasingly "tied" to one or another social or professional group of workers in which the company is interested. The amount of “care” depends on the employee's contribution to the success of the enterprise, as well as the potential risks of its loss and replacement, which, in turn, is due to the state of the sectoral and regional labor market. Housing programs, which have appeared in a number of the largest companies, have recently become one of the striking examples of a targeted approach to the use of corporate social support. They differ significantly from the previous Soviet ones. Firstly, housing is no longer provided free of charge, and the company's social service usually consists of assistance in paying the first installment and interest on a bank loan. Secondly, very often housing programs clearly state which categories of personnel they apply to. These can be both professional (workers in scarce professions) and demographic groups (young workers). Much less often those in need of better living conditions are the target group of the housing program. Even so, their participation in the program is very limited, since the credit conditions actually do not allow low-wage workers.
In some cases, companies try to link the provision of a social service to an employee's performance in order to increase the economic return on the benefits package. Since the social package (at least in the sense in which this concept is usually used) was not originally intended for this, being a compensatory mechanism in large work collectives, such measures do not give tangible results. Indeed, if a service is rare and provided to the best - for example, participation in a housing program - then it does not perform a stimulating function for the majority. And if it is quite widespread - for example, payment for sanatorium-resort treatment, then the refusal to provide it for industrial reasons is considered as social discrimination.
Another useful feature of the social package for the company today is the containment of wage growth. Figuring in physical terms as a list of social benefits that are provided in excess of wages by the enterprise, the social package "hides" the real price parameters of the remuneration system for the actual and potential employee. In addition, the transfer of part of social expenditures from the salary form to the form of social assistance in a number of cases reduces the mandatory payments related to wages, in particular, the unified social tax.
The driving forces behind the development of social responsibility 3.
The Memorandum of CSR Principles, developed by the Association of Managers, mentioned above, indicates the reasons for adopting social responsibility standards. These are “internationalization of business” and the need to comply with “CSR standards adopted in international practice” (p. 4), “preservation of resources for future generations” (p. 5), “coordination of positions of various sides of public dialogue” (p. 3) ; the relationship between “sustainable business development and sustainable social development”; risks of “inattention to public expectations”, as well as “additional costs and the emergence of conflict forms of overcoming them,” to which social problems that are not resolved in a timely manner lead (p. 6). As you can see from the fragmentary quotes, the business itself makes many arguments in favor of orderly and consistent CSR. At the same time, the relationship between business activities and the public environment is not spelled out in the cited document. Meanwhile, to be sustainable and consistent, socially responsible behavior must be based on economic foundations and interests. It is no coincidence that experts who are seriously involved in CSR issues believe that the company's social responsibility lies somewhere in the middle between understanding it as compliance with laws and broad philanthropy. Thus, B. Horowitz asserts: "What is done within the framework of corporate social responsibility is done not just out of generosity, but partly in the interests of business."
Analysis of the social components of companies' activities leads to a simple conclusion - the economic underpinnings of business interest in socially responsible behavior is dependence on business partners, consumers and labor resources. If the question of a direct link between CSR and the capitalization of companies in Russia remains controversial, and the conquest of the consumer by CSR is just beginning here (according to the own testimony of business representatives, consumers and citizens "do not have a significant impact on business"), then the problems of social policy and human reproduction resources are directly linked, which was shown above using the example of a social package. However, social policy is not limited to the social package and the provision of the status quo.
According to the polls, the personnel problem is now in third place in terms of importance among the economic problems noted by employers (with a small margin after financial and sales and with a noticeable gap from the rest). It has acquired great relevance in connection with the needs of personnel renewal inherited from the Soviet economy, and the need to ensure a permanent mechanism for the reproduction of labor resources for sustainable business development in the future.
Numerous signs of business participation in the implementation of internal corporate and foreign social policies, the development of CSR standards and their dissemination in various business environments confirm that CSR has every chance of becoming the norm of social behavior of business in Russia. Contrary to popular belief, pressure from the state as a whole is not a significant factor in the spread of CSR practice. Only 17% of business representatives interviewed in the 2006 Business Climate Survey admitted that they often provided social support at the insistence of the authorities. At the same time, 81% argued that the state does poorly encourage the development of social responsibility.
The main driving forces behind the approval of CSR practice are the economic interests of business, primarily in the field of labor motivation and sustainable reproduction of human resources. To ensure the latter, companies need to take part in the preparation of systemic and long-term changes in the institutions of regulation of the social sphere and the labor market. This largely explains the active participation of business representatives in the development of programs for housing, educational and demographic policy in Russia.
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See: www.donorsforum.ru.
Memorandum on Principles of Corporate Social Responsibility ”. Association of Russian Managers, 2006. P. 6–7.
Project. Adopted for discussion in June 2007.
For a study of the problems of corporate citizenship in various countries of the West and the East, see: Peregudov S., Semenenko I. Corporate citizenship as a new form of relations between business, society and government. Moscow: IMEMO RAN, 2006.
Peregudov S., Semenenko I. Decree. op. S. 43–44.
The survey was conducted by specialists from the Higher School of Economics and our colleagues in Russian regions in 12 regions of Russia on the basis of a sample representative for the Russian Federation with the financial support of Delovaya Rossiya.
Note that the number of representatives of large business in the sample was insignificant, which corresponds to their share in the total array of enterprises, and there were no representatives of the largest corporations acting in the forefront of CSR.
Interesting research based on the use of qualitative survey methods and in-depth interviews has been conducted by the Independent Institute for Social Policy for several years. Differences in methodology between these studies and our business climate survey preclude quantitative comparisons. See: Business as a subject of social policy: debtor, benefactor, partner. Moscow: Independent Institute for Social Policy, 2005.
CSR: public expectations. Association of Managers, 2003. Quoted from: http://www.expert.ru/printissues/ural/2006/42/otvetstvennost_biznesa/print.
The Russian Labor Flexibility Survey was carried out by the Center for Labor Market Research of the Institute of Economics of the Russian Academy of Sciences (now the Institute for Management of Social Processes of the State University - Higher School of Economics) in 1994-2002. The survey was based on formalized interviews with managers and statistics from enterprises in the main manufacturing industries conducted in various regions of Russia, covering from 300 to 600 enterprises in different years.
Labor and employment in Russia. Moscow: Federal State Statistics Service, 2005.S. 403.
Labor and Employment in Russia / Goskomstat of Russia. M., 1999.S. 287.
Data from the survey "Management and Labor Relations: Management Practices in Modern Russian Enterprises" (hereinafter - MTO), carried out with the support of the British Council for Economic and Social Research (ESRC, 2002-2006) by specialists from the Institute for Comparative Research in Labor Relations (ISITO) and the University of Warwick (Warwick) under the leadership of V. Kabalina, S. Clark and T. Elgar. The main research method is case-study, the number of enterprises surveyed using this method is 51. Among the informants are top and middle-level managers, representatives of trade unions and employees of enterprises and companies in the real sector, in which innovative management practices and sustainable market position. It should be emphasized that CSR problems were not directly included in the scenarios of interviews with management representatives.
The official wages at the enterprise are understated. The innovation is to pay sick leave according to its actual average level.
Collective agreements usually provide a fairly wide list of lump sum payments for various social categories of workers. In part, he repeats the requirements of the Labor Code, in part he indicates his social priorities. One of the common articles is payments and gifts to veterans. At the same time, the sums allocated for one-time social payments are small and make up an insignificant share in the company's social expenses.
See the website of the Russian Managers Association.
From an interview with O. Aksenova with Brook Horowitz, a member of the International Business Leaders Forum (IBLF) and executive director of the Russian Partnership for Responsible Business Development (B. Horowitz: A company's social strategy should be linked to its commercial strategy. - Social Information Agency, 23.05.2005 , www.asi.org.ru).
Much more obvious is the relationship between economic success and business openness and transparency, which is confirmed by research by Standard & Poor's. The same data indicate that the shifts in the direction of increasing transparency, although they are taking place, are still insignificant. See: www.standardandpoors.ru.
Report on Social Investment in Russia. The role of business in social development. UNDP, Association of Russian Managers, 2004, p. 9.
According to a survey of 1,500 employers. Requirements of employers to the vocational education system / E. Avramova, I. Gurkov, G. Karpukhina, A. Levinson, M. Mikhailyuk, E. Polushkina, O. Stuchevskaya M .: MAKS Press, 2006. P. 39.
III Annual HR Conference "Success 2006", 01.12.2006, with the support of the newspaper "Vedomosti".
Yu. Verlina, report at the IV annual HR conference “Strategies for effective personnel management” (Moscow, 01.06.2007).
J. Dobritskaya, report at the IV annual HR conference “Strategies for effective personnel management”.
N. Lebedeva, V. Lutskina, report at the IV annual HR conference “Strategies for effective personnel management”.
MTO survey data.
National economy in 1990. M .: Republican Information and Publishing Center, 1991. P. 87; Russia in numbers. M .: Rosstat, 2006.S. 73.
Population of Russia 2003-2004: 11th and 12th annual demographic reports. M .: INP RAS. C. 50-51.
In this case, we leave aside the analysis of the state and trends of population movement in Russian regions, some of which are faced with very unfavorable demographic imbalances.
Employment Survey in Russia (1991-2000). M .: TEIS, 2002.S. 74.
Introduction.
1. The concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR)
1 The concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR).
Theoretical foundations of corporate social policy: definition, basic principles, approaches.
1 CSR: a concept in development
2 Development of CSR in Russia
Conclusion
List of used literature
Introduction
Corporate Social Responsibility is a concept whereby organizations are socially inclusive, taking responsibility for the impact of their activities on customers, suppliers, employees, shareholders, local communities and other public stakeholders. This obligation goes beyond the statutory obligation to comply with the law and implies that organizations voluntarily take additional measures to improve the quality of life of workers and their families, as well as the local community and society as a whole.
CSR practice has been the subject of much controversy and criticism. Advocates argue that there is a strong business case for CSR, and corporations reap numerous benefits from operating for a broader, longer-term perspective than their own short-term profits. Critics argue that CSR distracts from the fundamental economic role of business; some argue that this is nothing but an embellishment of reality; others say this is an attempt to replace the government's role as controller of powerful multinational corporations.
Today, the structure of relations between business and society is being transformed: society expects from entrepreneurs not only high-quality goods and services at an affordable price, but also social stability. In a market economy, any company faces wider public circles: banks, investors, intermediary brokers, own shareholders and market partners, customers, suppliers, local, municipal and federal authorities and media representatives. Thus, the need to pursue a socially responsible policy is determined not so much by the authorities as by pressure from the consumer market.
1. Corporate social responsibility
1 The concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR)
The topic of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is one of the most discussed in the business world today. This is due to the fact that the role of business in the development of society has significantly increased, and the requirements for openness in the business sphere have increased. Many companies have clearly realized that it is impossible to successfully conduct business operating in an isolated space. Therefore, the integration of the principle of corporate social responsibility into the business development strategy is becoming a characteristic feature of leading domestic companies.
The modern world lives in conditions of acute social problems and in this regard, the social responsibility of business is especially significant - enterprises and organizations associated with the development, manufacture and supply of products and services, trade, finance, since they have the main financial and material resources that allow them to work for solutions to the social problems facing the world. The understanding by business leaders of their key importance and leading role in such work led to the birth at the end of the 20th century of the concept of "corporate social responsibility", which became an essential part of the concept of sustainable development not only of business, but of humanity as a whole.
In world practice, there is an established understanding of what corporate social responsibility is. Organizations that operate in this area define this concept in different ways.
Business for Social Responsibility: Corporate Social Responsibility means achieving commercial success in ways that value ethical principles and respect people, communities and the environment.
International Business Leaders Forum: Corporate Social Responsibility is understood as promoting responsible business practices that benefit business and society and contribute to social, economic and environmentally sustainable development by maximizing the positive impact of business on society and minimizing the negative.
World Business Council for Sustainable Development: defines corporate social responsibility as the commitment of businesses to contribute to sustainable economic development, labor relations with workers, their families, local communities and society at large to improve their quality of life.
“Center for Systemic Business Technologies“ SATIO ”: Business Social Responsibility (SOB) is a voluntary contribution of business to the development of society in the social, economic and environmental spheres, directly related to the main activities of the company and going beyond the minimum specified by law.
Business social responsibility is multi-level.
The basic level assumes the fulfillment of the following obligations: timely payment of taxes, payment of wages, if possible - the provision of new jobs (expansion of the working staff).
The second level involves providing workers with adequate conditions not only for work, but also for life: raising the level of qualifications of workers, preventive treatment, housing construction, and the development of the social sphere. This type of responsibility is conventionally called "corporate responsibility".
The third, highest level of responsibility, according to the participants in the dialogue, presupposes charitable activities.
The internal social responsibility of business includes:
Safety.
Stability of wages.
Maintaining socially significant wages.
Additional medical and social insurance for employees.
Development of human resources through training programs and training and professional development programs.
Providing assistance to workers in critical situations.
Administrative / social budget - financial resources allocated by the company for the implementation of its own social programs.
The Corporate Code is a formal statement of the values and principles of business relationships between companies. The code contains declared minimum standards and guarantees companies to comply with them, as well as require compliance with these standards from their suppliers, contractors, subcontractors and licensees. The Code is not a law, therefore it is binding only for those who have pledged to comply with them.
The mission of a socially responsible company is the officially formulated position of the company in relation to its social policy.
The priorities of the company's social policy are the documentary main directions for the implementation of the company's social programs.
Social programs are activities voluntarily carried out by the company to protect nature, develop personnel, create favorable working conditions, support the local community, charitable activities and good business practices. In this case, the main criterion is the compliance of programs with the goals and strategies of business development. The social activity of the company is expressed in the implementation of a variety of social programs, both internal and external. Distinctive features of social activity programs are the voluntariness of their implementation, systemic nature and connection with the mission and development strategy of the company.
The types of social programs can be the following: companies' own programs; partnership programs with local, regional and federal governments; partnership programs with non-profit organizations; programs of cooperation with public organizations and professional associations; programs of information cooperation with the media.
Management of corporate social programs consists of the following stages:
Determining the priorities of the company's social policy;
Creation of a special structure for the management of social programs;
Conducting training programs in the field of social responsibility;
Implementation of social programs of the company;
Evaluation and communication to stakeholders of the results of the company's social programs.
Areas of social programs:
Good Business Practice is a social program area of a company that aims to promote the adoption and dissemination of good business practices among the company's suppliers, business partners and customers.
Environmental activity and resource conservation is a direction of the company's social programs, which are carried out at the initiative of the company in order to reduce the harmful impact on the environment (programs for the economical consumption of natural resources, reuse and recycling of waste, preventing environmental pollution, organizing an environmentally friendly production process, organizing environmentally friendly transport).
Socially responsible restructuring is a direction of the company's social programs, which is designed to ensure that the restructuring is carried out in a socially responsible way, in the interests of the company's personnel.
Socially Responsible Investing - Investing that involves not only generating financial income, but also achieving social goals, usually by investing in companies that operate in an ethical manner.
Corporate social responsibility is not just a fashion statement, but a vital necessity. Social innovations implemented as part of CSR strategies not only allow companies to demonstrate their citizenship, but also become an important marketing tool that gives an opportunity to stand out, develop new products and directions, create an emotional connection between the brand and the consumer, thereby contributing to the growth of loyalty.
Chapter 2. Theoretical foundations of corporate social policy: definition, basic principles, approaches
1 CSR: a concept in development
A business institution that emerged as a result of social development, therefore, organizations engaged in business, in theory, should bear some responsibility to society, corresponding to certain social expectations. However, the context and content of this responsibility remain subject to controversy, both scientific and practical.
Currently, in the most general sense, corporate social responsibility (CSR) is understood as a philosophy of behavior and the concept of building the business community, companies and individual business representatives of their activities aimed at meeting the expectations of stakeholders for sustainable development. However, the correct definition of the term corporate social responsibility is still a difficult task. Consider the evolution of this concept<#"justify">Principles of corporate social responsibility Institutional principle of legitimacy. Society provides business with legitimacy and empowerment. Organizational principle of public responsibility. Organizations in business are accountable for those results that fall within the areas of their "primary" and "secondary" interactions with society. The individual principle of freedom of managerial choice. Managers are moral agents. At each stage of CSR, they must make choices that will lead to socially responsible results. Corporate Social Awareness Process Assessment of the business environment (context). Stakeholder management (actors). Problem management (interests). Results of corporate behavior Impact on society. Social programs. Social politics.
Long-term social programs are nothing more than investments. The concept of corporate social investment can be interpreted as follows.
Corporate social investments (CSI) are the material, technological, managerial, financial and other resources of the company allocated for the implementation of corporate social programs, the implementation of which, in a strategic respect, presupposes a certain economic effect by the company.
The definition of KSI lies in the concept of rationality and benefits of the company from investments in the social sphere.
Corporate social responsibility, which includes active social investment, theoretically leads to obtaining long-term competitive advantages, including by reducing the risks of damage to stakeholders in the short term. Thus, the formation of social capital takes place.<#"justify">· 1st stage (beginning - mid-1990s). A sharp reduction in the social infrastructure of enterprises. A spontaneous and uncontrolled process of dumping "social" from enterprises. As a result, more than two thirds of social facilities were transferred from enterprises to municipalities. · 2nd stage (1998-2000). The period of social infrastructure stabilization. Enterprises began to use a long-term planning horizon, weighing the short-term benefits of dumping the social sector and the long-term benefits of maintaining it. As a result, the process of transferring social infrastructure to municipalities slowed down. · 3rd stage (2000s). Optimization of the profile activities of the social infrastructure. The use of social facilities began to be considered by enterprises as part of the implementation of a deliberate social policy. The problems of social responsibility have become topical. Business was growing up in the country. At present, at the stage of optimization, from the point of view of the classical theory of CSR, the situation is as follows. A whole range of both complementary and mutually exclusive interpretations of social responsibility was revealed by a study conducted by the Public Opinion Foundation based on the materials of expert interviews.<#"justify">1.formal legal interpretation of social responsibility (legal responsibility, expressed primarily in the timely and full payment of taxes); 2.corporate approach (implementation of social policy at the enterprise), presented in two versions - paternalistic (the "owner" must "patronize" his employees) and formal (the need for "honest partnership"); .sociological understanding of social responsibility (the need to form the social infrastructure of society); .social responsibility as charity (predominantly “moralizing approach”); .distributive interpretation (the thesis “the rich should share”, understood in the spirit of “reasonable egoism”); ."Technological" approach (production of quality goods and services); .regional responsibility (responsibility to the "territory" of doing business). Internal and external social policy It seems important to divide the social policy of the corporation in accordance with its addressees into internal and external. Internal corporate social policy is a social policy carried out for the employees of his company, and therefore limited by the framework of this company. External corporate social policy - social policy carried out for the local community in the territory of the company or its individual enterprises<#"justify">· personnel development, raising the professional and qualification level of employees; · formation of corporate culture; · recreation and health improvement of employees and their families; · attraction and support of young people, including in educational programs; · sports programs; · provision of material assistance; · assistance to veterans; · implementation of a variety of children's programs. Internal corporate policy is aimed, as a rule, at the development of social capital, by strengthening ties, including informal ones, between employees, as well as between company management and employees, and at increasing the human capital (health, education) of employees. More and more companies are participating in various external social projects (federal and regional), initiated both by the authorities and independently. The main areas of social partnership between business and government: · participation in the financing of large-scale investments initiated by the government in religious, medical, sports, cultural facilities; · maintenance of housing and communal services (primarily by city-forming enterprises); · support of activities and formation of a base of medical, educational and cultural institutions; · assistance in organizing cultural and leisure activities; · conducting educational projects for the population; · support for innovative projects aimed at developing the local community; · support for vulnerable groups of the population. The most important and widespread are programs of external social investment in monotowns. They are carried out, respectively, by city-forming enterprises, mainly for additional funds, in addition to tax payments to local budgets. Taking into account the fact that the majority of the population of the territories where large companies are present work at the city-forming enterprises, there is actually a convergence of domestic and foreign social policies. In some cases, the external social policy of the company helps to eliminate the failures of the state in certain areas of the social sphere; often municipal and regional authorities coordinate and even shift a significant part of the social burden onto enterprises. 2.2 Business Development and Social Responsibility corporate social responsibility program The term CSR itself began to be widely used in the early 1970s, although this abbreviation<#"justify">Conclusion CSR is divided into the following categories: Company. Support and development of initiatives aimed at supporting promising entrepreneurs and enterprise development. Education. Promote the creation of new opportunities for youth. Culture and art. Helping a variety of creative activities and consolidating the community. Environment. Supporting efforts to protect the environment and improve the quality of life. The concept of CSR originated in 1992 at the Rio de Janeiro summit. In recent years, interest in CSR has grown significantly; first of all, this applies to large oil and gas and metallurgical companies. The most important obstacle on the way of CSR approval is the focus of companies on short-term profits, as well as the lack of a stable institutional environment, which does not allow enterprises to invest in long-term projects. Bibliography · S.V. Shishkin "Business as a subject of social policy: debtor, benefactor, partner?" - M. GU-HSE, 2005 · AE Chirikova Interaction between government and business in the implementation of social policy: regional projection. - M .: Independent Institute for Social Policy, 2007. · Report on Social Investment in Russia - 2008. / Under. ed. 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