Doing Good and Making Money
Next week I start Statistics.
To say that I’m nervous would be an understatement. That said, I have been excited to see that to-date I’ve found the classes at WSU’s MBA program not only interesting from a theoretical perspective, but also immensely useful in real life.
From the studies on leadership styles and management to the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) class I am now wrapping up, I find myself applying and considering the ideas learned in class in my every-day business.
It is this latter topic of CSR that I want to address in today’s blog post.
I find myself revisiting the journey I took cross country when I was privileged to meet with marketing and communications professionals from every corner of our nation representing all sizes and demographics of the business and non-profit community.
While often our conversations centered upon how they applied modern communications to their unique world, it was difficult to find a single example of anyone who didn’t allude to the importance of social responsibility.
As I’m drafting my final paper for this class, I find myself mulling over the very ideas that were brought up by the many leaders I encountered on my journey two years ago.
What was perhaps the most interesting, is that without prompting, almost every person I spoke with alluded to the value of corporate social responsibility. Not just a as a “feel good” PR program, but as a real value to business and to the bottom line. There’s a sense that in today’s nano-second communications world that consumers have a heightened awareness of the global impact that their local decisions have. These include decisions about what to buy and from whom to buy it.
We are also forced to reconcile the fact that even on our worst days, U.S. citizens in -general have an exceedingly fortunate existence. We may bemoan the relative success of our schools, but at least we have a system that assumes that all children have a right to education. We may begrudge our staggering unemployment figures, but at least we all are afforded the opportunity to advance and attain careers, regardless of our gender, race or religion. And even if we cast aspersions upon our law enforcement officers from time to time (usually through the driver’s side window) our society by-in-large does not tolerate abuse, rape or murder as a means of maintaining “peace.”
Any business, especially those operating globally, needs to consider these important issues. Not as a subsection of its marketing/communications plan, but as a transparent code that transcends all areas of its business. The most successful companies are doing just that, giving back where it can and making a difference where it should.
It’s not about activism. It’s simply about being accountable to the privilege granted us as citizens of a country that still adheres to a sense of freedom and justice that is unprecedented in the world.
Certainly a company still needs to make profits. It needs to hold its operations and executive team accountable to the shareholders who invest in its business. But not just financially accountable. Socially accountable, as well. The good that can be done in this way far outweighs the risks of doing it. And ultimately, that good will be felt in the bottom line.
