企业社会责任(2/3)

In the area of social performance, businesses must consider the welfare of their employees and the communities in which they operate. In the pursuit of a better financial bottom line, companies will naturally look to reduce their labour costs. This may mean cutting jobs or wages or it may mean outsourcing work or relocating to a country where labour is cheaper. All too often the impact of these actions on the workforce is not taken properly into account. One aspect of social responsibility, sponsorship of community projects, has already been taken up by companies on a wide scale. That is probably because companies have been quick to see the financial benefit of the good publicity that comes from being involved in such helpful projects. Does all this sound nice? Of course it does, but it's not enough to say you are going to follow a policy of corporate social responsibility, to make a difference companies have to "walk the talk". So how do you go about translating good intentions into concrete actions that will really make a difference?