Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Essentials

Introduction:

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a company's commitment to ethical business practices, community involvement, and the overall well-being of its employees and society at large. Proper implementation of CSR has always been challenging, as it requires striking a delicate balance between benefiting the community and achieving business goals.

Our thoroughly designed CSR training programs, including certificate courses, help learners gain an in-depth understanding of CSR strategies, tools, best practices, and their ethical foundations. The courses will also delve into the complexities of corporate responsibility, relevant communication principles, and common pitfalls encountered when carrying out CSR projects.

Objectives:

By the end of this training program on CSR, participants should be able to:

• Explain Carroll’s four-part definition of Corporate Social Responsibility from a historical perspective.
• Recognize the importance of both the public and private sectors in Corporate Social Responsibility.
• Understand how professional ethics are connected to corporate governance through CSR.
• Trace the development and evolution of Corporate Social Responsibility.
• Use ten effective communication strategies within CSR to achieve meaningful results.
• Identify the challenges associated with CSR that can be leveraged to improve competitive advantage.

Training Methodology:

• Interactive Lectures
• Case Studies
• Group Discussions
• Role-Playing Scenarios
• Hands-On Workshops
• Real-World Examples
• Reflection and Feedback Sessions
• CSR Project Development & Presentation

Course Outline:

Unit 1: Introduction to Corporate Social Responsibility

• Early definitions of what it means for companies to practice good relationships with society.
• Legal tender obligations versus administrative acts: A case study.
• The history behind today’s concepts on Company Law.
• The progressive thought about Company Law.
• Meanings beyond Company Law.
• The four parts comprising Carroll's model.

Unit 2: Why CSR is Important

• People, planet, profit theory.
• Two distinctive views of CSR.
• The need for corporations to be involved in social responsibility.
• Approaches contrasting CSR advocates and opponents.

Unit 3: Corporate Social Responsibility and Professional Ethics

• CSR as business ethics.
• Trends in business ethics.
• Ways firms can adopt ethical practices.
• Global codes on business conduct.
• Dealing with ethical dilemmas.

Unit 4: Evolution of Corporate Social Responsibility

• The history and setbacks of CSR.
• Common mistakes in corporate social responsibility (CSR) practice.
• Five principles of CSR: Future perspective.
• The progression from CSR 1.0 to CSR 2.0.

Unit 5: The Rules of Communication for CSR Principles

• Key features of CSR-related information.
• Rule #1: Act first, talk later.
• Rule #2: Explain what you do and why you do it.
• Rule #3: Be ready for feedback.
• Rule #4: Embed CSR at the board level.
• Rule #5: Engage workers.
• Rule #6: Make messages clear.
• Rule #7: Stay on top of stakeholders’ unique nature.
• Rule #8: Encourage dialogue and debate.
• Rule #9: Lead by example.
• Rule #10: Focus on responsible branding - marketing a brand that cares.

Unit 6: The Challenges of Corporate Social Responsibility

• Friedman vs. Russell on CSR.
• Considerations for incorporating CSR into business strategy.