Corporate Social Responsibility in Asia: Practice and Experience PDF
Preview Corporate Social Responsibility in Asia: Practice and Experience
CSR, Sustainability, Ethics & Governance Series Editors: Samuel O. Idowu · René Schmidpeter Kim Cheng Patrick Low Samuel O. Idowu Sik Liong Ang Editors Corporate Social Responsibility in Asia Practice and Experience CSR, Sustainability, Ethics & Governance Series Editors Samuel O. Idowu, London, United Kingdom Rene´ Schmidpeter, Ingolstadt, Germany For furthervolumes: http://www.springer.com/series/11565 ThiSisaFMBlankPage Kim Cheng Patrick Low (cid:129) Samuel O. Idowu (cid:129) Sik Liong Ang Editors Corporate Social Responsibility in Asia Practice and Experience Editors KimChengPatrickLow SamuelO.Idowu SikLiongAng LondonMetropolitanBusinessSchool FacultyofBusiness&Economics LondonMetropolitanUniversity UniversityBruneiDarussalam London Gadong UnitedKingdom BruneiDarussalam ISBN978-3-319-01531-6 ISBN978-3-319-01532-3(eBook) DOI10.1007/978-3-319-01532-3 SpringerChamHeidelbergNewYorkDordrechtLondon LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2013953001 ©SpringerInternationalPublishingSwitzerland2014 Thisworkissubjecttocopyright.AllrightsarereservedbythePublisher,whetherthewholeorpart of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation,broadcasting,reproductiononmicrofilmsorinanyotherphysicalway,andtransmissionor informationstorageandretrieval,electronicadaptation,computersoftware,orbysimilarordissimilar methodologynowknownorhereafterdeveloped.Exemptedfromthislegalreservationarebriefexcerpts inconnectionwithreviewsorscholarlyanalysisormaterialsuppliedspecificallyforthepurposeofbeing enteredandexecutedonacomputersystem,forexclusiveusebythepurchaserofthework.Duplication ofthispublicationorpartsthereofispermittedonlyundertheprovisionsoftheCopyrightLawofthe Publisher’s location, in its current version, and permission for use must always be obtained from Springer.PermissionsforusemaybeobtainedthroughRightsLinkattheCopyrightClearanceCenter. ViolationsareliabletoprosecutionundertherespectiveCopyrightLaw. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publicationdoesnotimply,evenintheabsenceofaspecificstatement,thatsuchnamesareexempt fromtherelevantprotectivelawsandregulationsandthereforefreeforgeneraluse. While the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication,neithertheauthorsnortheeditorsnorthepublishercanacceptanylegalresponsibilityfor anyerrorsoromissionsthatmaybemade.Thepublishermakesnowarranty,expressorimplied,with respecttothematerialcontainedherein. Printedonacid-freepaper SpringerispartofSpringerScience+BusinessMedia(www.springer.com) This book is especially dedicated to all industrialists, entrepreneurs, professionals and academicians who are genuinely striving to be socially responsible and would like to understand how CSR has earnestly evolved and continues to be practised in Asia. ThiSisaFMBlankPage Foreword Sustainabilityistoday’swatchword,andleadersofdifferentcountries,corporations andinternationalorganizationsoftheworldmustbearthisinmindwhencarrying outtheirday-to-daybusinessdealings. Sincethe1930s,ourworldhascontinuedperiodicallytofacevariouseconomic crises, and corporate social responsibility (CSR) has consequently become very important in solving many of the consequential problems emanating from these crises. Sustainable development has emerged following a series of environmental issuesthathavefacedourworld,theconcernforhumanity’snonchalantuseofall ourdepletablenaturalresourcesandadverseimpactsonourplanetfollowingmany actionstakenbycorporationsincarryingouttheiroperationalactivitiesthatareall tooobvioustous.Operatingsustainablywouldreducetheadverseimpactsofthese problems. For any organization to be successful, its vision and strategy must focus on promotingbusinesstransparencyandaccountabilitytostakeholders,whicharevery crucial for its well-being and sustainability. However, one should understand that CSRshouldnotonlyfocusonsatisfyingregionalorlocalstakeholdersbutalsoon meetingtheexpectationsoftheworldatlarge.Whatamammothtask,itmaysound, but that is really what it is all about – our world is a markedly different place. In order to agree, convince and succeed universally, it requires a holistic approach taking into account aspects relating to philosophical viewpoints, environmental protection,sustainabilityandgoodgovernanceinwaysnotseenbefore. This book, Corporate Social Responsibility in the Asia-Pacific, edited by Prof. K. C. Patrick Low, Prof. Samuel O. Idowu and Dr. Sik Liong Ang, is a timely publicationinthesensethatitconceptualizesCSRfromtheeastandwestofvarious professions, sectors and countries, hence demonstrating that, even in times of economic hardship, more and more businesses are embracing the principles and ethosofCSR,becausetheyhaveallunderstoodthatitistherightthingtodo.Much canbegainedbyrecognizingthecontributionsthatadiversityofperspectivesare abletoprovidetowardsthegenerationofnewideas andinnovative approachesto conducting business activities in a transparent and ethical way. Many of the excellent chapters in this book testify to that because they document examples of vii viii Foreword good practice with some recommendations of a practical character which researchers, practitioners and other stakeholders would find most appropriate in their professional callings. Some of the chapters also highlight future research directions,showingsomepotentialresearchneedsthatwouldhavetobeaddressed inthefuture. Ihopethatthisbookwillinfluencebothtoday’sandtomorrow’sprofessionalsin following CSR strategies which would enable companies, universities, interna- tional organizations, NGOs and others across the world to make our society a more socially responsible place for us all to conduct our day-to-day business and non-businessactivities. Turin,Italy Dr.LiangrongZu InternationalTrainingCentre InternationalLabourOrganizationoftheUnitedNations Preface ‘TheEarthprovidesenoughtosatisfyeveryman’sneed,butnoteveryman’sgreed’. MahatmaGandhi(1869–1948) Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a discipline or field that impacts all aspectsofhumanexistence.ProfessionsandprofessionalsintheWestandtheEast aswellasadvancedandemergingeconomieshavemuchtoconsiderinthequestto ensurethattheiractivitiesdonotadverselyaffectsociety;iftheydo,howtheycan bestreducetheadverseimpact shouldbeofparamountimportancetothem inthe worldoftoday. In advanced Western democracies, the need of using legal frameworks or systems such as the International Standards Organization, e.g. ISO 14000, is generally felt to instruct or direct corporations as to how their relationships with their stakeholders, societies and the environment should be managed in terms of CSR. In other words, there are too many so-called guidelines and, in some cases, directiveswhichcorporationsareencouragedtouseinmanagingtheiroperations. Ontheotherhand,ifoneistoviewCSRfromtheAsianperspective,basedonAsian philosophies and thoughts such as Confucianism and Hinduism, CSR is more inclined towards an individual’s self-regulation/monitoring, tying in with the individual’sself-growthanddevelopmentaswellasspirituality. Being socially responsible on the part of corporate entities, some scholars and practitionershaveargued,isoneofthesinequanonofsuccessinmodernmarkets. Ifthisisso,thenitisinthebestinterestoftheseentitiestosourceoutwhatactions they need to take in order to act responsibly. Responsibility is demonstrated by actionsanddeeds,notbywordsorinformationinsertedinsomeglossymagazines orcorporatewebsites. ItisbelievedthatabookonhowdifferentlyCSRisperceivedanddemonstrated inAsiawouldnotonlyprovidesomeusefulinsightsintohowtherequirementsof CSRarebeingmetbycorporateentitiesinAsiannations,butitwouldalsoprovide a framework for a better understanding of how the field is shaping up in this continent since its general acceptance worldwide. The world today is radically differentfromwhatitusedtobeseveraldecadesagoorevensome12monthsago. ix
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