Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Inclusive Growth: A Review of Shifting Focus, Paradigms, and Approaches

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is referred to as the business responsibility and an organization's actions on environmental, social, ethical and economic issues of its surroundings. It is usually described in terms of a company considering, managing and balancing the economic, social and environmental impacts of its activities. A business organization cannot work in isolation and the extent to which a business organization should consider the environmental, ethical and social issues in its working, foregoing a part of its profit for the betterment of society as a whole, the constituents of which are its employees, environment, moral and ethical issues etc. A company which fails to do so is jeopardizing its commercial future. In India, the ethical and moral model initiated by Mahatma Gandhi during 1930s is well known; it affirmed the responsibility of family- run-businesses conducting social and economic activities. Corporate social responsibility has no standard definition. However, we can generally define it as a type of contribution/s from the corporate houses out of their huge profit to the various aspects of social development of society. This paper is based on a review of various project reports and personal experiences of the author.