The Latest Scorecard in the CSR Debate

There has been much ado lately about the rights or wrongs of Corporate Social Responsibility. Although the debate about whether business should or should not be concerned with social responsibility has been around for quite a long time, it seems that with the increase of business concerns about the environment, interest in the welfare of their surrounding communities, and involvement in the solutions of social problems, coupled with the recent explosion of social media, this debate has seen renewed energy.

Tomorrow, Friday, there will be a debate hosted by Fenton Communications: CSR and the Role of Business Today – A Spirited Discussion with professor Kamani, the author of a recently controversial article in the Wall Street Journal and Chrystia Freeland, the author of another recently published controversial article, as well as other notable CSR practitioners and proponents.Click here to get more information about the webcast.

This debate will add to the overall scorecard that has been mounting bit by bit on each side.

In this article written  in the Reference for Business, Encyclopedia of Business is a straightforward framework that lays out the pros and cons of the CSR arguments that can be used as a guide for the upcoming debate.

It's also useful to get a view of how each side has been stacked up from some notable business leaders, economists, professors, and journalists.  Katherine V. Smith, executive director of the Boston College Center of Corporate Citizenship suggested in her article that: Comments that cause CSR stir can spark valuable dialogue. 

Reading some of these articles that take either position can help in creating more of this kind of valuable dialogue.  

Pro
Aug. 25, 20102. The Case for CSR: The CEO Perspective by Margaret Coady,Director Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy

August 27, 2010. Why Corporate Responsibility Lives (Despite The WSJ Trying To Kill It) by Mike Lawrence of Cone, Inc.

Aug 31, 2010. How to Do Well and Do Good
By Rosabeth Moss Kanter in Sloan Management Review

Con
Oct, 2005, Con, (Milton Friedman, T.J.Rodgers), Pro, (John Mackey)
Rethinking the Social Responsibility of Business A Reasoned debate featuring Milton Friedman, Whole Foods' John Mackey, and Cypress Semiconductor's T.J. Rodgers.

Sunday, July 18, 2010 . What's BP's social responsibility? By Chrystia Freeland. Washington Post

Aug. 23, 2010. The Case Against Corporate Social Responsibility, By Aneel Karnani, WSJ



I would love to hear about any more articles, blogs, or posts that have taken either the pro or the con side of the debate, to add to this list. 

Look for a report of this upcoming webcast in future posts.