The training affiliate of OWW Consulting is called the Academy of Responsible Management. I was sent for a 3-day Foundation Certificate in Corporate Social Responsibility at the Malaysian Institute of Management (MIM).
As I have experienced every time I need to locate a new destination, my maps were worthless because streets signs were often difficult to locate when I emerged from the LRT station. Remembering [from training] that, generally, Malaysians rarely admit when they when they cannot offer accurate directions, I mentally prepared for a wild goose chase. As expected, the first two people I asked pointed me in opposite directions. The third stranger lead me in the opposite direction of the one that spoke the best English out of the 3 of them. Sure enough, the bad English-speakers knew the neighborhood better and I was on my way.
I don’t recall whether or not I learned it in Dr. Weaver’s Intercultural Communication institute or Dr. Heng’s Malaysian orientation, but I witnessed a text-book example of varying norms for active listening. The people who were Malay (the Malaysian ethnic majority, not to be confused with other Malaysians—Chinese, Indian, and Indigenous) consistently repeated, rephrased, and sometimes moaned in agreement to affirm what the presenters said. On the other hand, the 4 Chinese, Maldivian, German, and US (me) participants used silent head nods to communicate understanding to Geoff, Carlos, and Sunny (the facilitators). Initially, it took a moment to get used to, but quickly became amusing to watch how painfully it affected the German.
Without re-teaching the course, I’ll discuss a few takeaways. The most important point is that Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is not an afterthought—it’s strategically built into the management process and budget allocation of a company. If not, it’s merely charity. “Responsible businesses achieve success (if the business fails, CSR is impossible) by going beyond what is required by law (Good business
CSR should utilize whatever the business already offers to enrich the community. For example, a mobile phone company can dedicate an emergency battered women’s line, rather than write a giant cardboard check to an orphanage. During the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Anheuser-Busch (a beer manufacturer) donated 2.5 million cans of drinking water and volunteered their trucks to deliver it, as well as food. The used that capacity that they already had to offer relief in an emergency. Even organizations that are not businesses can have CSR initiatives. Colleges can offer volunteer tutor partnerships to primary and secondary schools. Even churches can provide free meeting space for community organizers.
CSR is executed in the following 7 areas:
1. Human Rights
2. Employee Welfare
3. Customer Service
4. Supplier Partnerships
5. Environmental Protection
6. Community Involvement
7. Ethical Business Behavior
The 7 core areas, alone, demonstrate that good CSR has to be built into the company’s management plan. Aside from companies mistaking CSR for simple charity, many have over-emphasized Environmental Protection. This is not because companies prioritize it as a pressing issue; it just happens to be a popular marketing and PR scheme.
For Malaysian companies and organizations, one of the most significant challenges with CSR is the lack of disclosure. There are companies that excel in many of the 7 core areas, but are not reporting it. Jing, one of the senior consultants at OWW, drew my attention to the modesty derived from religious values. Individuals who do the right thing, beyond the scope of the law, should not boast lest they forgo all of their heavenly rewards in place of earthly accolades. She says that companies don’t have an afterlife, so it’s best to boast now.
In general, businesses, brokers, and investors must be able to quantify how well (or not) their investments are faring. This is done by calculating the Return on Investment (ROI). Similarly, in CSR a method has been developed to quantify the Social Return on Investment (SROI). This was one of the most fascinating topics in the 3-day training. Our final presenter, Sunny walked us through how SROIs are calculated and how they can be adapted. For example, an environmental SROI or customer service SROI can be valuable information to stakeholders. Obviously the main stakeholders that benefit from SROIs are the members of the community. Occasionally, and certainly over the medium to long run, investors may begin to realize returns in the form of dividends based on social investment. Using those tools will help tremendously in convincing an organization’s board of directors to expand and improve their CSR.
In closing, I’ll sum up my Foundations in CSR by using ‘A How-to Guide for Corporate Social Responsibility’ (extracted from the article “The Purpose-Driven Corporation”
1. Pick a cause that you can own
2. Develop a model that ensures continuity
3. Monitor and measure performance
4. Create a culture of corporate responsibility
5. Communicate your efforts broadly, but avoid PR hype
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