corporate social responsibility

 post should include one observation on the reading 

 100 words or less is sufficient. 

 Observation might include:

• reflection on how the reading relates to your experience, or 
• comment on what you found interesting and why, or
• comment on how the readings relate to real-life examples

 Good observation will be: 

1) Logical and coherent
2) Fit into one of the categories of observation
3) Refer to (or mention) a reading for the appropriate session
4) Adhere to the word count 

P O L I T I C A L C S R : D O E S D E M O C R A T I C T H E O R Y O F F E R N E W I N S I G H T S ? ?

Critics of integrated social contract theory argue that there are no universally recognized
hypernorms, only standards which differ between cultures and countries. Similarly, echo-
ing the positivist position, they argue that law-making and enforcement are essentially
national, as there is no global legislature. Hence, both moral and legal authority seem to be
lacking at global level. Is it still possible to derive a normative basis for CSR which takes a
transnational approach and avoids a presumption of universal norms? Some theorists feel
that the answer lies in the views of deliberative democracy held by Jürgen Habermas.
Scherer and Palazzo put forward a theory of CSR that envisages the company as a political
actor in a globalized society (Scherer and Palazzo, 2007). They point out that globalization
is eroding the roles of traditional national governments, while companies are taking on
wider roles in society formerly carried out by governments. These roles were highlighted in
the section above on corporate citizenship. In this context, companies are becoming part of
a wider participative process, also involving civil society and governments.

This deliberative concept of CSR sounds similar to stakeholder dialogue, but its advo-
cates point out that it goes beyond stakeholder considerations, based as they are mainly on
interests of particular groups. The key to this new concept of CSR lies in the theory of
Habermas, for whom the deliberative democratic process itself constitutes ethical discourse
and confers legitimacy. Democratic procedure is not merely an expression of political will,
but a wider deliberative process (Habermas, 2001: 110). Habermas criticizes traditional
views of liberal democracy, which tend to focus on institutions such as elections and take a
limited view of citizens’ roles. His view of deliberative democracy derives its legitimacy
from the involvement of all groups, so that the corporation becomes a player in this new
democratic interaction. A sceptic might ask, however, what assurance is there that the
corporation will not continue to behave as a mainly economic actor in exerting its influence
through these processes?

Habermas’s thinking has evolved over a long period, and in early works he was rather
more pessimistic about democracy than he has been in his later works. In early works, he
observed the power of dominant industrial élites that put particular interests above those
of the public good (Staats, 2004). His later work sees corporations as embedded in the
democratic process, but it could be argued that companies still see themselves as economic
actors, and wield corporate power which outweighs civil society voices (Staats, 2004). As we
have noted, companies have become adept at utilizing organizations ostensibly grounded in
civil society to exert influence over agenda setting in public debate on issues which affect
them. As Habermas has himself observed, national cultures and states remain strongly
linked to democracy (Habermas, 1999). However, most of the world’s people live in coun-
tries where economic and political élites are dominant, even where there are democratic
constitutions. And there is little trust in politicians to focus on the public good rather than
self-interest (see Chapter 3). A contribution of political CSR is that it stresses the impor-
tance of normative legitimacy in business behaviour, but this process-based normative
framework looks rather idealistic. Scherer and Palazzo, it could be argued, underestimate
the evolving consensus on global standards and international law that this book has high-
lighted (see also Chapters 4 and 9). These standards reflect ethical principles which tran-
scend cultural differences, with legal support in international law. They perhaps represent
a sounder way forward for changing business behaviour in practice.

238 E T H I C S A N D B U S I N E S S

Morrison, J. (2010). Business ethics : New challenges in a globalised world. Retrieved from http://ebookcentral.proquest.com
Created from nuig on 2019-10-24 02:19:29.

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