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This week, we discussed about corporate social responsibility and the

companies practicing it. Corporate social responsibility is where


companies practice or participate in initiatives that works to benefit
society. This can come in the form of environmental, philanthropy or even
ethical labour practices.
Corporate social responsibility should be encouraged in Singapore. The
local CSR movement marks its official 10th anniversary last year in 2015,
however, adoption of these initiatives can be considered low. This may be
because companies may think that there is no need to adopt these
practices as they do not bring about much good, on the other hand, it
instead lowers the companys profits and economic efficiency. Companies,
whose short term goals are to mainly maximize profits, are thus reluctant
to adopt these practices. Furthermore, many small companies, with their
limited size, do not think CSR initiatives are necessary, drawing out the
fact that they cannot contribute much too due to their limited capacity.
However, this is an incorrect perception. CSR initiatives are good as they
not only benefit the society, but also improve the companys reputation.
Consumers are increasingly buying products and services produced
sustainably. Furthermore, youths do prefer working under sustainable
workers too. According to the 2014 Nielsen Global Survey on CSR, 64 per
cent of consumers in Asia-Pacific were inclined to buy from socially
responsible brands. And the 2015 Deloitte Millenial Survey, which polled
7,800 people across 29 countries, found that millenials - or youth - prefer
to work for a business with a heart and expect businesses to have a
positive impact on wider society.
Good corporate behavior is also increasingly becoming more important to
other stakeholders, which include that of consumers. This can be seen by
the incident of Breadtalk, the local bakery chain, who caused shock
among the citizens when it was discovered that customers caught its staff
repackaging Yeo's soya milk as "freshly prepared" Even though, this
cannot be compared to other scandals such as Apple and Foxconn, or that
of Volkswagon, this had caused a public uproar showing Breadtalks far
from ethical actions and its reputation was ruined. Many of its customers
commenting online also threatened to stop buying its products. Therefore,
it can be seen that corporate behavior can be improved through CSR and
this will greatly benefit the company.
Therefore, other stakeholders such as consumers, investors, government
and employees should also do their part in encouraging companies to play
a more active part in CSR.

My class participation grade should be 4/5.

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