CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Corporate social responsibility

Corporate social responsibility

Objective

In response to heightened global awareness of sustainability, environmental and ethical issues, corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become a priority concern in the mining industry. One of the more serious CSR policy challenges faced by governments and companies in mineral-rich developing countries is the equitable resolution of disputes between small- scale and large-scale mining; one country where this issue has become noticeably intense is Ghana. Several small-scale mining communities - mainly individuals carrying out illegal activities - have surfaced, operating alongside the country's large-scale mining companies. These illegal miners are accused of causing widespread environmental damage, promoting child labour, and encroaching and causing grievances on plots of land demarcated to large-scale mining. This paper describes research undertaken in Ghana's mining communities to improve understand ing of the nature of the conflict between small-scale miners and large-scale mining companies. Interviews with a range of key stakeholders were conducted to access a range of informative perspectives on the issue. The paper presents case studies from two mining companies and critically assesses and compares the different approaches taken by each company towards small-scale mining communities. The paper concludes with a discussion of the strategies proposed by the government and the mining companies to alleviate the disputes, and suggests alternative sustainable strategies.

Introduction

The field of corporate social responsibility has grown considerably over the last decade. Many businesses are becoming more active in contributing to society now than used to be the case. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) issues are now being integrated into all aspects of business operations and explicit commitment to CSR is made in the visions, missions and value statements of an increasing number of companies all over the world. CSR reports issued usually go beyond profit maximisation to include the company's responsibilities to a broad range of stakeholders including employees, customers, community and the environment.

Stakeholder demands on businesses have increased at such a dramatic rate that, given the immensity of these pressures, large and small firms find it increasingly difficult to avoid assuming their corporate social responsibility (CSR).

However, corporate social responsibility has long been a contentious issue not only among management theorists but also among practitioners. Indeed, Sloan (1964) stated that, “… the strategic aim of a business is to earn a return on capital, and if in any particular case the return in the long run is not satisfactory, then the deficiency should be corrected or the activity abandoned for a more favourable one.” This appears to be the overriding goal of business.

The myth that firms have only one overarching goal within society (i.e. shareholder wealth maximisation) has, however, clearly become obsolete. A more balanced, value-based and integrative perspective has evolved (see Anderson, 1998; Holliday et al., 2002). Value-based social dynamics are important not only because CSR may help organisations to attract talent (e.g., Greening and Turban, 2000; Turban and Greening, 1997) but also because CSR can make a meaningful contribution to financial performance and organisational effectiveness.

Social responsibility is a major component of strategy ...