Corporate responsibility is a term which has come to characterize a family of professional disciplines intended to help a
corporation
A corporation is an organization—usually a group of people or a company—authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law "born out of statute"; a legal person in legal context) and ...
stay competitive by maintaining accountability to its four main stakeholder groups: customers, employees, shareholders, and communities.
Concept
The professional disciplines included in the corporate responsibility field include legal and financial compliance,
business ethics
Business ethics (also known as Corporate Ethics) is a form of applied ethics or professional ethics, that examines ethical principles and moral or ethical problems that can arise in a business environment. It applies to all aspects of business c ...
,
corporate social responsibility
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a form of international private business self-regulation which aims to contribute to societal goals of a philanthropic, activist, or charitable nature by engaging in or supporting volunteering or ethicall ...
, public and community affairs,
investor relations
Investor relations (IR) is a strategic management responsibility that is capable of integrating finance, communication, marketing and securities law compliance to enable the most effective two-way communication between a company, the financial co ...
, stakeholder communications,
brand management
In marketing, brand management begins with an analysis on how a brand is currently perceived in the market, proceeds to planning how the brand should be perceived if it is to achieve its objectives and continues with ensuring that the brand is ...
, environmental affairs, sustainability,
socially responsible
Social responsibility is an ethical framework in which an individual is obligated to work and cooperate with other individuals and organizations for the benefit of the community that will inherit the world that individual leaves behind.
Social ...
investment, and corporate philanthropy.
Prevalence
Major membership organizations and media in the Corporate Responsibility industry include
Business in the Community
Business in the Community (BITC) is a British business-community outreach charity promoting responsible business, CSR, corporate responsibil