Content area
Full text
ABSTRACT
Ethical responsibility is depicted as one of the four layers of CSR pyramid which deals with the standards, norms or expectations of all stakeholders' moral rights (Carroll, 1991). It is expected that all multinational companies (MNCs) should equally focus on all responsibilities of CSR. However, it has been observed that the MNCs focus preferably on economic, legal and philanthropic activities by neglecting ethical responsibilities which are equally important. This negligence sometimes results in tragedic effects on the society. The Coca Cola, Cadbury, Enron, Bhopal gas tragedy are few of the examples of negligence of MNCs with regards to ethical responsibilities. This paper deals with the recent issue of Nestle Maggi in India with reference to ethical responsibilities and associated implications.
Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility, Multinational Companies, Ethical Responsibility, Nestle India.
Introduction:
In twenty first century, Corporate Social Responsibilit y (CSR) is being given priorit y by mult inat ional co mpanies while framing their business strategies as it has been universally accepted fact that business needs to be socially responsible for sustainable development. Recently, Company"s Act brought into force from 2013 (clause 135) has made CSR mandatory for listed companies in India.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), being a comprehensive concept, it is difficult to define it concisely. However, few accepted definitions are as under.
"the responsibility of enterprises for - their impacts on societ y........should have in place a process to integrate social, environmental, ethical human rights and consumer concerns into their business operations and core strategy in clo se collaboration with their stakeholders" - European Commission (2011). "CSR includes four kinds of responsibilities or dimensio ns: economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropic' Carroll (1991).
Ethical responsibilit y is depicted as one of the four layers of CSR pyramid which deals wit h the standards, norms or expectations of all stakeholders' moral rights (Carroll, 1991). It is expected that all multinational co mpanies (MNCs) should equally focus on all responsibilit ies of CSR. However, it has been observed that the MNCs focus preferably on econo mic, legal and philanthropic activities by neglecting ethical responsibilit ies which are equally important. This negligence sometimes results in tragedic effects on the society. The Coca Cola, Cadbury, Enron, Bhopal gas tragedy are few of the examples o...