British Petroleum Corporate Social Responsibility

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Introduction For organisations of all types, the last three decades have been crucial in changing the manner in which organisations interact with each other, stakeholders, the government, and themselves. Most of these changes occurred because of the evolution of globalisation, increased cooperation between nations and regions, while, at the same time, increased stakeholder expectations, opened hundreds of new markets, and now requires that organisations operate on a new level (Munshi, S., et al., eds., 2004). Businesses have also undergone a change in its overall philosophy – not just moving toward entrepreneurial thought as a way to change their marketing paradigm, but through consumer and corporate expectations of business in a more ethical and sustainable manner (Smoder, J., et al., 2003). For many organisations, this has engendered a greater need for transparency and a more strategic and ethical approach to management. BP, formerly known as British Petroleum, is a germane example of this …show more content…

This approach assures that the organisation’s compliance with the spirit, ethics, and standards of the law is part of their plan, and integrated into strategy. The overall goal of CSR is both to provide ethical practices for all stakeholders and to function in a proactive manner so that governmental regulations do not force issues of compliance. Corporate Social Responsibility does this in a soft manner – by encouraging and promoting the community, transparency in public disclosure, and simply eliminating those issues that might harm society – even if legal. Companies must be profitable in order to stay alive – and they have a responsibility to their stakeholders to do just that. However, CSR holds that the organisation can both do what is ethical and correct and still make a profit (Munilla & Miles,

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