The world is at a turning point in the economy following the crisis brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. This has made

it easier to fall into common corporate social responsibility mistakes, despite its vital importance to

doing business.

Many global companies have announced that they are moving away from shareholder primacy and working to create value for all stakeholders.

And don’t forget the annual letter Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, sends to CEOs;

which has championed inclusive capitalism and sustainability over the past few years.

The novel coronavirus accelerated change, making it difficult for companies to return to their old ways of working.

There is no longer room for common corporate social responsibility mistakes; governments will not shoulder the burden, and companies that resume producing toxic outputs will be challenged

as workers unite to secure better jobs.

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Common Corporate Social Responsibility Mistakes

However, most companies aren’t prepared for these shifts because they have treated corporate social responsibility as an add-on

to their business, once profits are secured.

To build high-performing, resilient organizations, leaders must view managing conflicting stakeholder interests as a core competency

They can be a powerful source of transformation, but despite their best efforts, even the best executives can fall into these

common mistakes, which include the following:

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1. Not understanding the business model

The first step in meeting the needs of employee stakeholders is identifying where tensions lie in business models. For

example: Which groups’ interests are being sacrificed while others are being served? These are just some of the questions that

need to be asked right now.

These ideas are a starting point for innovative exploration because they help redefine the problems that need to be addressed; however,

many managers do not systematically examine stakeholder trade-offs. This may be due in part to the fact that economics

treats them as externalities, or as byproducts of doing business that are not included in the cost of operations.

Companies such as Amazon, BP, and Union Carbide did not consider the stakeholders who were ultimately deeply affected by their actions.

So it is important to ask who can benefit, and you may be surprised to find that some workers have a seat at the table.

صنع القرار.

Agile companies will take steps to bring these voices to the negotiating table, helping them succeed and maintain

استدامة أقوى.

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2. Begin by building the business case for social responsibility

When social responsibility makes it onto corporate agendas, it is often framed as a

“shared value” model for addressing trade-offs: actions should benefit all parties, with some outcomes favoring one side

أصحاب المصلحة.

Suppose a manager wants to install LED lights to reduce energy consumption, or change production schedules to reduce excessive overtime

in garment factories in the supply chain, or redesign a product to eliminate toxic adhesives from high-performance sneakers

One question then comes up: “What is the return on investment?” If there is no satisfactory answer, the project is put on hold

أو إلغاؤه.

By starting with a feasibility study, companies limit their scope to steps they can easily envision; so they should take a step toward

technology-enabled work-from-home practices that emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many advocates for

human rights have pointed out that this step—remote work—had been under scrutiny for years to support people with

disabilities, or people of determination.

An online search for “the business case for diversity,” “the business case for

sustainability,” or “the business case for corporate social responsibility” will return hundreds of thousands of results. However, the general consensus is that companies have made little progress in

These areas have been shaped over the past two decades, with business cases driving decision-making.

Developing a business case can constrain ideas by tying them to specific financial outcomes. Flexible companies will therefore begin looking

for innovative solutions to tensions caused by crises or conflicting stakeholder interests, while working on the business case.

Business cases often fail to account for having certain people in different roles. For example, the presence of

women in management positions is no more than 3%.

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3. Failure to consider stakeholders

Companies tend to treat most issues affecting their employee stakeholders—the people who work hard without seeing

appropriate compensation—as side projects, which means they rarely receive the attention or resources they need.

At best, companies make minor improvements to what they already do. For example, a bank might create a

dedicated team to support women-owned businesses, or a manufacturer might create an educational program for its workers’ children during

الدول النامية.

the COVID-19 crisis, this kind of thinking led to commendable actions: Comcast executives donated their salaries to charitable causes,

and Intel donated one million pieces of protective equipment. However, resilient companies do not view social responsibility

As an add-on, rather than an integral part of innovation and transformation efforts. This is the kind of thinking that helps them survive in

أوقات الأزمات.

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4. Give up if leaders can’t find a solution

What’s particularly interesting about global company Nike is that its annual social responsibility report isn’t polished.

Leaders call attention to some of the challenges they face in addressing trade-offs.

For example, in the “FY 2016/2017 Sustainable Business Report,” CEO Mark Parker wrote:

“Moments like these are an opportunity to hit pause and ask the big questions. Is there

Can we grow the Nike brand in new markets while leaving a smaller footprint? As we transform our business model

to move faster and become more consumer-focused, how will this affect our evolving value chain, which employs

more than one million workers and produces over a billion units each year? And how can we challenge ourselves to build a more inclusive

and empowering company culture? What policies and practices will accelerate change within our teams?

Addressing stakeholders’ needs can be challenging. For example, investing in pollution reduction

may reduce profits, creating more inclusive hiring practices may slow down the hiring process, and phasing out

From toxic adhesives to reduced product performance. When faced with these trade-offs, many leaders will be inclined

to give up, declaring that the problems can’t be solved and are simply the cost of doing business. But adaptive companies

keep going; they navigate trade-offs under tension as they work toward creative solutions.”

Answering the kinds of ambiguous questions Parker raised requires a willingness to experiment, a learning mindset, and an acceptance of failure, along

with all the qualities associated with innovation—and plenty of determination and perseverance.

Nike spent more than a decade trying to eliminate the greenhouse gases that formed a mark

Nike Air, a signature feature of its shoe. Salesforce.com spent more than $3 million eliminating gender pay gaps at the company,

then spent another $3 million a year later to do it again when new gaps emerged.

Trade-offs don’t resolve themselves quickly or easily. That’s why they’re trade-offs in the first place. Companies that persevere

until they come to terms with these tensions develop the organizational capacity to manage paradoxes, helping them endure

times of uncertainty and adversity.