Question

1. How does the stakeholder model of corporate social responsibility (CSR) view businesses?

2. Contrast the two dominant viewpoints on overseas sweatshops.

3. Briefly discuss the circumstances which violate an employee's privacy rights?

Answer 1

Stakeholder model of corporate social responsibility
The stakeholders are the main factor for the success of the CSR practices in an industry. Without their contributions, talent, knowledge, loyalty, skills, the organization could not achieve its objectives/goals whatever they desired for. A function/merit of CSR is the idea that the business is accountable to the various STAKEHOLDERS who can be identified and have a claim, either legally mentioned or morally expected, on the business activities that affect them. Nowadays, more and more people put the stakeholder approach in the core of the CSR theories.

Eg. - Homes and Watts (2000) portrays the engagement of the stakeholders as “the essence of CSR”

More recently, CSR has become recognized as a growing areas of strategic value creation(Market capitisation as well) for companies. Yet stakeholder involvement is often seen as secondary, even non-essential,to the CSR agenda.

Two dominant viewpoints on overseas sweatshops
1. One of the biggest hallmarks of sweatshop labor is that the workers are simply underpaid, especially considering the kinds of working conditions they endure.
2. Many developing Asian countries have official minimum wage levels, but the lack of uniform and comprehensive regulations with nationwide coverage across all labor groups and industries remains a huge problem.

Circumstances which violate an employee's privacy rights
Employee's right to privacy in the workplace is an increasingly controversial legal topic, especially in an age of increased reliance on computers and electronic mail to do business. Technology has enabled employers to monitor virtually all workplace communications made by employees using computers -- including use of the Internet and company e-mail. While employees may feel that this monitoring is a violation of their privacy rights, it is usually allowed under the law.