Corporate responsibility in Third World regions

The goal of corporate responsibility, or CSR, of global brands is to embrace responsibility for the company’s actions and encourage a positive impact on the environment, consumers, employees, communities, stakeholders and all other members of the public sphere.  CSR focused brands should proactively promote the public interest (PI) by encouraging community growth and development and eliminating practices that harm the public sphere.  It also serves as brand insurance against changing social expectations, affluence and globalization.  Corporate actions or lack thereof that violate societal expectations damage, even destroy, brand image among affluent stakeholders.  Public interest will subsequently be deliberately included into corporate decision making and the honouring of a triple bottom line: people, plane, profit.  Unfortunately, this merely results in window-dressing, or in an attempt to forestall the role of governments as a watchdog over these powerful multinational corporations.

Microsoft’s mission is to assist people and businesses throughout the world to realize their full potential.  However, many Africans, for instance, do not see the benefits of the brand to their immediate environment if no meaningful investment is made that alleviates poverty or simple solutions that lowers the dependency on fossil fuel usage.  Bearing in mind Bill Gates’ keen interest in breakthrough solutions to reduce carbon emissions in the environment the brand has an ideal opportunity to show more commitment to good corporate citizenship in order to realize their vision of strengthening economies.

Walmart’s history, on the other hand, has been tainted by scandal from discrimination against women to harmful labour practices to racism.  Walmart has bought Africa’s Massmart clearing the way for expansion into a fourth continent.  Investment have, however, been made in wind energy recently yet no commitment has been made to the niche market facing a plethora of socio-economic challenges.

South Africa offers attractive opportunities for prospective investors and Africa will probably see a modest rise in foreign capital inflows.  Yet high levels of poverty, poor infrastructure, bureaucratic red tape, corruption and fears of political instability have led most investors to steer clear from the African situation. The subsequent challenge remains two-fold though as foreign governments are not marketing Africa to investors oblivious to this unexplored market.