http://www.businessweek.com/videos/2013-11-18/the-age-of-corporate-aid-and-social-investments

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-19876138

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) as we learnt in class has become a requirement for companies – while many do the bare minimum as required by laws, their compliance fails to show an actual recognition for the need to give back to the community. The video above highlights that many companies view donating to charities as a “corporate branding opportunity” where they “give out favors” to charities that will be helpful to them in boosting the company’s image. Especially in the developing regions of Asia that are struck by natural disasters, most recently the Typhoon Haiyan Relief in The Philippines, they are mentioned in the video as incidents that are being “used to build corporate brand identity”.

As we learnt in class, there is a recognizable need for CSR and the creation of mutually beneficial situations where both the company and community have something to gain however, there remains the need for watchful eyes over the ulterior motives of companies that treat CSR as an industry where they try to gain favor for themselves in terms of public relations instead of a genuinely wanting to “develop longer term, more sustainable relationships with charities”.