Major companies such as Nike and Apple that hold substantial market share in their respective industries have notoriously been in involved in flouting basic ethical practices by disregarding basic employee rights. Similarly with Mosanto in Chelsea’s intriguing blog, Nike’s association with ‘sweatshops’ resulted in outrage amongst many consumers who considered it unfathomable that a world renowned ‘brand’ would engage in the exploitation of workers in the emerging markets, simply because it enhances their financial muscle. Additionally, an audit conducted by Fair labour association, at the request of ‘Apple’, in 2012 revealed the poor working conditions at Foxconn.

As a result of the global uproar, this has forced prominent companies to use (internal and external) audits to assess that the production processes are up to the mark. Furthermore “major companies turn to monitoring  also to project a corporate image that aims to assure consumers that they do not use Dickensian sweatshops.”

Benefits of Corporate Social Responsibility cannot be disputed, as positive publicity only encourages customers to buy more products thus possibly increasing revenue. Although businesses find it hard to strike a balance between being socially responsible and  optimizing profit margins as they are faced with decisions regarding costs.