In the past few decades the increase in demand for companies to be more “socially responsible” has led rise to the current state of widespread corporate social responsibility we see today. However, after reading “Creating Shared Value” by Michael Porter and Mark Kramer I feel it’s necessary that we consider how beneficial essentially forcing companies into being “socially responsible” with consumer threats and legal crack-downs really is for the global economy.

Porter and Kramer suggest that rather than forcing companies to meet a certain criteria for being “socially responsible”, that the market instead strive toward enabling companies to develop shared value. This single suggestion has the power to destroy the current stigma that a company must give up profit in order to “save-face” with the public, and could transform our global market from one of “trade-offs” into one of mutual gains. If our global economy ever hopes to see substantial overall improvement, big businesses must choose to seek out shared value which has the ability to increases profits, decreases costs and aid those connected to the firms simultaneously.

No longer can we be satisfied with the existing system of forcing companies into compliance with costly new rules and regulations so they might improve their reputations. The time has come for the induction of shared value as the only method for companies to be truly socially responsible. After all, wouldn’t an economy centered on shared value which betters the world as a whole be considered far more responsible than one which revolves around companies constantly trying to “save-face”? You decide, I know I have.

sources:

Porter, Michael, and Mark Kramer. “Creating Shared Value.” Harvard Business Review (2011): n. pag. Waterhealth.com. Jan.-Feb. 2011. Web. 5 Nov. 2014.