Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility

A speech entitled "Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility," addressed by Ronald E. Berenbeim, principal researcher, The Conference Board, is presented. Berenbeim said that most of the world does not distinguish between Corporate Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) when it comes to determining what it means for a company to be ethical. Despite the merging of ethics and CSR in the stakeholder mind and the proliferation of writings and conferences on both subjects, conversation between practitioners in these two areas is rare. Business ethics and corporate social responsibility initiatives for the furtherance of corporate purpose are also the product of different world views. Although CSR initiatives also have risk avoidance as an intended consequence, its proponents emphasize the positive. They see their efforts as creating new forms of value. Cooperative relations with diverse stakeholder groups provide valuable social capital that may be essential to the company's long-term survival.