The basic question is - are corporates socially responsible? Has Corporate Social Responsibility or CSR as it is sometimes called, become fancy or do corporates really mean it? The point is, corporates are not doing any favor to the society by taking up any social cause(s) under the CSR banner. Each & every corporate derives its business from the society, for which it charges a premium in the form of profits. All the raw materials & other intermediate products are taken from nature & then sold in the market with a profit percentage over the costs. Hence, corporates owe it to the society the best business practices, the best moral conduct from the top management, clean & transparent systems, & a lifestyle which is worthy of emulation by others.

In this context, business leaders have to take ownership of showing simplicity in their thoughts, speech, & action. Top business leaders draw millions of dollars as salary on the one hand & fire thousands of employees on the other hand as part of "cost cutting" measures. Is it not the responsibility of the corporates to protect the jobs of their employees & have their means of livelihood secure? If firing people is the only option, why not the CEO & his team move out first & show the way for the rest to follow? Why should the corporates wear expensive clothes & move around in luxury cars? Why not show the way by wearing a common uniform which shows equality of all employees & commute along with others in company owned buses? It is these actions which go a long way in showing the path for the common man to follow.

When we build societies & nations around such leaders, we create a great civilization.

Learn more about this author, Vinay Jayaram.
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