Corporate Social Responsibility Trends of 2011

With so many businesses running the world today, and especially in light of those who do not necessarily have the consumer's best interest at heart, there must be something holding it all to a certain standard, namely, something assuring that the customer and the employees are served well by the company. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is that thing. CSR is defined by Mallen Baker (2011) as "the continuing commitment by business[es] to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families, as well as of the local community and society at large."

In order to best assess, however, how CSR truly contributes towards benefitting society one must analyze the trends in this subject, which is exactly what the following paragraphs will do. For instance, according to an article written by Timothy Merrick (2011), entitled Four CSR Trends to Watch in 2011, there are some major topics to look for during this year:

1. The first topic...

Merrick (2011) further states that such a strategy "creates more opportunities and far greater gains in terms of employee engagement," and points to the fact that the consumers and the employees of the company will be glad to have seen a company looking to improve itself, or 'walk the talk,' and "combine shareholder satisfaction with social responsibility." Merrick (2011) calls this trend one of the most encouraging in recent years.
2. A second point Merrick (2011) makes is a stress upon the fact that CSR should also aim to create more transparent policies for a company, and combine these with more visual policies as well, for both consumers and…