Evolution of Corporate Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility in India with Globalization of Industry and Individuals

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Evolution of Corporate Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility in India with Globalization of Industry and Individuals

A Project Report

prepared for the course on

Business Ethics

Submitted by

RUPAM LAHKAR, PGPEX43/10

Objective: 

"Going global" is the way of doing business in the 21st century. More and more Indian business houses are expanding their businesses in foreign lands, and more and more Indian professionals are becoming global citizens reaching new heights every day. As Thomas Friedman, the award-winning New York Times columnist, described how the flattening of the world happened at the dawn of the twenty-first century. In this paper, we will evaluate how corporate policies of Indian companies on corporate ethics and corporate social responsibility are adapting in this ever-flattening world? What are the challenges these companies are facing?

Methodology:

• Study research papers and reflect the learnings against my experiences that I gathered while working in Australia, China, India, Japan, Korea, North America, Singapore, and Thailand.
• Interact with people from industry as well as thought leaders to gather their viewpoints and try to find the trend.

Brief Introduction:

I am born and brought-up in Assam. I am the only child of my parents; my father is a retired civil engineer with Govt. of Assam and mom is a homemaker. I am married, and we have 2 kids - a 5 years old boy and a 2-year-old girl.

I completed my elementary, secondary and higher secondary education in Assam. I graduated in 2004 from National Institute of Technology Durgapur with a Bachelor of Engineering degree specializing in Information Technology. In 2010, when I was working in Singapore, I joined a part-time study in National University of Singapore pursuing a master of technology program specializing in software engineering.

I have 11.5 years of industry experience in software development, technology consulting, solution architecture, and information technology enablement to manage global supply chain operations.

Lastly, in leisure time, I love to cook for family and friends. I am a freestyle cook and like to experiment new dishes. Apart from cooking, I also enjoy taking photos of nature and people, especially during travel.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

As per the definition provided by the World Bank - Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is often defined as corporate responsibility, corporate citizenship, social enterprise, sustainable development, triple-bottom line, corporate ethics, and in some cases, corporate governance. What binds these terms together is the expectation that corporates (private and public enterprises alike) behave ethically vis-à-vis a broad group of stakeholders - workers and their families, communities and the wider society. CSR is no longer seen as corporate social assistance or philanthropy, but as essential to a good business strategy, helping reduce investment risks and enhancing business profits by improving transparency and accountability. It is about working together - with government, with civil society, and with the community - to improve the lives of millions of people by making growth more inclusive.