Explain how corporate social responsibility has evolved from the 1980s to present day. What factors have contributed to these changes? Illustrate your response with an example of a firm that engages in CSR.

What will be an ideal response?

In the 1980s and 1990s, many issues rose to the surface, such as businesses’ impact on environmental pollution, employment discrimination, consumer abuses, employee health and safety, quality of work life, deterioration of urban life, and questionable/abusiveness practices by multinational corporations. Concerns for “business ethics” arose due to notorious instances of corporate wrongdoing. CSR then evolved into subfields of corporate social performance, sustainability, corporate citizenship, and the concept of stakeholder theory. Philanthropy expanded considerably, and CSR became part of business practice. The twenty-first century established CSR standards and best practices. Well into the first few decades of the 2000s, CSR is moving toward full integration with strategic management and corporate governance.