Public relations & Corporate Social responsibility

Importance of corporate social responsibility

Corporate organizations should be in the lead what it comes to corporate social responsibility. Both the internal that is workers, and external that is those outside an organisation must benefit from the organization for good citizenship and community relations. This duty should be executed by the public relations department in any given corporate organization.Public relations and marketing are two distinct entities that should not be integrated.

Corporate organisation can engage their publics through corporate social initiatives, considering six options of doing good.It should be noted that corporate social initiatives causes promotion. Here a corporate provides funds, in kind of contribution to the community. It can be the funds for athletics, social soccer, health and so forth. All this enhance mutual relationship with the benefactors. Any organisation which does this have higher chances of prospering in their business.

Another important aspects about corporate social initiatives is cause-related marketing. Here a corporation commits to making a contribution or donating a percentage of revenues to specific cause based on products sales. In the western countries like America Comcast donated $4.95 of installation fees for its high speed Internet service to Ronald McDonald House Charities. This helps to improve relationship with other organization and creates mutual understanding. In Zimbabwe Econet is a good example that does that. Econet as an organization have prospered and has spread its wings in all nine provinces in Zimbabwe. Currently Econet is operating in seven countries.

Corporate philanthropy,a move that enable corporate organizations to make a direct contribution to a charity or cause, most often in the form of cash grants, donations or in kind. Here workers of any organization together with the external publics can benefit out of this. For example in Zimbabwe Econet has benefited a lot of their publics in Zimbabwe. The Joshua Mqabuko scholarship, Capernum Trust and so forth are the good example of corporate philanthropy. National railways of Zimbabwe have benefited a lot its public by donating to the community. The Public relations department from the two companies are practicing "excellent public relations". This is what was termed by Grunig (2001) as excellent Public Relations which is universal and global. Such practice by public relations department from corporate organisations is based on dialogical or two way symmetrical model of communications"

Public relations departments should conduct research quite often to search for the problems encountered by their publics. They should show concern and care for those problems by donating and taking care of the public. Since th beginning of this year people have been purchasing Econet line with reasonably prices. The grown up people above fifty years have been getting lines with cheaper price. such practice is part of corporate social responsibility.

Community volunteering is a corporation supports and encouragement by employees of a certain corporate organization to assist the public or given community to improve their live-hoods. For example in 2006, ZIMNAT Life Assurance Company donated refusal bins to the city of Gweru. A day was set to move around the Gweru CBD picking up litter and sweeping the street. Such practice is good burden that Public relations department of any given corporate organizations should do.

Public relations should be viewed as part of strategic management and should be involved in initiatives of policies that affects the operation of the organization. This is because by virtue of their job they are closer to the entire internal workers, other organizational authorities and the community which they are operating.Someone needs to be objective and should be a competent communicator who isolate the problems from people. For more comments and views please contact Masuku caven on the following email masuku.caven@gmail.com or masukuc@msu.ac.zw