DADU: A famous research scholar Prof. Dr Zahid Ali Memon said that since the past few decades, businesses have been under immense pressure and are to be held accountable for their social and environmental impacts on society.
As a conse
quence, conventional ways of managing businesses based only on generating profits have been changing and responsible business codes have been evolving d
ue to increasing awareness that has resulted from media attention. Prof.
Memon has got degree of bachelor in engineering from Mehran University of Engineering and Technology located at Jamshoro, Sindh in 1997. He did M.Sc from Sussex, UK in 2005 and PhD from school of Management and Economics, Beijing Institute of Technology, China in 2014. Currently, he is Co-director of Mehran University Institute of Science, Technology and Development (MUISTD) in Jamshoro, Pakistan.
MUISTD produces research scholars and offers degrees of MS, M Phil, PhD in the fields of business, management sciences and economics beside other fields. He is the one who is leading and making MUISTD successful. He is known as a prominent research scholar in the field of business, management sciences and economics.
Preferred in various universities of the world, his research papers and ideas are famous which are printed in the form of national and international journals. In his special interview to daily times, he discussed various issues relating to business, management and economy with particular attention towards corporate social responsibility (CSR).
Regarding refinement of relationship between business and society, he said CSR is widely recognized as a framework for improvement. “One reason of why the relations are strained is that corporations ignore CSR policies that are accorded least priority in their day-to-day affairs.
The society, in turn, has doubts, and looks at the conduct of corporations with a high degree of skepticism,” he said. This scenario depicts the CSR situation generally in most developing countries, and particularly in Pakistan, he added. He said that the concept of CSR is narrowly understood by many as one that focuses solely on corporate philanthropy and charity but this isn
’;t enough.
He said that the CSR covers wider areas, including social, economic, ethical, and environmental responsibilities of a firm and industry etc.
Replying to the question about how CSR impacts corporate sector, he said that there are regular demonstrations and protests against various multinationals for ignoring local people regarding jobs and harming the local environment and disposing of waste in water sources etc. Replying to question about -does CSR is only concerned with charity and Investment, he said that CSR is a viable tool for spreading the spill-over effects of these incentives to the masses and the general community in the area.
He said that CSR embodies a complete code of ethics for corporations, which, if implemented in letter and spirit, could yield very far reaching and positive gains for society. He said that it creates brand value, employee retention, and trust in the eyes of foreign and local donors.
He said that business and society, therefore, are in a win-win situation and CSR benefits both the business corporations and the society. He said that on one hand, it results in sustainable socio-economic development, poverty alleviation
and better environmental conditions for workers and the local communities and on the other, it creates brand value, customer satisfaction and employee retention for the firms to compete with their rivals in the market.
Answering to question about- how can the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) be defined and what is the work of UNGC principles, he said that the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) is one global policy initiative to foster CSR practices over the world.
It encompasses 10 principles. The first two pertain to the prevention of human rights abuses by business corporations. He said that the next four are related to the maintenance of labor standards and eliminating child and forced labor, and preventing discrimination related to employment. Pakistan is one of the signatories to the UNGC.
However, its stated principles are not adequately implemented. He said that the country is grappling with poverty and other socio-economic ills, and it does not have the adequate resources to provide all social services to its entire population.
Answering a question about is there any pertinent law, regulation and policies in Pakistan to oversee CSR compliance or not, he said that Supreme Court
’;s notice on non-compliance of CSR practices by some oil and gas firms in Sanghar (Sept 12) on the complaints of Advocates Abdul Hakeem Khoso and Anwar Nizamani is highly commendable.
He said that CSR benefits both the business corporations and the society.
He told that there is a growing body of literature advocating volunteerism in adopting CSR by the corporate sector.
However, stringent laws and
coercive policies have also been in place in some countries to make corporations behave responsibly.
He said that this growth has compelled corporate executives to recruit business managers with the sound knowledge and expertise required to run businesses on ethical grounds.
He said that Corporations
’; brand value, good will and image as a responsible entity increases and the community gets benefitted by the social welfare schemes, employee welfare and environmental safeguards.
Answering to question about-does business school educate regarding social responsibilities, he said that this has been currently realized in the wake of the recent financial crises and frequent corporate scandals that have raised questions about whether business school education contributes the culture of greed. He said that there has been wider criticism of business school being engaged in promoting values aimed at sheer profiteering and forgetting societal values in utter disregard to corporate social responsibility principles that are widely practiced in the west.
Published in Daily Times, March 19th 2018.
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