Earlier this spring I read this 2004 book by Philip Kotler. Philip Kotler is one of the world's leading voices on business and marketing. I found this book useful although I must say that it seemed like corporate social responsibility 1.0 because of its emphasis on how charity is basically good public relations. The emphasis is on showing business execs how to choose social causes, design charity initiatives, gain employee support, and evaluate their efforts. But this is not surprising since Kotler's main expertise is strict marketing and therefore the focus will on the utility of charitable works in developing marketing aims.

However, all in all it is a pretty decent read that contains engaging personal stories from twenty-five business leaders and that alone makes the book worthwhile.

Business manager have their own personal moral compasses as to what is right and what is wrong and they radiate that to their organisations. Every decision made is the utilization of these values - hidden or visible - to the issue at hand. This become extremely challenging when you consider the inevitable pressures of organisational life. Pressures include accelerating changes, the need for increased productivity, competition and superiors, among others. Occassionally managers make decisions that are not in line with their own or society's values because of what they see as the pressures of the business world. Ethical and moral matters are always difficult. This remarkable book can act as a useful guide as to how we should we process ethical issues.

This useful book is of particular value to anyone that is interested in the impact of corporate philanthropic giving as a marketing tool - handing over a corporate check in the public eye.
The author describe the do's and dont's of such strategies. There is a sense of self-consciousness to the book that makes the giving have an insincere texture which is why I labelled it corporate social resposibility 1.0. If your interest is more on the general issues of corporate social responsibility then this is not really the book for you as it is too focused on the marketing angle.

In a sense this book also has a post-CSR aspect to it as well. The public at large have higher expections as to the behavior of companies. But the book is here to say again and again that CSR principles have a decent pay off to a company. Decision makers at companies large and small are learning that when they build their businesses according to the dictates of social conscience, they reap rewards such as increased profits, an improved corporate image and happier employees.

Books these days always have a section with numbers such as 10 ways to clear your sewer draing. This book shows six ways you can develop and implement a corporate social program. This is clearly explained and analyzed. Each initiative is covered in its own chapter, including illustrative examples of successful campaigns from leading companies such as American Express, Ben & Jerry's, and The Body Shop. Their methods often overlap. However the points are significant enough to bear repetition. I believe that many managers whose companys are engaged in corporate social marketing will find a pearl of wisdom in this book.

With little hesitation but with some mixed feelings I recommend this as a good little book that introduces the issues involved in corporate social responsibility. I think that it is written very well and the suggestions are worthwhile.