When identifying the principles, which the phenomenon of the corporate citizenship is based on, one must admit that values and vision not only constitute an impressive part thereof, but also serve as the foundation for the corporate citizenship. Presupposing that each and every member of the staff should be committed to the company’s vision and choose the decisions to certain dilemmas based on the set of ethical principles, which the corporation is guided by, the concept of corporate citizenship allows the company to evolve through the motivation of the staff and the compliance with the ethical system adopted.
The corporate social responsibility, which the promotion and enhancement of the company’s vision and values leads to, can be viewed as a major building block for the design of the corporate citizenship concept within an organization. According to Wan-Jan (2006), the enhancement of the corporate social responsibility (CSR) is the key towards the provision of corporate citizenship, as the CSR triggers an immediate increase in the ability of the staff to manage their time efficiently, accept their roles in a faster and more adequate manner, and increase their performance rates to a considerable degree. “The firm expects nothing back from their CSR activities and they become socially responsible because that is the noble way for corporations to behave” (Wan0Jan, 2006, p. 178), In other way, by integrating a model for the staff’s behavior as a means to promote corporate values and vision, the company managers contribute to building the corporate citizenship within their organization.
Staff satisfaction is another way of viewing values and vision as the foundation for developing corporate citizenship. As Drakes explains, a company can only strive for increasing its staff’s performance if the employees are motivated enough for excelling in their business routine (Drakes, 2008). Therefore, it is crucial that a company should provide the foundation for the environment, in which the staff members can feel comfortable, as well as the conditions, which the employees find satisfactory. As a result, the basic principles of social responsibility, i.e., the ability of the staff to “concentrate their efforts at the intersection of what customers care about and what the corporation does best” (Drakes, 2008, p. 61), can be facilitated within the environment of a specific company, according to Drakes.
Though the effect of the company’s vision may not seem as obvious as that one of its values, which is the direct source for the staff to derive the corporate ethical principles from, vision also matters in shaping the corporate responsibility and, therefore, the corporate citizenship. Vision displays the course for the company to evolve in, whereas the values provide the tools, which can be used for attaining the goal (Drakes, 2008). Therefore, the concept of the CSR can be defined as the understanding of one’s role and responsibilities within an organization and striving for meeting the requirements, which the above-mentioned role and responsibilities inflict upon one.
The concept of the corporate citizenship needs an ethical vision and the set of values, which gear it towards a highly efficient organization through the motivation of the staff. While a strict hierarchy and a rigid set of ethical principles cannot technically be viewed as the foundation for the corporate citizenship, it clearly enhances the development of the latter, as it promotes the qualities required for the corporate citizenship existence in the staff members.
Reference List
Drakes, S. (2008).The business of giving back. Powerplay, 1(1), 60–61. Web.
Wan-Jan, W. S. (2006). Defining corporate social responsibility. Journal of Public Affairs, 6(3/4), 176–184. Web.