Gauri Chhabra
2008-9 saw the economy in the throes of deep recession. The financial tsunami taught us some lessons;we not only need to change the way we do business but also the way we teach business.
That marked an inflection point in our education. Business Ethics became an integral subject in the Management Curriculum. The expectations from the corporates and businesses increased. In addition to providing good quality products at reasonable prices, companies today, should strive to make their operations environmentally sound, adhere to high labor standards, reduce human rights abuses and mitigate poverty. Corporates feel more responsible towards the society and have separate wings for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities. This has accelerated the demand for individuals who can feel for and serve the society.
What is Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)?
Corporate Social responsibility is an ever evolving process through which corporates start feeling that they need to repay back to the society in terms of a cleaner environment. Till very recently it was viewed as philanthropic activity indulged into only when the firms were in a mess. But it is now viewed to be inclusive, broad and diverse. CSR is now viewed as integral part of business strategy to mitigate the business risks linked to uncertainty.
Getting in:
There are no specific qualifications required for this field but there are an increasing number of qualifications becoming available at Masters Level and as part of MBA courses. The professional courses like Master of Social Works (MSW) MBA in rural development and Post Graduate Diploma in Rural development offered by different universities and reputed institution may be right option for career in CSR. The incorporation of Business Ethics as a discipline in Management Curriculum is also an added help.
Due to the diversity of roles and range of disciplines involved, the skills cannot be crystallized. However, the major skills are Business skills including building insight, communication skills, decision making, commercial awareness, IT, innovation, leadership, out of the box thinking and problem solving, People skillsincluding adaptability and empathy and Technical skills.
Institute Scape:
The premier institutes offering degrees/diplomas in Social work and Rural Development is as follows:
Master of Social Work (MSW)/MA Social Work
* Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Trombay Road, Deonar, Mumbai
* TERI University, New Delhi.
* Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra
* Lucknow University, Lucknow
* Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya, Indore
* Agra University, Agra
* University of Delhi, Delhi
* Punjabi University,Patiala
* Rajasthan Vidyapeeth, Udaipur
Career Pathways:
Most of the multinational Corporate have their CSR wing exclusively dedicated for doing community development and CSR activities directly or indirectly in the vicinity of their operations. In other companies CSR is running under HR or Environment Deptt.They recruit professionals from Social work,rural development and other developmental fields to undertake and manage the CSR activities of company. It is observed that companies whose operations directly impact the nature like mining, manufacturing, power generations have CSR wing quite active to tackle the grievances of nearby population and engage the stakeholders. In green field projects we have seen corporate giant and Govt struggling hard to get the land acquisitions and Resettlement and Rehabilitation (R&R)here also CSR professionals are in great demand. Larger companies may have CSR departments or have CSR functions located within particular areas including marketing, communications, environmental management, public affairs, investor relations, finance, operations and human resources. Opportunities are also opening up in the large accounting and consulting firms, many of which are trying to compete with the niche CSR consulting firms by offering their own CSR client services.
CSR, essentially, comes in three different forms. Companies contribute to society with cash or products, giving away grants, goods, or their services to schools, homeless shelters, hospitals, and the like. Second, companies focus on community involvement, by supporting employees who mentor students or volunteer for a myriad of causes. And third, companies put CSR into their product and service strategies, focusing on green initiatives, for instance, or factoring environmental concerns into their manufacturing processes.
CSR career options can be found in national government agencies, PSUs and international organizations.
Teaching:
Most of the companies especially those that are into mining go in for setting up of education institutions for the lesser privileged members of the society. If you feel you have a flair for teaching and have an empathy for those who lie on the fringes, you can opt for teaching bringing these sections into an inclusive society.
Environment and Sustainability Officer:
With the companies increasing their carbon footprint, they have separate departments that works to enhance the image of the Company with a diverse range of internal and external audiences. Specifically, you will be required to manage the company’s environmental programguiding the company’s efforts to reduce its carbon footprint, educating employees about environmental needs, partnering with business teams, seeking and evaluating new opportunities and representing the company with a variety of external stakeholders. It would also include collaboration with internal departments to develop and track strategies to reduce the company’s impact on the environment via energy strategy, waste reduction efforts.
Community Organizer:
Here, you will be responsible for facilitation of government schemes, entitlement rights, procedures, rules and regulations. Your MBA would help you in the documentation of the Basic Service Facilitation (BSF) processes and maintaining Management Information Systems MIS. Besides, you may be also imparting trainings to communities on various government schemes.
Nonprofit Organizer:
Most of the CSR Jobs are done by NGOs, so be on the lookout for NGOs having linkages with big corporate houses. There are a wide variety of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), industry associations, think tanks and academic institutions engaging in learning and advocacy within the CSR arena. Such groups promote and examine the use of CSR concepts within the private and public spheres.
Dr Anoop Vats who runs the NGO, Citizens Welfare and Protection Council ,says,” We see to it that the issues of paramount importance concerning the youth and citizens’ rights are not only propagated but also protected across all domains. Today, most of the people who show interest in becoming a part of our NGO are the youth who have just graduated from prestigious institutes like the IIM’s and the IIT’s. For admission to the foreign Universities also, any initiative undertaken as Voluntary Community Service also gives more weight to your resume and accelerates your entry into a foreign university. Besides, most of the Law schools also send their first year students for internships and immersion programs to NGO’s. This develops a philanthropic attitude in the young minds”.
Rights Analyst:
If you have a Law Degree you will be the main protector of all Intellectual property of the company. You will act as rights authority and interpreter of proprietary rights data from signed documents in a corporate rights system and advise others of same.You will also be responsible for co-developing sound rights strategy through active collaboration with Business Affairs and Legal Department to ensure proactive product planning and persistent project delivery. You will interact with internal peer level groups and services to ensure that a proper workflow is put in place for rights and will own the workflow. Diplomacy, knowledge and interpersonal skills are essential for this kind of a role.Rights Analyst is a collaborative, highly trusted team member who can handle confidential material and sensitive matters discreetly and accurately.
The Road Ahead:
Both in downswing and the upswings of economy, there is an increasing awareness towards repaying to the society, the modern era is a locomotive of fulfilling careers in Corporate Social Responsibility…
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