A Rule of Law or A Choice of Morals?
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“Relativity Applies to Physics, not Ethics” – Albert Einstein
Can technology be the new ‘Monkey’s Paw’? Viewers of ‘The Social Dilemma’ on Netflix had one common takeaway. What can be done to reduce our dependence on screens and technology? Rightly said technology moved away from being an aid for bettering our lives, the day it targeted human engagement for its success.
Truly, global civilization would have forgotten Gandhian principle of ‘trusteeship’ which he thought was protection of human dignity over and above material prosperity. With that perspective and context, we should look at Corporate Social Responsibility as more than a mere donation of a certain percentage of net profits or as a mandate required by the Companies Act.
Rooted in the ‘Triple Bottom Line’, Corporate Social responsibility could be considered as a balanced approach adopted by companies amidst social concerns, environmental concerns, business operations and their interaction with stakeholders.
CSR or CSV
While we talked and harped about reducing the negative impact of our existence, a more radical thought process emerged, which was to make an added positive impact on the environment or society. This gave birth to a movement called Corporate shared values. It can be described as a holistic model ideal for companies where Economic Sustainability goes hand in hand with Social and Environmental Sustainability. The fundamental driver for shared values is that CSR is doing something different from the business and CSV is integrating these values while doing business.
The interconnectedness of our society makes it so indispensable to create and forge those alliances. As, a healthy community is one that is mutually interdependent, and the success lies in recognizing and making the most of those networks.
Types of CSR
1. Environmental – Efforts made to reduce the carbon footprint and ensuring maximum utilization of resources
2. Ethical – Fair and ethical treatment of all stakeholders, sourcing of products etc.
3. Philanthropic – Actively contributing to making the society and world a better place
4. Economic – Committing to improve the company’s prospects in an objective manner
Coming back to our present scenario with tech-laden business models and a techno-savvy population, the real question is where do we draw the line? How much responsibility and onus is there on the part of a technocrat for stealing the real-life moments? I think it’s time we pause and think if being fully engaged and having it all is satiating our ‘FOMO’ desires but leaving us out of the physical world with real people and pressing issues.
It’s how Morrie would describe it in ‘Tuesdays with Morrie’ – ‘What if today were my last day on Earth’. The question that begs a response is – Would we do things differently? The transformation begins when we live life being ‘fully human’
“Any tool can be used for good or bad. It’s really the ethics of the artist using it” – John Knoll
Authors – Benila Jacob, Anthony Preetham