Private sector has bigger role in social responsibility Monday 08th, July 2013 / 15:37 written by Haider Abdul Redha Al-Lawati in Analysis Oman Observer main.omanobserver.om/?p=492 BUSINESS growth in any country leads to increase of social responsibility born by corporate institutions to support environmental, socioeconomic and other issues. Given the positive developments witnessed in the Omani private sector in various business and commercial activities, they have a duty to stand with the other institutions that play a major role in supporting the activities of civil society. This can be achieved by unrestricting annual financial support to certain institutions, but by adopting a range of programmes and projects in co-ordination with those institutions to ensure that those funds and aid are moving to the proper and adequate channels, since some members of the boards of vocational, cultural and other associations are taking advantage of those funds to serve their personal interests. The involvement of institutions in social responsibility means fulfilling commitments to customers, employees, shareholders and society in general. Many experts in foreign countries assert that there is a positive impact of this responsibility to local communities around the world. Meanwhile, those institutions shall provide services to members of the community according to their commercial and service activities. Today, they contribute to the protection of the environment and support other institutions in the process of management and leadership development as well as promote the spirit of volunteerism and lend a helping hand to develop the communities in fields of charity. Some of these global corporate institutions currently practice several activities in the field of social responsibility, focusing on promotion of a strong culture to deal with risks and build an exemplary capital in several other projects. The total value of their initiatives sometimes amount to millions of dollars with returns generated from newly-adopted projects in their annual business practices and activities. Since a number of these projects take several years, these institutions are required to allocate large funds within the annual fiscal plans. For example, corporate and banking institutions are currently paying considerable attention to the issues of climate change and natural resources and therefore allocate significant amounts of funds to related projects in co-ordination with the supervisory institutions concerned to benefit most members of society and this is what we want to see in the Omani society. The private sector in Oman shall leave its mark in the development of projects that serve public interest. In many countries, private sector has joined hands with the government in the establishment and development of social projects. The Sultanate by virtue of its vast area and diverse terrain needs a myriad of projects in which the private sector can contribute within corporate social responsibility. Thereby, these institutions can build long-term relationships with members of the community and the state in general and increase the trust and confidence of everyone. There are major debates and widespread criticism directed sometimes towards the practice of corporate social responsibility. However in many cases the proponents of this issue argue that companies, banks and other institutions should continue strong support for the activities of social responsibility, which is a commitment established towards the community in which it operates. Social responsibility for any institution or company primarily constitutes the services provided to its employees by generating adequate health and safety measures and a suitable work environment, in addition to the institution’s commitment to implement external programmes under this responsibility for members of the surrounding community. It is imperative for those companies and institutions not to use social responsibility for publicity or social appearance only. Instead they have to aim at interaction with society’s goals and objectives, conserve the environment and facilitate everyday living for members of the community. Such responsibility must be derived from well-established moral values on which the country’s strategies, plans and objectives are built, along with being a catalyst for community members to exert extra effort and reach out to those who wish to enhance and improve the conditions of our society. This responsibility is currently embodied in the construction of significant social institutions, such as schools, hospitals and associations, providing needy students with educational supplies and enrolling them in training courses and educational programmes, printing books, conserving the environment and other projects, to maintain the goal of social responsibility.
Posted on: Wed, 10 Jul 2013 06:51:05 +0000
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