ISR-Individual Social ISR-Individual Social ResponsibilityResponsibility

What does it mean?What does it mean?How do I practice?How do I practice?

Anup TiwariAnup Tiwari www.isrworld.orgwww.isrworld.org

What is ISR?What is ISR?

• ISR is about an individual becoming responsible in his/her actions that have affect on communities outside his/her immediate circle.

• The immediate circle being family and friends

• There can be an argument about also including family and friends, but it would be rather pertinent to include them as part of Individual Personal Responsibility.

What is ISR?What is ISR?

The individual social responsibility includes the engagement of each person towards the community where he lives, which can be expressed as an interest towards what’s happening in the community, as well as in the active participation in the solving of some of the local problems. …. The individual social responsibility also could be expressed in making donations for significant for the society causes – social, cultural or ecological.

Source: Workshop for Civic Initiatives Foundation (WCIF), Bulgaria, position statement on Social Responsibility.

If I donate am I practicing ISR ? If I donate am I practicing ISR ? • ISR is not only about:

– Committing acts of charity

– Working for the communities where you have material interest.

• These only form part of ISR, which is a broader concept that can be manifested through action as below:

– Philanthropic behaviour of an individual

– The campaigner, volunteer and activist instinct in the individual that picks-up and supports issues affecting the society.

– The above two coupled with an individual being ethical (integrity, honesty) in his/her outward dealings

What is being ethical?What is being ethical?

• Ethics is a set of beliefs about right and wrong.

• The beliefs are dependent on personal experience, family background, religious background and education.

• Integrity to your beliefs is an important element of being ethical.

I know CSR, how is ISR different?I know CSR, how is ISR different?

• ISR is at the roots of CSR, because a corporate comprises of individuals and hence determines the social responsibility culture it follows.

• As CSR is being increasingly viewed as a tool to push wares a greater need for ISR is expected

• The example of www.kiva.org in giving people the power to empower is a big indicator of the shift.

• If ISR becomes way of life CSR may be an automatic end result.

Why True CSR is ISR?Why True CSR is ISR?• “The social responsibility of business is to make a profit,” famously said Milton

Friedman, the Nobel Prize winner.

• Company creates thousands of jobs, both directly and indirectly through suppliers, distributors and retailers. It imparts valuable skills to its employees. It pays crores* in taxes. It improves the lives of millions of satisfied customers with its products and services. This is an enormous service to society.

• Companies should focus single-mindedly on their competence, providing goods and services better than their competitors, and not get distracted by extraneous activity. A company’s social responsibility is to make profits legally, not to harm nature, and uphold the highest standards of governance.

• It is then left for the promoters of the corporations to practice ISR from their personal profits after tax to really answer Social Responsibility.

Source: “Private virtue, public vice” by Gurcharan Das,Times of India.*I crore= 10 million

Is ISR practical?Is ISR practical?

• Yes, it is. • The successes of ventures like

www.kiva.org that empower individuals to bring sustainable change are case in point. Furthermore, the advent of Web 2.0 and social networking has fuelled Individual activism, campaigning and giving.

Is ISR Practical?Is ISR Practical?• Yes, but…sample these:

• When it comes to individual social responsibility, two-thirds of U.S. adults have "Good Intentions" – they believe that social responsibility is a good idea, and they do what they can in terms of volunteering, but they do not sacrifice huge amounts of time or money.

• At the top end of the spectrum, 8 percent of U.S. adults "Practice What They Preach" and for this group, individual, as well as corporate, social responsibility is extremely important.

• One-quarter of U.S. adults, however, follow a philosophy of "To Thine Own Self Be True" and, for this group, social responsibility has little consequence in their lives.

Source: The Harris Poll ®#57, June 18, 2007

Is ISR Practical?Is ISR Practical?

• It has to be as….

• The trends show that the biggest growth for big charitable organisations in the world is coming through individuals and not through corporations and governments

Source: ” The Inconvenient truth about corporate fundraising” by Sean Triner, www.sofii.org

Is ISR Practical, especially the Is ISR Practical, especially the ethical bit?ethical bit?

• Difficult but possible• Some manifestations:

– Making decisions based on what is good for greatest number of people.

– Promoting Individual self-interest as long as it does not harm others.

– Making decisions with a belief that everyone has a fundamental right that should be respected and protected.

– Making decisions which treat everyone fairly and consistently.

ReferencesReferences• "ISR is here, watch-out CSR!” by Anup Tiwari

http://nonprofitfundraisingindia.blogspot.com/2008/06/isr-is-here-watch-out-csr.html

• Workshop for Civic Initiatives Foundation (WCIF) position on ISR http://www.wcif-bg.org/en/sr

• Suresh Govindarajan in "Individual Social Responsibility" on www.siv-g.org 5The End of Corporate Social Responsibility, Posted by Joseph Pine and James Gilmore on http://conversationstarter.hbsp.com

• ”Private virtue, public vice” by Gurcharan Das,December 17, 2006, Times of India, http://www.ccsindia.org/ccsindia/gdas/toi1.htm http://www.harrisinteractive.com/harris_poll/index.asp?PID=774

• The End of Corporate Social Responsibility, Posted by Joseph Pine and James Gilmore on http://conversationstarter.hbsp.com

• ” The Inconvenient truth about corporate fundraising” by Sean Triner, www.sofii.org

ReferencesReferences• “Understanding ISR-Individual Social Responsibility”, by Anup Tiwari,

www.isrworld.org

• http://www.harrisinteractive.com/harris_poll/index.asp?PID=774

• “Introduction to Business Ethics”, Paul A.B. Pajo Jr. II, http://www.slideshare.net/pageman/introduction-to-business-ethics/

• “Managing Social Responsibility and Ethics”, 2002, The McGraw-Hill Companies, http://www.docstoc.com/docs/308351/Managing-Social-Responsibility-And-Ethics

• “Ethics and Social Responsibility”, 2005, Prentice Hall Inc., http://www.docstoc.com/docs/308351/Managing-Social-Responsibility-And-Ethics

• “Ethics and Social Responsibility”, Griffin, Ricky W (1993) Management, 4e, Houghton Mifflin, Geneva

ISR is a tool for social ISR is a tool for social changechange

Powerful & PracticalPowerful & Practical

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