CSR in SMEs: opportunity to come back to a human management of business?

I don’t have any business experience, however I believe that SMEs could drive changes in how to do business in a responsible way and could set steps for a deep change in our system. Of course, it exists obstacles like financial or a lack of time but I think CSR is now an add-value because people are more and more looking for transparency. Another obstacle to look for a change is our education and our system of values in which we grow.

However, I still believe that values could be hard values and could drive a business. If the founder of a company believes strongly in its values and sees them as normal, he could manage his business as he wants and naturally apply his way of thinking. Probably, it is easier to start rather to change a model, although with integrity, imagination and creativity it is likely possible.

Why I believe that SMEs have real impact rather than multinational. I see in these small and medium companies a possibility to apply a social and environmental conscience in a daily base. “Making the promise and delivering the promise” is easier if employees are closer to the mission and vision of the company. The distance between the top and the bottom are also closer. For these reasons, the internal impact in one hand is more visible. The founder could implement social environmental policies in the company even at a small level with no or small cost; for instance flexible working hour or waste policy. In the other hand, external impacts are perhaps easier to control because the relationship will be the closest as possible to the suppliers or customers. The distance again between the top and the bottom will be reduced and the dialogue will be more consistent.

Furthermore, with all the technologies, expertise and experience we have, it should possible to progress in a sustainable way. As I wrote in another post, the will of a part of the society could be the real obstacle to integrate CSR in the business strategy with the result of putting in question our way of thinking. In our class, we saw an example of young people who have created their company, where they use hard values to drive it: Warby Parker.

To show that it is possible to do responsible business, I want to share this video we saw at our class on CSR in SMEs about of two young entrepreneurs, Warby Parker, and another example of success medium company: Switcher SA.

We need to come back to a human contact, even if the trend today and the future are technology and its robots.

Comments Off on CSR in SMEs: opportunity to come back to a human management of business? / 16 Apr 2013 por Stephanie Barrial
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