CSR Goals, Reporting and Unethical Behaviors - A blog by Courtney Zegarski
Courtney Zegarski is an experienced research and communications professional with a passion for corporate social responsibility and social entrepreneurship. Courtney writes extensively for the Social Endeavors Blog.
CSR Goals, Reporting and Unethical Behaviors
My recent reading of Dan Pink’s Drive has sparked some interesting thought around the purpose, benefits and unintended consequences of goal setting. Traditionally in the business world, managers set goals and expect their employees to work toward them. Typically the purpose of goals is to provide focus for employees and provoke progress. However, goal setting can have a dark side and lead to stress, irrational thoughts and potentially unethical behavior.
Why I am posting about this? More and more companies are developing and publically sharing annual Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) reports. Included in these reports are goals such as “we will reduce our packaging by X% by 20xx” or “we will eliminate the use of X product over the next year.” Upon first glance these goals sound great. They provide focus and give companies (and often their suppliers) something to work toward.
However, these goals might also hinder progress. Two thoughts…
