Startups: Aligning organization goals with their social responsibility

The core goal of any enterprise is to generate profits. And many firms try to give a part of their profits for social activities which are branded as CSR or Corporate Social Responsibility Activity. The larger question is can the business goals and social goals of an organization be combined for the benefit of both the enterprise and the society.

Haresh Amre who led GE's Elfun Volunteers program in India (2002 – 2004) thinks that it can be done. For a company in its inception stages it is easy and more beneficial to build a strong alignment of organization goals with social welfare activities, because this is the time when the basic DNA of the organization is built. He says "My personal preference is time and effort for any social activity. As a start-up, if team is able to stay together beyond the purpose of business, it will establish solid foundation for future."

Sarabdeep Singh, CoFounder of Fachak looks at the bigger picture and says "its society at large which has to develop a moral structure where people pride in giving back to it. Startup is just one part of the ecosystem which should be there in a vibrant social structure where people give it back to the system not only in the form of statutory ways like taxes but also in non-statutory ways."

Today many startups have made such activities an integral part of their business activities. Khojguru.com is running a pledge campaign ( khojguru.com/pledge ) for the National Defence Fund. They contribute Re.1 to National Defense Fund (fund for the welfare of security personnel and their dependents) for a business critical process i.e. a users registered on their website. The founder says, "This activity does not only give us satisfaction but makes us even stronger in terms of our resolve towards peace and security for our stake holders and the country".

Chahiye.info donates 20% of their brokerage fees i.e. revenues to prayaas ( chahiye.info/prayas ). These funds would be used by Prayas to provide health, education and recreation to homeless & exploited children. Over the next few months, they aim to extend their support to 1,000 children.

Carmen B. Lewis, president at Xmantiss Industries (Stone Mountain, Georgia) throws in a word of caution. She believes that a company must be careful in choosing the cause and organization it supports as choosing a wrong organization could cost clientele in some instances.

It seems that it is possible to align an organisation's business goals with their social objectives, outlining a very transparent process having benefits for both the enterprise and the society. Greater the number of firms which do such activities, more dramatic will be the impact on our social landscape.