The post liberalized and globalised Indian
economy is witnessing shrinking role of state and growing role of Corporate and
Business in overall development of country. Corporates with their wider reach,
professionalism, innovation and wealth have the ability to influence the pace
of growth and development. In recent survey by TERI it was found that the
public expectations from corporate and business are growing. Indians feel that
business sector must play a wider and more expansive societal role. In addition
to providing good quality products at reasonable prices, companies should
strive to make their operations environmentally sound, adhere to high labour
standards, reduce human rights abuses and mitigate poverty.
What is
CSR?
Corporate Social responsibility in the past few
decades has intrigued not only the scholars but the practioners as well. It is
?essentially a concept whereby companies decide voluntarily to contribute to a
better society and a cleaner environment? (European Commission, 2001).
Companies consider themselves as an integral part of the society and act in a
socially responsible way (EC, 2001). Till very recently it was viewed as
philanthropic activity indulged into only when the firms were in jeopardy. But
it is now viewed to be inclusive, broad and diverse. CSR is now viewed as
integral part of business strategy to minimize the business risks linked to
uncertainty. Though the critic are of the view, CSR is nothing but Corporate
Conspiracy to Snatch Resources (CSR), in the name of CSR.
Where
are the jobs?
Most of
the multinational Corporate have their CSR wing and Deptt exclusively dedicated
for doing community development and CSR activities directly or indirectly in
the vicinity of their operations. In other companies CSR is running under HR or
Environment Deptt.They recruit professionals from Social work,rural development
and other developmental fields to undertake and manage the CSR activities of
company. It is observed that companies whose operations directly impact the
nature like mining, manufacturing, power generations etc have CSR wing quite
active to tackle the grievances of nearby population and engage the
stakeholders. In green field projects we have seen corporate giant and Govt
struggling hard to get the land acquisitions and Resettlement and
Rehabilitation (R&R) issues solved, here also CSR professionals are in
great demand.
Due to the diversity of this career area, opportunities
exist within the private, public and voluntary sectors. It is important
to highlight that many CSR roles may not be titled as such but their job
content may reflect CSR activities.
Private Sector - Larger companies may
have CSR departments or have CSR functions located within particular areas
including marketing, communications, environmental management, public affairs,
investor relations, finance, operations and human resources. Opportunities are
also opening up in the large accounting and consulting firms, many of which are
trying to compete with the niche CSR consulting firms by offering their own CSR
client services.
Public Sector-CSR
career options can be found in national government agencies, PSUs and
international organizations.
Nonprofits and research- There
are a wide variety of non-governmental organizations (NGO?s), industry
associations, think tanks and academic institutions engaging in learning and/or
advocacy within the CSR arena. Such groups promote and examine the use of
CSR concepts within the private and public spheres. For example:
CSR
? still an emerging profession?
There is no such thing as a typical career path
in CSR and there is no single professional body at present that represents the
needs and interests of all those working in the field. This is due to the
diverse disciplines involved and also the complexity of the roles and
responsibilities of a CSR practitioner. The process of establishing and
responding to the CSR agenda within an organization will require specialists
with specific CSR competencies.
What
qualifications are needed for a CSR role?
There are no specific qualifications required
for this field but there are an increasing number of qualifications becoming
available at Masters Level and as part of MBA courses. The professional
courses like Master of Social Works (MSW) MBA in rural development and Post
Graduate Diploma in Rural development offered by different universities and
reputed institution may be right option for career in CSR.
What
skills or competencies would be required for a CSR role?
This is hard to clarify due to the diverse roles
and range of disciplines involved. Though the major skills required for
successful CSR Professional are
·Business skills (including building
insight, communication skills, decision making, commercial awareness, IT,
innovation, strategic awareness, leadership, handling complexity and problem
solving)
·People skills (including adaptability and
empathy, developing others, influencing without power, open minded, integrity,
political awareness, self-development and learning, building partnerships, team
working and questioning "business as usual")
·Technical skills (including technical
expertise, understanding impacts, stakeholder dialogue, internal consultancy,
selling the business case, understanding human rights and understanding
sustainability).
From above three skills, following 6
core competencies are listed
for managers involved with CSR in organizations:
·Check out the following reference books in the
?Getting Started? section of the Careers Information Room:
The
Ethical Careers Guide - Business Ethics section
The
Sustainable Careers Handbook
·Consider joining a CSR network
·Organize an internship, work experience or
voluntary placement.
How do I find a job in CSR?
This very much depends on which area of CSR you
are interested in and the type of organization you want to work for. Many
direct CSR roles require specialist knowledge and business experience and
therefore may not be open to those on graduate programmes or just starting out
with a company. You may have to take a longer term strategy and build up
your skills and experience in relevant areas first. However, there are
jobs out there so here are a few tips:
·Companies recruits professional both fresher and
experienced through advertising in media or internal sources.
·Search-out the companies/foundations/trust of
company owners doing CSR Works.
·Think hard about organizations you admire and
research their values and culture. What is their stance on CSR? Is it
embedded in their core values? Do they have opportunities for getting involved
with CSR activities? Search out their Websites and CSR Sections.
·Most of the CSR Jobs are done by NGOs so search
out the NGOs having linkages with big corporate.
·Some consultancies have CSR departments and take
on people in this area. For environmental consultancies with a CSR
interest check out these too.
·Get some CSR experience by securing an
internship, work placement or by volunteering to assist an organization with
their CSR project.
·Keep up to date with CSR developments. Monitor
CSR websites and newspaper articles.
·Consider further study. Some consultancies
for example, prefer graduates with business or NGO experience and/or a Masters
level qualification in a CSR related area.
·Monitor online job listings or register with a
recruitment agency that handles CSR vacancies .
Universities
offering degree in Social work/Rural Development
The premier institutes offering degrees/diplomas
in Social work and Rural Development is as follows:
ØMaster of
Social Work (MSW)/MA Social Work
·Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Trombay Road,
Deonar, Mumbai - 400 088
·KurukshetraUniversity, Kurukshetra - 136 119
·LucknowUniversity, Lucknow
·Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya, Indore 452001
·VikramUniversity,Ujjain
456010
·Kashi Vidyapith, Varanasi 221002
·University of Lucknow, Badshah Bagh, Lucknow 226007
·AligarhMuslimUniversity
(AMU) Aligarh
202002
·AgraUniversity, Agra
282004 .
·University of Delhi, Delhi
110007
·Jamia Millia Islamia, Jamia Nagar, New Delhi 110025
·PunjabiUniversity,Patiala
147002
·BenarasHinduUniversity (BHU) Varansi UP
·Rajasthan Vidyapeth, Udaipur 313001
·Gujarat
Vidyapeth,Ahmedabad 380014
·ShivajiUniversity, Vidyanagar, Kolhapur 416004
·NagpurUniversity, MG Marg, Nagpur 440001
·MS University of Baroda,Vadodhara 390002
·AmravatiUniversity, Near Tapowan, Amravati 446002
·University of Bombay, MG
Road, Fort, Mumbai 400032
