It is clear that businesses do not partake in Corporate Social Responsibility out of the goodness of their hearts but merely as a way in which to ameliorate their image and therefore increase financial performance. Before now, CSR was less publiscised and so usually carried out with a genuine intention of improving society, be it in terms of hunger and poverty, the environment and sustainability or more specifically the lives of employees. However now, CSR has become crucial economically. Thanks to the surge of social media, anyone can research the ins and outs of a company meaning their ethical stance can become either vastly detrimental or completely advantageous. Studies show that consumer purchase intention is 60% influenced by their perception of the company whilst only 40% influenced by their perception of the product. This uneven proportion makes it vital for companies to partake in CSR, not out of morality but out of business strategy. Moreover, a company’s image is 42% dependent on its CSR activities, meaning equity is built by instilling a positive brand image in the consumer’s minds. Customers will become viciously loyal to those brands that they see as philanthropic, even if philanthropy is not their true intent. Furthermore, it is not just companies that are concerned with a business’s Corporate Social Responsibility but also employees. People wish to work for a company that has a reputable reputation. In this vein, a high level of CSR is likely to attract the best of the industry as well as a high number of applicants. Additionally, through a socially responsible environment, employees will have equal opportunities allowing room for long-term progression and optimum performance. All such qualities are desirable for a company’s financial success rate whilst actually being ethically good is just a mere bonus. Of course a severe cost-benefit analysis is done to ascertain the ideal level of CSR which does not usually balance giving with taking but instead ensure that a business will personally flourish from their charity. Therefore, the true intentions of those who carry out Corporate Social Responsibility are not philanthropic. But then, does that matter? If the results are improved societies as well as financially strong corporations then are the means to these ends important? Smith, J (2013). The Company with the best CSR reputations’, Forbes. Accessible at: http://www.forbes.com/sites/ Mahmood, A and Bashir, J (2020). ‘How does corporate social responsibility transform brand reputation into brand equity? Economic and noneconomic perspectives of CSR’. International Journal of Engineering Business Management.

I do agree that generally companies and businesses do not engage in charitable activities for the sake of good intention. However, improving a company's public image or reputation is one of the many reasons why they would invest in such an endeavor. Looking at philanthropic organizations you can see how the application of internal ethics, as well as symbolic events and buildings, can influence public perception with the reward of more social benefits. Take the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; they symbolize these types of ethics making them unquestionable in their good intentions. Besides carrying on the mission of donating their wealth to the most needed parts of society, stepping into the Gates Foundation headquarters is like stepping into the definition of what a sustainably powered building should look like with several aspects of multiculturalism and openness. All symbolizing the goals of the organization. At first glance, the organization's goal is to allocate resources and distribution of wealth to other parts of society and the developing world. however, many have argued the Gate Foundation (like many others) is just a philanthropy scheme, as one Swiss historian puts it, and suggests that the billionaire-funded organizations are instruments for tax avoidance (Ho, 2019). CSR for businesses may be used to improve companies' reputations and attract sales and labor, but a charitable organization can also use these ethics as a justification for philanthropists to excuse themselves from paying taxes to the government and other sorts of responsibility while maintaining a good public image that can remain unquestionable to the media. Ho, S. (2019, February 12). Bill, Melinda Gates unfazed by criticism of wealthy giving. Retrieved January 25, 2021, from https://apnews.com/article/b1279711ee234b3ab3916d292d262643