Corporate Social Responsibility in Zygmunt Bauman’s Book

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Corporate social responsibility (CSR) touches on the activities that organizations undertake to make the lives of the people in the society better. They also touch on the activities that the same corporations take to frustrate the community. Many scholars argue that the only reason why companies embrace CSR is to solve the problems that they have created and make a good public image in return (Scott, Dam, Páez, & Wilton, 2012). This essay reviews a book that raises concerns about some aspects of corporate social responsibility. The book under analysis is the second edition of Zygmunt Baumann’s “Work, Consumerism and the New Poor” as presented in the book, “Issues in Society” edited by Tim May.

The chapter of the book is trying to analyze some of the questions related to the social dynamics of life that shape society. In particular, it examines poverty and the concept of being poor. The book comprises of a series of ‘mini-books’ that touch on several aspects of life. However, only the first book, which also acts as the first chapter, will be analyzed in this assignment. The first part of the book delves into poverty and the classification of some people as ‘poor’. Other parts of the book analyze social exclusion, governance, families and violence, health, and the environment, among other things. It suffices to mention that all the chapters, which are written in the form of ‘mini-books’, revolve around the society. Time is not given a lot of importance in the first chapter termed, “Work, Consumerism and the New Poor“. For example, the author shows that the concept of ‘poor’ has changed over time, but the category is still associated with people who are considered less privileged in the society. The author tries to explain why poverty has modernized, and people are not only termed poor because of the amount of wealth they have accumulated but because of the type of consumers they have become. Bauman goes further and analyzes the factors that have affected poverty and modernized it; for instance, digital consumers and the digital platform, in general. Additionally, Bauman argues that poverty is defined and shaped by the definition of the rich. Therefore, if the term ‘rich’ refers to people living in a particular estate, then everyone else living outside the estate will not be considered rich. Such people come up with other titles, for instance, the middle class. Those who are least privileged are referred to as the poor. In the same breath, ‘rich’ can also refer to people who use the digital platform for all their activities. Therefore, they can watch television, buy anything they want, and check their bank accounts online. The poor cannot do this; in this sense, poverty is defined by the type of consumer an individual has become.

Bauman has used several voices to support and discredit his argument. The first voice that has been used is that of scholars. For example, he quotes John Stuart Mill, who claimed that the society has divided people into social classes, making them work hard to move from a lower class to an upper class; regardless of whether whatever they are doing is morally right or healthy. For instance, factory workers are given the toughest of jobs, yet they continue working day in and day out to improve the lives of their families. In the same breath, the job environment they work in may not be suitable for their health. Thus, the money that they had kept aside to help their family is used to treat the worker when they get sick. The vicious circle continues upon recovery. Bauman also incorporates the voices of poor people. He asserts that work ethics has been put in place to control the poor. Baumann (2005) argues that the rich have come up with work ethics to bend the workers to conform to a particular, predictable working style that allows the wealthy to make more profits. For example, work ethics do not necessarily reflect an individual’s moral standing. Therefore, companies only use it to attract more prominent people to work for them, as they feel protected and safe. It also suffices to mention that the author introduces the voice of the corporate society. This voice is included to offer a different opinion on the modern poor. Corporate organizations argue that work ethics and other work rules and guidelines are put in place to not only control the employees but also to ensure that they get paid. Without the rules and regulations, companies would not be making a profit and employees would not be paid. These three voices are the most prominent in the discussion. It is the voice of the corporates that are most known and advertised in mainstream discussions. The voices of the scholars and those of the poor are ignored.

The central issue that relates to corporations and the society highlighted in the book provided is class discrimination. There are indeed other aspects that have been discussed, but class bias is very prominent. Baumann (2005) explains that discrimination based on class has been experienced since time immemorial. He acknowledges the efforts that have been made in trying to release the bars of poverty from a majority of the world’s population. For example, education can help an individual move from one social class to another. A good education will ensure that a person gets a well-paying job. The individual will be able to save and invest some of the earned money to secure a more privileged future compared to the past. However, in the middle of the journey, corporations take up the individual and define them based on the status ’employee’. The corporations then limit the individual by placing bars around him using salary ranges and job descriptions. The issue of social class and class discrimination goes hand in hand with that of exploitation. Baumann (2005) asserts that the poor in the 17th century were people who could not afford basic needs. Currently, the poor also include people who have not gone through a legal education system. Thus, they are easy to exploit as they do not know their rights. A majority of employers rely on either the illiterate or the immigrants to provide labor. They get paid very little and continue sinking deeper into the poverty mud hole because they do not know their rights. Exploitation is also enhanced by the rules, regulations, and work ethics that are stipulated by the rich to control the poor. It is interesting to point out that the modern poor are also considered in terms of how they consume products and not necessarily how they manufacture products. Baumann (2005) goes further to explain how poor people are not expected to use the digital platform. However, he fails to explain social factors that lead to the difference in consumers.

From the poor man’s point of view, the corporations and the wealthy are the core causes of the ever-growing distance between the rich and the poor. The firms require one to have gone to school to be employed and earn a decent salary. Many countries do not offer free education; thus the child of a poor man will either not attend a school or get a poor quality education. In both scenarios, the poor person will not be hired by the corporation. If he will be hired, then he will either be a cleaner or a messenger, giving him very little money to survive on. The poor man, therefore, continues to be poor because his son could not find a decent job that would elevate the entire family from the lower social class. There are cases where poor parents have struggled to put their children through school. Such kids have gone ahead and excelled in life through scholarships. However, the corporation again puts a barrier through nepotism and corruption in the workplace. The once entirely poor boy cannot get a better position due to these two factors. At this point, the boy either has to stay in the same place for the rest of his working life or move to a different company that still has the same barriers. Looking at this chain, it is evident that the corporate world is frustrating the poor people. There are no opportunities for them to grow and move from the lower classes to the top classes because the corporations are too scared to lose their workers. The education system that the poor have to go through is supported by the wealthy and their corporations. Therefore, the poor have to pay school fees to the rich, who will then decide whether they are well-educated or not. This exploitation of the poor points to the pattern of efficiency and inefficiency in a company. A company that hires people who are not considered well-educated is expected to be less efficient compared to a corporation that is known to hire well-educated people.

The first solution that comes to mind is the improvement of the education system, such that a majority of the poor can be well-educated. This will not only help them, but it will also benefit the corporations by providing competitive employees. Quality education for all will also shape the poor to be self-reliant and not depend on employment opportunities. They will be in a better position to take up their businesses; offering job opportunities to others while also bettering their lives. Currently, the awarding of bursaries and scholarships is helping many people from humble backgrounds get a quality education. In the same vein, the marginalized are keen on making their lives better. They urge their children to study hard in school and do whatever it takes to ensure that all their children get educated. To see this solution through, governments have to come up with policies that require all schools to provide quality education, including schools in poor neighborhoods. Additionally, policies on the payment of tuition fees have to be changed. Some governments have declared free education for all, at all levels, an initiative that has encouraged more people to get a formal education. Similarly, governments can set the minimum wage, according to the current economy. The minimum wage should be enough for an individual to live comfortably without lacking any basic needs, including education. There are a lot of things that can be done to stop the marginalization of the poor. Many of the solutions try to get rid of poverty altogether.

In conclusion, the book provides excellent insights into the plight of poor people. It gives a deeper explanation of how poverty has evolved and defined the modern poor. It is interesting to find out that people can be classified as being rich or poor by the trends they exhibit as consumers. Baumann uses three voices to make his argument. The three voices are the poor, the scholars, and the corporates. The poor believe that the corporations are trying to frustrate their efforts by placing boundaries that they cannot cross. Also, scholars agree that rules and regulations in the workplace are meant to tame the employees and restrict their success. Finally, the corporate voices offer a counterargument by saying that the rules and regulations are necessary for achieving company goals and creating profits that are used to pay the employees.

References

Baumann, Z. (2005). Work, consumerism and the new poor. In May, T. (ed.) Issues in society (pp. 1-129). New York, NY: McGraw Hill Publishers

Scott, D. M., Dam, I., Páez, A., & Wilton, R. D. (2012). Investigating the effects of social influence on the choice to telework. Environment & Planning A, 44(5), 1016-1031.

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