The business of social responsibility

Eighty-four percent of the executives from around the world who participated in a McKinsey survey agreed that their companies should pursue not only shareholder value but also broader contributions to the public good. Most acknowledged that their companies could handle sociopolitical issues more successfully, as well. To improve, a company should identify emerging trends and develop coherent organization-wide responses—an approach that requires it to integrate social issues into all dimensions of the business, not just the making of strategy.

 
If companies don't adopt that approach they run the risk of misalignment—a CEO saying one thing, the rest of the company failing to translate those good intentions into practical action. A company whose external-communications strategy emphasizes the search for more environmentally friendly products and processes, for example, will stumble if it simultaneously fights limits on carbon dioxide emissions.

 
For more on how companies should manage sociopolitical issues—and can benefit if they do—read "When social issues become strategic" (2006 Number 2). For more on what executives think about the way companies handle social issues now, read "The McKinsey Global Survey of Business Executives: Business and Society" (Web exclusive, January 2006).