Is your business making a difference?

For a long time rational business owners concentrated only on maximising his/her own self-interests. In other words, decisions that are concerned only about their own needs, but there are other perspectives being stressed besides self-interest: The importance of making meaning of your business in the new economy and identify vital resources that include such concepts as a sense of purpose, a sense of opportunity, a sense of community, a strong family, a strong work ethic and high self-esteem.

When talking about business adopting those values, we mean an elevated workplace that respects the abilities of its employees and emphasising creativity. Such firms don’t exploit workers in order to maximise profits and pay exorbitant salaries to executives. Instead they provide resources to help people uncover their creative potential and to practice creativity within the organisation.

A key step is wanting to improve the world and championing better work and working lives. If life has a higher purpose, then one can expect the corporate world to strive to improve the world. Of course, a firm has a responsibility to make profits, but this obligation does not mean that the firm should ignore the needs of society. There are numerous ways to make a company meaningful that cannot be covered in a single article. It includes hiring people with special needs and the elderly. Firms should also encourage diversity in the workforce. Being concerned about the environment, using renewable energy and reducing waste and carbon dioxide emissions is another way of making the world a better place. Firms can partner with local public institutes and colleges and provide extra funds for them to improve education. In addition, they can provide internships for high school and college students. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) can be used strategically to both enhance the image of a company and, at the same time, it improves the world. CSR can be much more than a cost, a constraint or a charitable deed — it can be a source of opportunity, innovation and competitive advantage.

— The reader is a Bahraini human resource development lecturer and writer based in Manama, Bahrain.