Corporate Social Responsibility Plans and Communications Strategy Literature review

Corporate Social Responsibility Plans and Communications Strategy - Literature review Example A CSR communications strategy provides the potential to generate stakeholder participation, which can yield the discussion, production, and dissemination of meaningful ethical norms and practices. Sensemaking enables different stakeholder groups to openly and comprehensively discuss CSR issues and problems. Stakeholders refer to anyone who will be/are affected by the organization’s goals and actions. Sensemaking allows stakeholders to â€Å"make sense of things in organizations while in conversation with others while reading communications from others while exchanging ideas with others†. Sensemaking expands ways of thinking and doing through collaboration and questioning groupthink processes. Moreover, despite apprehension for CSR intentions, Ihlen, Bartlett, and May (2011) asserted that companies must exert full effort in expressing CSR intentions because it can engender stakeholder participation. They noted that communication theory offers models for stakeholder invol vement and collaboration, including those that deal with conflict and yet build consensus (Ihlen et al, 2011, p.12). Recognizing that companies have self-interests and finding ways to balance that with stakeholder interests are integral to the communication process. Aside from sensemaking, stakeholder theory can improve stakeholder participation. CSR communications treat stakeholders as value-producing in the long run, where value includes financial and social aspects (Morsing & Schultz, 2006, p.324). CSR concerns the critical balance between financial and non-financial goals of organizations.