Corporate Global Citizenship

When it comes to corporate global citizenship, it is no longer enough to say that it is about “complying with the law, treating employees fairly, and donating money to good causes” (Crittenden et al, 2011). Currently, expectations and demand for global performance are rising and company success is based largely on responsibility to business practices.

I think that employee volunteering should be a large component of corporate global citizenship. This is based on a study from TimeBank by the British Psychological Society (2011), showing that most employees considered volunteering an excellent way to introduce new skills into the workplace. As I can vouch, volunteering not only produces a sense of self-satisfaction, it also increases happiness, wellbeing, and responsibility; all key to a healthy and proficient work environment. As ITT (2012) claims, “a great company can be measured by its people”, and if employees spend time volunteering, they will be globally responsible people. With that said, there are many other factors making up corporate global citizenship.

According to Crittenden et al (2011), corporate global citizenship is about developing relationships between “the company and … employees, customers, communities, suppliers, investors, … NGOs and activists through the implementation of the company’s strategies and operating practices.” Definitions are broad and the concept could incorporate understanding the operating environment, knowing management domains, developing a stakeholder engagement program, and appropriately measuring/reporting activities related to global corporate citizenship (Berger, Cunningham, & Drumwright, 2007).

Companies such as HP Pty Ltd, Abbott Laboratories, and ITT Engineered for Life are fulfilling many of these requirements. They maintain global citizenship through inclusion and diversity, workplace safety, training and mentoring, fair labour practices, and human rights agreements.