Offshore zones refer to zones. What is an offshore zone? Advantages of operating an offshore company

In Russia inclusion social responsibility business among the priority problems is due primarily to the lack of resources in regional budgets for the implementation of a full-fledged social policy and the lack of understanding of the important role large corporations in the development of individual regions.
Criteria for socially responsible behavior and mechanisms for stimulating it in modern Russia look like this.
Attention in this moment focuses on the question of whether the social responsibility of business can be limited only to paying taxes and paying a decent wages staff or business must take on additional social obligations, primarily in the development and implementation of various charitable programs.
However, the concept of “socially responsible business” cannot be reduced to classical charity and honest compliance by entrepreneurs with the established rules of the game. It involves the formation of fundamentally new features in the motivation and behavior of business structures.
The criterion for socially responsible behavior of a business is the presence of non-market elements in the reproductive behavior of the company associated with the formation of partnerships. This criterion makes it possible to distinguish between modern interpretations social responsibility of business and traditional charity. Charity is dictated by ethical considerations; it does not affect the strategic goals of the company and does not shape its behavior as a subject of the reproduction process.
Social responsibility of business involves changes in the behavior of the company in its own economic sphere, i.e. when building relationships with all parties involved in its activities - employees, consumers and suppliers, local authorities, the state. When making decisions about what to produce, how to produce and for whom to produce, a socially responsible entrepreneur is guided not only by the criterion of market feasibility and profitability, but also by the interests of other participants in society. If, in the classical market scheme, market “failures” are compensated by the state, then, according to new concept, a socially responsible entrepreneur (in a more mature model - a socially responsible business community) strives to at least partially fill these “failures” with his own efforts.
Thus, business is gradually moving from a one-dimensional scale of values, determined solely by the criterion of market rationality, to a multidimensional scale that takes into account the economic, social and ethical interests of its activities. This process occurs in line with the general trend of socialization economic development in the world.
However, in the short term, investments in the social sphere mean additional costs and, accordingly, a slight decrease in the competitiveness of the company. That is why socially responsible behavior can be afforded primarily by the most powerful corporations, which have a large margin of sustainability and serious competitive advantages. To spread socially responsible behavior in the business environment, it is necessary important condition- such behavior should be stimulated by the state and civil society.
Stimulation from the state, as a rule, takes the form of tax benefits and, which could not be more important in modern Russian conditions, matching financing of socially significant projects, private and public partnerships.
Stimulation from civil society is carried out through normative coercion as a result of the preferences of part of the population: purchasing goods from socially responsible producers (according to surveys, in developed countries, 80-90% of consumers choose companies that are involved in socially significant projects); investing money in shares of socially responsible companies; linking your work career with a socially responsible employer.
Socially responsible business entities receive significant economic advantages due to increased competitiveness of the trademark and increased investment attractiveness of the company, expanded opportunities to attract qualified personnel, and increased competitiveness in the labor market. Individual entrepreneurs and corporations receive the following benefits: reduced risk of loss of reputation; strengthening loyalty and constructive cooperation with staff, investors, consumers, subcontractors, government departments, local communities and public organizations. At the same time, companies that deviate from their declared ethical standards face serious problems.
There are several levels of social responsibility of business structures.
The basic level reflects the “owners' company” model that has become widespread in Anglo-Saxon countries. It should be considered as a prerequisite, a starting condition for socially responsible behavior - conscientious performance their direct obligations to society and the state: to regularly pay wages, the amount of which should ensure the normal reproduction of the labor force; comply with labor laws; pay all due taxes promptly and in full; ensure compliance with established product quality standards.
The second level - the development of partnership intra-company relations - involves direct consideration of the interests of employees on the basis of negotiations. In addition to meeting the basic obligations listed above, this level guarantees the provision of some set of benefits and social services to employees: investment in human capital: V vocational training, retraining and advanced training of personnel, in improving the organization and content of work, in labor protection and health of workers; social investments: improving pensions and housing, programs aimed not at the employee himself, but at his family members.
The third level is the external environment in relation to the individual corporation, and not to the business community as a whole. It covers programs and activities whose scope extends beyond the boundaries of the enterprise or corporation. The object of social investment in in this case becomes the population of the territories or its individual categories where the corporation’s activities take place. This includes all charitable programs and, in part, programs aimed at creating favorable conditions for the company’s activities, giving a “collateral effect”, for example: investments in the region’s transport infrastructure, landscaping, channeling funds into culture, education.
For such an expansion of the sphere of social responsibility of business in Russia, it is necessary to form partnerships with the state at all levels - from municipal self-government to federal authorities, as well as within the business community. Social responsibility in the broadest sense involves the participation of business in the development and implementation of state socio-economic policy aimed at sustainable development countries.
In Russia, there is a change in the rules of interaction between government and business, which is an objective process caused by the transformation of economic relations. Experts believe that the normative model of the institutional organization of the economy consists of the formal norms and rules established in the country, and the mechanisms for their application. The real model is a set of established formal and informal norms and rules.
Modern model relations between government and business can be placed in three relatively separate zones of their interaction - “white”, “black” and “gray”: the “white” zone includes formally regulated practices: regulation of tax relations, administrative and economic regulation business (registration, licensing, control and enforcement of established standards, etc.), competitions for the distribution of government orders, etc.; “black” zone - informal, usually criminal practices, corruption; The “gray” zone covers informal extortions from businesses that are not directly related to corruption, and informal bargaining between the business itself and the authorities regarding the conditions of its functioning. Relations in the “gray” zone are based on the authorities performing their public functions and on the mutual interest of the parties in survival in the territory of the region.

she. A tool for achieving the interests of an entrepreneur becomes a voluntary or voluntary-forced contribution to additional financing of the territories of his residence. At the same time, it is the “gray” zone that reflects the specific features of modern Russian economy, conditioned by the current system of interbudgetary relations and the need to solve local problems. The relationship between government and business within the “gray” zone is characterized by: the interweaving of formal and informal norms and rules with the determining role of the latter; the illegal, but, as a rule, not directly violating the law, nature of informal relations, when the imposition of additional obligations on a business is not directly related to the corruption of officials; use of illegal relations with business by government officials in the implementation of their public functions.
The deformalization of rules in the sphere of interaction between government and business actually means the division of a number of their relations into “black” and “gray” zones. The formation of the latter is considered in the context of institutional evolution towards the deformalization of rules, during which formal rules are largely replaced by informal ones and are built into informal relations. The “gray” zone is characterized by the fact that within its boundaries the authorities are trying to implement their functions in circumvention of the current legislation.
Therefore, when solving the problem of socially responsible behavior of business structures and the prospects for its development, it is necessary to take into account the influence of this aspect on the partnership between business and government.
In Russia at the moment, the first priority should be to solve problems basic level social responsibility, a significant part of which relates to the area of ​​remuneration. The level of wages of key production workers is insufficient for normal reproduction of the labor force - the most urgent problem social and labor sphere at most Russian enterprises. Among the associated problems are the unreasonably high differentiation of wages, the irregularity and unpredictability of the indexation process, and the opacity of the remuneration system.
Other tasks at the basic level of social responsibility that require urgent solutions include: tax evasion, including social taxes (through shadow payments), which undermines the social protection of workers; deviations from labor legislation, including practices related to the procedure for attracting overtime work and their payment, the regime for granting vacations; low guarantees of job security.
The tasks of the next level of socially responsible behavior are related to the fact that strict relations between employers and employees prevail over partnership ones. There is no quality control of in-house social programs on the part of their consumers (employees). There are subjective factors in the distribution of non-financial benefits and benefits, and there is inequality in the coverage of various categories of personnel by social programs. Demands to expand the scope of socially responsible behavior beyond the basic level and, even more so, to take it beyond the boundaries of the corporation in the current situation cause protest sentiments on the part of workers and entrepreneurs. The former believe that the degree of their social security today is not high enough to begin implementing social programs that are not directly aimed at enterprise personnel. The latter, when choosing areas of social investment, prefer those that, having a pronounced demonstration effect, can cause a public outcry.
Thus, in Russian conditions, the formation of social responsibility of business is a long process that occurs contradictorily even in the most developed and prosperous regions of the country.
Over the years of transformation domestic economy, transition from a phase of crisis to a phase of progressive development, some positive experience of social partnership between business, government and society has been accumulated.
An analysis of current practice allows us to recommend the following grouping of business-government partnership models based on the criterion of frequency of use of a particular model, given in Table. 9.1.
Analysis of experience accumulated in Russia in the field of social partnership business structures with the authorities and their response -

Socio-economic models of partnership between business and government

responsibility to society allows us to conclude that for the development social orientation business uses different models, which are developed depending on many factors. Practice shows that the same company creates and uses several models of social orientation of its activities (see Table 9.1). This situation allows business to put forward the following proposals: The initiative for business participation in planning territorial budgets should come from local government administrations. Thus, the company’s social responsibility will be “converted” into an increase in the territories’ budgetary resources, and the issue of charity will be removed. Funds spent on charitable assistance and development of the territories where the company operates should not be subject to taxes, since these funds come from net profit, from which taxes have already been paid to the state, including local budgets. The agreement between business and government contains an element of pressure, so interaction with the government should be done through political parties or public organizations. A civilized way of interaction between business and government in the social field is the conclusion of agreements with the participation of parties and organizations and the creation of funds aimed at developing territories. Social development funds on the territory of municipalities and constituent entities of the Russian Federation must be created with the participation of located, rather than registered enterprises and branches, regardless of the type of ownership, size of the enterprise, its organizational and legal form. When planning and organizing social partnerships, business structures and regional and municipal authorities apply comprehensive and systematic approaches.
Questions for self-control Expand the concept of “social responsibility of business”. What are the criteria for socially responsible business behavior and mechanisms
stimulating it? Determine the levels of social responsibility of a business.
What do the “white”, “black” and “gray” areas of social responsibility of a business mean? On what basis are socio-economic partnerships between business and government classified? Reveal the essence of partnership models between business and government. Provide criteria for assessing the effectiveness of partnerships between business and government.

The collapse of the USSR and the introduction of “shock therapy” ideas in some countries gave rise to a stereotype about business as an unprincipled and selfish phenomenon. However, already at the beginning of the twentieth century. Some entrepreneurs took a completely different path, declaring the need for social responsibility in business. About whether business can be socially responsible, whether there are such precedents in the Eurasian Union and where Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia are on this list, read the article by Pavel Samusev, Chairman of the Board of the International Socio-Economic Foundation “Idea” (Minsk, Belarus), especially for "Eurasia.Expert".

IN modern world Its image and properly established communications with society are increasingly important for the success of a business; corporate social responsibility is a key factor in the sustainability of business in the modern world.

The idea of ​​a socially responsible business

The idea of ​​social responsibility of business began to take shape at the beginning of the 20th century. in the USA among large industrialists such as Henry Ford from the Ford Motor Company, Gerard Swope - president of General Electric", as well as Walter Gifford, the president of the most powerful telephone company in the world at that time, the American Telephone and Telegraph Company.

The key stimulus for the development of social responsibility of business was the growth of leftist ideas in Western societies, the struggle of trade unions and the reaction of Western capital to the revolution in Russia.

Large capital began to realize the danger of the “red revolutions” and the resulting loss of control over their own enterprises. It is the October Revolution that is the factor in the emergence of the middle class, the social responsibility of business and the welfare state in Western societies. The implementation of the principles of the welfare state arose in the post-revolutionary period, but the idea originated earlier. It was first implemented in Germany starting in the mid-19th century, when the Bismarck model dominated. Bismarck introduced “health insurance,” “accident insurance,” and “old-age pensions” in an attempt to turn the working class away from social democracy.

The concept of CSR received further formalization in the 1930s; economists F. Burley and G. Means wrote in their book “Modern Corporations and Private Property”: “to ensure the survival of the corporate system, those who control large corporations must turn into a completely neutral a territory that manages the diversity of demands of different groups in society and assigns to each of them a share of the income stream based on public policy rather than private greed.”

In the early 70s. XX century In the West, a theory arose that explained the essence of the relationship between business and society. Its main postulate was the thesis that if a company pays taxes, sets an acceptable level of wages, fulfills the conditions for labor safety and environmental protection, then it conducts fair business practices and, therefore, is socially responsible. For the first time, the main provisions of this theory, called the theory of corporate egoism, were presented by Nobel laureate M. Friedman, writing in 1971 in New York Times: “There is one and only one social responsibility of business: to use its resources and energies in activities that lead to increased profits, as long as this is done within the rules of the game.”

Can egoism be enlightened?

Another point of view is called the theory of enlightened egoism. It identified CSR with sponsorship and charity as types of social investment. The quintessence of the theory is the thesis that the current reduction in company profits due to socially oriented spending creates a favorable social environment that promotes sustainable business development.

In the 90s After the collapse of the USSR and the socialist bloc, the concept of social responsibility begins to shift towards sustainable development. The founder of the concept of corporate sustainability is the American economist and entrepreneur John Elgington, his CSR model is based on the concept of 3P - People, Planet, Profit (from the English People, Planet, Profit). This principle is often used for the preparation of corporate social reporting and implies the inclusion of economic, environmental and social criteria in the company’s report. Pursuing corporate sustainability principles in international business is a deliberate strategy used by companies to achieve competitive advantage. This advantage is achieved by increasing employee loyalty, managing the company’s reputation and non-financial risks.

Individual steps to implement CSR help reduce costs; moreover, many investors believe that socially responsible companies are safer to invest in.

There are studies according to which companies implementing the concept of social responsibility over the course of 10 years had higher financial indicators than companies that do not follow the principles of CSR, namely: return on invested capital - 9.8% higher, return on assets - by 3.55%, sales income - by 2.79%, profit - by 63.5%.

What about today?

On modern stage There are the following interpretations of corporate social responsibility. "GreenPaper" European Union defines social responsibility as a concept in which companies voluntarily integrate social and environmental policies into business operations and their relationships with all associated organizations and people. According to the US NGO Business for Social Responsibility, CSR involves achieving business success in ways that are based on ethical standards of respect for people, communities, and the environment.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annon, in his report on the occasion of the launch of the Global Compact to Support CSR in the World, said: being socially responsible means not only meeting society’s expectations, but also investing in human resources, environmental protection and relationships with stakeholders. The essence Global Compact The UN is a voluntary commitment to adhere to ten principles, based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Declaration of Fundamental Rights and Principles at Work International organization Labor, Declaration on Environment and Development.

Human rights

Principle 1: Businesses must ensure and respect the protection of internationally recognized human rights.

Principle 2: Businesses must ensure that their own activities do not contribute to human rights violations.

Operating Standards

Principle 3: Businesses must support freedom of assembly and meaningful recognition of the right to collective bargaining.

Principle 4: Businesses should contribute to the elimination of compulsory or forced labor.

Principle 5: Businesses should contribute to the elimination of child labor.

Principle 6: Businesses should contribute to the elimination of discrimination in labor and employment.

Environment

Principle 7: Businesses should take a precautionary approach to environmental issues.

Principle 8: Businesses should initiate the promotion of environmental responsibility.

Principle 9: Businesses should encourage the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies.

Anti-corruption

Principle 10: Businesses must resist all forms of corruption, including extortion and bribery.

Who are they – socially responsible businessmen?

There can be several approaches to implementing social responsibility; one of the world's recognized authorities in the field of modern marketing, Philip Kotler, identifies six types of corporate social initiatives: social marketing, promotion of socially significant issues, charity marketing, corporate philanthropy, corporate volunteering and socially responsible approaches to doing business.

Today, social responsibility of business is widely implemented in almost all major corporations in the world.

While three years ago, out of 1,192 top managers surveyed by the Economist Intelligence Unit, just over 30% named corporate responsibility as their priority, now this figure is close to 60%. And its further growth is expected in the next three years. As a result, the share of those managers for whom social responsibility is not a priority will be reduced to just a few percent.

Company Walmart created The Walmart Foundation, which focuses on five areas: eliminating hunger and healthy eating, sustainable development, women's economic empowerment, leadership and support for veterans and military families. In 2010, the company launched the “Fighting Hunger Together” project, aimed at combating hunger in the world. The Walmart Foundation has committed $100 million to support women's economic empowerment. The project provides women with additional training, access to markets and opportunities career growth. The Walmart Foundation also supports projects such as training low-skilled workers, assisting them in finding employment, and also helping young professionals get their first job.

Corporation Apple focuses on environmental projects. Apple pays great attention to the design of its products, making its products smaller and thinner, which significantly reduces the amount of materials used and reduces its carbon footprint. The corporation tries to eliminate the use of mercury, arsenic, and brominated flame retardants in production. An important mission of the company is the recycling of old devices; the recycling program has been implemented in 95% of countries in the world and allows for the recycling of more than 70% of Apple products.

Company Procter&Gamble It uses palm oil to produce its products. The environmental organization Greenpeace has accused Procter & Gamble and other cosmetics companies of causing enormous damage to the environment from palm oil. To meet demand for palm oil, Indonesian farmers are developing new areas for palm plantations, burning forests and draining swamps. At this stage, Procter & Gamble has adopted a program to reduce the use of palm oil in their creams, hair care products, etc.

The largest transnational corporation in the field of electronics Sony carries out various charitable programs to help children from countries South America. Thanks to the “DreamGoal” and “Street football stadium” projects, training centers and stadiums that help more than 14,000 children learn communication and leadership skills through football. The Siyakhona Media Skills charity project is aimed at helping youth from 11 countries with low level social development.

Concern BMW Group launched the Junior Campus program, in which specialists teach children the basics of road safety. Today there are four JuniorCampus centers around the world - in Munich, Berlin, South Korea and in Moscow.

Eurasian tigers of social responsibility

Despite the not so long traditions of capitalism in our region, Eurasian companies are currently not much inferior to Western corporations in the field of social responsibility. State standard Republic of Kazakhstan “Social responsibility. Requirements" (Social account ability international (Mod)), abbreviated CT RK 1352-2005 (SA 8000:2001, Mod) was developed to promote corporate values ​​in matters of social responsibility of the employer, promotes the dissemination of globally acceptable requirements for the social responsibility of the organization.

Back in the 2006 Address, the President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, first touched upon the topic of social responsibility of domestic companies, emphasizing its importance both for the business itself and workers, and for the interests of the country. “We have to bring our standards into line with the special UN program for the implementation international standards management of social responsibility of business. It is necessary to develop and implement generally accepted rules for social reporting of business and increasing its social responsibility in solving national problems, accompanied by the creation of advantages for socially responsible businessmen. They must provide for the solution of environmental issues, socially significant national and regional problems, training of professional personnel, protection of workers’ health, economic prosperity and well-being of citizens.”

Kazakhstan, along with other countries of the Eurasian Union, is taking steps towards increasing the social responsibility of business.

This can be confirmed by the competition on social responsibility of business, “Paryz”, established by Decree of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated January 23, 2008 No. 523. This competition is aimed at forming and increasing by private businesses their corporate social responsibility to society to further improve the well-being of the population. The practice of concluding memoranda and agreements on social responsibility of business has developed in the country; more than three thousand memorandums worth 54.8 billion tenge have been concluded. Of these, in Eastern Kazakhstan - 592 memorandums worth 16 billion tenge, in Pavlodar region - 60 memorandums worth more than 3 billion tenge.

Investments from entrepreneurs began to influence the social development of regions: new schools, healthcare institutions, rehabilitation centers, cultural, sports and social protection, support for low-income citizens is provided.

The institute of social partnership is actively operating in the republic. Every year, a national tripartite General Agreement is concluded, which includes the most pressing issues of social and labor relations: creating new jobs, reducing unemployment, improving the wage system, labor protection and safety. There are about two hundred regional and 19 sectoral agreements in force. Currently, more than 31 thousand collective agreements have been concluded.

Russia is not lagging behind

Russian companies, in line with global trends, also demonstrate the principles of corporate social responsibility. According to the Donors Forum, in recent years the volume of contributions from Russian companies to charitable projects has increased by 84%, and the total budget charitable foundations in Russia increased by 39% (from 6.77 billion to 9.38 billion rubles).

The number of large Russian companies publishing non-financial reporting is growing: according to the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, in 2017 there were already 842 of them.

CSR leaders in Russian Federation are Sberbank, Gazprom, Rosneft, Rosatom, ALROSA, VTB, KAMAZ, Lukoil, Rostelecom, AFK Sistema, MTS, Uralkali. The Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs annually holds the “Leaders” competition Russian business: dynamics and responsibility”, in addition to large corporations, in recent years the number of winners has been growing among medium-sized companies such as PJSC PhosAgro, LLC Ural Locomotives, CJSC Voronezh Tire Plant.

Corporation Gazprom Neft As part of its social responsibility, it implements the “Home Towns” program. It covers 35 regions of Russia, 560 projects have already been implemented and 339 charitable and volunteer events have been carried out; over the five years of the program, the corporation has invested 19 billion rubles in the social sphere.

Corporation Lukoil Since 2014, it has been implementing the “More than a purchase!” project. The goal of the project is to develop the entrepreneurial initiative of residents Russian regions, expanding opportunities for socially disadvantaged sections of society to get a job and improve their lives. As part of the project, social entrepreneurs can sell their products on preferential terms through the stores of the Lukoil gas station network, thus they have the opportunity to achieve financial sustainability.

Group RusHydro devotes Special attention protection of the biological fund in the area of ​​industrial activity. As part of the construction of the Nizhe-Bureyskaya hydroelectric power station in the Amur region, the “Bureya Compromise” project was launched; the project is intended to demonstrate best conservation practices biological diversity in the implementation of industrial projects, in addition, it serves as a striking example of effective interaction between government, business and society in matters of nature conservation. In 2016, with the support of the RusHydro company, a specialized enclosure with an area of ​​5 hectares was built on the territory of the Turmonsky reserve to preserve individuals of the Caucasian bison.

Company Severstal implements the “Museums of the Russian North” program in 12 regions of Russia. The goal of the program is to identify and support best projects aimed at enhancing the activities of regional museums, promoting the development of connections between museums and other cultural and educational institutions, creation and development of new directions and forms of museum work.

Belarusian socially responsible business

Based on the results of an analysis of data from a sociological study of large Belarusian businesses conducted by the Idea Foundation, it can be noted that of all the companies that took part in the survey, more than half (51%) participate in some type of corporate social responsibility. The implementation of CSR projects was most often recorded in the following areas: assistance to children and child care institutions (73.8%), support for the development of sports (42.6%), support for educational institutions and institutions (36.1%). The main indicators of the effectiveness of completed projects in the field of CSR by respondents implementing projects in the field of CSR were: the number of beneficiaries covered (63.9%); number of employees involved (52.5%); PR effect (publications, mentions in the media) (39.3%).

According to companies that have experience in implementing such projects, the following positions were highly effective: 1) increasing the company’s image, loyalty of consumers and business partners, 2) strengthening the corporate and morale of employees and company management; 3) standing out from competing companies and 4) benefiting the company (increased profits, influx of qualified personnel). At the same time, 84% of the respondents implementing CSR projects indicated that the assessment of the effectiveness of completed CSR projects is high or average. The respondents identified the following as the main reasons for companies’ non-participation in CSR projects: lack of financial and human resources (67.2% of the number of companies not implementing CSR), low awareness of CSR projects (60.3%), as well as lack of knowledge and practical experience in the field of CSR (39.7%).

An analysis of the results of the Annual Study on the topic “Dynamics of CSR Development in the Republic of Belarus” showed a fairly high involvement of business, NGOs and the state in socially significant projects.

The most significant projects in the field of social responsibility in Belarus include “Jazz Saturdays with BelVEB Bank”, “Classics at the Town Hall” and “Reading Belarusian Culture” with the support of Velcom, street exhibitions “The Artist and the City” with the support of VTB Bank. Belarusian companies contribute huge contribution in support of cultural, educational, social projects in the Republic of Belarus.

Business is increasingly contributing to sustainable development in the world, the system of social responsibility of business is becoming more complex and covers more and more industries. In just over a century, CSR has gone from an idea to an integral part of the development strategy of large corporations.

Pavel Samusev, Chairman of the Board of the International Socio-Economic Foundation “Idea” (Minsk)

Business is a certain positive and voluntary reaction of the company to social problems. There are two opinions about the level of participation at which an organization is considered to follow this principle. First: the social responsibility of business lies in the fact that the company conducts its activities aimed at increasing profits without violating the law. Second: the organization, in addition to fulfilling the requirements of the economic plan, must make a certain voluntary contribution to solving the problems of society and take into account how it affects employees, consumers, and the environment. What is certain is that in recent years the second point of view has become increasingly dominant among companies and experts.

If you rely on it, you should understand that a socially responsible business must form a certain behavior aimed at solving positive problems for society in all areas of the company’s activities. All this should be reflected in the mission, goals, values, as well as in local documents regulating the activities of the organization. Moreover, social responsibility is not only a certain behavior of the company's top management, but principles that are observed at all levels of the organization. In practice, there are several most common manifestations of these principles.

The first is to formulate a so-called package of certain benefits for the company’s employees (it includes various types assistance in difficult situations, additional pension provision, various recreational activities, free food, summer vacation for employees' children). Basically, all this can be found in large companies.

The second manifestation of business at the location of the organization is the presence (since Soviet times) of various infrastructure that is not related to production activities: dispensaries, kindergartens, dormitories, utility networks, sports complexes. At the same time, the maintenance of fixed assets requires the company to maintain a balance of interests between economic efficiency and solving social problems. True, when a company finds itself in a difficult financial situation, non-core real estate is often the first place where management seeks reserves to reduce costs.

Also, the social responsibility of a business can manifest itself in which it is carried out in relation to certain categories of citizens (veterans, newborns, disabled people, students, etc.), objects of cultural and historical value. In addition, it may consist of financing any events (sports, cultural, holidays).

By solving such problems, the company works to create positive image and receives certain intangible dividends. In particular, social responsibility of business strengthens trust on the part of partners and authorities, creates a “well-being zone” around the organization, and attracts qualified and trained personnel.

In Russia, the inclusion of social responsibility of business among the priority problems is due primarily to the lack of resources in regional budgets for the implementation of a full-fledged social policy and the lack of understanding of the important role of large corporations in the development of individual regions.

The criteria for socially responsible behavior and the mechanisms for stimulating it in modern Russia are as follows.

Attention is currently focused on the question of whether the social responsibility of a business can be limited only to paying taxes and paying decent wages to staff, or whether a business must take on additional social responsibilities, primarily in the development and implementation of various charitable programs.

However, the concept of “socially responsible business” cannot be reduced to classical charity and honest compliance by entrepreneurs with the established rules of the game. It involves the formation of fundamentally new features in the motivation and behavior of business structures.

The criterion for socially responsible behavior of a business is the presence of non-market elements in the reproductive behavior of the company associated with the formation of partnerships. This criterion allows us to distinguish between modern interpretations of social responsibility of business and traditional charity. Charity is dictated by ethical considerations; it does not affect the strategic goals of the company and does not shape its behavior as a subject of the reproduction process.

Social responsibility of business involves changes in the behavior of the company in the economic sphere itself, i.e. when building relationships with all parties involved in its activities - employees, consumers and suppliers, local authorities, the state. When making decisions about what to produce, how to produce and for whom to produce, a socially responsible entrepreneur is guided not only by the criterion of market feasibility and profitability, but also by the interests of other participants in society. If in the classical market scheme the state compensates for market “failures,” then, according to the new concept, a socially responsible entrepreneur (in a more mature model, a socially responsible business community) strives to at least partially compensate for these “failures” on his own.

Thus, business is gradually moving from a one-dimensional scale of values, determined solely by the criterion of market rationality, to a multidimensional scale that takes into account the economic, social and ethical interests of its activities. This process occurs in line with the general trend of socialization of economic development in the world.

However, in the short term, investments in the social sphere mean additional costs and, accordingly, a slight decrease in the competitiveness of the company. That is why socially responsible behavior can be afforded primarily by the most powerful corporations, which have a large margin of sustainability and serious competitive advantages. For the spread of socially responsible behavior in the business environment, an important condition is necessary - such behavior must be stimulated by the state and civil society.

Stimulation from the state, as a rule, takes the form of tax benefits and, which could not be more important in modern Russian conditions, matching financing of socially significant projects, private and public partnerships.

Stimulation by civil society is carried out through normative coercion as a result of the preferences of part of the population:

purchasing goods from socially responsible manufacturers (according to surveys, in developed countries, 80-90% of consumers choose companies that are involved in socially significant projects);

investing money in shares of socially responsible companies;

linking your work career with a socially responsible employer.

Socially responsible business entities receive significant economic advantages due to increased competitiveness of the trademark and increased investment attractiveness of the company, expanded opportunities to attract qualified personnel, and increased competitiveness in the labor market.

Individual entrepreneurs and corporations receive the following benefits: reduced risk of loss of reputation; strengthening loyalty and constructive cooperation with staff, investors, consumers, subcontractors, government departments, local communities and public organizations. At the same time, companies that deviate from their declared ethical standards face serious problems.

There are several levels of social responsibility of business structures.

The basic level reflects the “owners' company” model that has become widespread in Anglo-Saxon countries. It should be considered as a prerequisite, a starting condition for socially responsible behavior - conscientious fulfillment of one’s direct obligations to society and the state:

regularly pay wages, the amount of which should ensure normal reproduction of the labor force;

comply with labor laws;

pay all due taxes promptly and in full;

ensure compliance with established product quality standards.

The second level - the development of partnership intra-company relations - involves direct consideration of the interests of employees on the basis of negotiations. In addition to meeting the basic obligations listed above, this level guarantees that employees are provided with a certain set of benefits and social services:

investments in human capital: in professional training, retraining and advanced training of personnel, in improving the organization and content of work, in labor protection and health of workers;

social investments: improving pensions and housing, programs aimed not at the employee himself, but at his family members.

The third level is the external environment in relation to the individual corporation, and not to the business community as a whole. It covers programs and activities whose scope extends beyond the boundaries of the enterprise or corporation. In this case, the object of social investment is the population of the territories or its individual categories where the corporation’s activities take place. This includes all charitable programs and, in part, programs aimed at creating favorable conditions for the company’s activities, giving a “collateral effect”, for example: investments in the region’s transport infrastructure, landscaping, channeling funds into culture, education.

For such an expansion of the scope of social responsibility of business in Russia, it is necessary to form partnerships with the state at all levels - from municipal self-government to the federal government, as well as within the business community. Social responsibility in the broadest sense involves the participation of business in the development and implementation of state socio-economic policy aimed at the sustainable development of the country.

In Russia, there is a change in the rules of interaction between government and business, which is an objective process caused by the transformation of economic relations. Experts believe that the normative model of the institutional organization of the economy consists of the formal norms and rules established in the country, and the mechanisms for their application. The real model is a set of established formal and informal norms and rules.

The modern model of relations between government and business can be placed in three relatively separate zones of their interaction - “white”, “black” and “gray”:

the “white” zone includes formally regulated practices: regulation of tax relations, administrative and economic regulation of business (registration, licensing, control and enforcement of established standards, etc.), competitions for the distribution of government orders, etc.;

“black” zone - informal, usually criminal practices, corruption;

The “gray” zone covers informal extortions from businesses that are not directly related to corruption, and informal bargaining between the business itself and the authorities regarding the conditions of its functioning. Relations in the “gray” zone are based on the government performing its public functions and on the mutual interest of the parties in survival in the region. A tool for achieving the interests of an entrepreneur becomes a voluntary or voluntary-forced contribution to additional financing of the territories of his residence. At the same time, it is the “gray” zone that reflects the specific features of the modern Russian economy, determined by the current system of interbudgetary relations and the need to solve local problems. The relationship between government and business within the “gray” zone is characterized by:

the interweaving of formal and informal norms and rules with the determining role of the latter;

the illegal, but, as a rule, not directly violating the law, nature of informal relations, when the imposition of additional obligations on a business is not directly related to the corruption of officials;

use of illegal relations with business by government officials in the implementation of their public functions.

The deformalization of rules in the sphere of interaction between government and business actually means the division of a number of their relations into “black” and “gray” zones. The formation of the latter is considered in the context of institutional evolution towards the deformalization of rules, during which formal rules are largely replaced by informal ones and are integrated into informal relations. The “gray” zone is characterized by the fact that within its boundaries the authorities are trying to implement their functions in circumvention of the current legislation.

Therefore, when solving the problem of socially responsible behavior of business structures and the prospects for its development, it is necessary to take into account the influence of this aspect on the partnership between business and government.

In Russia at the moment, first of all, it is necessary to solve problems of the basic level of social responsibility, a significant part of which relates to the area of ​​remuneration. The level of wages of key production workers, insufficient for the normal reproduction of the labor force, is the most acute problem in the social and labor sphere at most Russian enterprises. Among the associated problems are the unreasonably high differentiation of wages, the irregularity and unpredictability of the indexation process, and the opacity of the remuneration system.

Other tasks at the basic level of social responsibility that require urgent solutions include:

tax evasion, including social taxes (through shadow payments), which undermines the social protection of workers;

deviations from labor legislation, including practices related to the procedure for attracting overtime work and their payment, the regime for granting vacations;

low guarantees of job security.

The tasks of the next level of socially responsible behavior are related to the fact that strict relations between employers and employees prevail over partnership ones. There is no quality control of in-house social programs on the part of their consumers (employees). There are subjective factors in the distribution of non-financial benefits and benefits, and there is inequality in the coverage of various categories of personnel by social programs. Demands to expand the scope of socially responsible behavior beyond the basic level and, even more so, to take it beyond the boundaries of the corporation in the current situation cause protest sentiments on the part of workers and entrepreneurs. The former believe that the degree of their social security today is not high enough to begin implementing social programs that are not directly aimed at enterprise personnel. The latter, when choosing areas of social investment, prefer those that, having a pronounced demonstration effect, can cause a public outcry.

Thus, in Russian conditions, the formation of social responsibility of business is a long process that occurs contradictorily even in the most developed and prosperous regions of the country.

Over the years of transformation of the domestic economy, the transition from a phase of crisis to a phase of progressive development, some positive experience of social partnership between business, government and society has been accumulated.

Analysis of the experience accumulated in Russia in the field of social partnership of business structures with the authorities and their response

Table 9.1

Socio-economic models of partnership between business and government Socio-economic models Companies using them Satisfying the requests of local authorities “SUEK”, “EuroChem”, “LUKOIL”, “Ilim Pulp”, etc. Cooperation agreements with local authorities “Sibneft”, “ SUEK", "EuroChem", "LUKOIL", "TNK-BP", "VSMPO-AVISMA", "Shchekinoazot", "Tulachermet" Social packages for employees "Sibneft", "SUEK", "EuroChem", "LUKOIL", RENOVA, TNK-BP, etc. Solving the housing problem VSMPO-AVISMA, Severstal, MMK, Neusiedler, Shchekinoazot, Azot, etc. Support for motherhood and childhood VSMPO- AVISMA", "Severstal", "MMK" Sports and fitness programs for personnel of "TNK-BP", "EuroChem", VSMPO-AVISMA", "Severstal", "MMK", "Tulamashzavod" Support for veterans "LUKOIL", "Sibneft" ", "GAZ", "VSMPO-AVISMA", "Shatura", "Severstal" Training, retention and rejuvenation of personnel "LUKOIL", "GAZ", "VSMPO-AVISMA", "Shatura", "Neusiedler" Development of the leisure and fight against crime on the territory of TNK-BP, EuroChem, VSMPO-AVISMA, Severstal, Shatura Restructuring of corporate social infrastructure Sibneft, GAZ, Ilim Pulp, SUAL, SUEK ", "TNK-BP", "EuroChem", "Irkut" Release of personnel "Sibneft", "GAZ", "Ilim Pulp", "SUAL", "SUEK", "TNK-BP", "EuroChem", "MMK" ", "VSMPO-AVISMA" Commercialization of social infrastructure "MMK", "ChAZ" Increasing the social efficiency of the budget process of the territory "SUEK", "SUAL", "OMK", "LUKOIL", "Shatura" Social partnership "LUKOIL", "GAZ" ", "VSMPO-AVISMA", etc. Supply of products at preferential prices to TNK-BP, EuroChem, SUEK Regulation of social activities in the companies TNK-BP, SUEK, LUKOIL, RENOVA Creation of funds to finance social programs of TNK-BP, SUAL, LUKOIL Determination of social and economic priorities for financing TNK-BP, SUEK, LUKOIL, EuroChem, Ilim Pulp, RENOVA » Formation of the social budget of the territory and the area of ​​responsibility of the business “TNK-BP”, “SUEK”, “LUKOIL”, “EuroChem”, “Ilim Pulp”, “RENOVA”, “Shchekino-Azot” and others. responsibility to society allows us to conclude that to develop the social orientation of business, different models are used, which are developed depending on many factors. Practice shows that the same company creates and uses several models of social orientation of its activities (see Table 9.1). This situation allows the business to put forward the following proposals: 1.

The initiative for business participation in planning territorial budgets should come from local government administrations. Thus, the company’s social responsibility will be “converted” into an increase in the territories’ budgetary resources, and the issue of charity will be removed. 2.

Funds spent on charitable assistance and development of the territories where the company operates should not be subject to taxes, since these funds come from net profit, from which taxes have already been paid to the state, including local budgets. 3.

The agreement between business and government contains an element of pressure, so interaction with the government should be done through political parties or public organizations. A civilized way of interaction between business and government in the social field is the conclusion of agreements with the participation of parties and organizations and the creation of funds aimed at developing territories. 4.

Social development funds on the territory of municipalities and constituent entities of the Russian Federation must be created with the participation of located, rather than registered enterprises and branches, regardless of the type of ownership, size of the enterprise, its organizational and legal form. 5.

When planning and organizing social partnerships, business structures and regional and municipal authorities use comprehensive and systematic approaches.

Questions for self-control 1.

Expand the concept of “social responsibility of business”. 2.

What are the criteria for socially responsible business behavior and mechanisms

stimulating it? 3.

Determine the levels of social responsibility of a business. 4. What do the “white”, “black” and “gray” areas of social responsibility of a business mean? 5.

On what basis are socio-economic partnerships between business and government classified? 6.

Reveal the essence of partnership models between business and government. 7.

Provide criteria for assessing the effectiveness of partnerships between business and government.