UNAIR NEWS – Department of Communications, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIP) Universitas Airlangga (UNAIR) held a webinar which was part of its 2020 webinar series on Wednesday, September 23, 2020. The webinar was about Corporation, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Local Community Activism.
The webinar was held online via zoom for approximately two hours. The speakers were two academics, Ratih Puspa, S.Sos., MA., Ph.D, lecturer of UNAIR and Dr. Dorien Kartikawangi, M.Si, lecturer of Unika Atma Jaya Jakarta.
As the first speaker, Ratih focused on discussing the dynamics or relationships that occur between the corporation (company) and stakeholders, especially in the CSR program. She said that corporation cannot only focus on profits because currently, corporation is getting more attention regarding their contribution to the surrounding community.
“Corporations are getting more attention from various parties related to how they contribute to empowerment and community development, not only focusing on profit,” he said.
Furthermore, Ratih revealed that the existence of a corporation always has an impact on society, government and other stakeholders. Therefore, it is important for the corporation to understand the values, behavior and background of the various stakeholder elements. It is done so that the corporation and stakeholders can work together well.
Furthermore, Dr. Dorien as the second speaker said that CSR programs cannot be carried out solely based on the principle of helping, but it must be based on research regarding the needs of the target community.
“CSR must begin with research on stakeholder needs. If it is not based on research, it could be carried out not in accordance with the needs of the community but based on the wishes of the company, ” she said.
In the end, Dr. Dorien also said that companies need to educate local governments in order to communicate the objectives of a CSR program to local communities. Moreover, companies need to understand the culture in the target areas. The goal is that the programs are made according to their conditions so there will be no conflicts when the CSR program is implemented. (*)
Author: Dita Aulia Rahma
Editor: Khefti Al Mawalia
