A comparative case study with Forrest Johnson for International Strategic Communication.

1. CSR Approaches in Africa:
The West vs. China
A Case Study by Forrest Johnson and Tori Ford

2. Introduction to Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR)

3. Definitions of CSR
● “While pursuing economic profits, corporations are held responsible by shareholders, employees,
consumers, suppliers, communities, and other stakeholders. Moreover, corporations have responsibilities
to protect the environment.” Chinese Government
● “Corporate Responsibility can be defined as how companies address the social, environmental and
economic impacts of their operations and so help to meet our sustainable development goals. Specifically,
we see CR as the voluntary actions that business can take, beyond compliance with minimum legal
requirements, to address both its own competitive interests and the interests of wider society.”
UK Government
● “The commitment of business to contribute to sustainable economic development, working with
employees, their families, the local community, and society at large to improve their quality of life, in ways
that are both good for business and good for development.” The World Bank

4. (Visser, 2008, p. 481)

5. Challenges to CSR in Africa
● Culture
○ Different priorities
● History
○ Colonialism and imperialism
● Lack of research and diverse representation (Visser, 2008, p. 478-479)
● Legal barriers
● Economic structure and development
● Media and communication structures
● Infrastructure

6. Review of Cases

7. Simandou Project
Main players: Rio Tinto (in United Kingdom/Australia), Chinalco (in China), Guinean Government, Local
Communities
The Situation: After 12 years of research and planning, the construction of a mine, port, and railroad is
set to take place in Guinea. The two companies, Rio Tinto and Chinalco, have partnered with community
organizations to meet sustainable development goals set by the Guinean government; these goals
include objectives such as economic growth, revenue transparency, community development, and
environmental protection.
Challenges: These goals for sustainable development are very high and require a large time commitment.

8. EITI in Liberia and Nigeria
Main players: Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI), Shell (Corporations), Liberian
Government, Nigerian Government
The Situation: Companies would extract natural resources (Oil, Minerals, Trees etc.) without
transparency on how much they paid to to the government. EITI focused on increasing transparency on
revenues. Specifically Shell in Nigeria published what it paid the government. Then legislation was passed
that required it to be mandatory for oil companies to disclose this information.
Challenges: “For this to be effective there is also a need to build the capacity and empowerment of civil
society to effectively use the disclosures to hold government bodies to account for spending”.

9. Resolution and Lessons Learned

10. Excellence Model: Success?
The Simandou project:
● Two-Way Symmetric Model
● The act of working with community
organizations and taking their feedback to
ensure that both groups needs were heard.
● Successful - because the corporations worked
with the local communities and prioritized the
wellbeing of the communities after their
eventual departure.
EITI in Liberia and Nigeria:
● Informative Model
● EITI focused on governmental and resource
extraction corporations with transparency to
the local populations.
● Moderately successful because before the
population will work with these folks
transparency and trust must be established
first.

11. Visser, 2008:
● First priority: improved ethical
considerations
● Then: incorporating good
governance
Boynton, 2013:
● Social media is a communication
tool; use it to listen
Responsible CSR in
Developing
Countries
“Making business logic out of a deeper
sense of corporate responsibility requires
courageous leadership—in particular, civil
leadership—insightful learning, and a
grounded process for organizational
innovation” (Zadek, 2004)

12. Responsible CSR in
Developing
Countries
“Making business logic out of a deeper
sense of corporate responsibility requires
courageous leadership—in particular, civil
leadership—insightful learning, and a
grounded process for organizational
innovation” (Zadek, 2004)
Forstater et. al., 2010, p. 23:
1. Engage and collaborate
2. Manage CSR like you mean
business
3. Be transparent and communicate
policies, contributions, and
successes
4. Coordinate with national and local
development goals

13. Discussion Questions

14. 1. Who do you think has more challenges with
international CSR, China or the West? Why?
2. How could the U.S. overcome those challenges?
3. How could China overcome those challenges?
4. Should the U.S. adopt a CSR approach closer to
China’s?
5. If so, how could we achieve this?
6. What methods of communication do you think are
best suited for good CSR in developing countries?

15. Sources

16. ● Boynton, Jen. “How the Voice of the People is Driving Corporate Social Responsibility,” Harvard
Business Review. Available at: https//www.hbr.org/2013/07/how-the-voice-of-the-people-is.
● Zadek, S. “The Path to Corporate Responsibility.” Harvard Business Review 82, 12 (Dec 2004), pp.
125-132. Available online at: https://www.hbr.org/2004/12/the-path-to-corporate-responsibility.
● Visser, W. (2008) “Corporate Social Responsibility in Developing Countries,” In A. Crane, A.
McWilliams, D. Matten, J. Moon & D. Siegel (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Corporate Social
Responsibility, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Available: In e-reserves.
● Corporate Responsibility in African Development: Insights from an Emerging Dialogue. Available
online: https://hiyamaya.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/harvard_corporate-responsibility-in-
african-development_october-2010.pdf.