The purpose of business has been a consistent focus area in the field of corporate responsibility (CR). This article examines public disclosures on CR made by South African signatories to the United Nations Global Compact, with reference to recent contributions on the purpose of business. Over time, the focus of CR has shifted from an internal corporate to a broader systemic perspective, reflecting the view that the responsibility of corporations cannot be addressed in isolation. In terms of purpose, Porter and Kramer present Creating Shared Value (CSV) as a way to reinvent capitalism. Donaldson and Walsh argue that what counts as value for a single firm is not the same as value for business in general, and propose a world where collective value is optimized. Corporations have to confront global challenges with commitment and innovation. If they can do so successfully it will be in their own interest and also in the interest of the planet. It is frequently argued that – in addition – it will be the right thing to do from a moral perspective. The use of “in addition” is significant: it illustrates one of the key conceptual challenges to understanding the (perceived) tension between the business case and the moral case for corporate responsibility. “In addition” implies that the business case and the moral case are separate, but that, if they are aligned, there would be no tension. It is argued that the traditional resolution of this tension – enlightened self-interest –is both superficial and flawed. It is proposed that more corporate support for CR based on a normative foundation should be encouraged, and that the concept of Optimized Collective Value is an appropriate way to achieve this.

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交流实现联合国全球契约目标的进展–南非经验分析

业务的目的一直是企业责任（CR）领域的重点关注领域。本文考察了南非签署国在《联合国全球契约》中关于企业责任的公开信息，并参考了最近在商业目的上所做的贡献。随着时间的流逝，企业责任的焦点已从内部公司转移到更广泛的系统性角度，反映了企业的责任不能孤立地解决的观点。就目的而言，Porter和Kramer提出了“创造共享价值（CSV）”作为重塑资本主义的一种方式。唐纳森（Donaldson）和沃尔什（Walsh）认为，单个公司的价值与一般的商业价值并不相同，并提出了一个集体价值得以优化的世界。公司必须通过承诺和创新来面对全球挑战。如果他们能够成功地做到这一点，将符合他们自己的利益，也符合地球的利益。人们经常争辩说，从道德的角度出发，这是正确的选择。“附加”的使用意义重大：它说明了理解业务案例和企业责任的道德案例之间（感知到的）张力的主要概念挑战之一。“另外”意味着业务案例和道德案例是分开的，但是，如果它们是一致的，就不会有任何紧张关系。有人认为，这种紧张关系的传统解决方案-开明的个人利益-既肤浅又有缺陷。建议应鼓励在规范基础上为公司提供更多的企业社会责任支持，