Responding to Social Responsibilities and Ethics - A Study of Refractory Industry in Odisha

Businesses work in a wide social environment in which they have a responsibility to a range of stakeholders including the community. The term Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) refers to the responsibility that modern business organisations have to creating a healthy and prosperous society. Ethical practices in refractory marketing help marketers distinguish between right and wrong behaviour. Adherence to ethics is essential in industrial markets as mutual trust among buyers and sellers is the key to long-term success. Marketing has evolved from a production-centric approach to a societal marketing approach that lays greater emphasis on the ethical issues in marketing. With the advent of globalisation, corporations continue to evolve, grow in power, and influence the process of consolidation. Corporations are in positions of power that allow them to do greater damage to others when they act unethically or socially in an irresponsible manner. The rights theory encompasses a variety of ethical philosophies holding that certain human rights are fundamental and must be respected by other humans. The economic theories of the firm cannot be segregated of ethical considerations as they have crucial impact on how the firm concentrates on economic power, formulate the rules of law. Profit maximisation has always been the driving force and an undercurrent behind the development of corporate. But profit is not made in vacuum, it always has an associated cost, some of which is always externalised (Rhee, 2008). Corporate law has an ethical foundation and the debate on values necessarily revolves round the activities of the firm.

This research paper on the basis of secondary sources of data collected from reports, research papers and Internet, focuses on corporate social responsibility (CSR) of TATA Group with reference to Tata Krosaki Refractories Ltd, Bajoria Group with reference to IFGL Refractories Ltd (Odisha), OCL Refractories Ltd, Sarvesh Refractories, and Manishree Refractories (Odisha). The study intends to understand the scope of corporate social responsibility and get an insight in CSR and ethical practices in the light of the case study of the refractory industries in Odisha.