Assessment of management attitudes on corporate social responsibility in Ghana: a case of some selected companies in the Tema metropolis

Abstract

his explorative study examines how managers and executive directors regard the ethical and social responsibility reputations of some selected companies and how this in turn influences their attitudes and behaviors towards corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices. Sixty (60) respondents were surveyed to evaluate how ethical and socially responsible they believed their companies to be, and their attitudes and ethics that shapes these practices. The results of this survey indicates that many managers and executive directors have clear understanding on the reputation and benefit corporate social responsibility brings to their respective companies. This company ethics overrides their personal ethics and intended behavior towards CSR. The findings support the view in other research studies that the most important factor that influences a managers’ attitude towards CSR is the company’s ethical values. That notwithstanding, this outcome deviates from government institutional guidelines for CSR practices in Ghana. The nature of CSR practices amongst the companies have been dominated by environmental dimensions with less emphasis on human resource development, and product safety within the past five years. It is recommended that firms establish measurable objectives and, where appropriate, targets for improved corporate social responsibility, including periodically reviewing the continuing relevance of these objectives. These are so general that it would be hard to show that any firm was not abiding by them