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K Prahalad, professor of corporate strategy at the University of Michigan and author of books on innovative business models that can help end world poverty, talks about corporate social responsibility in an interview with
Sreelatha Menon.
More companies are trying to do corporate social responsibility by changing their business strategy. But wouldn't businesses always be driven by the desire to profit? And wouldn't this often lead to communities getting shortchanged?
To look at CSR as different from business gives it the flavour of philanthropy and I think CSR is a good way to get started in being socially responsible . But being socially responsible and being profit-oriented are not in conflict.
Why?If you don't make a surplus, how will you have the money to do anything for others? It is important to be profitable and successful to be able to do good. My hope has been to do business in an inclusive way. The idea is to bring the same rigour that markets demand into inclusive growth. CSR is, but, a transitional step.
What about experiments like e-choupals? Do you think these are perfect and are helping farmers? We find farmers who are often angry with some of these interventions.
The idea is to look at the rural community as micro consumers and micro producers. e-choupal started by targeting producers. Now it is tapping consumers through e-Sagar. They can now be looked at as micro investors and micro innovators.
If you have two million farmers each saving $100 a
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