“The corporates, together with celebrities, coax people to buy their products by publicizing that they will allocate certain percentage of sales for charity. The public responds positively to such campaigns. The reason why these tactics are successful is that our government has failed to invest enough resources and efforts in the social sector. Now if the corporate and media stars are making efforts to support the social sector, it is not considered a bad practice as we believe in the dictum, something is better than nothing. The children who did not have any hope to ever in their lives be educated are getting some opportunities through these initiatives. If you look at the fabric of our society, there are two classes. One is a rich class – people with resources and status. The other, which in terms of economics is called, the ‘lower class’, consists of people who do not have enough resources at their disposal to live a contented and respectable life. Unfortunately, they do not enjoy any status in society. Society does not pay heed to their needs of education, health, employment etc. I think if corporates are working for the benefit of the underprivileged, even with an underhand motive to counter the increasing criticism against them, then this is not ethically wrong. Nowadays, people usually do not differentiate between right and wrong. They just see the advertisements and if they find a product useful, they just buy it. If this purchasing contributes to the society’s welfare, the people do not see any problem with the corporates.”
Asif Ashiq Ali – Community Education Officer
“In my opinion (based on some knowledge about how the corporate sector works) they do so primarily for the promotion of their products. However, even in that case I think it is fine. The main objective of a corporate is to make money and for that they have huge marketing and advertising budgets. Due to the environmental and social responsibility standards in many western countries, the corporates are obliged to spend some money in the social sector – specifically known as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) or Corporate Environmental Responsibility (CER). This also gives them a small tax cut. But their main purpose remains profits. I feel that this is not wrong either – at least they are spending some money on something good, whatever be their intentions. There is no denying the fact that by entering the social sector, they are deceiving the masses and creating sympathy for themselves and would continue to do that. But at least they are giving something back to the society. It is my personal choice that I work for a social development organization. My belief is there – but I’m also pragmatic – corporates are there to stay. And we have to live with that. We should work with them rather than alienate them.”
Saima Pervez Baig – IUCN, Pakistan
“The primary purpose of the corporate sector/ multinationals is to attain profits. It is hard to imagine that they would get involved in social work purely with philanthropic motives. They definitely have their own interests attached; they could be either increasing sales or defeating competitors. However, it is possible that their engagement in the social sector bear good fruits. Irrespective of what their intentions are, as long as they are contributing something to the well being of society, it’s acceptable.”
Noman-ul-Haq Siddiqui, Research Associate, IED, AKU
“In my opinion, education and other social initiatives taken by multinationals are part of their marketing and repute building. Most of these initiatives have less to do with human development and more to do with the firm’s own profits. My discussion with students and management of the few best business schools in Karachi suggest that their curriculum is designed with the consent of the CEOs of big multinationals. The purpose of such a curriculum is to make students learn how to make big money. I believe MNCs need to be educated themselves in the domain of human ethical values and ends which can be achieved through proper management of money.”
Alnoor Khimani, Training and Development Consultant
“In today’s world, everything has been commercialized. Multinational organizations are a direct result of the most true theory, survival of the fittest. These organizations are enjoying huge profits, however, community and social development initiatives have also been the part of their global policy – thus investments in social sectors like education, health etc. There may be doubts in people’s minds regarding the motive behind this venture of MNCs into social development. Here, I believe in dictum that the end justifies the means. Nobody can deny the benefits, which are accruing out of this social philanthropy of the MNCs despite the fact that they may have other motives.
I think we should see the positive aspect of the picture which is the benefit of society. If Shell Pakistan has launched its Tameer Project, the aim is to make a positive difference in the lives of people and to help the youth of Pakistan with respect to their career and future. Unilever's project of building schools in rural areas of Pakistan has done a lot of benefit to the society and Kidney Centre gets donations from major multinational companies. All these examples clearly reflect the fact that the society is benefiting from the social welfare projects of these organizations. My strong conviction is that multinational companies should be encouraged for giving opportunities to people for the development of society as a whole.”
Malik Murad – Shell Pakistan
“Personally, I believe that as long as NGOs and other organizations that address issues related to social development require funds and substantial financial basis, it doesn’t matter if donors (MNCs and corporate firms) do it for their own benefit, via promotion of their products, or for simply shouldering the responsibility to make things better. For e.g. Shell establishes various programs supporting environment consciousness. It may very well be to put a lid on what many view as completely drilling the rainforests in South America to nothingness. But Shell is still hugely generous in various moves made to clean things up. A realist attitude, but one I believe that works in this corporate world where soon everything from monuments to wonders of the world may have MNC sponsorship tags on them.”
Youshey Zakiuddin – Student, LUMS
“My experience and interaction with the corporates suggest that the social work undertaken by the MNCs is either for marketing their own products or countering threats. Whenever social work representatives approach a corporate for funding, a positive reply from them is never unconditional. The corporate donations are duly encashed by the companies. They keep conditions like displaying their banners if it is an event they have funded. This information is then used in their marketing campaigns and build a positive image, especially in the eyes of their stakeholders. Generally evaluating the corporations’ activities, it is evident that they only indulge in marketable welfare. They focus on urban areas where their customers reside and not on the neglected rural areas. They just want to push customers to buy more and more and be impressed by their activities. A corporate never intends to undertake any activity (even if it is social welfare), which does not ensure lucrative returns for its business portfolio. Look at the social contribution of companies who urge customers to return their product packages so that they are able to help the poor in building a school or a health centre. What they actually want to convey is that you buy our product worth Rs. 50 or 60, and only then we would pay (say up to Rs. 1) for the welfare, and not otherwise. Thus social activities undertaken by corporations are only for selling their own image and products.”
Karim Kabiruddin – Assistant Vice President, PICIC
“Multinationals have been making a considerable contribution towards social investment in Pakistan. Apart from offering jobs to a number of nationals and contributing significantly towards the economy of our country, their investment in the development of society as a whole is also commendable. With their valuable contribution, various organizations have now had the opportunity to work in the areas where no work could previously be done, considering the lack of financial support available to these areas. Apart from making the financial contributions, some organizations like Shell are also providing valuable technical support as well. We need to recognize these efforts, extending our full support to help make a prosperous Pakistan for us all.”
Imran Ahmad – Shell Pakistan
