CSR and the need to connect: a theoretical reflection with

implications for practice

Noelle Aarts University of Amsterdam Wageningen University

CSR communication

Stakeholders want organizations to have a sound CSR programme

What then is a sound CSR programme?

a CSR programme that is agreed upon by different stakeholders, including the organization itself?

A CSR programme should be developed in interaction with relevant stakeholders

Most organisations are very experienced in:

Means-end planning

Sending information

Formal communication

Self-referentiality refers to the characteristic of people and organizations to:

see the environment from a completely own idea about what is important and what not

without being aware of doing so

Framing

Framing

Autopoiesis (Maturana en Varela, 1990):

All living systems are organizationally closed, autonomous systems of interaction that make reference only to themselves

Autopoiesis refers to the capacity for self-production through a closed system of relations

The aim of autopoietic systems is ultimately to (re)produce themselves; the organization itself, its culture and identity is their most important product

Autopoietic systems are closed loops: self-referential systems that strive to shape themselves in their own image

Autopoiesis (Luhmann, 1991)

The environment is part of the system’s organization and shaped according the organization’s identity (resemiotization, Teubner, 2009; Ford, 1999)

Society consists of closed systems that disturbe each other in their efforts to survive.

The inclination to autopoiesis makes:

people feel comfortable with what they already know

people feel comfortable with people who have the same opinion

people tend to mainly communicate with people of their own ‘speech’ community

A ‘speech’ community (also referred to as an interpretive community) is a group of like-minded individuals who develop similar assumptions about how things should be understood (Fish, 1980; Pepper, 1995).

As a consequence:

A lack of critical reflection on existing opinions

A lack of adaptation to the wider environment

A lack of willingness to really change

A strong inclination to pr and windowdressing

How to deal with the inclination to autopoiesis? Recognizing and valuing differences

Organizing encounters between different systems

Organizing critical reflection on existing opinions (advocate of the devil)

Organizing a safe environment for discussion and experimentation

Listening to people’s needs as expressed in conversations

Paying attention to conversations

Organizational change occurs through conversation (Ford & Ford, 1995)

Organizational change can be recognized in shifting conversations

The activity of conversation itself is the key process through which forms of organizing are dynamically sustained and changed (Shaw, 2003)

Organizations are networks of conversations rather than have networks of conversations (Ford, 1999)

What people most need is to rediscover the art of talking together (Isaacs, 1999)

Smart listening (Scharmer – Theory U)

Downloading (repeating patterns of the past)

Object focused listening (looking for new information)

Empathic listening (taking the perspective of the other without judgment)

Generative listening (creating change, including changing oneself)

To conclude:

For a sound CSR programme (and communication) organizations need to continuously adapt to their environment of which they are inherently dependent

Organizations thus need to continuously change

Organizational change does not occur without people’s ability and willingness to speak and listen differently

No organizational change without conversational shift

Such shift is constructed in interactions between different ‘speech’ communities

For a sound CSR programme we should re(value) conversations and stories

Thank you for your attention!