AIESEC in NUS Blog: Distinguished CSR Lecture with Mr. Muthuraman

Distinguished CSR Lecture with Mr. Muthuraman

Saturday, September 15, 2007

Below is the post written by Weizi Lim who is a senior member of AIESEC in NUS!!! Weizi is one of the Sales Executive in NUS now and a very charming person :)...

The Fullerton Hotel with its opulent settings was the venue for the Singapore Compact Distinguished Lecture by Mr. B. Muthuraman, Managing Director of Tata Steel, titled “The Real Purpose of Industrial Organizations”.

Mr. Muthuraman Addressing the Crowd!!

Mr. Muthuraman elaborated in great detail about Tata Steel and its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) projects in India, particularly in the city of Jamshedpur, where the company is based. With wide ranging projects from sports academies to rural outreach programs to HIV/AIDS initiatives, Tata Steel channels 6 to 7 percent of its yearly profits back to the community. In this material world where profits regularly take centre stage, it is indeed refreshing to hear about the benevolence of a multinational company such as Tata.

But many may be wondering why Tata is contributing so much of their money to CSR programs. Why not use this money to expand and establish the company? An interesting point raised by Mr. Muthuraman was the fact that no individual or organization had the right to corner a substantial part of the economy or wealth for themselves. Wealth, as he so eloquently puts it, comes from nature and not individuals. Therefore, every citizen of the world has the right to a piece of this cake. But what happens when the cake is not evenly distributed? We live in a world where there is a widening social and economic gap; where there are families struggling to feed their young while certain individuals dine and wine in luxurious restaurants. How then do we close this gap? The answer, says Mr. Muthuraman, lies in creating equal opportunities for all irrespective of race, gender or background. Governments, NGOs and MNCs should not only be actively involved in the development of a nation’s economy but also in the development of its citizens. In his own words, CSR is not about charity but about the empowerment of citizens everywhere.

Tata Group of Industries are very closely associated with AIESEC and AIESEC in India, in particular. Mr. Muthuraman also asked organizations like AIESEC to create more awareness among the youth!!

The AIESECers in the HOUSE!!!!

A great afternoon of Learning, Fun and Networking!!

All in all, it was a great afternoon of learning, fun and also networking. With so many companies in attendance, it was heartening to see that beneath their cool, corporate exterior lie a social conscience to contribute back to the community. At the end of the day the question we have to genuinely ask ourselves is: What are our responsibilities to the people and the world around us?

P.S. This event was attended by 4 people from AIESEC in NUS: Weizi Lim, Zhou Mingru, Tiang Ker Ying and Shubhangi Faujdar!!

Labels: Corporate Social Responsibility, CSR, Sharing is Caring, Singapore Compact, The Real Purpose of Industrial Organizations