Screaming loud n proud

A Dissection of CSR in Pakistan

An article by Yasir Masood Afaq

At 9pm, it was a loud scream from the next room by none other than Fawaz, my 3
year old son. I rushed towards the room and found him joyfully rehearsing the
scream in Telenors current campaign of Khamoshi Ka Boycott. Who says
inspiration comes with sanitythe powerful campaign inspired the curious soul of a
three year old whose frequent screaming has challenged parents protective instinct
which failed to decipher if it is the genuine one out of any untoward or just a fun
following rehearsal.
This childish mimicry reminded me of a great brainer ends justify means by
Niccol Machiavelli in his masterpiece The Prince. It also refreshed the classical
dialogue of philosophy about cause & effect relationship which finally brought me
to the case in point i.e does CSR literally delivers what it commits? Or should we
talk about its motives and modalities or the outcome CSR acclaims? For whom its
more beneficial in the literal sense of the word; the organization or its extended
stakeholders? And more importantly, how business objectives are aligned with
social or ecological uplift of the society where CSR initiatives operate?
It brings me to raise an eyebrow with a little skepticism towards CSR pursuits of
Pakistan Tobacco Company when I browse their website. Their Youth Smoking
Prevention program, for instance, entails a number of initiatives like Retailer
Education, imparting Life Skills to Youth and Curriculum Improvisation. These are
great ways and means to establish the highly desired responsible citizenship by one
of worlds largest cigarette manufacturing concern. But, the question is, does it
achieve the desired (measureable) outcome of causing change in ABC (attitude,
behavior, cognition) of target audience. Or this entire effort remains a mean to
sustain a well meaning posture. Change on the part of target groups behavior is
the end, never mind whatsoever means are; but if this change resides only in the
means & ways while producing no results, the effort will be left unnoticed and
undermined.
Coming to local business concerns in Pakistan, PSO emerges as a distinct name
with its wide ranging initiatives in the realm of CSR. The only missing count is the
appreciation of these efforts by general public getting fueled by PSO every day. I
cannot see any IEC (informative educational communications) for raising awareness
regarding directly related issues
(like environmental and
ecological concerns) and
generic issues like
education, women
empowerment & health etc.
Hence again, we must hail
the efforts but we should be
mindful of the desired
change, if it occurs at all, in
the state of affairs which
gets fueled by CSR based
initiatives on PSO part.
Moving ahead, I just cannot
forgo same efforts by
pharmaceutical companies
in the country. When they
run awareness campaigns
for breast cancer, diarrhea
or antismoking, it is really
targeted at behavior change
towards health hazards
which go unheeded by the
masses. They grab
maximum opportunity to
draw masses attention
towards the grey areas
through TV & Radio promos,
standees at pharmacy shops
& hospitals or in-door
branding of hospital wards.
They are also rendering their
support in the form of funding various services & infrastructures of charitable
diagnostic and treatment centers. But, eventually, do these noble means lead to
the desired ends. Do we find endorsing attitudes by the people at pharmacy shops
towards these big budgeted pharmaceutical companies with impressive portfolios?
After looking at a standee, educating parents about some new vaccination, when I
asked the pediatrician; Dr. sab, to what extent is it commercial? 70% commercial,
it took him a moment to revert followed by a smile.
I just dont want to fall prey to a typical cynicism as a one-size-fits-all notion
towards intents and actions. But, at the same time, I do believe in simple and
straight accountability for self acclaimed propositions. I just want to be sure that
few or all these CSR driven initiatives are purely based on intent to bring the
positive change in the social environs without getting tainted by commercial
interests. Virtually, commercial interests are not bad deed but they should appear
as such without any humane packaging.
It parks my attention to a new realm of commercial social responsibility which I find
the best definition of Telenors current campaign Khamoshi Ka Boycott. Certainly it
approached excessive use of voice & texting in a different way. It encouraged an
outcry against social injustices. What else can be a more responsible stance by a
service provider which is one of the top five spenders in advertising based
outreach? It aims at causing crack in the nutshell of social inertia and silenced
conscience of the society. It reveals all bleak facets of society and triggers a scream
echoing across the ear drums of those who matter. Such radicalism is inevitably
needed in our society to confront the abnorms of society. But (apologies if my
readers are sick of my ifs & buts) are revealing the bleak side and evoking outcry
with excessive usage of cellular communication going to serve the purpose? Is this
effort meant to be the apt one to reach the desired end while avoiding any sort of
anarchy? By anarchy, I dont mean large scale chaos in the society rather an
innocent misplaced endorsement by my three year old son who screams loud n
proud against social injustices which he never came across. Though he could not
make the most of cellular services to get his voice (or scream whatsoever)
registered publically or interpersonally, but he did follow his will & whim. At the
end, I left with only one observation; will khamoshi ka bycott and likewise
campaigns change the ionic composition of the societys ABC, or they will prove to
be more of a commercial and less of a social/corporate citizenshipin years to
come.