Isn't it funny that for most companies, selfless acts are often rooted in narcisism? I mean social responsibility is something brands do to look good to their customers and their peers, and more often than not, it is looked on as a necessary expense to maintain that "corporate image".

What if instead, we looked at it pragmatically as a true benefit to ourselves to help others? In a connected world, we are now forced to look at "risk" as a concept that transcends the immediate connection to the far reaching ones (such as in the case of genetic agricultural practices), so why not phillanthropy?

Isn't it true that how I behave with my employees affect how they behave with our customers, and in turn how they behave towards our company/brand? Then especially in the ever shrinking world of connected relationships, shouldn't social responsibility be also looked upon in that way? If I'm in the business of travel, and travelling is perpetuated by increase in communications, and communications are made possible by advances in educational access, then shouldn't I benefit from engineering cause related programs to foster education in underserved areas?

When everything is approaching total connectedness, the smallest of things have profound effect. I believe it is time for business to look at philanthropy as a holistic function necessary for sustainment, and not a myopic function of short lived appearance of being a good neighbor....