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n reserves of oil, in the case of Shell, are indicative of the quality and effectiveness of the senior management in achievement of strategic organisational objectives; handsome reserve figures can act as an important endorsement of its management policies, strengthen the position of key managers, and ensure the continuance of their power and position within the organisation (Gupta, 2003) (Moore, 2004). The presence of such reserves also bolsters the strength of the balance sheet, makes it easier for the group to borrow money from banks and helps market prices of its shares (Gupta, 2003) (Moore, 2004).

Individual greed also comes into the picture, in this case, with it being subsequently revealed that the figure of proven reserves was linked to staff bonuses (Moore, 2004).

Controlling of managerial behaviour has been an important issue since the time of the Industrial Revolution, when management started becoming separate from ownership through the appointment of employed managers; mainly because of the increasing complexity and size of business operations (Voien, 2000). Such separation has inevitably resulted in significant powers being vested in managers, the emergence of contradictions between their fiduciary and agency relationships, the frequent overstepping of their brief, the creation of self-serving power structures within organisations, and the desire to put their own interests before that of their shareholders and organisations (Voien, 2000).

Their indispensability to businesses, as also their immense contribution to the growth and profitability of their firms, has however only led to their organisational powers becoming stronger, even as multi-dimensional efforts have been and are constantly being made to moderate their behaviour through motivating, assessing, and controlling measures. Whilst they are motivated through handsome salaries and bonuses, their actions are controlled through complex systems of checks and internal audits. The spate of scandals in the early 2000s prodded the US government to include criminal penalties to erring managers in the Sarbanes-Oxley enactment. Punishments for corporate frauds have tended to be extraordinarily severe in the UK, as well, in recent years.

Conclusion and Recommendations

Corporate social responsibility is a contemporary construct and is yet to really entrench itself in modern day business operations. Business corporations have in the past constantly tried to further their own wealth oriented objectives and have paid little heed to the adverse effects of their actions on numerous individuals, now euphemistically termed as stakeholders.

Much of the dirty work of such businesses has been done through the agency of organisational managers, who are trained and socialised to spot profit opportunities and exploit them ruthlessly. It is impractical to ask managers to use every trick in the book, albeit covertly and within the ambit of law, to further the interests of their firms yet expect them to behave ethically and selflessly with regard to their own interests.

Misuse of managerial power and authority is integral to the basic functioning of market economies and is a distinct if unwholesome trait of neoliberal economics. To expect managers to give up self-serving attitudes swiftly because of the advent of CSR concepts and the de