Corporate Social Responsibility Activity

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By engaging in corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities, organizations can give back to their communities, contributing to the maintenance and enhancement of the stakeholders wellbeing. However, before proceeding to the implementation of new projects, it is advisable to carefully analyze the potential costs and benefits associated with them. The goal is to find an optimal solution that would create a balance between practices advantageous to an organization itself and ones contributing to the public good.

CSR activities are required to provide benefits to one or several stakeholders of an organization. There are many parties involved in universities decision-making process including students, workforce, and local community, and to identify the area for an intervention it is important to access the most pressing needs of these stakeholders. Recent studies indicate correlations between back pain and mental health problems associated with sedentary lifestyle of university employees (Hanna et al., 2019). Students activity levels are also often unsatisfactory, resulting in higher rates of anxiety and depression (Lim & Kim, 2018). This contributes to the ongoing discussions of the benefits of health-promoting interventions in universities (Almutairi et al., 2018). Al Yamamah University (YU) can concentrate on encouraging the use of bicycles, both on and off campus.

There are several objectives that can be achieved as a result of such an intervention. First of all, this would limit the employees’ and students’ sedentary behavior, increasing their activity levels. It may eventually improve the overall wellbeing of the university’s community members and lead to a decrease in health-related complications. Also, increased bicycle use can positively impact the environment by decreasing carbon emissions and minimizing traffic and parking congestion (Wilson et al., 2018). Moreover, it can serve the goal of enhancing the university’s overall image and give recognition by demonstrating its care for the environment and the stakeholders health.

Decision-Making Matrix	Score (1-5)	Comment
Activity: Supporting bicycle use
Profitability: Will the activity eventually benefit the bottom line?	2	This activity can reduce the number of sick leaves and health-related resignations. It can also attract more positive social attention increasing the number of prospective students. However, these potential profits are indirect and long-term, meaning that they are, in general, hard to track.
Purpose:Is the activity aligned to the core services of YU?	5	The university’s core services are related to providing education, and via promoting bicycle use, YU can increase its students environmental awareness. Moreover, the university’s responsibilities also involve raising future leaders who are able to actively and efficiently work in various environments. Therefore, cultivating physical health in students can be considered important.
Stakeholder:Will the activity improve the YU’s relationship with stakeholders?	5	Showing care for the employees and students health, as well as the interest in environmental protection, the university is likely to improve its relationship with its stakeholders.
Issues: Does the activity focus on appropriate issues affecting YU?	4	One of the major issues that affect many universities is increased levels of sedentary lifestyle among their students and employees. Therefore, by choosing to address this issue, YU can contribute to the elimination of this problem.
Efficiency: Does the activity allow the YU use its efficiency?	2	The project’s success is likely to depend on some additional(as opposed to minimal) efforts, time, and resources dedicated by the university.
Benefits:Does the activity lead to social, economic and/or environmental benefits?	5	The increased levels of physical activity are likely to improve the overall health of the community members. Moreover, emphasizing the importance of choosing bicycles over other means of transportation may positively benefit the environment by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Timeframe:Is the activity quick win, medium or long-term in outlook?	4	While the activity is not a quick win, it promises positive medium and long-term results that are worth investing time and effort in.

Promoting bicycle use in and out of campus can involve several separate activities. Some of them might be more expensive. For instance, it is suggested that one of the most effective ways to encourage bicycle use is to invest in creating networks of bike paths connecting campus and surrounding areas (Wilson et al., 2018). The campus itself should be made bike-friendly, with convenient parking options available (Wilson et al., 2018). Providing bike-sharing opportunities, ensuring safety, and emphasizing bicycle use for incoming students are also mentioned among the top ways to motivate students and employees to use bicycles (Wilson et al., 2018). Thus, the implementation of these practices is not a short-term policy decision with immediate results.

Ensuring the creation of networks of connectivity and providing bike-sharing options would require time and financial resources. It should start with evaluating the current levels of the convenience of bicycle use on campus. Later, the university would have to finance and organize the construction of additional paths. Bike-sharing would require creating bike stations, introducing bicycle redistributing vehicles, and personnel who would exercise control over the system (Teng et al., 2017). Therefore, it will be a long-term CSR project, and the university’s administration should consider creating a special committee to plan the implementation. The committee should include students and the workforce to make it a collaborative project emphasizing its importance for all the stakeholders. Attracting media attention can also be beneficial and help support the development of the program.

CSR projects can bring multiple benefits to all stakeholders and to an organization itself. By encouraging bicycle use on and off campus, Al Yamamah University can improve its employees’ and students’ physical and psychological health and make a positive contribution to environmental protection. Moreover, this activity can also have reputational benefits. While the overall implementation would demand time and resources, if carefully planned, the project can be successful.

References

Almutairi, K. M., Alonazi, W. B., Vinluan, J. M., Almigbal, T. H., Batais, M. A., Alodhayani, A. A., Alsadhan, N., Tumala, R. B., Moussa, M., Aboshaiqah, A. E., & Alhoqail, R. I. (2018). Health promoting lifestyle of university students in Saudi Arabia: a cross-sectional assessment.BMC public health, 18(1), 1093. Web.

Hanna, F., Daas, R. N., El-Shareif, T. J., Al-Marridi, H. H., Al-Rojoub, Z. M., & Adegboye, O. A. (2019). The relationship between sedentary behavior, back pain, and psychosocial correlates among university employees.Frontiers in public health, 7 (80). Web.

Lee, E., & Kim, Y. (2018). Effect of university students’ sedentary behavior on stress, anxiety, and depression. Perspectives in psychiatric care, 55(2), 164-169.

Teng, H., Kutela, B., Mulokozi, E., Hu, B., Jiao, Y., & Li, H. (2017). Feasibility study of a campus-based bikesharing program at UNLV. Web.

Wilson, O., Vairo, N., Bopp, M., Sims, D., Dutt, K., & Pinkos, B. (2018). Best practices for promoting cycling amongst university students and employees. Journal of Transport & Health, 9, 234-243.

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