Category: Social Responsibility

Introduction

This paper is based on the topic of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). It seeks to explore the topic using a Dubai based organisation called Gulftainer. The main focus of the paper is to understand how the organisation relates to the environment, people and the community, and its management systems and whether these relations and systems are in line with CSR principles.

The paper begins with a description of the industry under which the organisation’s business falls. The description is followed by an overview of the components of CSR which is followed by an analysis of the organisation using the three aspects mentioned above, that is; the environment, people and the community, and management systems.

The analysis is accompanied by recommendations on where the organisation needs to improve.

Description of the Industry

Gulftainer’s core business is provision of port and freight services to individual clients, companies, and institutions. The port and freight industry is one of the industries which are complex and sophisticated due to the nature of operations. The industry is characterized by intensive logistical operations, planning, networking, and coordination. If well managed, the industry is highly rewarding in terms of profits and returns.

The other characteristic of the industry is that it has barriers to entry owing to the huge investment capital required for a start up. However, the barriers do not guarantee monopoly for companies because of rivalry between existing competitors even if they are few. This rivalry between existing competitors calls for individual companies to have a competitive strategy so as to attract and retain customers.

The nature of the business also requires the companies to have good relations with the environment and the people. The reason is that the business has a high probability of damaging marine and other environments especially through oil spillage. As a result, developing and adhering to a strict code of ethics by the companies becomes compulsory because without doing so, there is no business success.

Corporate Social Responsibility

Ethical conduct of corporations is intertwined with CSR. The concept of CSR is generally used to refer to the relationship between businesses and their environment. All businesses operate in social, political, economic, and natural environments. The concept therefore takes into account how businesses interact with these environments, either positively or negatively (Scarre 196).

The topic of CSR can be broken down into four main components namely the ethical, economic, philanthropic and legal components. The ethical component of CSR comprises the requirements or expectations of any business by the society.

Such requirements or expectations include things like doing what is just, fair and right, using the law as the basis of organisational behaviour, avoidance of questionable practices and doing business in a manner which is above the minimal requirements (Carroll 23).

The economic component comprises taking care of the interests of the shareholders, investors and customers, profit maximisation, the minimisation of the costs of undertaking a business and the formulation and implementation of strategic policies which propel the business forward (Aras and Crowther 87).

The legal component comprises the respect and compliance of a business to various laws such as environmental laws, consumer laws, laws which protect the employees, as well as the respect of contractual agreements between an organisation and its clients or employees (Kizza 20).

Finally the philanthropic component entails giving back to the society by a business. A business may do this in a variety of ways like establishing or supporting programs which directly benefit the society like health and education programs as well as programs which boost harmonious living of people from diverse backgrounds (Bratton and Gold 72).

How Gulftainer behaves in a morally responsible way towards the environment

One area which is in the fore front in regard to the company’s environmental policy is the conservation of marine environment.

The reason is that most of its operations depend on the marine environment. The company has a comprehensive marine conservation policy which is clearly indicated at all the terminals where goods are dispatched and received. The idea is to make the employees and clients fully aware of the company’s high regard to conservation of the marine environment.

The company has established very clear guidelines in form of a policy which outlines its relationship to the environment. It behaves in a morally responsible manner towards the environment through providing support to other organisations such as the EWS-WWF.

The support is through partnership between Gulftainer and EWS-WWF in a marine turtle conservation project which has been implemented in the last three years (Mühle 82).

Through the turtle conservation project, the company has managed to save the life of many turtles and extended their life span. It encourages people to take care of the beautiful creatures though educating the people on the dos and don’ts when dealing with the turtles.

The company in partnership with the Group Middle East launched a philanthropic program where philanthropists may adopt turtles. The adoption entails visiting any turtle conservation centre in the region and donating money which goes in the turtle conservation project.

The organisation also has a marine conservation policy which ensures compliance with all laws and regulations which are put in place to protect the marine environment. For instance, it takes the necessary actions to ensure that its operations do not negatively affect the marine environment either directly or indirectly.

Such a policy is a pointer of a morally responsible behaviour because environmental pollution by corporates affects the health of the community. Having a clean environment ensures that the community enjoys a healthy environment and leads a healthy life.

Another area where the company behaves in a morally responsible manner towards the environment is through recycling of waste water. The company operates a department responsible of recycling of waste water to ensure that it is brought back to use. The recycling not only protects the environment from harmful toxins in the water but it also enables the company to reduce the cost of production.

Apart from recycling of waste water, the company has an elaborate infrastructure for disposing oil waste, used toner cartridges, steal, batteries, and other toxic by-products. The company also has an elaborate infrastructure for cleaning any spilled oil immediately to avoid damage to the marine environment.

According to the company’s managing director Mr Peter Richards, the company believes in the 3R policy of reduce, re-use and recycle. It does not only practice the 3R policy but also implements programs which aim at increasing the awareness of the community to practice the 3R policy in their homes and places of work.

The company also invests in providing its customers with services and products which help them understand their environmental challenges and how to mitigate risks associated with the environment. The company uses this approach because it believes that for sustainability purposes, it must build the capacity of the people and community to let them understand their environment and take good care of it.

The company is concerned about global warming which is caused by carbon emissions. In order to curb carbon emissions to the atmosphere, the company has installed Rubber Tyres Gantries (RTGs) in most of its terminals.

The RTGs not only prevent carbon emission but they also reduce noise pollution since they are powered by the main grid which means that when they are operational, the main engine of the company is usually switched off. The company also monitors the carbon emissions by its vehicles to ensure that there is full fuel combustion. The vehicles which are found to have faulty fuel combustion systems are repaired or replaced.

As a result of its commitment to environmental conservation and commitment to the 3R policy, the company was awarded a certificate of recognition by a delegation from Bee’ah, which is one of the largest Middle East organisations dealing with waste management.

While receiving the certificate, the company’s managing director acknowledged their partnership with Bee’ah and reiterated his company’s commitment to environmental conservation especially in the Sharjah region of the UAE.

How Gulftainer behaves in a morally responsible way towards the Community

For many years since its inception, Gulftainer has engaged itself in various charitable initiatives especially in the Sharjah region of the UAE where it has sponsored various institutions in academics and co-curricular activities such as sports. Through the sponsorship, it buys school uniforms, learning, and sports equipments to the institutions with the aim of boosting their performance in academics and sports.

The organisation does not only provide sponsorship through purchase of equipments but it also encourages its staff to volunteer their time to coach and mentor communities for them to have crucial life skills such as interpersonal, public speaking, and sports skills among others.

The aim of the mentorship is to ensure that the company maintains a good relationship with the people and have a community which can sustain itself socially and economically.

Elsewhere in Iraq, the organisation has a policy of giving priority to Iraq citizens in employment opportunities. Giving the locals first priority in employment has a positive impact on the company in that it ensures domestication of the local culture in the organisation’s culture which has an overall effect of improving organisational efficiency and productivity due to cohesiveness in the organisation.

Apart from giving the Iraq citizens first priority in employment, the organisation participates in improving the welfare of the people through implementation of community centered projects such as donation of water purifiers to residents of Umm Qasr region.

Just like in other regions, the company also sponsors football clubs in Iraq with the aim of building rapport with them and especially the youth. The idea is to have a socially and economically empowered youth as future customers and employees.

The other way in which the company behaves in a morally responsible manner towards the people is through building prosperous communities.

The company believes that prosperous communities are based on prosperous economy and that is why it helps the communities to flourish by investing in industries and organisations which bring people together in groups for economic prosperity. Such groups are financed by the company to tackle various issues such as social inclusion and education.

Gulftainer’s Management Systems

The company has an integrated management system which has adequate linkages among various departments. The departmental heads usually consult each other and they put efforts in ensuring that all activities are in harmony with each other.

It has also embraced the concept of total quality management which comprises good and committed leadership, excellent product design, strategic planning, process management, customer involvement, employee involvement, dissemination of information and feedback, training and the management of supply quality.

The organisation also has in place a wide range of good practices such as customer satisfaction, care for the employees, teamwork, creativity, innovativeness, and observation of business ethics. It is a member of various quality focused bodies in the UAE.

Other quality practices include promotion of green and healthy environment, preservation of natural resources, employee development and prevention of pollution of the environment.

In regard to the relationship between the company and its employees, the company has a policy in form of employee code of conduct. The policy is guided by the principle that all employees should be treated fairly and accorded the dignity and respect which they deserve.

The policy reflects a morally responsible behaviour because the respect of employees is central to the success of any organisation. Treating employees with respect and dignity not only makes them motivated but also enables them get the intrinsic value of work.

The company also embraces the concepts of cultural diversity and gender sensitivity in its employment policy. It does so by ensuring that employees are not discriminated based on race, gender or colour.The Company also ensures that employees are trained from time to time so as to enhance their capacity to discharge their duties.

The training is part of the company’s initiative to ensure that the customers get quality services at any given time. Training of employees is a morally responsible behaviour because it not only improves the quality of services but also makes employees grow in their career.

Such training is also important for the employees because once they leave the company, it serves as an asset by giving them a competitive edge over other job seekers thus increasing their probability of being employed in other companies.

The company also has a policy which ensures that employees have a safe working environment which is not prone to accidents. It also ensures strict adherence to internal procedures not only by employees but also by suppliers as well. The staffs are also accorded what is referred to as supportive supervision to ensure compliance with the set rules and regulations for quality improvement.

The company has been ISO certified for three occasions; in 2008 for the implementation of the integrated management system, in 2004 for its environmental conservation efforts, and in 2007 for occupational health and safety. These ISO certifications and awards are a pointer of an excellent performance of the organisation. It has managed to establish a market niche for itself.

The leaders of the organisation are committed to a course of maintaining the unrivaled competition in the region. They also aspire to make the organisation more customers oriented by focusing on finding better ways of improving customer satisfaction.

Review of Gulftainer’s policies from a critical perspective with recommendations

Towards the environment

I agree with the company’s CSR perspective towards the environment. The reason is that it has managed to have environmental conservation programs both at the macro and micro levels. However, it needs to allocate more funds to environmental conservation. Apart from the marine turtle conservation project, there is no evidence of significant activities which the company undertakes to conserve the environment.

It needs for example to contribute towards the management of greenhouse gases which cause global warming. It can also partner with other governmental and non governmental organisations to launch comprehensive environmental conservation programs both at the national and international platform.

The company needs to not only create awareness about the 3R policy to community members but it also needs to capacity build them through provision of equipments and funds for them to effectively embrace the policy for sustainability purposes.

Towards People and Community

I do not agree with the company’s CSR perspective towards people and community. The reason is that people’s interests should be the central concern for any business and there is no evidence for that in the company’s operations. Even though the company has put in place some elaborate measures to fully engage the community, it has not done enough.

For instance, there is no evidence of its intensive involvement in programs or activities which improve the social well being of the people and communities where it has operations. Its programs seem to target educational institutions which in most cases have young people.

Such an approach is biased because the community is composed of people of different ages, education levels, and religion and therefore, there is need to come up with programs which meet the specific needs of different categories of people within a community.

For example, there is need to have programs which target married couples with the aim of providing them with guidance and counseling for happy unions. The company may also consider initiating programs which target people living with chronic illnesses such as HIV/ AIDS.

Through such programs, the company may focus on improving the social well being of such people through formation of support groups and educating the communities to become agents of fighting stigma.

Management Systems

I do not agree with the company’s management system from a CSR perspective. Even though the company has several ISO awards, there are some areas where it has not done well. According to the naked office website, the company has been accused of having poorly trained and inexperienced personnel at top leadership positions.

While it pays attention to the training of other staff, it has neglected the training and capacity building of its leaders and therefore, there is need for change so that it can have leaders who are not only experienced but also visionary and well equipped with the necessary skills and techniques of leadership. Such leadership would ensure that the company comes up with strategic business decisions which would propel it towards excellence.

There are also claims that the company places a lot of emphasis on cutting costs. The cutting on costs makes it have few employees in the branches serving the increasing number of clients. The employees therefore feel overworked without any additional compensation which is a form of exploitation.

For the company to make its customers more satisfied, there is need to recruit more employees to ensure that customers are served without delays. If it is not able to increase the number of employees, it needs to ensure that the employees are paid overtime so as to motivate them.

The company needs to as well scale up its employee motivation efforts by introducing more employee motivation programs and policies such as sponsorship programs for employees to further their studies, provision of retirement benefits, medical scheme for the workers, and promotions based on merit.

Conclusion

Gulftainer is one of the companies listed in the data base of the world’s most ethical companies. The company behaves in a morally responsible manner towards the community, the environment and employees through policies and guidelines which govern its business strategy and operations.

It ensures that the communities are supported to improve their living standards through empowering them with skills and implementing programs which boost their social well being. It also has a policy which ensures that local citizens are given priority in employment.

In regard to the environment, the company partners with other organisations to ensure the conservation of marine environment. It also embraces the 3R policy which advocates for utilisation of resources in an efficient manner and conservation of the environment through proper waste disposal.

However, the company can do better through deployment of more staff, payment of overtime to the employees, widening the scope of its social programs, and provision of employees with more benefits for them to become more productive. It also needs to partner with other organisations to launch comprehensive environmental conservation programs as a way of scaling up its efforts towards environmental conservation.

Works Cited

Aras, Güler, and David, Crowther. A Handbook of Corporate Governance and CSRSeries, Farnham: Gower Publishing Ltd, 2010.Print.

Bratton, John, and Jeff, Gold. Human Resource Management: Theory and Practice, Palgrave: Macmillan, 2007. Print.

Carroll, Archie. A History of Corporate Social Responsibility, Oxford: Oxford university press, 2008. Print.

Kizza, Migga. , Ethical and Social Issues in the Information Age, New York, NY: Springer, 2010. Print.

Mühle, Ursula. The Politics of Corporate Social Responsibility: The Rise of a Global Business Norm, New York: Campus Verlag, 2010.Print.

Scarre, Geoffrey. Utilitarianism, New York, NY: Routledge, 1996. Print.

Introduction

The history of price comparison sites in the United Kingdom and other countries in the world such as the United States of America can be traced back to the late 1990s. It came with the internet boom during this period in these countries. The emergence of the internet and the wide spread use of the same made operation of price comparison sites a profitable venture for investors (Tanweer 2009).

Tanweer (2009) is of the view that a price comparison service can also be referred to by many names. These include shopping comparison site and price engine among others.

Whichever name is used to refer to it, the site is used by potential consumers to view a listing of different prices for certain products that the consumer is interested in. all the consumer have to do is type the name of the product that they are looking for, and a list of the stores that sell the product, together with the prices, is listed.

The aim of the consumer when using the search is to look for the cheapest retailer for the item, and this is what the price engine does; listing the best deals available for the consumer.

It is important to note that price comparison sites are not restricted to tangibles such as books or electronics. Even service providers use the sites to list the cost for the services. For example, financial institutions offering services such as mortgages and credit cards also do list their merchandise on these sites.

It is also pertinent to note that most of these price comparison sites are not themselves manufacturers or retailers of the products. All they do, at least majority of them, is to list the prices of items that are sold by other retailers in the market. According to Kelli (2008), these price comparison sites obtain the prices from retailers from whom the consumers can get the goods or services from.

In the United Kingdom, price comparison sites are emerging to be big businesses. In the year 2005, according to Kelli (2008), these businesses in this country made revenues of between 120 million pounds and 140 million pounds. This represented an annual growth rate of between thirty and fifty percent.

As far as evolution is concerned, price comparison sites have come a long way. At the beginning, these sites were provided as client side add-ins to other internet services. For example, they were add-ins to Netscape and Internet explorer browsers (Haag, Cummings, McCubbrey, Pinsonneult and Donovan 2006).

This meant that the consumer who wished to use the services had to download extra software and install it in their system. It is only much later that the services moved to the server, meaning that any person with a browser can access the services (Haag et al 2006).

Today, the internet price comparison service is offered by companies that are specialised and dedicated to the endeavour, and they do this through websites and major portals through which the consumers can access the services.

In the late 1990s, the price comparison websites gained popularity as more people had access to the internet and used it to aid their shopping (Haag et al 2006). It is important to note that price comparison on the internet was not a preserve of those consumers who intended to do online shopping. Rather, any consumer could access the price comparison, and then go to the retail store physically to purchase the item.

Website comparison sites are business ventures, and as such, they are supposed to make business sense by giving returns to the investors. Revenue is accrued from the fixed fees that are paid by the retailers who wish to have their items listed and stores specified on the site. Kelli (2008) is of the view that these sites are more like virtual Yellow Pages for online consumers.

Improvements in technology have seen a change in the business model adopted by these sites. Initially, the comparison companies aggregated data feeds availed or accessed from the retailers (Kelli 2008). With improved technology, the functionality of the sites has changed drastically.

The service providers can now search, access and retrieve data directly from individual retailer sites when they come into agreement with the latter. This development has made the experience of the shoppers more satisfying than before.

A more comprehensive list of retailers for a particular item can now be accessed by the shoppers (Kelli 2008). Additionally, the service providers can update the data on their sites on a real time basis, reflecting the developments on the ground.

Like in any other popular product in the market, generic price comparison sites have started to emerge to have a piece of the economic benefits from the services. For example, some companies have felt that they stand to benefit from an upsurge of online shoppers.

To this end, these companies, majority of them credit card service providers and delivery outfits, have initiated their own price comparison sites that give prominence to their services.

Price Comparison Websites and Social Responsibility

The proliferation of price comparison sites have led to the emergence of social responsibility concerns as far as the conduction of business by these sites is concerned. Social responsibility is the ability of any business firm to make profit while safe guarding the well being of the consumers. In other words, as much as the firms are trying to make profits, they should not do so at the expense of the consumers by exploiting them.

For example, there have been concerns to the effect that the price comparison sites fail to provide the consumer with information regarding what the product or item on their site does or can not do. Information such as the side effects of the products is not provided (Wallop 2009).

Industry experts have raised concerns that price comparison sites are misleading the consumers. This is given the fact that they do give prominence to the products and services of the companies that have paid the commission fees (Wallop 2009).

The sites are silent on those products from companies that are not on their commission roll. This means the consumer have no access to balanced information regarding the best deals on the market.

All of the above concerns are based on social responsibility of business conduction. It should be noted that just like any other business venture out there, the price comparison sites also have to take into consideration social responsibility in their operations. This paper is going to address this issue.

The paper is going to bee divided into three sections. In the first section, the author is going to propose what the strategic social responsibility of price comparison websites are. The author is going to come up with their model of the strategy that they feel should be used by price comparison websites to make sure that they are responsible socially.

In the second section of the paper, the author is going to compare the performance of three price comparison websites with their model. The aim of this section is to reveal to what extent the selected price comparison sites are adhering to the social responsibility strategy proposed by the author.

In the third and final section of the paper, the researcher is going to provide a case study of a price comparison website. The site that will be selected is Moneyminder. The author will critically analyse the approach adopted by Moneyminder website. Moneyminder have already published the approach they adopt as far as social responsibility is concerned.

The aim of this section of the paper is to critically analyse whether Moneyminder are adhering to their published strategy, and the extent to which their operations are socially responsible. Is Moneyminder conducting business in an ethical manner? This will be the question that the author will try to answer in this section.

Strategic Social Responsibility for Price Comparison Websites: A Proposal

There are different views regarding the kind of social responsibility strategy that should be adopted by an organisation when conducting their businesses. Some of the views focus on the agency itself, opining that the agency and the business it is conducting should be given a priority.

Others are of the view that the stakeholders in the business, which includes the clients and the workers, should be given a priority in any social responsibility strategy for a business. The author will look into these schools of thought in detail before embarking on their strategic model.

Friedman (1970) holds an agency perspective as far as social responsibility in business is concerned. This scholar is of the view that businesses have only one social responsibility. This is to use the resources at their disposal in carrying out economic and other form of activities that are aimed at increasing the firm’s profit margin (Friedman 1970).

The resources that Friedman is talking about here include the human resource, capital and such other. Friedman is of the view that it is alright for the business to increase the profits provided that it ensures to conduct business within an environment of open and free competition. According to Friedman, an open and free competition takes place when the firm is not engaged in any fraud or deception (Friedman 1970).

On the extreme side of the continuum, Freeman (1984) gives their perspective about social responsibilities for business operations. Unlike Friedman who focuses on the agency, Freeman puts the focus on the stakeholders.

This scholar is of the view that the main task of the business manager as far as social responsibility is concerned is to safeguard and promote the rights and well being of the various business stake holders on board (Freeman 1984).

This includes the rights of the share holders and generally those people who are necessary for the existence and operation of the business. This is for example the members of staff, the business partners such as the suppliers and the community within which the business is operating (Amaeshi, Osuji and Nnodim 2008).

Apart from this Friedman Freeman dichotomy, there are other views that lie somewhere in-between the continuum. For example, Bowie (1982) gives a neo classical view, where they opine that the role of the business is to make profits while at the same time avoiding harming the stakeholders.

Amaeshi et al (2008) are of the view that for the organisation to realise social responsibility, it must make efforts to conduct business within a sustainable environment, while taking into consideration the well being of the stake holders.

The business has to bee conducted within an environment that is economically and environmentally sustainable, and the managers should ensure that they strike a balance between making profits and safe guarding thee rights of the stake holders.

McWilliams and Siegel (2001) are of the view that social responsibility for the business is extra legal in nature. By this, the scholars recognise the interplay between business operation and legal provisions. The managers must act within the legal provisions.

It is the opinion of this author that price comparison websites should follow a strategic social responsibility model tailored along the suggestions made by Freeman (1984). In other words, the websites should take a stake holder perspective when formulating strategic social responsibility models. The major aim of the price comparison web sites should be the protection and promotion of the rights of the various stake holders.

There are many stake holders in the business of price comparison web sites. These include the clients, who are the retailers interested in displaying the prices of their merchandise on the site. These are for example the banks, the insurance brokers, book retailers among other consumer products retailers.

The other group of the stake holders include the employees. This includes those employed to mine price data from the various retailers among others.

But perhaps the major stake holders on whose rights the strategic social responsibility model should protect are the consumers who access the site looking for the best deals in the market.

The managers should make sure that these consumers are not exploited, and they are given accurate information regarding the products that they are intending to buy. The accuracy of the information should include the lowest prices, the availability of the product, the negative or side effects of the item among others.

Strategic Social Responsibilities for Price Comparison Sites

The following are some of the suggested strategic social responsibilities for the price comparison sites:

Privacy of Information Provided by the Consumer

Maria (2008) of BBC Money Programme, in an online article criticising price comparison websites for financial services, quotes Lord Lipsey bemoaning the unscrupulous dealings of financial services price comparison sites. Lord Lipsey is the immediate former chair of one of the financial dealings regulatory bodies in the United Kingdom. This is the Financial Services Advisory Panel, which he led for a significant period of time.

Lipsey is concerned that price comparison sites are used as “sparks” for sales by insurance brokers who contract them (Maria 2008). Some of these sites ask the consumer to provide personal information regarding their contacts, their age and such others. This is done in the pretext that the information will be used to help the site provided the client with the best deals.

But this is not the case in most instances. The personal information is immediately passed on to third parties who use to pitch for sales. The consumer starts to be nagged by persistence insurance telesales agents who are bent on recovering the commissions given to the comparison sites (Private Health 2010). This means that there is no privacy as far as the personal information of the client is concerned.

Social responsibility demands that the personal information provided by the customer be safeguarded. Under no circumstances should it be disclosed to third parties without the direct consent of the client.

If it is really necessary for the price comparison sites to disclose this information to third parties, Freeman’s stake holders’ perspective on social responsibility demands that consent should be sought from them. The site should inform the customer that they have the option of accepting to have their information disclosed to third parties or not. Their privacy should be respected at all times.

When the third parties to whom the personal information have been disclosed to calls the customer, social responsibility demands that they identify themselves and inform their potential customer that they are not agents or representatives of the price comparison sites.

There have been concerns that customers are misinformed and they think that they are talking with representatives from the price comparison sites (Maria 2008).

Accuracy of Information Provided

Tanweer (2009) is of the view that some price comparison sites provide inaccurate information regarding the availability of the items on their site. For example, the site may claim that a certain product is available at a given price in a particular store. However, when the customer visits the store, they find that the item is out of stock, or the prices have changed and the price comparison sites failed to inform them of the same.

Freeman’s stake holders’ perspective demands that the consumer’s right to information be respected. Hidden costs and charges should be made available to the customer. These include shipping charges, if any, and such other charges. In the case of drugs and other high risk consumer items, the side effects should be listed.

Kelli (2008) is concerned that many price comparison sites aim at pleasing the retailers who pay for their services at the expense of the consumer. The sites shy away from disclosing negative effects of items for fear of inviting the wrath of the commission paying retailers.

Majority of the sites avoid this dilemma by eliminating any information, negative or positive, regarding the item been sold by the retailers. But this should not be the case, as the consumer has the right to make informed decisions when purchasing the item (Lindsey 2008).

A case in point is when purchasing an insurance premium. The best deal which is usually the cheapest may be that cheap because it has been stripped of some covers (Wallop 2009). The consumer is not informed of this, and they only realise it much later when they go to claim their premiums. A social responsible price comparison site should provide the consumer with the information regarding this stripping of covers (Malinowski 2007).

Listing of the Best Deals Available

The idea behind a consumer’s visit to a price comparison site is to get the best deals available in the market. When they get to the site, all they have to do is to key in the details of the product that they are looking for. After this, the website lists all of the available deals on the market, starting with those that are cheap (Tanweer 2009).

However, as earlier indicated, this may not be the case. The consumer may not be able to get the best deals as they have envisaged. This is because the items listed on the website are those from those retailers that are willing to pay the commissions demanded by the site operators.

The end users of these sites may miss out on the best deals and fail to save money because the best deals may be from those retailers that are not listed for they do not pay commissions (Atkinson 2006).

A socially responsible price comparison site should list even those deals that are from retailers who are not paying commissions. To create an incentive for the retailers to pay for the service, the website should inform the consumer they are not affiliated to the retailer.

Instead of omitting the provider from the list, the website should ensure that there is no direct link from their site to that of the non-paying retailer. The consumer will make their own arrangements to access the item if they are really interested in it.

Alternatively, the websites should inform the consumer that the returns on the first search page do not include the deals from non paying retailers. They should avail the list of the non paying providers to the consumers on request. As earlier indicated, the price comparison site may opt to fail to provide link to the retailer’s website (Messerli 2009).

The Performance of Selected Price Comparison Sites: Comparison with the Proposed Strategic Social Responsibilities Model

The researcher selected three price comparison sites. These were PriceGrabber.com, StreetPrices.com and Pronto.com. There were no specific criteria that were followed when selecting the websites. The author selected them randomly. The following findings were made when comparison was made with the proposed strategic social responsibilities model:

PriceGrabber.com

The researcher rated this as one of the best price comparison sites available. The prices that were listed were among the best deals available for all the searches that were made. It gives the customer some of the cheapest options that are available.

Privacy of the Customer’s Information

Just like majority of other sites available to the consumer, personal information is sought by PriceGrabber.com. The site asks for details regarding email address, phone number and such others.

However, it is important to note that the provision of this information by the consumer is optional. This means that the consumer does not have to give their details to access services on the site. But the website fails to tell the client whether the information will be disclosed to third parties or not. As such, the consumer provides personal information but the privacy of the same is not assured.

Accuracy of Information Provided

This site fared fairly well when it came to accuracy of information. The stores from where the consumer can access the items were listed, and the author confirmed the availability of some of the items on the lists. The price was also as listed on the website.

Listing of the Best Deals Available

This website raises some concerns when it comes to listing of the best deals available to the consumer on the market. When a search is made, featured retailers and merchants are given prominence. The first results on the search are for these featured retailers.

However, the site covers for this by listing the merchandise of the featured retailers starting with the cheapest. As such, the consumer is able to access the best deals available, albeit from a censored list. The best deals on the site are labelled as “Your Best Price”, and in fact the labelling is clear and conspicuous, hard to miss.

StreetPrices.com

Privacy of Information

The site does not ask for personal information from the consumer. In cases where such information is sought, the consumer is informed that it is for the site to post them the fall in prices for their preferred items. This provision of personal information is optional.

Accuracy of Information Provided

It is a fact beyond doubt that this site provided some of the best deals which were cheap. But there were some items that were not available on the site. Instead of giving the consumer the exact brand that they wanted, the site provided alternatives when they did not have the item.

This is understandable considering that the site had been focusing mainly on electronic items in the past. It is only recently that they ventured to other items such as apparel, and the hiccups can be attributed to this.

Listing of Best Deals Available

This site provides the consumer with some of the best deals available. After accessing the site, the consumer is able to narrow down their search in terms of price range and such other factors like brand. The site is also interlinked with others where the customer can find the deals they want if they are not available. This is for example eBay and Craigslist.

Pronto.com

Privacy of Information

The site asks for personal information such as email address. This is optional, and it is for those consumers who have no time to shop and would wish to be alerted when their brands go on sale.

Accuracy of Information and Listing of Best Deals

The site lists only those items from featured retailers. The consumer can not access those that are not featured. The information provided is scanty. There is no description of the items on the list, and the consumer can not make informed decisions.

Moneyminder Price Comparison Site: A Critical Analysis

Ray Black, one of the major stake holders in Moneyminder, is on record criticising the operations of other price comparison sites in the industry. He especially criticises those sites that specialise in life insurance cover comparisons (Private Health 2010). He is of the view that these sites provide the personal information provided by the consumer to third parties who pester the consumer for sale.

This is especially so for those sites that compares prices for financial services such as insurance. The personal information is made available to third parties who include insurance agents who pay commission for the same.

Given that the insurance agent is interested in recovering their expenses when commissions are paid to the price comparison sites, they make their best to sell the policy to the consumer. The insurance agent calls up the consumer and tries to pitch for a sale. The information can be disclosed to more than one third parties.

The Moneyminder site provides the consumer with some of the best information on the internet. When compared with other price comparison sites, the services rendered here compete favourably. This is despite the fact that Moneyminder is a relatively new entrant in the industry, in addition to it being one of the smallest operators in terms of size and financial muscle.

Moneyminder has some software that makes the experience of the consumer considerably different from that derived from other sites. For example, the Finance Navigator software is very efficient in tracking the best deals available.

This is software that was specifically developed by Moneyminder to be used by consumers on the site. The consumer uses it to compare the various prices on the market, and it makes the search to be more advanced than that offered by other competitors.

However, there are some issues that put the strategic social responsibility model touted by Moneyminder to question. For example, the site asks the consumers to create an account with them by registering. While this may be optional, it goes against the standards set by Ray in his criticism. The site posses the consumer’s personal information.

This is given that to register, the consumer has to provide their personal information. To make matters worse, the site is silent on whether the information will be disclosed to third parties or not.

The site may be committed to safeguarding of the consumer’s personal information as Ray Black makes one believe by the criticism he puts forth against other sites. But this should be made obvious to the consumer by assuring them explicitly that their information will not be disclosed to third parties.

The site asks for the information to provide the consumer with a personal financial adviser with the option of the service availed over the phone or on a personal basis. This is an invasion of the consumer’s privacy by the site. This is despite the fact that this is optional. This service, when critically appraised by a discerning observer, is no different from the sales agents who pester consumers trying to make a policy sale.

The only difference is that this service is offered by Moneyminder itself and not third parties. But this does not make the invasion of the consumer’s privacy any different. In this case, the invasion is more subtle and sophisticated, but invasion nonetheless.

In conclusion, it is important to note that Moneyminder may be making efforts to conduct its business responsibly. However, there are some instances, for example the requirement for personal information from the consumer, which negates this. This means that there is room for improvement as far as strategic social responsibility and Moneyminder is concerned. This is not unique to Moneyminder.

It should be noted that strategic social responsibility is a central part of price comparison websites’ operation, and there is no limit to it. There is no situation where one will find a comparison site that is 100 percent compliant to social responsibility. This is given the vastness of strategic social responsibility as a facet of business operations.

References

Amaeshi, K., Osuji, O., and Nnodim, P. 2008. Corporate social responsibility in supply chains of global brands: A boundaryless responsibility? Clarifications, exceptions and implications. Journal of Business Ethics, 81(1): 29-34.

Atkinson, B. 2006. Consumer rights in online shopping. London: London University Press.

Bowie, N. 1982. Business ethics. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

Freeman, R. 1984. Strategic management: a stakeholders approach. New York: Pitman.

Friedman, M. 1970. The social responsibility of business is to increase its profits. Journal of Business Ethics, 72(4): 29-39.

Haag, C., Cummings, M., McCubbrey, J., Pinsonneult, G., and Donovan, T. 2006. information management systems for the information age. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Kelli, BG. 2008. Which price comparison shopping site is best? Web.

Lindsey, I. 2008. Business ethics and technology. New York: Free Press.

Malinowski, M. 2007. Technology and consumer protection. London: McGraw-Hill.

Maria, D. 2008. Price comparison sites: deal or no deal?Web.

McWilliams, A., and Siegel, D. 2001. Corporate social responsibility: a theory of the firm perspective. Academy of Management Review, 26(1): 17-21. Messerli, W. Consumer rights in the 21^st Century. New York: McGraw Hill.

Private Health. 2010. Moneyminder criticises life insurance comparison sites. Web.

Tanweer, M. 2009. Price comparison sites. Web.

Wallop, H. 2009. Comparison sites are ‘misleading’. The Daily Telegraph.

Introduction

Business investments participate in many communal activities that may not be directly related to their operations. It is necessary to note that these activities are usually done within the community where the business is located. This is one way of ensuring the business appreciates the benefits given to it by the community (Baumol 2007).

Therefore, these activities do not generate profits to the business but are a reflection of the appreciation of the business to the community. This essay explores the significance of corporate social responsibility and how it affects the operations of a business.

Definition

Corporate social responsibility refers to all activities a business performs to ensure it interacts with the community. These activities do not generate profit or increase sales directly but are meant to strengthen the bond between a business and its neighbors (Friedman 1970).

They include sponsoring community activities like sports and participation in other public initiatives like cleaning and tree planting. It is highly recommended that the community takes part in these activities to promote bonding between them and the business.

Impacts of Corporate Social Responsibilities

Friedman argues that a business that participates in social activities will have advantages over the one that does not. Businesses must develop programmes that will ensure they are actively involved in communal activities. It is necessary to explain that corporate social responsibility ensures that the business widens its market in the community through the following ways.

First, a business has to ensure that it has established rapport with the local community through establishing programmes that will promote interactions between workers and the community.

Their operations are deemed part of the community since they take place within the boundaries of the community. People from the same community must live with each other well and coexist without conflicts. However, since most business activities do not directly involve the participation of the community it is necessary to establish forums where the community will interact with employees (Friedman 1970).

The only way this is possible is through the establishment of programs like tree planting, cleaning and sports. Even though, a business may not necessary participate in these activities it can make them identify with it through branding these activities with its label (Stout 2012).

This will make sure that everybody understands that the company is the sponsor of that activity. Most companies print playing kits or label town seats with their names to make sure the public knows that they have sponsored the programme.

Secondly, Friedman claims that this activity is one way of ensuring that the business appreciates the contributions of the society in developing and implementing its policies. It is necessary to note that a business relies on the community for labour and raw materials to be used various processes (Friedman 1970).

Therefore, it is important for the business to appreciate the role of the community in promoting its activities. A company cannot operate smoothly if it does not have workers from the local community and can fail to meet its targets if it ignores the voice of the people.

Therefore, it participates in these activities to ensure that it appreciates the work done by the community and shows that that it has recognized the effort of its members as workers and as suppliers of raw materials (Chandler 2010).

The fact that a company employs and pays workers from the local community does not mean that this is an adequate way of appreciating the community since only a handful of people get employment opportunities. Therefore, it must participate in activities to assure the public that it appreciates its contributions.

Moreover, Friedman presents that the community offers ready market for the products or services that a company offers. Most companies locate their premises near their markets to reduce the burden of transporting their services and timing that are serious challenges to business investments (Stout 2012).

It is necessary to explain that while some businesses may prefer locating their premises near their sources of raw materials this is influenced by the nature of the raw material and the costs involved.

However, in most cases it is easy to transport raw materials that finished products since most of these products are either fragile or perishable. Therefore, they require fewer movements to ensure consumers get them when they are in good conditions.

A company that locates its operations near its make must always ensure that it engages incorporate social responsibilities to ensure it takes advantage of the local market.

In addition, Friedman claims that this activity does not only involve doing the correct thing but also showing responsible behavior to other members of the community. It is necessary to understand that the society belongs to businesses, consumers and the state (Friedman 1970).

Companies must build their reputation as responsible players in the society by ensuring they not only take part in community activities but also promote healthy and safe environments.

This ensures that the business will not participate in the production of illegal or contraband goods, pollute or degrade the environment or engage in human rights abuse. These activities elicit controversies regarding the operations of a business and may make the government to close it.

All businesses have the right to engage in production activities provided they do not interfere with the lives of the local population or environment.

Therefore, it is necessary to explain that while some accompanies may take active roles in these activities some may decide to take a different approach by contributing money towards environmental conservation programmes or giving material support like trees, water or food to the workers. In addition, a company that shows it is very responsible in community activities will attract consumers and this will widen its market.

Moreover, this will attract good will from the government that may decide to exempt it from taxation. These are fertile grounds to compete with similar companies that do not participate in these activities. The participating company is likely to win more consumers and public interest more than the one that ignores these activities.

In addition, these activities ensure a company saves money and time in various situations. First, a company that is actively engaged in repairing roads, water and sewerage drainage and other activities will reduce costs incurred in repairing and maintaining its vehicles. Bad roads are responsible for a high number of stalled vehicles and huge maintenance and repair expenses.

However, when a company maintains the local roads this will promote accessibility to the community, transportation of goods and reduces costs of maintenance and repair (Baumol 2007). Environmental activities like reducing pollution and land degradation will attract other investors and this means the area will have a large population that will offer market to the goods and services produced by the company.

Moreover, a company with a good corporate social responsibility record will have a good reputation that will attract employees. This record will set high standards of this company and make sure it attracts qualified and competent employees whenever it announces vacant positions (Lee 2010).

It is important to explain that everybody likes to associate with responsible people and companies and this is one way of ensuring that people are always looking for ways to associate with a company. In addition, it will be easy to retain workers since nobody will want to stop working in a company that has a good reputation.

Therefore, this will reduce unnecessary expenses and time wastage incurred in recruiting new workers. In addition, employees working in these companies will be motivated to work hard and this will be a good step towards achieving the goals and aspirations of a company.

Corporate social responsibility ensures a company shapes its image for proper press coverage. The media is always looking for unique characteristics that differentiate companies from one another and this will be an effective way of taking advantage of this situation. Most of these activities are usually of significant value to the local community and this means that the press will hardly miss these events.

For instance, a company that sponsors school games will volunteer to give sports kits and other requirements in addition to giving them trophies. The winners are usually given presents, trophies or other rewards after these events are over and this is a good opportunity for the sponsor to make their remarks (Vogel 2009).

The media is always keen to get these messages and broadcast them to millions of viewers. A good example is evident in the many sponsors of football matches that are broadcasted to all regions in the world. People are able to know companies like Nike, Adidas and Fila that sponsor sports activities like football, basketball and hockey amongst others.

Moreover, these events are good avenues to interview people and get information regarding their perception about their products or services. Sometimes companies hire experts to conduct research about their services but they fail to get correct audiences. This means that the research will not yield accurate results due to wrong choices of audience (Friedman 1970).

However, corporate social responsibility targets consumers and the local population who are closest to the company compared to other distant markets. The company conducts direct interviews and is able to gather information that will help it in planning its future objectives.

Lastly, some companies engage in dirty tricks like manipulation and propaganda that affect the sales of a company. People are easily swayed by regular propaganda and lies that make them to think that what they are being told is true. As a result, they develop a wrong perception about a company and its products and this becomes a serious threat to its operations (Vogel 2009).

It is not easy to correct propaganda and develop efficient damage control measures if a company relies on the media to do this. However, corporate social responsibility establishes rapport with the community and this means that consumers will be willing and ready to inform the company about its disadvantages.

This will be a good opportunity to inform, and educate the public about the policies of a company and its products; therefore, this will correct all the wrong perceptions that had been developed by its competitors.

However, corporate social responsibility has been attributed to failures and mismanagement of investments due to the disadvantages associated with it. Some critics argue that this activity is not as helpful as they seem to sound due to the following issues.

First, this concept was developed during the 21^st century to ensure companies participate in environmental and social activities. It was developed because people thought that private and state companies were generating a lot of profit which was not helping he community. In addition, it seemed that these companies were focused on their operations and had distanced themselves from the society.

Therefore, this was a capitalist society that did not care about the society since every business was involved in making profits and ignored the need to conserve the environment and appreciate the efforts of the community (Vogel 2009).

Therefore, it was necessary to ensure these companies donate some of their profits to the society and this means that this activity is not voluntary even though that is how most companies make it to look like they are not forced to participate in them.

Secondly, Friedman claims that most companies experience significant challenges in allocating recourses and time to these activities since most managers do not consider these issues when planning their calendars. In addition, most investors forget or ignore to consider the activities a company will participate in when establishing them (Lee 2010).

Therefore, they are usually squeezed in their calendars after pressure from the government or other competitors. Therefore, it is necessary to explain that this activity is usually considered when there is no option to evade regulations set by the government or when other competitors make it necessary for a new company to tale part in these activities.

In addition, the role of profits is to increase the activities of a company and ensures it develops. However, corporate social responsibilities have short term losses that force investors to shun them since they drain all profits generated by a company.

It is necessary to point out that even though this activity ensures that all stakeholders are included and made to feel part of the company it is an unwise move as perceived by investors (Chandler 2010).

Profits are difficult to predict due to financial threats posed by inflation and other factors; therefore, companies must use their profits wisely since they never know whether tomorrow they will make similar profits or huge losses.

However, this activity assumes that with time companies will continue to expand their operations and make huge profits. This belief has forced many operators to close their businesses since they are not able to manage their operation costs.

Moreover, Friedman claims that this exercise exposes some investors to competitive disadvantages if there are no strict policies to ensure all companies participate in this activity. This means that some companies are usually forced to participate in corporate social activities while others do not (Friedman 1970).

Therefore, they spent a lot of money in promoting the activities of the community and this reduces their operating capital. On the other hand, their competitors who do not participate in these activities continue investing their profits in promoting their businesses. Therefore, this gives some companies competitive advantages over others.

In addition, these activities make many companies to lose focus and concentrate on issues that are not identified in their objectives. Most companies participate in these activities since they fear public backlash that may affect its market. However, the reality of this issue is that governments have set very high standards in terms of community development, human rights and environmental sustainability (Baumol 2007).

Many companies struggle to meet these regulations and these forces workers to be subjected to pressure to meet deadlines and other objectives set by the management.

In addition, most companies pass these conditions to their workers and this exposes them to poor working conditions. Some creative managers pass all costs to consumers and this means they increase the prices of their services and goods. This discourages customers from buying their products and leads to low sales.

Lastly, Friedman claims that businesses cannot compete against global changes and the high population growth rate. This means that corporate social responsibilities cannot be sustained given that companies are not able to make huge profits to sustain their operations.

People argue that this activity was motivated by accidents involving investors and their environment like the BP oil spill that forced states to demand that companies must develop measures to take care of the environment.

Conclusion

Corporate social responsibility enables a company to interact with its immediate market, establish rapport and clear any propaganda created by its competitors.

Even though, at the beginning this exercise may be expensive it has long term advantages that will propel companies to achieve their objectives. Therefore, companies should establish and regulate these activities to ensure they do not interfere with other programmes of the company and kill workers’ morale.

References

Baumol, W 2007, Good Capitalism, Bad Capitalism and the Economics of Growth and Prosperity, Yale University Press, Connecticut.

Chandler, D 2010, Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility: Stakeholders in a Global Environment, Sage Publications, New York.

Friedman, M, 1970, ‘The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase its Profits’, The New York Times, 13 September, p. 31.

Lee, N 2010, Corporate Social Responsibility: Doing the Most Good for Your Company and Your Cause, Wiley, New York.

Stout, L 2012, The Shareholder Value Myth, Barret-Koehlen Publishers, San Francisco.

Vogel, D 2009, The Market for Virtue: The Potential And Limits of Corporate Social Responsibility, Brookings Institution Press, Massachusetts.

Corporate social responsibility is defined as corporate self-regulation employed in business environment (Urip 2010, p. 45). This is done to ensure that companies and businesses comply with the required ethical standards, laws and other norms and regulations internationally.

It entails the voluntary activities that a company engages in to enhance a sound and sustainable business environment and development of the immediate communities. According to Asongu (2007, p. 67), CSR begins with the onset of a company. This scholar explains that companies should not only have the business principle of making profit, but needs to consider other factors that are part of CSR.

First, companies should be concerned with the quality of the items sold and consumed by their customers. They should also mind the welfare of the working staff to ensure them healthy and a good working environment. The scholar also argues that the operations of the company should be characterized by a high level of integrity, observing all the laws pertaining the company’s culture.

Companies are coming up at a high rate both locally and internationally. Countries have now realized the importance of integrating corporate social responsibilities in the business environments. Judgments on the performance of a given company in most nations are viewed from a CSR angle.

In Russia CSR is viewed as a kind of behavior regarding compliance with rules governing profit making in companies. Although CSR in Russia is considered hyper from the charity work of the individual companies, CSR policy is not very clear in Russia. In fact, researches show that evaluations on Russian’s CSR are contradictory and immature.

CSR in Russia companies can be regarded as being poor due to the lack of knowledge and poor outcome. This picture brings out the Russia businesses as being irresponsible. Recently a group of companies with a desire of CSR has emerged in Russia. These companies have realized the importance of CSR, which is now considered crucial in corporate governance.

Some businesses are always legal in some parts of the world, but considered illegal in other parts of the country. One such product is small arms. Most countries around the world, especially in the developing nations have illegalized sale of arms to the civilians. However, the government has licensed small arms in the hands of the civilians (Urip 2010, p. 16).

The government is encouraged to allow trade of this product because of its benefits to the users. It is believed that in this society, this helps enhance security. When one owns a gun, he or she is in a position to defend himself and herself. With a small arm in the society in the hands of the civilians, the rate of crime is reduced because the criminal knows that the target can fight back.

This eliminates cases where some individuals have guns through illegal means, which encourages them to act criminally. They act criminally because they know that they are advantaged having the weapons while other society members do not. According to Manoj (2012, p. 65), with guns liberalized in the society, it brings the perception that there is security all over. The security will be enhanced through deterrent approach.

For those nations that have illegalized sale of firearms to the civilians, they have good reasons to support their arguments. The United States of America is one of the countries that have legalized sale of licensed guns to the civilians. However, there has been a rise the rate of homicide in the country.

According to Keinert (2008, p. 115), parents would kill their entire family using their licensed guns. According to this scholar, letting guns into the hands of the civilians allows them opportunity to use it at any moment they get emotional. This can be worse in the developing nations. These are the reasons why some countries have illegalized trade in arms.

In cases where the laws of the country allows in trade of guns, there is need to come up with strong measures to curb incidents of abuse of the weapon. Firms that trade in this industry have the responsibility to ensure that their products are used responsibly. It is at this point that corporate social responsibility comes very important. When in this industry, the players will need to ensure that they protect their consumers.

Other members of the family or friends who may get access to the product should protect the consumers from harm. The consumers should also be advised to avoid temptation of using the gun illegally. This is because use of the gun illegally would lead to imprisonment of the consumer, despite the damage it causes the victims.

Firms in this industry have the responsibility to develop campaigns that would ensure the use of this product responsibly among its customers. Taking this as corporate social responsibility in the society will reduce cases of homicide or other incidents related to misuse of the arms. The campaigns should be organized at different stages (Kline 2010, p. 87).

When purchasing the gun, the customer should be advised on the importance of maintaining discipline when using the product. All the consequences of the misuse of the product should be categorically stated even if the consumer is aware of them. This will encourage the use of the weapon responsibly. The second face of this campaign should be targeted at the public.

The firms should come up with campaigns that would reach out for every other member of the society who could have access to the weapons in the hands of the civilians. The campaign may be directed to the public using organized groups who would visit schools and other public places where the campaigners can talk to the public directly.

This can be done with the help of employees of these firms. Another approach can be to organize television commercials. These firms can pay for the commercials and run adverts that would create awareness among the society members of the importance to behave responsibly while with the gun. This will make the society believe that they have a responsibility to use the product in a responsible manner.

Corporate social responsibility is gaining popularity in the contemporary world. Firms have come to realize the importance to give back to the society. It is coming clear to the corporate bodies that they have a role to play within the society in which they operate. It is clear that they have to maintain a positive image and relationship with the society.

This will enable them create an environment where the society will view them as part of the entire community. This enhances their success ability within the market. This explains the rising popularity of corporate social responsibility.

List of References

Asongu, J 2007, Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility in Practice, Green-view Publishers, Lawrenceville.

Keinert, C 2008, Corporate Social Responsibility as an International Strategy, Springer, Heidelberg.

Kline, J 2010, Ethics for International Business: Decision-Making in a Global Political Economy, Routledge, New York.

Manoj, K 2012, Corporate social responsibility: Contemporary issues in India, Adhyayan Publishers & Distributors, New Delhi.

Urip, S 2010, CSR Strategies: Corporate Social Responsibility for a Competitive Edge in Emerging Markets, John Wiley and Sons, New York.

Bristol-Myers Squibb is one of the biggest privately owned pharmaceuticals in the world. The company not only manufactures drugs, but it also participates in clinical drug trials that aim to improve the conditions of the critically ill by using diverse and intense futuristic treatment methods (Romano, 2001).

The company was accused of fraud in 2002. Investigations proved that there were some accounting disparities. The investigations led to the placement of a monitor to check the company’s moves. The situation got worse and destroyed the reputation the company had already built.

This essay analyzes how the company used corporate social responsibility to build back its reputation. Other things that could have been done to salvage the reputation of the company are also discussed in the paper.

The Problem

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is defined as the self-regulation of a corporate organization. It is commonly intertwined with the business model. Deogun and Harris (2001) explain that CSR allows organizations to comply with the spirit of the law.

However, in more recent CSR ventures, companies have taken a firm stand in expressing CSR by doing social good. Deogun and Harris (2001) observe that CSR has also been used to improve the public image of firms, especially after a corporation has experienced bad reviews and publicity.

Bristol-Myers Squibb, as a private organization, has participated in CSR activities. Like numerous similar organizations, Bristol-Myers Squibb has registered some ‘social good’ in the society through community-based actions.

However, as “Bristol-Myers Squibb restructuring” (2007) reveals, these measures are meant to improve the public image of the pharmaceutical company.

The company has been associated with fraudulent activities, which have damaged its public image and reputation. “Bristol-Myers Squibb restructuring” (2007) asserts that the company was involved in a scandal in 2002. Investigations revealed that the company’s statements had been altered from 1999 to 2002.

Even though the company did not accept or deny the allegations, it agreed to pay US$150 million as proposed by the United States Department of Justice.

The company has also been involved in many lawsuits against some of its drugs. In particular, in the same year of the accounting scandal, the company was sued for taking a monopoly of the drug Taxol that is used in cancer treatment. The company was painted as irresponsible, unnecessarily expensive and selfish.

These are qualities that do not go well with customer-based companies. The company decided to indulge in CSR in an attempt to save face and the business. It also agreed to comply with a monitor, who was appointed by the US Attorney.

The monitor checked the company’s ethics guidelines and the finances to ensure the same mistake was not repeated.

Despite the efforts, the company was still in trouble. “Bristol-Myers Squibb restructuring” (2007) explains that in 2006, the monitor requested the resignation of the then CEO Peter Dolan. Investigations revealed that the leaders in the company were still colluding on ways of pocketing money.

The company decided that Dolan’s resignation would be a welcome, positive publicity for the company. It would appear that this was one of the biggest decisions for the company because the Department of Justice went easy on them after the resignation.

In addition, all the executives who were involved in the past scandals were forced to leave office after Dolan. This discussion shows that Bristol-Myers Squibb was eager to solve the crisis and move forward. All the actions that were taken were aimed at sustaining the company.

Literature Review/Background

The company also used CSR to get out of the crisis. Since its scandals in 2006, the company was ranked the best company in terms of CSR in 2009 and one of the top ten in the last four years. The company has invested in CSR since 2007 to get back on its feet.

Using CSR to improve the public image is one of the most effective ways for a company to become a household name. It suffices to mention that there is nothing wrong with what Bristol-Myers Squibb has been doing in terms of CSR. However, there are several other options that that the company could have used to improve their public image.

One advantage of CSR is that it attracts the masses. Corporate social responsibility gets a lot of airplay in the media, which draws a lot of masses in return. A second advantage of the practice is that it allows for-profit companies to appear as if they care about other things, not just money.

It is common knowledge that for-profit businesses will always do what they have to do to register the most profits. However, any sign that the for-profit company is giving back to the community allows the community to perceive the business as not only genuine, but also caring.

Prieto-Carrón et al. (2006) explain that this helps in developing loyalty in a business and its clients.

The biggest disadvantage of CSR is that it can be expensive. Drawing from Bristol-Myers, millions of dollars are being used to support the CSR causes that target communities; for example, the health outreaches and free drug trials. All these consume a lot of money that would have been used to develop the business.

However, Deogun and Harris (2001) are of the opinion that using the company’s money to support other noble causes shows that the company is not only concerned about the money it makes, but also about the impact it has on the society.

The company has used the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation, previously the Bristol-Myers Fund, as a corporate social responsibility strategy. The Foundation supports numerous projects that target the community. For example, Bristol-Myers has invested in a children’s hospital located in New Jersey.

The hospital targets children from remote areas who have mental illnesses and conditions that would be expensive to treat in the private clinics. In addition, the company gives the patients the best medicine to ensure that they can control their conditions.

It is important to mention that establishing a children’s hospital denotes that the company cares about the future of the society, as it takes care of the future generations. Additionally, it shows that the company is humane and cares for those who cannot afford such delicate care.

Bristol-Myers has also invested in educating vulnerable populations on the prevention, treatment, and cure of some of the health conditions that affect such communities. For example, “Bristol-Myers Squibb restructuring” (2007) cites India as one of the countries that have benefitted from this type of CSR from the pharmaceutical company.

India is not only one of the most populous places on earth, but it is also one of the poorest countries. Health facilities and health care are not very diverse, despite the interesting factor that a significant number people in India are doctors.

The Indians tend to mix modern medicine with traditional medicine, which has led to confusion and poor health practices in the general region.

“Bristol-Myers Squibb restructuring” (2007) also reveals that Bristol-Myers Squibb has invested millions of dollars in clinical trials for advanced medicine. Clinical trials have been used to determine the efficacy of new drugs and their side effects.

To make the whole project society-oriented, the company allows people who are in critical conditions to get advanced treatment in their facilities if the drugs are on trial (McCarthy, 2002). It suffices to mention that the people involved in the drug trials usually volunteer.

They are made aware of everything that could happen during the trial to avoid any lawsuits later. The trials are also carefully monitored, and the people involved keenly picked to ensure that they do not put their lives in danger.

“Bristol-Myers Squibb restructuring” (2007) explains that Bristol-Myers Squibb has also been big on corporate giving. Corporate giving is donating money to non-governmental organizations.

On the company’s website, there is the option of applying for a corporate donation and the guidelines that have to be considered before and after the application. Bristol-Myers has used this type of corporate social responsibility activity to get deeper into the community.

Many of the non-governmental organizations that the company aids focus on community-based activities like outreaches and door to door visits. The company also encourages the health facilities it helps to allow the nurses practice community nursing.

This type of nursing involves sending the health practitioners to the community and having them teach people how to take care better of themselves. The pharmaceutical company is recognized during all these corporate social responsibility activities.

It gives the company a marketing advantage by making it a household name and becoming endorsed by the entire community. “Bristol-Myers Squibb restructuring” (2007) argues that the endorsement of a community ensures that the products or services of the company have a monopoly in the society.

For business enterprises such as Bristol-Myers, this comprehensive acknowledgment is useful for increasing profits.

It is important to note that most of the CSR activities are done in developing countries. Prieto-Carrón, Lund-Thomsen, Chan, Muro, and Bhushan (2006) explain that there are two reasons that explain this trend. First, developing countries are perceived to be in more need than the developed countries.

Indeed, there are people who believe that health care facilities and practices in developing countries are deplorable. Whereas this might be true, different developing countries have different economic situations.

Despite this, the idea that a private company is supporting a noble cause in Malawi, which is one of the poorest countries in the world, is compelling even to critics. The second reason CSR targets developing countries is that companies use this opportunity to advertise themselves in the developed countries.

As mentioned, CSR is a type of marketing strategy because it improves public image. Thus, such companies do the CSR elsewhere and use their data and success in the community-based projects to market themselves in the developed countries, where they get more profits.

However, this does not mean that the companies are not allowed to undertake CSR projects in the developed countries. As mentioned, CSR is not only about the social good that the company does, but it is also the quality of service that it gives.

In regard to Bristol-Myers, the company has to give high-quality drugs, as well, for people to trust the brand.

Alternative Solutions

The first alternative to CSR, as explained by Deogun and Harris (2001), is seeking donors. In CSR, the company gives out money. However, the company gets an opportunity to ask for money when it seeks donors. For Bristol-Myers, an endorsement from the Florida Department of Health would have worked wonders on its public image.

The Department of Health was responsible for highlighting the problems the pharmaceutical company faced. It revealed that the company’s highest managers were involved in a corruption scheme that saw them walk away with millions of dollars.

The accounting figures did not match up, which led to the assigning of a monitor to check the company’s activities.

Thus, one pro of getting an endorsement from the Department is that it shows confidence in the company, showing that the company can be trusted. In the same vein, an endorsement by the monitor would have gone a long way in restoring the faith the public had in the company.

However, this situation was made worse when the monitor recommended that the then CEO, Dolan steps down due to corruption. This made the company appear weak, greedy, and untrustworthy among its clients. Many customers turned to competitors for their drugs, as they could not trust the Bristol-Myers.

Since Dolan stepped down, however, it would appear that both the monitor and the Department of Health have approved Bristol-Myers. Another advantage of endorsements is the additional funds received if the firm making the endorsement is a donor.

One of the disadvantages of the strategy is the likelihood that the public will not trust the company as expected. Compared to CSR, donor and organization endorsement do not affect the community directly. Thus, people can argue that the big companies are trying to help each other out, instead of helping the community.

Another alternative solution that could have been used was the firing of the corrupt employees. It is true that the company fired many senior employees who were associated with the accounting scandal. However, it did so in the wrong fashion.

Public outcry demands fast action; thus, the rest of the people who were involved should have followed suit immediately the CEO resigned. Instead, the rest were fired much later when more damage had been done to the company’s reputation. Indeed, this tact alone would not have restored public trust in the company fully. However, combined with CSR, the tact would have been the best option for the company.

The first advantage, or pro, of firing the responsible individuals immediately is that there is less damage to the company’s reputation. The fired employees can serve as a reason the public should trust the company. In addition, the action shows that the company does not tolerate bad behavior.

Moreover, the company can blame any other aftermath on the employees who were fired.

The biggest con of firing employees is the possibility of the employees suing the company. However, this will only be a problem if the company fires individuals based on allegations that have not been confirmed.

In the same vein, the public can still blame the company even after the responsible individuals have been laid off because it might appear they are throwing their employees under the bus.

As mentioned, very many employees were forced to resign later on. This went to prove that the whole company was corrupt, and this fact would have made the PR problem much bigger if the company had adopted this strategy.

Recommendations

So far, Bristol-Myers Squibb has been living one day at a time, hoping that their CSR plan will ensure a relatively good public image. It is true that the company has improved since 2006.

However, like many other big pharmaceutical companies, it is under constant criticism regarding the price of drugs, the profit the company makes, and the drug trials it undertakes.

In order to fully create an exceptional public image, it is crucial that the company invests heavily in rebuilding the community’s trust. This can be done in several ways, as described below.

First, Bristol-Myers Squibb should adopt a system of accountability and transparency. It can be argued that the initial problem with the company arose due to lack of transparency and accountability, which made it easier for people to steal from the company.

Lack of accountability also made it difficult for the public to find out what was going on in the company. Currently, people might not trust the company because they are not sure that the same thing will not happen again. To help avoid this, the company has to come up with a better way of proving transparency and accountability.

The company can also benefit from having more than just a responsibility statement. If one were to visit Bristol-Myers web page right now, they would be able to see the responsibility statement by the CEO. The issue of the responsibility statement is discussed widely.

Despite this, a company needs more than just the statement to have an impact on the community. In the case of Bristol-Myers, it would appear that the company is trying very hard to please the public, which might not auger well with the clients.

The clientele wants to feel special, but they do not want to feel stupid in the process. Putting up a responsibility statement is not of importance if the company does not believe in giving back to the society.

It would also be advisable for the company to ensure that its clinical trials are done in a more professional and ethical manner. Pharmaceutical companies are usually accused of restricting or taking monopoly over a drug and selling it at a very high price later on.

Bristol-Myers has been involved in such an accusation. To help reduce this negative publicity, the company has to ensure that the clinical and drug trials are done well, according to the guidelines provided by the relevant regulatory bodies.

If no guidelines have been set, then the company should make an effort to do so. These guidelines will help any staff know what they should and should not do in any situation.

Another suggestion that can be made to help improve the public image of Bristol-Myers is the use of CSR not only for social good, but also to improve its brand. Drawing from the definition of CSR, the business model is essential to the drafting of a CSR plan. This means that the goals and visions of the company are also part of its CSR.

Thus, strong mission and vision statements will help create a better public image, For instance, the company can consider including community-based and targeted goals in its business plan. This way, the society will know that the company cares about them.

While discussing the issue of business plan, it is important to also mention that there are several things that the company can use to strengthen the mission and vision statements and improve the business plan, as discussed in the next section of the paper.

Last, it is important for the company to have a strong media campaign and communications department. These are the two entities that can help the company maintain its public image. Bristol-Myers has been using CSR to develop its public image and build it from the tarnished one it had.

However, maintaining the good public image is not easy. In fact, it is possible that the company invests more in societal CSR just so that it can maintain the good public image it desires. The easiest way of doing this has a strong media campaign that is backed by equally strong communication strategies.

The communication strategies should also focus on creating crises management models that the company can use because it is always best to be prepared for the worst at all times.

Suggestions for Implementation

There are two things that can be suggested for the company to implement. First, the balanced scorecard is a popular tool for evaluating a firm’s performance. The importance of this tool is to change the organizational culture and ensure accountability in the company.

As mentioned, the goals, mission, and vision statements are also fundamental to creating and maintaining a company’s reputation. For example, imagine company A whose goal is to deliver the highest quality of products and services to its clients.

Company A’s vision statement is to enhance adequate user ability of its products and services, while the mission statement is to ensure that all the products and services are of top quality. Company B, on the other hand, has a goal of maximizing the profits registered.

Its mission statement is to ensure it gets as many clients as possible, while its vision statement is to ensure that its clients are satisfied and keep coming back. The two companies are very different, based on their goals, missions, and vision statement.

They could be selling the same product or offering the same service, but this would not matter because of the difference in the three aspects mentioned. Clients are more likely to approach and be loyal to company A than company B.

Bristol-Myers has a very strong responsibility statement. However, this is not enough to ensure a better public image. A balanced scorecard will also allow the company to ensure accountability, which is crucial for Bristol-Myers because of its tarnished history.

Moreover, the scorecard will make it easier for the management to know what the company needs, how to get it, and who to be in charge of the venture.

A balanced scorecard presents more options than any other model. It not only ensures that everything is in check, but it also gives the company a clear way forward. Balanced scorecards also help the company identify problems.

For example, if the previous managers had implemented the scorecard, they would have noted the accounting errors and resolved the issue from within before it exploded and attracted the public and ruined the company’s reputation. The scorecard will prevent numerous blunders that the company can make.

The second thing that can be implemented is a media and communications campaign, specifically the use of new media. The Internet has been used by many companies to make and break reputations.

In fact, without the Internet, the likelihood of other people in different parts of the world ever knowing about the Bristol-Myers’ accounting scandal would have been low.

Despite the challenges one might get when dealing with new media, one of its biggest advantages is that it is the easiest and cheapest way of improving and monitoring a company’s reputation.

The media and communications campaign should include intensive coverage of the company’s activities through the Internet. Making extensive campaigns on social media, for example, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram can do this. The ease of access and the ease of sharing within social media will also make the outreaches effective.

The company can use these platforms to make a name and answer any questions that the public might have. In fact, encouraging the company to ask questions about the quality of its drugs, the clinical and drug tests, and its accountability will give the company a good chance to change the perception people have.

The company can also use the platforms mentioned above to attract new clients. It is much easier to convince a new client than to try and convince an old client who felt betrayed by the company’s accusations.

Further, keeping tabs on the social media networks will allow the company to know what the public thinks about the company and what its competitors are up to.

For any business, knowing what the competitor is doing is good because plans can be made to do the same thing better or introduce an entirely different concept that will excite the targeted clientele more.

The communication and media campaign also includes strengthening the web pages associated with the company. It suffices to mention that the Bristol-Myers web page is very user-friendly and appropriate. This allows the users to maneuver and learn more about the company and its products and services.

As mentioned, crisis communication is part of the media campaign. The only time a company can break or make a public image is during a crisis. The way the company will handle the crisis will highlight its strengths and weaknesses.

It is important to appreciate the fact that Bristol-Myers complied with the government and encouraged investigations. Afterward, the company’s management made a decision, even though it appeared forced, to let go of all employees involved in the accounting scandal.

A communications team would also have given press statements and done everything necessary to show that the company was eager to find out the truth, bring the culprits to justice, and improve the management of the company.

If this had been done soon enough, the impact of the investigation would not have affected the company’s reputation as much as it did.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the main problem Bristol-Myers Squibb faced was the accounting scandal. This scandal destroyed the faith and trust the public had in the company. The company invested in social good, also known as the corporate social responsibility to amend the situation.

The company has managed to support several noble causes all over the globe in an attempt to regain favor from its clients. It can be asserted that this strategy had been working well since 2006 when the company’s CEO and other officials resigned.

However, there are many other things that the company has to do to ensure that its public image is not tarnished again. One such thing is to adopt a balanced scorecard that provides accountability.

In addition, the company should invest in a media and communications campaign that will help it develop crisis management strategies so that history does not repeat itself.

References

Bristol-Myers Squibb restructuring includes medical imaging unit sale. (2007). Medical Device Daily, 11(222), 1-9.

Deogun, N., & Harris, G. (2001, January 11). Bristol-Myers Squibb leans against sale, and toward spinoff, of orthopedic unit. Wall Street Journal – Eastern Edition. p. B4

McCarthy, M. (2002). US states file lawsuit against Bristol-Myers Squibb. Lancet, 359(9323), 2092.

Prieto-Carrón, M., Lund-Thomsen, P., Chan, A., Muro, A., & Bhushan, C. (2006). Critical perspectives on CSR and development: what we know, what we don’t know, and what we need to know. International Affairs, 82(5), 977-987

Romano, M. (2001). Drug giant buys high profile at site. Modern Healthcare, 31(14), 4

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to convey to the Board of Suncorp-Metway Limited approaches that will be used in implementing the corporate social responsibility (CSR). This implies that corporate social responsibility strategies are applied differently across different industries and variably by companies within the industry. It involves complex decisions that include trade-offs by businesses.

Difficult decisions include the moral duty of the company to do the right thing, the company commitment to sustainability as well as the need to maintain the company operations besides safeguarding its reputations.

In the justification of this noble course, Suncorp-Metway Limited will set CSR boundary according to their core value propositions. As part of the ideal strategies, the company will tend to take initiatives that generally strengthen business undertakings while advancing societal goals and environmental conditions.

Background

Profit generation or corporate financial responsibility has been the historical obligation of many corporations over centuries. Even today it is still the main reason why businesses are set up.

However, as the public, consumers, governments, civil organizations and even the corporations themselves are increasingly becoming more conscious of the power of large firms, the need of establishing the concept of corporate social responsibility turn out to be more essential.

Many corporations today see CSR as a smart business strategy while some have stagnantly remained in the past when CSR was seen as a mere business idealism.

These companies continuously involve themselves in incidents that find them act outside their legal obligations. That is, they go beyond the legal compliance and involve themselves in major scandals that ushered in the decade of legal mistrust and downright hostility by the stakeholders.

Basically, that is why it is a good strategy for us as a company to continuously demonstrate that we are ethical and always act according to the legal requirement.

The shared lack of enthusiasm and public mistrust has made the executives of the larger corporations to justly rise above simple legal compliance and display to the public their respective company commitment to moral values, devotion to moral standards and consistent implementation of better CSR practices.

In the remarkable 21^st century, CSR and ethical leadership cannot be divorced. Some business administrators still consider corporate social responsibility as an advancement of business ethics. CSR still has its foundation in the fundamentals of company ethics and integrity which must begin from consistent ethical leadership.

The government and the society at large have raised their expectation and standards for companies that are continuously in need of doing business. It is our obligation as a company to comply with the standards set by corporate regulatory bodies such as World Business Council in charge of Sustainable Development (see the appendices).

The implementation of CSR might seem to be costly but it is imperative that we look at it in its entirety. The benefits of CSR go beyond the monitory value. It ensures sustainability, competitiveness and an enormous comparative advantage. CSR is considered as a positive business ideology that addresses basic business ethics. Moreover, CSR provides significant ethical guidelines for businesses and define their social accountability.

It addresses the way businesses should satisfy the requirements or the obligations of governments and societies. CSR further specifies how companies should ethically treat key stakeholders such as the suppliers, employees, customers and the community to win their confidence.

Discussion

Corporate social responsibility persists as one of the issues that are currently hitting the headlines in the business world. The symbiotic relationship between business and society leads to the appreciation of CSR by all participants in the economic world. There is more than enough evidence indicating that entrepreneurial activities will only survive when there is support and appreciation from the society.

The success determinants for a business such as stakeholders and corporate strategies have been influenced by the societal desire to have a closer relationship (Warwick, 2008, p.20). Factors influencing the market namely social, environmental and economics reflect the central position of the major stakeholders in the CSR impasse.

According to Porter and Kramer (2006, p.1) CSR refers to the organization constant obligation to act morally and continuously grow economically while at the same time improving the general life of its employees as well as their families and the society at large. McWilliams et al. (2005, p.6) suggests that businesses should take on charitable activities around the communities where they operate.

Other important obligations that corroborate CSR include economic, legal and moral responsibilities. The practical tasks of corporate social responsibility deals completely with environmental issues that correlate to the natural surrounding, economic and social issues that will finally go towards the development of the communities and the government.

The organizations’ case for corporate social responsibility is influenced by several factors such as changing public expectations, company image, business resources and legal regulations.

Warwick (2008, p.20) asserts that CSR is the moral obligation both in social, economic and legal expectation that the society has of any particular organization be it small business or larger corporations. It reflects the organization efforts in managing its functions that will generate overall positive effects on the public. Companies are at present competitively succeeding in international market.

To do extremely well in this competitive market, the company must be morally service orientation towards the stakeholders that include its clients, employees, suppliers, management, the general public and other interested groups.

Regardless of the need to devote more resources in terms of time and capital so as to put into practice the best CSR activities, business have appreciated its consequence in determining their image and differentiating it from competitors.

Warwick (2008, p.37) further stresses that the foundation of CSR in any business or organization arise from the five basic elements. These basic elements are closely linked to value addition, product improvement, the public sense, long-term projections in addition to being sensitive to the policies in place.

Product originality connotes steady introduction of new products in the market in order to service consumers as well as increase the company competitive advantage. Being sensitive to society or the public implies the legal responsibility a business has to the community considering reverence, necessities and provisos of services and commodities that are in accordance to social, economic and environmental issues.

Adding value to the product is an element of CSR which is very significant in all businesses activities since it creates trust and merit in marketplace as well as in the judgment of the most vital stakeholders to the business. These include suppliers, investors, customers and employees (McWilliams et al., 2005, p.16). From this point of view, it becomes imperative for business organizations to generate value through their operations.

Indeed corporation that are working more for community services more willingly than profit the reasons enhance their competitive advantage which is essential in determining their endurance (Porter and Kramer, 2006, p.1).

All businesses organizations must operate under corporate control or legal procedures that is aims to guard them against adverse issues such as financial misappropriation. Therefore, all firms are indebted to abide by the guiding principles set by the regulating bodies like the government agencies.

Additionally, businesses are continuing processes that are supposed to be sustained by bearing in mind the needs and expectations of all the stakeholders of interest.

Corporate social responsibility has an important role in promoting company reputation and brand image (Cavett-Goodwin, 2007, p.1). It is preferably supportive in improving sales in addition to customer trustworthiness. It is also an essential tool used in attracting and retaining best employees. Consequently, CSR is a prerequisite of the company increased capability which in turn ensure sustainable development.

CSR is one of the most essential tools that play important role in any business operations despite of its size. To flourish in the current aggressive business environment, business organization needs to reimburse the public in form of corporate social responsibility (Ludescher, 2009, p.1).

Albeit businesses and the general public are inter-dependent as well as inter-linked in one way or the other, their involvement in CSR are a sign of goodwill (Ludescher, 2009, p.1)

Recommendations

It is to the best interest of the company to forge ahead and implement the CSR strategies to remain sustainable and competitive. It likely that the Suncorp-Metway Limited will continuously gain from good relationship built with the community and customers because of the embracing CSR best business practices.

As we forge a head it is important to be cognizant of those measures that will give our company a rare competitive edge and sustainable profitability. However, as we will continuously replicate the promotion and development of CSR business programs, the real benefits the company will get from these programs is harder to foresee.

References

Cavett-Goodwin, D. 2007, “Making the Case for Corporate Social Responsibility”. Web.

Ludescher, J. 2009, “Corporate Social Responsibility: From Corporate Strategy to Global Justice”. Web.

McWilliams, A., Siegel, D. S. & Wright, P. M. 2005, “Corporate Social Responsibility: Strategic Implications”. Web.

Porter, M. & Kramer, M. 2006, “Strategy & Society: The Link between Competitive Advantage and Corporate Social Responsibility”. Web.

Warwick, M. 2008, “The Five Dimensions of CSR”. Web.

CSR obligation surpasses what the law requires a firm to do. It is the responsibility an organization takes upon itself to better the social lives of both the workforce and society. Currently, this is a worldwide trend.

This is because of the pressure from society and governments for organizations to feel more responsible for the sources of their resources. The members of society are also more sophisticated than sometime back. The competitive environment is also cutthroat with more companies joining the framework (Capon, 2008).

Importance of Business Social Responsibility in the Society

A better society creates a better environment for doing business. Business will, therefore, gain e.g. by contributing to the societies efforts to increase the level of security, business will also be protecting its own plant. In today’s business world, businesses are seeking to tailor their goods according to the taste and preferences of the end users who are a big part of society.

The more business is involved with society the more it is going to become aware of its end user’s needs. Consequently, the more it is going to tailor its products to fit their various needs. Good public image; social responsibility shows that the organisation cares about society and not just their money. As a result, society wants to keep doing business with the organisation (Carnal, 2007).

Impacts of Business Social and Ethical Responsibility in the Society

Social responsibility has greatly affected society in different areas of life. Among the greatest beneficiaries is the environment. As more and more organisations take up the challenge of conserving the environment, it is becoming a necessity for the whole of the business fraternity in the world to engage in environmental conservation activities.

Consequently, the world’s society is gaining from these efforts, for instance increase in rainfall around the world, reduced global warming etc. The funds that come from Corporate Social Responsibility are changing lives in the society. Organisations are reaching out around the globe (e.g. third world countries) and transforming the lives of poor members of society (Slide Share, 2009).

Managerial Views

What do managers across the globe say about the issue of social responsibility? Well, the opinion is diverse. It depends upon factors such as the industry, the nature of business and the target market. There are those against and those for corporate social responsibility. This part discusses the reasons behind this divide.

Managers against CSR

Studies show there is a direct correlation between Corporate Social Responsibility and profit maximization. Maximizing profit is the main goal of any organization. However, some organizations argue that Corporate Social Responsibility beats the whole logic of this objective.

Extensively, therefore, it dilutes the purpose of doing business. For example, if a company offers a basic product, whose main source is not the environment; the reason to give back to society negates reasons for doing business (Capon, 2008).

Another school of thought plays the costs card to justify reasons not to engage in Corporate Responsibility. Truth is it is an expensive affair. Most companies report billions used in Corporate Responsibility. Eventually, opponents argue that a company ends up yielding too much power over the society. This is because psychologically they feel the responsibility to buy products from that company.

Another reason is that a company that does this without a clear intention to benefit society (i.e. takes it as a responsibility), may end up employing unorthodox means to ensure that it recovers the costs associated with the practice. For example, a company may lay off workers. It is also illogical to practice CSR in an environment that does not necessarily require you to as noted by (Capon, 2008).

Managers for Corporate Responsibility

As noted earlier, studies show a relationship exists between profit maximization and social responsibility. However, this is realizable only in the end. This is because the society associates with the company as it continues to practice this responsibility.

It is also widely known that societies across the board expect some return from constantly doing business with a certain company, hence, the need to do it to quench that expectation.

Some managers further argue that in an environment where the government has too much regulations, CSR can help mitigate these regulations or to restrict imposition of new ones. Hence, it acts as a buffer zone but only in those economies where governments care about its citizens (Capon, 2008).

With power comes responsibility. Powerful organizations are the most responsible. CSR acts as a way to help companies to balance these two. Therefore, it does not matter how much power a company has over the society, as long as it engages in CSR its power spreads out.

Managers also face the need to follow the interests of its stockholders. They may want a company to engage in such societal causes and managers do not have a choice but to oblige. Lastly, managers argue that CSR guarantees an organization has continued hold to resources of interest (Slide Share, 2009).

References

Capon, C. (2008). Understanding Strategic Management. New York: FT/Prentice Hall.

Carnal, C. (2007). Managing Change in Organizations. Essex: Pearson Education.

Slide Share. (2009). Five Social Responsibility and Managerial Ethics. Retrieved from https://www.slideshare.net/

Companies linking CSR to their marketing strategies

The main focus of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is on stakeholder analysis, business strategies and the resulting competitive advantages. A special focus has been given to the link between CSR and a company’s financial performance.

CSR has been defined as the continuing commitment by businesses to conduct their activities ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce, the local community and the society at large.

This focuses on the relationships between business and society and how businesses behave towards their key stakeholders including employees, customers, investors, suppliers, communities, and special interest groups.

There are several companies that are practicing CSR; these include the ExxonMobil which has made several efforts towards good corporate citizenship. It contributes over $35 million each year through its foundation to a wide variety of CSR causes particularly in areas of education, health, environment, museums & arts, community services, women and towards the interests of the minority.

More than 80% of the company’s contributions are made in the area education within the US even though its economic lifeline is oil exploration, refinement and processing that is done overseas. The $35 million contribution is primarily in form of cash grants to charitable organizations whose programs are not linked in a tangible way to ExxonMobil’s business objectives and strategy or its core activities.

The decision by Shell to sink the Bret Spar Oil storage facility in the North Atlantic is an illustration of how misalignment between Shell’s CSR efforts and business decisions hurt the company’s reputation and bottom-line in Europe. The Monsanto Company provides another example of a conflict between business and CSR strategies.

It engaged in consultative process with international NGO’s to explain and understand issues around marketing of genetically modified seeds. The company’s business units aggressively sought approval to market the seed in Brazil, Europe and India despite strong negative public reactions.

Despite concerns expressed by its CSR staff, Monsanto decided to introduce the controversial seed technologies in these markets. Later, prominent development organizations like Grameen and CARE cancelled their plans to collaborate with Monsanto on community projects in Bangladesh, Tanzania and India (Werther, 2010).

Linking CSR to human resource management

Social responsibility is about caring for people especially those whose health care needs are to be addressed as well as the employees. It also considers the impacts of the business on the global society and the local community.

This interprets social responsibility and thus implicitly, the human resources management role is portrayed as a caring one. In some other cases, this can be interpreted as paternalistic attitude towards employees. Some other companies expand the aspect of social responsibility to the support of the local community.

Sustainable development can be enhanced through its adoption in every aspect of a company’s activities. Implementation of sustainable development relies on policies particularly in its human resource policy which deals with the social aspects. In this context, the employees are at the heart of the groups’ success and the human resource policy is decisive in maintaining its performance and sustainable development (Ehnert, 2009).

The human resource department should be responsible for the development of a formal policy on sustainable practices involving employees. This approach shows support for the local community and thus builds a positive team spirit in the organization and helps to create a winning environment at the work place.

The human resource department should design an orientation program for newly recruited candidates in a manner that addresses the corporate philosophy about CSR. The commitment of the top management toward CSR is crucial, and it should be expressed in tangible terms to reinforce the right behavior in an organization.

The designing of performance management system should be done in a way that measures the social responsibilities initiatives taken by the employees. This is important in internalizing CSR in an organization’s culture which requires that appropriate behavior is appraised, appreciated and rewarded.

The training facilities may also be made available to instill the CSR culture among the employees; this enables the employees to learn and practice the CSR activities. Empowerment of managers by giving them the decision making authority can greatly aid in executing social responsibility at a local level. This is particularly useful for an organization with plants or units at multiple locations around the world.

Ways for companies to report on their CSR activities

A popular reporting system used is the “One Report” as defined by Eccles and Krzus. It portrays a comprehensive, networked, real-time, living and breathing system that through integrated reporting provides a single version of the truth to all concerned parties inside and out. Viewed in this context, rethinking of reporting is not as boring but it is at the very heart of the success and survival of companies and the economy (Eccles & Krzus, 2010).

The digital revolution has greatly enhanced the efficiency of this form of reporting. The internet has evolved from a network of websites that enable organizations to simply present information to become a computing plat-form.

The elements of a computer and computer programs can be spread out across the internet and seamlessly combined as necessary. The internet generally has become a giant computer that everyone can program; it provides a global infrastructure for creativity, participation, sharing and self-organization.

Sharing a global computer with all stakeholders enhances a new world of possibilities for positive transparency and engagement while at the same time appropriately protecting intellectual property, legitimate corporate secrets and the privacy of individuals.

Various associations produce reports on the business case for corporate responsibility, these include the business council for social responsibility, world business council for sustainable development and the international business leaders’ forum which in its report, shows quantifiable and enduring business advantage towards doing the right thing (Crane, 2008).

Reference List

Crane, A 2008, The Oxford handbook of corporate social responsibility, Chicago: Oxford Handbooks Online.

Ehnert, I 2009, Sustainable Human Resource Management: A Conceptual and Exploratory Analysis from a Paradox Perspective, Geneva: Springer.

Krzus, R. G 2010, One Report: Integrated Reporting for a Sustainable Strategy, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.

Werther, W 2010, Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility: Stakeholders in a Global Environment, Texas: SAGE.

Abstract

Companies across the globe have devised different corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives to address the common social challenges affecting their customers. Among the companies with comprehensive and well structured CSR initiatives include the Viacom Inc. This analytical treatise attempts to explicitly review the CSR initiatives of the Viacom Company. Reflectively, the company strives to factor in the three Ps of management strategies comprising of the Planet, Profit, and People in its CSR activities.

These seer values are designed to facilitate sustainability due to acceptance by the community and coexistence, thus, earning the company a competitive advantage over other service providers in the same field of operation. Specifically, the paper adopts a holistic approach in extrapolating corporate social responsibility, environmental stewardship, and quality in service delivery with an added value tag at the Viacom Company.

Viacom Company Overview

The Viacom Inc. Company is a mass media company based in the United States of America and has several subsidiary brands within its business activities. Founded in 2006, the company is the fourth largest in the global mass media industry and provides services such as radio, cable television, movies, and publishing.

The company generated revenue of US$ 13.887 billion in 2013 and currently has an asset value of US$ 22.250 billion. The company operates in the competitive and dynamic global mass media industry. The company functions as a private entity with diverse interest in the entertainment industry.

Since its inception, the company has remained profitable due to its competitive business models and series of CSR initiatives. The organizational overview of this company consists of several divisions such as the BET Network, Paramount Pictures, Viacom Media Networks, and the Viacom International Media. The company operates under a board of directors (Viacom, 2014).

The company’s management philosophy is systematic governance with flexibility for innovation and creativity. This philosophy operates on the assumptions of confident, competent, and responsible business activities. The philosophy encourages a practical approach to addressing daily challenges in running the business and monitoring progress of the implemented strategies. In addition, the philosophy provides channels for constant motivation and rewarding the customers through a series of CSR initiatives (Viacom, 2014).

Viacom Company has managed to maintain innovation and commitment to quality in products through the ‘create share value’ policy which promotes customer loyalty. Besides, the company has participated in a series of corporate social responsibility activities through ethical managerial commitments designed to support socially responsible activities in the business such as the annual ‘Viacommunity Day’, which enhances its resource based approach to CSR (Viacom, 2014).

The competencies exhibited by the company are part of its overall strategic management and ethical corporate responsibility model. As one of the most efficient company in the global mass media industry, it defines its success from the opportunities it offers to the loyal customers who form part of the corporate social responsibility pillar. This competitive strategy has enhanced the corporation’s competitive advantage in the market.

The CSR initiatives are more than a public relations exercise since the green campaign, the annual ‘Viacommunity Day’, education trust, and health initiatives are part of the company’s management philosophy meant to promote the ‘create share value’ policy (Viacom, 2014).

Circumstances that triggered the need for CSR initiatives

Addressing social based concerns through the creation of shared responsibilities was the main reason for the establishment of the different CSR initiatives. The company was interested in eliminating their customers’ dependence on incentives by governments and other private organizations.

For instance, the ‘Get Schooled’ initiative by the Viacom Company was informed by the need to provide a long term solution to education crisis in the US and other parts of the globe. It is a private sponsorship program which supports schools by developing infrastructure, training teachers, offering financial support to students, and leadership training. The aim of this initiative is to guide and support youth in their career life.

This initiative is run by employees of the organization. Through partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the company has been in a position to provide education to disadvantaged students across the globe. The initiative is supported by the ‘roadblock’ commercial that shows the power of educating the community (Viacom, 2014).

Besides, the need to raise the level of HIV/AIDs awareness inspired the creation of the ‘Rap-It-Up’ Emmy Award. Through this initiative, the company was able to address the social concerns in different societies as a result of the effects of HIV/AIDs. The ‘Thin Line’ program aired on MTV by the company is an initiative that was meant to protect the youths from digital abuse.

Moreover, the ‘Comedy Central’ program by the company has been active in raising environmental awareness across the globe (D’Amato et al. 2009). Another CSR initiative aimed at addressing educational concerns across the globe is the ‘Kindergarten to Cap & Gown’. This initiative involves the company’s employees who act as mentors to students throughout the formal education stages and career development.

The company came up with a ‘Fight Malaria’ initiative to engage communities in Africa in combating malaria. Further, it came up with an initiative to combat malnutrition and ensure safe delivery for women within the same continent. In addition, it sponsored the Nigerian Idol which is a reality show besides coming up with a recycling initiative for women to recycle materials to produce environmentally friendly bags.

It also introduced the ‘save water-save life’ initiative In Egypt. This initiative still provides clean water to the communities across Egypt. Finally, the company organized various sporting initiatives such as cricket besides scholarship schemes in India. In summary, the CSR initiatives by the company were started to promote social cohesion and provide support services to customers across the globe (Viacom, 2014).

Targeted outcome from these initiatives

The Viacom Company aims at immensely benefiting from these CSR initiatives. First, the initiatives are expected to increase the presence of the company in various regions, including all the continents of the world.

This will enable the company to grow rapidly. Secondly, CSR initiatives are expected to enable the company to grow the customer base rapidly and enhance customer loyalty. For instance, in regions such as Nigeria, where Viacom carried out several CSR initiatives, the company expected to further expand its large market share as a result of customer loyalty (Porter and Mark, 2006).

Corporate social responsibility gives customers confidence in the company’s products because they often want to be identified with products of a company which cares about their other needs. Further, the CSR initiatives are expected to improve the relationship between the company and the customers (D’Amato et al. 2009). For instance, the ‘Get Schooled’ initiative is expected to earn the trust of customers who will feel appreciated and valued by the education initiative (Viacom, 2014).

The CSR initiatives are expected to show the strength of the company as being able to learn and execute changes according to the needs of the markets. From this conceptualization, the company expected to command a competitive position by being flexible to change within the milieu of technological developments and customer trends addressed by the initiatives (Porter and Mark, 2006). This was informed by the fact that success and market position falls on the paradigm of long term organizational culture.

Heavy involvement in CSR activities has been always a major concern for shareholders because they view it as a conflict of interest. Shareholders’ goal is to get a lot of returns in the form of dividends and market price of the shares. Despite this conflict of interest, the shareholders of the Viacom Company have gained from CSR initiatives through increased returns.

Moreover, due to positive publicity and reputation, the market value of shares of the Viacom Company is always stable. In summary, an organization gains immensely from the CSR initiatives since they improve the profitability of the organization and increase the customer base (Porter and Mark, 2006).

Managing people and financial resources to accomplish CSR goals

The Viacom Company adopted several strategies to effectively manage its people and financial resources to accomplish its CSR goals. For instance, the company adopted a proactive partnership strategy for implementing the strategies such as the ‘Get Schooled’, ‘Comedy Central’, and ‘Rap-It-Up’. Through partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Viacom Company was able to successfully implement the ‘Get Schooled’ initiative since the implementation process and financing was equally shared (Viacom, 2014).

The company was also in a position to recruit volunteers within its human resource to further cut on the cost of implementing some of the initiatives. For instance, during the implementation of the ‘Fight Malaria’ initiative in Kenya, the employees from Kenya offered free community service as change agents and liaison officers.

The engagement of employees in the CSR initiatives enabled the Viacom Company to attract and retain experienced and qualified personnel. This is because the staff members would naturally feel as being part of an organization that appreciates the communities where they come from (Porter and Mark, 2006).

Notwithstanding, the company has made it a policy to allocate a substantial amount of revenues for charity purposes. Since the initiatives operate within a pre-determined budget, the company has been able to create systematic and dynamic systems for running the initiatives concurrently.

Conclusion

From the above discussion, it is apparent that corporate social responsibility and ethical management plan of the Viacom Company has positioned it as a company of the future. Viacom Company has developed a mutual relationship with its customers through the numerous CSR initiatives such as the ‘Get Schooled’, ‘Comedy Central’, and ‘Rap-It-Up’.

In addition, the company has a series of programs on education trust, environmental conservation, and provision of social amenities across the globe. These seer values are designed to facilitate sustainability due to acceptance by the community. This eventually earns the company a competitive advantage over other service providers in the same field of operation. Generally, the Viacom Company’s CSR initiatives are expected to increase the presence of the company in various regions across the world.

References

D’Amato, A., Henderson, S., & Florence, S. (2009). Corporate social responsibility and sustainable business: guide to leadership, task and functions. Web.

Porter, M., &Mark, K. (2006). Strategy and society: The link between competitive advantage and corporate social responsibility. Web.

Viacom (2014). Corporate responsibility. Web.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a critical component in the development of a vibrant relationship between an organization and its stakeholders. Hence, organizations are supposed to be proactive in engaging the immediate environment on matters regarding the welfare of the environment.

In particular, corporate social responsibility is supposed to create a balance between profitability and the overall wellbeing of the targeted market. While the concept of corporate social responsibility is broad and sometimes complex depending on the method used to approach it, this paper will largely dwell on the analysis of the modern issues that often affect business organizations and their practices.

In particular, the paper will attempt to offer a detailed discussion of the socially irresponsible, unethical or illegal activities that usually bedevil business organizations even as they seek to boost their profitability.

It is prudent to note that there are three main areas of concern that are instrumental when exploring the concept of corporate social responsibility. These are the management of a company, corporate culture and the competitive environment of a business entity.

The essay will begin by exploring the concept of corporate social responsibility using the example of AstraZeneca Plc. In particular, the essay will explore the employees deployed by AstraZeneca since they are part and parcel of the company. The analysis will focus on the safety, health, and environment (SHE) program.

Although there are negative practices that the company may have committed in the past, it is profound to note that there are good practices that amount to corporate social responsibility courtesy by the company. The information represented in this essay was obtained from stakeholders who have been given the duty of undertaking the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) of the company.

AstraZeneca Plc. was incepted way back in 1999 (Turner 2005, p. 69). This was made possible due to the merger between Astra AB and Zeneca Group Plc. Most of the activities of the company take place in the United Kingdom. Hence, the operations of the company are centered in the United Kingdom. The company was formed with the broad objective of generating long-term and sustainable growth.

While profitability is the key goal of the company, the stakeholders have also been the center of attention of the company. It is vital to note that stakeholders include even the targeted market that comprise of customers and their diverse needs.

The company clearly understands that the process of production does not stop at the point of sale. It goes beyond sales and marketing. Hence, corporate social responsibility goes beyond making profits and leading the market.

At present, AstraZeneca Plc is one of the most competitive pharmaceutical companies. It has a strong focus on research, development and innovation. The latter are required because its commercial and manufacturing operations depend on the aforementioned aspects bearing in mind that there is a growing competition in the marketing of pharmaceutical products.

The company manufactures medicinal products for treating various ailments. In addition, its operations are not localized in Europe. As already, mentioned, United Kingdom acts as its headquarters. However, its activities are scattered in over one hundred destinations across the world. In terms of the manufacturing process, it takes place in twenty nations. The company has a workforce of about 54000 employees.

Corporate Social Responsibility in transition economies

Economies that are in a state of transition are largely considered to be in the developmental stage. Nevertheless, even the developed states may still experience transition economies especially if there are major economic adjustments. In the case of AstraZeneca Plc., corporate social responsibility can be attained by putting the right efforts and initiatives in place so that sustainable development can be effectively implemented.

This implies that when a company takes corporate social responsibility seriously, it significantly contributes towards corporate governance. The organization assumes that sustainable development is the ability of a specified economic operation to meet the needs of both the present and future markets.

At present, this business organization is putting in place a lot of energy in order to boost its corporate social responsibility fundamentals. Besides, it is aiming at establishing suitable techniques for implementing and regulating the efficacy of the Corporate Social Responsibility.

The most sensitive stakeholder that needs to be put into consideration is the employee of the company. The SHE program should be directed towards the employees of the organization. In any case, aligning employees with the corporate social responsibility program is the most important aspect that the company should embark on.

Stakeholder theorists often claim that the management of companies ought to make sure that shareholders’ interests are enhanced at all times. Unfortunately, this is not the case at AstraZeneca Plc. There are no clear guidelines that have been put in place by the county in order to take care of this vital need. In addition, other stakeholders or groups that work hand in hand with the company.

Areas of Corporate Social Responsibility include the environment, social welfare, and economic wellbeing. These responsibilities are critical fundamentals of the corporate responsibility of any given company or business entity. In some cases, the environmental sustainability largely lays a lot of emphasis on the effects occasioned by people on the immediate environment.

In addition, social sustainability takes care of various issues that directly or indirectly impact the society as a whole. When the latter is put into consideration, it brings into perspective the fact that AstraZeneca plc is yet to put into consideration the safety environmental rules regarding emission of toxic materials into the environment (Boerner 2011, p.34).

It is profound to underscore the fact that the process of manufacturing pharmaceutical products usually leads to massive generation of waste products in form of chemical wastes. Therefore, it is necessary for the management of the company to formulate policies guarding waste control and management both inside their factories and immediately after being released.

Adequate management of pollution clearly amounts to corporate governance. The ideals behind corporate responsibility of a company entails various operations such as employees’ working conditions, environmental protection, production of safe products, ethical sales and marketing ideals as well as activities that add value to a business organization.

Since Considering AstraZeneca Plc operates within the pharmaceutical industry, social and corporate responsibility cannot be ignored at all costs.

How can corporate social responsibility be integrated in the operations of AstraZeneca Plc?

In order to integrate the ideals of the corporate social responsibility of this company in environmental management and safety of stakeholders, there are three fundamental areas that must be addressed by the company’s leadership.

These include the competitive environment of the business, corporate culture, and also the nature of leadership of the company. Integration of corporate social responsibility within an organization begins with the leadership that has been put in place.

For example, the entire management of the organization should be actively involved in all the activities that involve corporate social responsibility (Geraghty 2010, p.44).

When it comes to the corporate mission and corporate culture, it is evident that AstraZeneca does not have a properly defined mission statement. However, the company has always confirmed that it is one of the leading pharmaceutical organizations across the globe.

Irrespective of market leadership, the absence of a specific corporate culture especially in the mission and vision statements is a major ingredient towards failure on matters related to corporate social responsibility. There is no doubt that the company has done quite well in reaching out pharmaceutical markets outside Europe.

The 20 manufacturing plants spread across various geographical locations is indeed a vivid indicator that the company stands a better chance of not merely making super profits, but also being a leader in the corporate social responsibility circles (Dhaliwal et al 2011, p.73).

As it stands now, the company has a competitive business portfolio and therefore its business environment is highly competitive. As already pointed out, it is one of the outstanding market leaders in terms of profitability and of course a large market base.

Monitoring and evaluation of the corporate social responsibly and corporate governance

One of the reasons why this company has failed to implement its CSR operations is that it does not have an adequate and effective mechanism for measuring, assessing and reporting corporate responsibility activities. The presence of heavy bureaucracy within the organization has immensely contributed towards poor reporting systems.

The company is currently struggling to develop slim and efficient systems that can expedite the process of social corporate responsibility reporting. Nonetheless, it is vital for company to develop appropriate systems that can be used to measure various aspects that impact the corporate social responsibility (Cramer & Bergmans 2003, p.76).

Recommendations

The proposed alternatives and solutions that can be put into place by AstraZeneca have been briefly discussed under the recommendations. To begin with, the company ought to develop an effective system for monitoring, assessing and reporting all the corporate social responsibility operations.

Since the organization does not have a clearly defined mission statement, it is crucial to devise a suitable mission statement. This will map out the much needed corporate culture needed in this organization. The company should also diversify its operations in various areas such as genetics and the development of new and improved vaccines.

. This will be instrumental in lowering the current competition from other market rivals such as GlaxoSmithKline. Some market competitors are doing quite well in terms of the corporate social responsibility framework (Boeger, Murray & Villiers 2008, p.37).

It is also highly recommended for the management of this company to consider sustainability reporting as a corporate organization. Most of the transition economies such as that of Russia are sometimes difficult to predict in terms of performance. For example, a transiting economy can easily be affected by the sharp fluctuations in the foreign exchange rates.

Since such fluctuations are usually inevitable, it is upon the competing companies to create and clearly define sustainability reporting so that all the activities or operations that need to be carried out can be brought into a sharp focus (Babin & Nicholson 2011, p.48).

Conclusion

To recap it all, it is vital to reaffirm that the corporate social responsibility is a critical area of operation of any business entity. It is one of the most practical ways through which organizations can participate in governance. For instance, waste management, pollution control and basic development and improvement of local infrastructure are some of the key operations that can be integrated in the corporate social responsibility.

References

Babin, R & Nicholson, B 2011, “How green is my outsourcer? Measuring sustainability in global IT outsourcing”, Strategic Outsourcing: an International Journal, 4(1) 47-66.

Boeger, N., Murray, R., & Villiers, C 2008, Perspectives on corporate social responsibility, Glos, UK, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham.

Boerner, H 2011, “Global corporate accounting language is expanding-through regulations, mandates, and voluntary adoptions”, Corporate Finance Review 16(2) 32-36.

Cramer, J., & Bergmans, F 2003, Learning about corporate social responsibility the Dutch experience, IOS Press, Amsterdam.

Dhaliwal D, Li O, Tsang A & Yang, Y 2011, “Voluntary nonfinancial disclosure and the cost of equity capital: the initiation of corporate social responsibility reporting”, The Accounting Review, 86(1)59-100.

Geraghty, L 2010, “Sustainability reporting— measure to manage, manage to change, keeping good companies”, 141-147.

Turner, T N 2005, Vault guide to the top pharmaceuticals and biotech employers, Vault, Inc, New York.