Strategy for Sustainability - Essay Example

?Strategy for Sustainability Table of Contents Overview of the Paper and Briefing of the Selected Company 3 2. Critical Evaluation of the Content of FirstGroup Plc CSR Report 2011 4 3. Evaluation of FirstGroup’s Strategic Approach towards CSR 9 3.1 Strategy and Governance Issues 10 3.2 Workplace Issues and Respect for Human Rights 11 3.3 Marketplace, Supply Chain and the Environment 12 3.4 Responsible to the Communities 13 3.5 Reporting and Communication 14 14 4. Identified Area for Improvement 14 5. Conclusion 16 6. References 17 1. Overview of the Paper and Briefing of the Selected Company The research paper is concerned with the presentation of materialistic evaluation of corporate social responsibility (CSR) of such a company that produces the particular report on the web. The objectives of the research paper will be fulfilled with reference to FirstGroup Plc. FirstGroup Plc is one of the top global operators of the transport services earning revenue of more than 6 billion pounds. The company began its operations in the north eastern part of Scotland twenty years ago. Along the UK and North America, FirstGroup is concerned with providing transport services to around 2.5 billion passengers per year. In these region, the total number of employees of the company stands at 125,000. FirstGroup operates with a collection of around 8,000 buses travelling in above 40 main cities and towns in the UK and North America. In Greyhound UK, the company also operates through the provision of regular services along London, Southampton and Portsmouth. FirstGroup proclaims itself to be the most popular transport service provider operating with complete safety, reliability, innovation and sustainable services. The company also presumes to be providing service with the mode of local approach but its presence can be experienced within the global environment (FirstGroup Plc, 2011). 2. Critical Evaluation of the Content of FirstGroup Plc CSR Report 2011 The contents that are included within the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) report of a company are, to a considerable extent, dependent upon the size of the company and also upon the particular sector in which the company operates. These are also dependent upon the legal position of the particular company along with the market position held (Hurst, 2004). Notably, these facts can also be considered as obstacles to the CSR reporting activities executed by organizations (O’Rourke, 2004). It is for this reason that the larger companies operating with at least 250 workers are more likely to be conversant with the concept of CSR than the middle companies with not more than 250 workers (European Working Conditions Observatory, 2009). However, considering several aspects of each and every company, it can be inferred that importantly, the most essential environmental and social issues are definitely required to be included in the CSR reports of the companies (Corporatewatch, 2006). Comparing the completeness of the CSR report of FirstGroup of the year 2011, it is noteworthy to mention that the report is consisted of adequate social and environmental issues. In this section of the research paper, the issues will be critically evaluated in order to measure the effectiveness of the company’s report. The report has been started with the message from the Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Tim O’Toole. This is a justifiable beginning because the trustworthy message from the most important stakeholder of the company generate creates belief among the other stakeholders. However, messages from other important stakeholders could have also been added for enhancing the value of the Chief Executive’s proclamation. In the following section of the report, a brief introduction to the company has been provided briefing certain fundamental facts like that of revenue, number of employees, company’s spending on goods and services, transporting figures and costs of the employees. It is credible that the company has chosen to highlight these good facts that have strong implication towards generating greater interest of the stakeholders. Had the figures been not good, the inclusion of this section in the report could have downgraded its credibility. Nevertheless, other issues such as their process of managing CSR, what CSR actually stands for the company and the like would have regenerated the value of the report. As a continuation towards briefing the important highlights of the company’s performance, the facts from the last year (2010/11) have been incorporated. This is an effective move towards enhancing the value of the report because these facts highlight the effectiveness of the company in the particular sector where it is operating. Through the performance highlights, the future prospect of the company can also be anticipated by the stakeholders (FirstGroup Plc, 2011). The views of the CSR External Advisory Group have been added into the CSR report of FirstGroup Plc 2011. Although the positive views of the external people enhance credibility of the company, these stories might be observed by the stakeholders to be mere facts for increasing the report’s length. Instead of the views of outsiders, the employees’ perception about the working environment of the company could have initiated more value towards the company’s internal facts. Internal issues would have been more welcomed by the stakeholders than the external persons’ perception (FirstGroup Plc, 2011). The issues in relation to the delivery of sustainable value by the company’s performance have been prominently depicted within the CSR report. The fact that the company always attempts to search for more effective sustainable solutions for its activities have enhanced the report’s quality to considerable extent. The company is also very much concerned about the integrative approaches that it follows for safeguarding the aim of the government towards influencing the people to adopt public transport. The various factors that it considers for enhancing its importance from the public perspectives have been included in the report. These inclusions have positively induced the value of the CSR report of FirstGroup Plc (FirstGroup Plc, 2011). In the main section of the CSR report of the company, the various approaches that they undertake for safety and security of the travelers have been comprehensively dealt with. The auditors of this report could have enhanced the value of this section further through inclusion of the level of satisfaction of the customers from the safety operations of the company. Although the overall satisfaction level of the customers towards the company has been enclosed in a separate section, specifically the level of satisfaction with respect to safety and security issues could have been incorporated. Yet the overall satisfaction of the customers has been effectively quantified and presented within the report. This is a strong point for the generation of CSR value of the company. Along with the customer satisfaction, the quality of service being provided to them has also been reviewed and presented within the report. The areas required to be improved for generating more valuable service to the customers have been identified and measures to resolve them have also been determined. However, for enhancing this section, the inclusion of past performance in this regard could have been presented. This would have represented the phases of improvement of the company’s service towards the customers (FirstGroup Plc, 2011). The importance of the employees has been depicted by the company in its report in a broad perspective. The company’s concern towards the employees holds strong prospect for attracting interest of the stakeholder. In the CSR report, the performance of the company in regards to satisfying the expectations of the employees has been elaborately evaluated. The areas where the company has failed to satisfy the employees’ expectations have been identified and measures towards correcting the failures have been exposed. The report has included various activities that are undertaken by the company aimed at grooming of the employees. The activities included various learning and development programs. The societal aspect of the CSR report of FirstGroup Plc can be determined to be effective in influencing the stakeholders’ interests towards the company. However the areas identified for improvement would add more value to the report. Pertaining to the loopholes identified in the report, it can be stated that the company can do better in its implementation of CSR towards the society and the environment (FirstGroup Plc, 2011). Responsibilities towards the environment are essential considerations in the CSR implementation of the companies at present. The most important issues in relation to environmental responsibilities are reduction of waste production and consumption of energy. The report has comprehensively depicted the company’s performance towards achievement of its targets towards environmental factors. The company has adequately reduced its emission of carbon within the environment and this is an indication towards the effective implementation of environmental responsibilities of the company. The reduction of carbon emission in relevance to various dimensions of its business has been addressed within the report. The report is also inclusive of various aspects with regards to which the company has contributed in enhancing its fuel efficiency. Various programs of carbon reduction have been mentioned. However, along with the present environmental concern of the company, inclusion of future prospective concern of the company should also have been included. Absence of future prospect can place doubts within the minds of the stakeholders regarding the company’s concern about the environment. Hence the report should also have included its future plans aimed at reducing emission of carbon and also energy consumption (FirstGroup Plc, 2011). The CSR report of FirstGroup has also adequately evaluated its role within the community. The various responsibilities that it performs for betterment of the society have been listed down in the report. The responsibilities’ evaluation indicates that the company holds a strong position within the society in regards to its CSR responsibilities. With a modest modification in the contents of the report and inclusion of certain important aspects, the company would become able to attract more stakeholders towards its operations (Friedman & Miles, 2001). Considering the presently included aspects of the reports, it can be concluded that the responsibilities of the company towards the society and the environment has been reasonably adhered to. 3. Evaluation of FirstGroup’s Strategic Approach towards CSR The main strategic objective of CSR is to generate value for the company and also to develop inimitable competitive advantages within the industry. The strategic application of CSR has to be two way process i.e. flowing information from within the organization and also from the outside environment towards the organization (McElhaney, 2009). In this section of the research paper, the capability of FirstGroup towards effectively applying strategic approach to CSR will be evaluated with respect to the following described issues: 3.1 Strategy and Governance Issues From the critical evaluation of the CSR report of FirstGroup, it has been observed that the company holds magnificent vision towards its CSR outlook. The outlook is inherent within the management of the company and it is well-structured for making the outlook a reality. The program for CSR is headed by the Executive Management Board (EMB) which is charged with the responsibility of reporting directly to the company’s board. For managing effectively the entire CSR responsibility, the company works with various built-up working groups for the purpose along various regions. The risks associated with CSR activities are incorporated within the entire risk of the company and are assessed through the company’s risk controlling processes. The corporate governance structure of the company can be considered to be effective and it operates with the cohesive work among the members within the following structure: Source: (FirstGroup Plc, 2011). 3.2 Workplace Issues and Respect for Human Rights The company is highly concerned about the fair and equitable treatment of its employees, as also being evaluated in the earlier section of this research paper (FirstGroup Plc, 2011). The year wise implementation of various programs aimed at well being of the employees is an indication of the company’s concern towards its employees. The personnel concerned with taking care of the employees are assessed comprehensively so as to ensure that they are capable of resolving employees’ issues. The company is also enormously concerned about the fair handling of human rights of the employees. Most of the employees of the company are held in front of the managers by the trade unions. The employees’ issues are also handled by appointed Employee Directors by the company in its boards. The following visual aid provides a concrete picture about the performance of the company as against the set objectives and targets during the year 2010/11: Source: (FirstGroup Plc, 2011). 3.3 Marketplace, Supply Chain and the Environment The company is effective in its maintenance of reputation within the marketplace. It heavily concentrates upon generating customers’ satisfaction through enhancing its performance with respect to service quality. Maintenance of coherent relationship with the partners operating locally is admired within the company because this provides the scope for service quality improvement (Werther, Jr. & Chandler, 2010). Relationship with the suppliers is also effectively sustained by the company as they are considered to be fundamental stakeholders by the company’s personnel. The company operates through development of strategic partnership with the suppliers so as to make review of performance and identify areas for improvement. FirstGroup Plc considers that public transport in an effective means through which reduction of emissions can be ensured. In the UK, the program for environmental management is handled by the Group Head of environment who manages the entire environmental operations of the company efficiently. The efficiency of environmental management aspect of the company is evident from the fact that the company’s UK operating units have been accredited with ‘Environmental Management System Standard, ISO 14001’ (FirstGroup Plc, 2011). 3.4 Responsible to the Communities The engagement of FirstGroup with the communities is positive enough and it undertakes various operations for the betterment of the communities. The company has high concern about its commercial interests and at the same time, it indulges in supportive acts towards the community. Various charitable initiatives are undertaken by the company aimed at promoting the communities. The following visual depiction would provide evidence of the company’s achievement in its communities’ activities during the year 2010/11. Source: (FirstGroup Plc, 2011). 3.5 Reporting and Communication FirstGroup Plc is a sophisticated service company that adheres to the standard measures and policies determined for controlling its operations within the service industry. In this context, it should be mentioned that the company maintains adequate amount of transparency in its reporting activities. The company understands the fact that credibility can be greatly enhanced due to the views of external essential entities. Hence, views from important persons are included in the CSR report of the company. For example, in the CSR report of the year 2011, views from the CSR External Advisory Group were incorporated that enhanced the value of the report to a greater extent. 4. Identified Area for Improvement The area that has identified as the one which can be improved within the CSR implementation of FirstGroup is depiction of relationship bonding with the stakeholders. In this perspective the need to depict importance of stakeholders’ engagement is enormous. As the first step of the action plan for the company, it should concentrate greatly into the theory of stakeholder mapping. This is nothing but a visual depiction of the relationship that the company holds with the stakeholders. This depiction should also be inclusive of the relative strength that the company holds with the stakeholders (Fombrun, 2005). For depicting the relationship prominently, either grid diagrams or circles can be utilized by the company within the report. This approach would generate interest of the prospective customers to the company and also would add value to the social responsibility handling of the company (Visser, 2007). As a second step of the action plan, the company can strive for presenting the role and influence that the stakeholders tempt upon its decision making activities. In this regards, the identification and presentation of the nature of the stakeholders’ role would be essential. Depiction as to whether the stakeholders perform advisory role or participatory role within the company’s phenomenon would be important. The presentation of these facts within the report would depict the value that the company puts upon the concept of stakeholders’ engagement (Industry Canada, 2011). The third and final step of the action plan would be in relation to the presentation of engagement approach within the report. This indicates that the report would have provided comprehensive facts about the process through which they receive various views of the stakeholders on a number of critical issues of its operations. For instance, the report can present in a gist whether the company applies focus group interview, individual opinion gathering or formal referrals for gathering judgments and views of the stakeholders. The intention of this representation of engagement approach would be to reveal the objectives for which the engagement has been generated. Assistance of external advisor for this case would help the company to enhance its report’s quality to a considerable extent (Kytle & Ruggie, 2005). 5. Conclusion The concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) can be identified as a broad term focusing on the sustainability issues of organizations. In many instances, it has been observed that global as well as a few national companies in the world economies intend to publish their CSR reports online, such as in the case of FirstGroup Plc. The major objective of the company in publishing the reports is to attain the stakeholders’ attention and gain customer loyalty which in turn is expected to rejuvenate its sustainable growth. In this context it is quite significant to present comprehensive information on the social responsibility strategies adopted by the company so as to attain the sole objective (Mullerat, 2009). Conclusively, it is worth mentioning that the CSR report published by FirstGroup Plc is quite comprehensive and presents an in-depth detail of their strategies. 6. References Corporatewatch, 2006. What’s wrong with Corporate Social Responsibility? Corporate Watch Report. European Working Conditions Observatory, 2009. Factors Influencing Uptake of Corporate Social Responsibility. EWCO. [Online] Available at: http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/ewco/2009/05/LU0905019I.htm#contentpage [Accessed October 17, 2011]. FirstGroup Plc, 2011. Our Company. Corporate. [Online] Available at: http://www.firstgroup.com/corporate/our_company/ [Accessed October 17, 2011]. FirstGroup Plc, 2011. Corporate Social Responsibility Report 2011. Assets. [Online] Available at: http://www.firstgroup.com/assets/pdfs/csr/csr_summary_report_2011.pdf [Accessed October 18, 2011]. FirstGroup Plc, 2011. Management Structure. Corporate. [Online] Available at: http://www.firstgroup.com/corporate/csr/csr_report_2011/management_structure.php [Accessed October 18, 2011]. FirstGroup Plc, 2011. Environment. Corporate. [Online] Available at: http://www.firstgroup.com/corporate/csr/csr_report_2011/environment/ [Accessed October 18, 2011]. Fombrun, C. J., 2005. Building Corporate Reputation through CSR Initiatives: Evolving Standards. Corporate Reputation Review, Vol. 8, p. 7-11. Friedman, A. & Miles, S., 2001. Socially Responsible Investment and Corporate Social and Environmental Reporting: An Exploratory Study. The British Accounting Review, Vol: 33, pp. 523-548. Hurst, N. E., 2004. Corporate Ethics, Governance and Social Responsibility: Comparing European Business Practices to those in the United States. Santa Clara University. Industry Canada, 2011. The Importance of Stakeholder Engagement Con't. eic. [Online] Available at: http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/csr-rse.nsf/eng/rs00139.html#cn-tphp [Accessed October 18, 2011]. Kytle, B. & Ruggie, J. G., 2005. Corporate Social Responsibility as Risk Management: A Model of Multinationals. Harvard Kennedy School. McElhaney, K., 2009. A Strategic Approach to Corporate Social Responsibility. University of California, Berkeley. Mullerat, R., 2009. International Corporate Social Responsibility: The Role of Corporations in the Economic Order of the 21st Century. Kluwer Law International. O’Rourke, D., 2004. Opportunities and Obstacles for Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting In Developing Countries. Corporate Social Responsibility Practice of the World Bank Group, pp. 1-46. Visser, W., 2007. Corporate Social Responsibility in Developing Countries. CSR in Global Context. Pp. 473-499. Werther, Jr., W. B. & Chandler, D., 2010. Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility: Stakeholders in a Global Environment. SAGE. Read More