Kelloggs: Corporate Social Responsibility - Essay Example

? Kellogg’s: Corporate Social Responsibility of the Business of the Concerned 24 February 0 Introduction Corporatesocial responsibility is a broad concept that includes within its ambit, corporate responsibility towards varied stakeholders like customers, employees, environment and communities. Kellogg’s is indeed a company that has well chalked out and extensive CSR affiliations like celebrating diversity, inclusiveness, accountability, safe manufacturing practices, environmental responsiveness, producing healthy and nutritious products and investing in communities. Such CSR affiliations are bound to do well for Kellogg’s business across the world. 2.0 Kellogg’s and Corporate Social Responsibility The diverse expectations and pressures being brought into existence by the contemporary business environment and the complexities being raised by an increasingly globalising world economy are nudging the companies to vie for corporate social responsibility. Kellogg’s is a company that has commendable credentials in the sphere of corporate social responsibility (Hutton2000). For Kellogg’s, corporate social responsibility means encouraging employee voluntarism, enriching the communities by investing in them and being a commendable corporate citizen (Hutton 2000). The CSR vision of Kellogg’s includes objectives like ensuring a safe, wholesome and healthy work environment, showing respect for the environmental concerns, engaging with diverse suppliers and ensuring diversity in the work force, encouraging healthy lifestyles and selling wholesome and nutritious products, affiliating to high ethical standards and following value based policies (Feinberg 2008, p. 47). 2.1 K Values Corporate social responsibility is primarily about pursuing a value driven approach towards varied stakeholders associated with a company (Anderson 1989, p. 17). In that sense, Kellogg’s do professes an affiliation to highest ethical norms and values. The HR policy of Kellogg’s lays stress on adhering to high ethical standards and showing respect for all the employees irrespective of their diverse backgrounds (Michman & Mazze 1998). The company also professes to be accountable for all its actions and activities (Michman & Mazze 1998). 2.2 Healthy and Nutritious Products The marketing strategy of Kellogg’s positions its products to be in consonance with the requirements of a healthy lifestyle in the modern times. The company claims to sell nutritious and high quality foods to its consumers, while at the same time educating the consumers about health and nutrition (Hornik 2002, p. 266). Most of the products sold by Kellogg’s are whole grain based and rich in fibre (Hornik 2002, p. 266). 2.3 Respecting Diversity The human resource policy of Kellogg’s is known to value its employees for their diverse backgrounds and variegated experience (Mutari 1998). The HR policy of Kellogg’s believes in creating a wholesome and inclusive environment where all the employees feel valued and cherished (Mutari 1998). The company has put in place Employee Resource Groups that motivate employees to build relations either on the basis of dimensions shared by them or by respecting their diversity and differences (Mutari 1998). The company has in place a mentoring program at its facilities which gives a chance to less experienced employees, to share their experiences with and learn from the experience of the mentors allocated to them (Hawkins & Smith 2006, p. 107). So far as the procurement of supplies and raw materials is concerned, Kellogg’s believes in supplier diversity. The company claims to be associated with a range of suppliers and businesses, being managed by disadvantaged groups like minorities, veterans and women. 2.4 Safe Work Environment The manufacturing and logistics facilities of Kellogg’s are known for their high safety standards (Kaysen 1996). The company is committed to preventing accidents at the workplace and creating a safe and healthy work environment. Kellogg’s stringently expects its employees to follow the safety norms and to practice them while working so as to keep themselves and their colleagues safe and protected. 2.5 Environmental Concern The company claims to be very sensitive to environmental concerns and believes in pursuing efficient and environmentally friendly manufacturing procedures (Doyle & Bridgewater 1998). Most of the packaging material used by Kellogg’s is made of recycled paper. The company abides by all regulatory compliances and conducts periodic audits of its manufacturing facilities (Doyle & Bridgewater 1998). The company regularly measures the environmental impact of its manufacturing operations, the magnitude of energy it uses and tries to manage and minimize the effluents discharged by its plants (Doyle & Bridgewater 1998). 2.6 Community Investment Kellogg’s believes in investing in the communities and does partner with varied philanthropic organizations that help it execute its mission of investing in the communities (Adkins 1999). Some of the salient organizations, which are associated with Kellogg’s, are HOSTS, United Way and America’s Second Harvest (Adkins 1999). Kellogg’s is known to finance massive cash and product donations around the world, with the help of its partner organizations. Kellogg Care$ is an employee and retiree volunteer program hosted by Kellogg’s that encourages employees to participate in community activities and charity (Kellogg’s 2012). Nutrition education and fitness are some of the top social priorities of Kellogg’s. The company the world over hosts a variety of programs aimed at women and minorities. Kellogg’s has contributed funds to the YMCA’s ambitious Activate America program aimed at making Americans more fitness and nutrition conscious (Kellogg’s 2012). Kellogg’s is also known to partner with Action for Healthy Kids to reduce the incidence of obesity amongst the children (Kellogg’s 2012). America’s Second Harvest that stands to be America’s biggest hunger relief organization regularly receives food donations from Kellogg’s, which America’s Second Harvest widely distributes through its network of food rescue organizations and food banks (Kellogg’s 2012). Kellogg’s is also a partner in the Global Food Banking Network, and it donates funds to this initiative to invest in food banking projects in many Latin American and African nations (Kellogg’s 2012). 3.0 Critical Evaluation Kellogg’s predilection for a proactive approach towards corporate social responsibility to a great extent is an apt recognition on the part of the company that this aspect of its business is increasingly vital to its business success around the world (Jhonson, Scholes & Whittingham 2011). Kellogg’s is trying to build its ethical credentials that go well with its brand. Kellogg’s panache for encouraging and celebrating diversity is bound to appeal to its diverse global clientele. This sincere intent to affiliate with best manufacturing practices, ethical norms and values is indeed a right step towards an enlightened self interest on the part of Kellogg’s (Hawkins 2006). The marketing approach of Kellogg’s projects its products as being closely associated with health, freshness and nutrition. By projecting itself as an enlightened corporate citizen, Kellogg’s is in a way giving way to a synergistic blend of ethics, values, a prospering and evolving society, and a sustainable economy where labour and communities work in tandem with eachother, which is bound to rub on the products sold by Kellogg’s. Kellogg’s is one of the pioneers in the sense that it is amongst the first few corporations which have realized the fact that making meaningful contributions to physical infrastructure and investing in the communities has indeed become and essential aspect of doing business in a global marketplace (Hawkins 2006). Besides, Kellogg’s stress on safe manufacturing practices, adherence to environmental norms and transparency and accountability is bound to boost its ratings in the public perception. Kellogg’s well recognizes that communities expect multinational corporations to do much more than merely creating jobs and making contributions to the local economies by creating jobs and by paying taxes (Hawkins 2006). This socially responsible approach of Kellogg’s is bound to have a positive impact on the varied stakeholders that the company is required to deal with. In conclusion, Kellogg’s has sound CSR credentials and to a great extent the company has succeeded in creating an in built and self regulating mechanism that is bound to strengthen its CSR affiliations in the times to come. Reference List Adkins, Sue 1999, Cause Related Marketing, Butterworth-Heinemann, Boston. Anderson, Jerry W 1989, Corporate Social Responsibility, Quorum, New York. Doyle, Peter & Bridgewater, Susan 1998, Innovation in Marketing, Butterworth-Heinemann, Feinberg, Richard 2008, ‘How to Fulfil the Promise of Csr’, American Quarterly, Winter 2008, Vol. 2, Issue 1, pp. 41. Hawkins, David E 2006, Corporate Social Responsibility, Palgrave, London. Hawkins, Peter & Smith, Nick 2006, Mentoring and Organizational Consultancy, Open University Press, Maidenhead. Hornik, Robert 2002, Public Health Communication, Lawrence Erlbaum, Mahwah, NJ. Hutton, Will 2000, ‘Towards a Juster Capitalism’, New Statesman, 6 November, Vol. 129, Issue 4511. Jhonson, G, Scholes, K & Whittingham, R 2011, Exploring Corporate Strategy, Prentice Hall, London. Kaysen, Carl 1996, The American Corporation Today, Oxford University Press, Oxford. Kellogg’s 2012, Kellogg’s Annual Report 2007, viewed 25 February 2012. . Mutari, Ellen 1998, ‘Kellogg’s Six-Hour Day’, Review of Social Economy, Vol. 56, Issue 4, pp. 543-545. Read More