Corporate Social Reporting - Essay Example

Companies that embrace corporate social responsibility have received long-term positive benefits. These include better working conditions, which in turn increases productivity and innovation, increased trust and enhanced reputation with stakeholders and greater customer loyalty. Businesses also receive better publicity through media reports. Indeed, staff turnover in companies such as Starbucks and Bettys and Taylors is low. In the latter, its philanthropic ways extend all the way to the employees, who have seen improvements in working relations and strong ties are developed with suppliers that not only certify quality in their produce, but also ensure these produce are grown in a socially responsible manner (10).

On the contrary, pressure groups are making their presence known. In 1995, Royal Dutch/Shell suffered negative publicity as well as heavy losses when European boycotted them in their bid to dispose an oil platform at sea (3). Evidently, the business practice of being socially responsible is highly preferred. In a study on the power and size of firms, there are loopholes present in smaller organizations that, for instance, violate legal rights of workers in cleaning subcontractors. Although this issue is not uncommon with the larger firms, it is found that they exercise greater care as their business is reliant on the state (9).

However, in another study, it is found that both small and large firms are likely to participate in corporate social responsibility moves based on their visibility, resource access and scale of operations (4). The two studies are rather conflicting evidence of how corporate social responsibility is adopted by firms of different sizes. Perhaps, a small business operating locally is not as likely to be subject to public scrutiny compared to a larger one operating globally. Larger organizations are embracing this practice far more, which gives them a competitive advantage as the stakeholders they affect are wider.

Furthermore, they are able to attract younger talents who yearns more than fat remuneration packages (8). Small businesses, on the other hand, are driven to embrace this practice because differentiation is their key reliance. With this strategic foresight, they are able to find opportunities in a growing market (2).However, these all boils down to management decision on whether to embrace this philosophy or not.2.3 The profitability strength of businesses that uses CSRAs mentioned earlier, companies that adopt corporate social responsibility receive better recognition than those who do not.

Customer loyalty and consumer trust are key points in sustaining a business as evident in the Body Shop. Smaller firms practising CSR are a great target for acquisition even though there have been no drastic change in their combined earnings or improvements in the way they carry out their business in terms of being socially responsible. Although consumers are looking for healthier options when buying products, it is found that only a handful will actually pay a premium for such