Corporate Social Responsibility Plan - Assignment Example

Corporate Social Responsibility Plan 0 Executive Summary Nationwide Insurance is identified as a major stakeholder in the insurance and for that matter financial industry. Much of the company’s success can be attributable to leadership successes in terms of the kind of strategic plans that have been introduced and implemented over the years. In most cases, these strategic plans have been operated from four major themes, three of which are directly found in the 3 spheres namely economic, political and civil society. The forth is environmental. It has however been established that not much focus has been given to the need to incorporate these plans directly into corporate social responsibility and so the plans are implemented isolated differently from corporate social responsibility plans. Until such a time that the corporate strategic plans of the company are integrated into the corporate social responsibility plans, the full potential of the company in terms of organizational growth cannot be attained. 2.0 Introduction 2.1 Current vision and value statements Nationwide Insurance is certainly in the financial industry, where it is expected to be a major stakeholder in the determination of the investment of people through insurance. Closely related to the background of the role of the company in offering secure investment policies for its clients are the vision and value statements of the company structured. The vision statement of the company is therefore given a “to become a competitive leader in the provision of risk-free insurance that meets customers at the points of their need”. The vision statement indicates clearly that the major focus of the company is the customer and that the company wants to put the customer first in all its business dealings. 2.2 Current programs related to the three spheres and the environment Much of the company’s ways of going about its business is directed at achieving the vision of the company. This is however done in a well laid out format that is backed by the use of empirical themes. For example, there is the use of three spheres and the environment, which together makes economic, political, civil society and the environment. In all of these thematic areas, the company tries to give to the customer value oriented service and business product that satisfies the demanding conditions of the company. On a scale of ten therefore, the success rate of programs that are currently in use in line with the four themes could be said to 8 out 10 successful. 2.3 Recent events related to current programs It was recently discovered that one of the best ways to achieve a holistic goal for all four themes is to make use of corporate social responsibilities (Urwick, 2003). This led to the designing of a series of corporate social responsibility projects that have been rolled out on a bi-annual basis. There have therefore been specific events such as donations to vulnerable groups, large scale tree planting exercises, public health advocacy programs and free financial skill enhancement seminars, all of which have been with an aim of playing the company’s social responsibility to the immediate world that surrounds it. 2.4 Reported stakeholder view of programs and actions of the company In a recent annual end of year report, stakeholders actually gave positive remarks about the progress that the company has made so far with the institutions of the various programs and actions that are aimed at promoting corporate social responsibility and by extension achieving the collective vision of the company. It was clear through the stakeholder feedback that the company was still in a position to doing more and that is it the basis for the current report in helping to find the current state of the company’s corporate social responsibility programs and devising and designing a long term corporate social responsibility plan for future implementation. 3.0 Economic 3.1 Employee relations Management and other administrators have in a collective consensus and understanding identified the human resource base of the company and by extension the employee fold of the company as the most important entity within the company in helping the company achieves all of its goals and objectives. In this regard, there have been a number of structures put in place to promote better employee relations. The employee relationship model is therefore in place, which tries to make accessibility to information by employees easier. The model also tries to bridge the gap between the company authority and the employee workforce. Even more, there are internal social programs that ensure that employees get along with each other very well. 3.2 Corporate culture The organizational culture of the company largely refers to the core principles that underline the way that corporate activities are carried out within the organization (Spitzer, 2007). This includes the kind of employee-employer relationship that exists as well as employee-customer relationship. As far as such corporate culture is concerned, it will be said that the company is one that does not stick to that old system of corporate culture whereby most organizations use an identified culture for a very long time. Rather, the company currently uses a dynamic corporate culture whereby as regularly as possibly, the total way of going about business within the organization are changed. The changes have often been based on the outcomes of a regularized research and development program carried out within the company. 3.3 Investor relations At Nationwide Insurance, the investor is referred to as the lifeline of the company. This is because the investor acts as a major capital injection force to the company’ without whose contributions the company’s business activities may virtually come to a standstill (Spitzer, 2007). There is therefore a very strong investor relations current in force within the company. For example, as a way of ensuring that the investor relations does not break down, there is a whole department made up of the Vice Chairman of the company and other high powered executives of the company whose role is to ensure that there is as much investor liaising as possible to ensure that the concerns and needs of the investors are factored into the larger planning of the company’s strategic agenda. 3.4 Suppliers The suppliers are a crucial component of the company’s success agenda especially when it comes to the need of ensuring that there is a better outward imaging of the company in terms of its corporate social responsibility agenda. For example as suppliers, the kind of materials involved in the products they supply and the transport system they use all go a long way to raise public interest questions on how well the company is concerned about adherence to basic environmental policies and regulations. This has often resulted in a situation whereby the company is highly evaluative of its suppliers to ensure that they supply high quality products in a highly acceptable working environment. 3.5 Projected Plans and Programs to address issues within economic sphere Generally, it can be said that the economic sphere of the company’s thematic structure is well laid out and highly impressive in the achievement of economic goals for the company. This notwithstanding, there are a number of things that really needs to be done as a way of ensuring even more economic issues are addressed by the company. The new form of plan should be focused on directing the economic sphere at achieving corporate social responsibility. In light of this, it is suggested that a plan that is built on the basis of external quality assurance be designed. By this, a quality assurance team that is based outside the company will be set up to give objective and third party assessment of the economic impact that the various programs in place are making in the company. Based on their outcomes and recommendations, future adjustments and projections can then be made. 4.0 Political 4.1 Regulatory structures At Nationwide Insurance, there is a very clear cut regulatory structure that can be seen right upon entering the walls of the company’s corporate operations. This is because the company’s organizational hierarchy clearly outlines and identifies executive members from staff members, with the executive members being responsible for almost all regulations that are in place for execution and implementation in the company. It is however important to mention that the uniqueness of regulatory structures is the leadership operates a democratic system of governance and so it is almost possible to find the inputs and interests of all other stakeholders who are not directly involved in decision represented in final regulations; including those on corporate social responsibility. 4.2 Adherence to government regulations The company has tried as much as always to adhere to government regulations but it is worth mentioning that there has not been a total adherence. There are however reasons for some exemptions, especially in provisional regulations and those that do not come with legislative compulsions for companies to implement. In such cases, the company always undertakes a stakeholder comparative analysis between the government regulations and the vision and value of the statement to ensure that it is only those that favor the company that are implemented. In totality however, with the company’s legal team, the company always does well to get its self away from legal troubles when it comes to government regulations. 4.3 Relations to government entities It is interesting to note that one of the secrets behind the success that the company’s attorneys have achieved has to do with the fact that the company has a very positive relation with government entities including evaluation and monitoring entities. As much as possible, the company ensures that there is a clear interpretation of government regulations from the government entities and ways by which the company can escape legal problems in terms of adherence to government regulations. A major shortfall with relations to government entities has to do with the fact that the company has not had a permanent place for government representations in the company’s strategic plan and so it is very easy that successive leadership would do away with the present policy. 4.4 Projected plans and programs to address issues within political sphere Within the political sphere, it is expected that much will be done as a way of ensuring that the company carries its corporate regulations on corporate social responsibilities closer to external stakeholders, particularly customers. It is said there are times that if you do not blow your horn, no one would know that you own one. To this end, it is important that the company sets up a company policy public relations office that will be mandated with the task of ensuring that the company’s regulations and policies on corporate social responsibility and other aspects of corporate running that relates directly to the interest of the public are well communicated to the public. 5.0 Civil Society 5.1 NGOs (non-governmental organizations) The role of non-governmental organizations has not been appreciated much by leadership of the company for some time now. This has manifested in the fact that the company seems not to have any clear cut policy or program that seeks the inputs or contributions of some of the country’s non-governmental organizations. A careful reflection would reveal that the reason why this problem exists is due to the fact that not much of the company’s research and development programs have been focused on the role that the various non-governmental organizations can play towards the achievement of the company’s vision especially in terms of the fact that non-governmental organizations are very close to the local people and can easily identify problems of the people that need corporate social attention (Vancouver, 2003). 5.2 Local communities The local communities have been involved largely in the company’s development agenda especially when it comes to the role that the company has played over the years in paying its dues to the local communities in which it finds its self. It is known for instance that in 2007, through a $50 million donation made by the company, Columbus Childrens Hospital was established. It is however important to mention that most of the company’s programs for the local people do not entail the direct involvement of the local people to hear from the people, what their exact problems are and how they would want the company to be of help to them. Rather, there is often the use of a research team or dependence on media information. 5.3 Customers Directly outside the company, customers are acknowledged and seen as the most important asset for the company’s development and progressive success. This is because it is on the monetary inputs of customers that the successful growth and development of the company revolves (Stone, 2008). To this end, a lot of activities and programs have been undertaken of late that gives much focus to the customer. Examples of these are health promotional programs that try to identify and reward local customers by giving them free health insurance covers for five years. There have also been free public stationed health seminars in communities identified to be the local communities of loyal customers. The advantage of such community based customer reward programs is that it increases the interest of other people to become customers and so bring such pride and prestige to their communities. 5.4 The world On a global scale, the company has ensured that its presence is felt as a socially focused company through the use of United Nations donor agencies to give reliefs and donations to people hit by various disasters and needing public support. Yet again with this, it would be said that not much has been done by the company to publicize its efforts of making the world a better place for all people. For instance apart from the company’s official website, it is virtually impossible to hear about some of these wonderful contributions that the company makes to the betterment of the world; and this will be said to be a bad situation. 5.5 Projected Plans and Programs to address issues within the civil society sphere Much of the issues associated with civil society have to do with the right identification of stakeholders within the civil society, identifying the needs of these stakeholders and also making the efforts made for these stakeholders known to them. In line with this, a plan is suggested with the use the new media as a means of gaining a platform where the civil society policies and programs of the company can be better aired. Happily, the entire civil society made up of local community people, customers, non-governmental organizations and the world at large are fully represented on social media networks today (Urwick, 2003). It is high time the company also had a structured social media policy that was aimed directly at getting even closer to civil society. 6.0 Environment 6.1 Local environmental impacts On the local environmental front, sustainability has been a key word in the company’s corporate social responsibility plan. This has largely been undertaken through advocacy for the said phenomenon rather than a practical application of it. The simple reason for this is that the company’s line of business operations is much based on services sector rather than product sector and thus do not involve the direct production or sale of materials that may harm the environment. This notwithstanding, it has always been ensured that suppliers of the company, whose work may involve manufacturing adhere and stick to local environmental policies and regulations. 6.2 Global environmental impacts On a global scale, the approach by the company is not different from what it does with local environmental impacts as it tries to hold suppliers accountable for sustainability issues on their manufacturing policies. The company also embarks on proactive public advocacy and campaign for the need for all to go green. There have also been a number of donations to globally recognized institutions whose mission has been to advocate and implement sustainable programs. 6.3 Projected Plans and Programs to address issues within the environment It is often said that it is not over until it is over. This means that even though the company might have done enough to socially pay its dues to environmental concerns, there still remains much to be done as sustainability cannot be said to have been achieved 100%. Within the company therefore, it is admonished that there will be simple practices that promotes sustainability. It is said that charity begins at home and so it will be wrong for the company to keep looking at the outside world like suppliers when little things like judicious use of power, serving of green meals and the construction of green offices can be done to promote environmental responsibility. 7.0 Conclusion Much light has been thrown on the present state of the company from four major perspectives namely economic, political, civil society and environmental. Indeed, several impressive remarks have been made of the present state of work, exemplifying that leadership; both past and present deserve commendation. These notwithstanding some important policy adjustments that can be incorporated into the existing plans have been identified. More importantly, it can be said that the plans are currently haphazard and not directly focused on the sustainability of corporate social responsibility. Rather, ways of ensuring internal growth seem to be the direct focus of the company. Until such a time that the focus and attention of various plans and programs in respect to the four themes is directed directly at corporate social responsibility, it can be concluded that not much of what the company’s true market position should be is what will be achieved. This is said against the backdrop that value creation for companies is now taking a new turn whereby much focus is given to the assessment of the customer in relation to how much the customer feels that his or her personal interests are protected by the company from a corporate social perspective (Vancouver, 2003). References Spitzer, R. (2007) Promoting Policy Theory: Revising the Arenas of Power. Policy Studies Journal. 15 (4): 675–689. Stone, D. (2008). Global Public Policy, Transnational Policy Communities and their Networks. Texas: Optional Press Limited. Urwick, L. (2003). The Elements of Administration. New York: Harper Vancouver, J. (2003). For Organisations Behaviour: Understanding Humans, Organisations, and Social Processes’, Behavioural Science. Vol. 41: 165-203 Read More