Microsoft and Corporate Social Responsibility - Coursework Example

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN MICROSOFT: A CASE FOR IMPROVEMENT Contents Executive Summary 3 Introduction 4 Current Status of CSR 4 Corporate Culture 5 Employee Relations 5 Investor Relations 6 Economic/Stakeholder Relations 6 Civil Society 6 Environment 6 Political 7 Strategy for Improving the CSR Systems 7 Global Firm and Organisation 8 Civil Society 8 Economic and Stakeholder Relations 9 Environment 9 Political 9 Employee Relations 10 Investor Relations 10 Conclusion 10 Bibliography 12 Executive Summary This report is to be presented to the board of directors of Microsoft and it relates to the corporate social responsibility of the company. It studies the existing reports of their corporate social responsibility activities which include their social, environmental and human resource plans. The study identifies that in 2013, Microsoft invested heavily in promoting youth talent and skills and also invested in producing free software for not-for-profit organisations. Microsoft promoted their activities including sustainability reporting and they met targets in monitoring and controlling carbon emissions. From the study, it was identified that Microsoft’s corporate social responsibility is restricted to the United States and the developed world. Hence, it is recommended that Microsoft must focus on the developing world and create a global CSR and transpose it to local units within which it operates. It is recommended that Microsoft must institute a proactive system of monitoring the civil society to identify what is most needed in a given locale so they can change their structures to provide the best and optimal level of support to people who are in need. It is also recommended that Microsoft must set up a system of creating software for evaluating and reviewing the needs of companies in relation to keeping their carbon emissions low so that their clients will institute and integrate environmental responsiveness into their operations. Introduction Bill Gates and Microsoft are strongly linked with a lot of humanitarian activities and processes around the world. However, in a structural analysis of Microsoft, it appears that there are a lot of processes and issues that ought to be analysed in order to deduce a structured system for the examination of a CSR process for Microsoft. The fundamental purpose of this paper is to assess the component of corporate social responsibility in Microsoft in order to deduce a model for the conduct of structured CSR in Microsoft. This paper will examine the current features of Microsoft’s strategic plans and how it links up to the different components of the organisation include the economic, political, civil society and environment. From there, the research will recommend a plan for the attainment of CSR standards and targets for the firm. Current Status of CSR Microsoft’s mission is to enable people and businesses throughout the world to realize their full potential (Microsoft, 2014). This is viewed by Microsoft as a commitment to its customers and based on this, Microsoft delivers computer technology to a wide range of consumers and users around the globe. The core values that guide the conduct of Microsoft include personalisation of hardware and software, provision of high quality hardware and software and the provision of assistive operating systems that are highly interoperatable for a wide array of consumers (Microsoft, 2014). The strategy of attaining this end at Microsoft includes amongst other things, commitment and leadership, usability, innovation and the building of strong networks of collaborations (Smith, 2014). “Microsoft has an enduring commitment to working to fulfil our public responsibilities and to serving the needs of people in communities worldwide. Fundamental to this commitment is the role we serve as a responsible global corporate citizen.” (Microsoft CSR, 2014). This indicates that CSR in Microsoft is fundamentally steeped in the environmental, social and employee relations that has to do with the continuous improvement of all relevant stakeholders that they are connected to. Corporate Culture In Microsoft’s 2013 Corporate Citizenship Report, they stated that their CSR commitment has to do with helping communities, championing the growth of people and meeting the commitment to responsible business processes and practices. This indicates that Microsoft has a view of improving each of the community they are connected to and also improving their employees and other stakeholders as well as adherence to high ethical standards in operations. They therefore incorporated this into their ethical framework which guided and informed their conduct and also came up with initiatives like the Employee Giving Campaign, Microsoft YouthSpark, Technology for Good and the Climate Change Campaign (Kotler & Lee, 2013). Each of these programmes were formulated with the view of creating metrics and targets that helped Microsoft to literally share its profits with stakeholders including employees, youth members of the society, poorer countries and the world as a whole. Employee Relations Employee relations in Microsoft are carried out with the highest standards to guide the company as a global leader in attracting and retaining the most talented individuals in the information technology industry (Orcullo, 2013). Numerous programs of Microsoft have been instituted to consciously motivate and also improve the operations of the firm. Microsoft has given over $1 billion to its workers since 1983 and it gave away $100 million in extra money and profit sharing drives to its workers in 2013 (Microsoft CSR, 2014). Investor Relations Microsoft has a strong board structure that for a very long time, was headed by Bill Gates and it has a functioning system that ensures that monitoring and controls are done whilst the firm also focuses on innovation and quick improvement. Investor relations in Microsoft is bolstered by continuous and accurate reporting which is carried out by Microsoft to promote its core and fundamental agenda by keeping the shareholders informed and enlightened. Economic/Stakeholder Relations Microsoft is committed to ethical sourcing of their products and they ensure that all their suppliers are compliant with human rights policies (Leone, 2012). This ethical supply chain system involves taking products from entities that comply with United Nations’ procedures and systems. Civil Society Microsoft’s YouthSpark programme culminated in helping over 100 million youth in over 100 countries and it helped them to gain education, training and other opportunities that put them on an appropriate and ideal working path. The Technology for Good Initiative also culminated in the creation of numerous software for not-for-profit organisations around the world. This involved software for the development of civil society and this was given for free. Environment In 2013, Microsoft met its goal of carbon neutrality which involved using internal measures and metrics to ensure that carbon emissions were cut to the desired target within the organisation. Political As a corporate entity, Microsoft is bound by the laws of the land within which it operates. This includes the law of the United States, and other countries within which Microsoft operates. These laws comply with various forms of international law which relates to the new global order that relates to the harmonisation of international laws and regulations. Microsoft has a legal unit that examines rules and ensure that the activities of Microsoft are compliant with relevant rules and regulations. The image of Microsoft was stained by its alleged anti-trust practices that led to the monopolisation of the computer and software market. This led to various court suits that put the company in a negative light. Additionally, computer firms are seen to be entities that have enough money to avoid paying taxes. This led to them being cast in an unpopular light. However, in 2013, Microsoft focused on improving internal reporting and enhancing transparency practices in their reports. Strategy for Improving the CSR Systems Clearly, Microsoft is doing quite well in giving back to society through CSR measures. However, there could be better and enhanced methods and processes for promoting their corporate social responsibility. For instance, being seen as a monopolistic and dominant entity that seeks to avoid taxes is a negative moral trait that ought to be clarified and enhanced. Secondly, Microsoft is seen as a firm that is in a position to enhance and promote responsible environmental practices by creating software that can be used to help firms to become more environmental conscious. This is not the core feature of its operations and affairs. There is the need for Microsoft to go to the next level with its corporate social responsibilities in order to meet the competition and expectations of various classes of stakeholders (Newell, 2005). These recommendations are also given in light of the various circumstances and processes relating to the changing environment around which Microsoft operates. Global Firm and Organisation Microsoft must move its corporate social responsibility from its localised American system into a global perspective. This is because Microsoft is an international entity and it will need to focus on the emerging markets of Africa, Asia and Latin America in order to provide the maximum and optimal level of help and support where it is most needed. There must be a programme dubbed “Taking Social Responsibility to the World”. This will mean Microsoft will have to transpose its North American CSR plans and strategies to the developing world. This will imply that they will need a global strategy and localise it everywhere they operate. Microsoft will therefore have to get local strategic plans and local CSR processes and procedure that can be employed in different parts of the world. Civil Society Microsoft will need a proactive system to examine and review the elements of the civil society. This will give them guidance on what they need to continuously examine and review the society and make adjustments to their existing CSR system. This will include a programme called “Active Listening” which will involve the employment of different data collection and research staff members who will lay emphasis on taking information on the civil society. The civil society will have to be studied on a continuous basis and when there are changes in the system, there must be changes where necessary (Batinga & Bridwell, 2011). The civil society is an important part of the company’s operations and activities. Therefore. Microsoft will need to examine elements of social, environmental and human relations activities in order to promote a higher degree of sustainability in the societies they operate. Microsoft must find an international and local standards and metrics to us as a yardstick to formulate policies relating to CSR. This will guide them in setting their targets and standards in order to deal with their matters and formulate strategies. Economic and Stakeholder Relations There must be an expansion of the economic standards of sourcing to various forms of projects in the developing world in order to ensure that human rights is enshrined in partner firms and organisations. This should be integrated into “Taking Social Responsibility to the World”. Environment Since there is a growing trend in promoting and enhancing the environmental consciousness and due to the fact that most firms and organisations are on this path, there is the need for Microsoft to focus more on creating software and computerised systems for the monitoring of their environmental footprints. Since Microsoft has been successful in maintaining their own environmental structures, there is the need for them to put that into a software and ensure that they can make this software openly available to members of the public. It is commendable for Microsoft to also link up their operations and processes with their free software and not-for-profit products. This is because there is the need for a specialised unit to present software that is steeped in the environmental consciousness of people in the society. This will enable Microsoft to help the society and meet the current need – which is to gauge and reduce the effects of organisations on the natural environment. Political Microsoft is in a situation where it ought to repair its image with members of the society. Microsoft will have to change its tax and reporting systems and processes. They will also have to appear to be helping smaller entities and shun away from presenting themselves as a dominant and monopolistic entity. Hence, Microsoft must move towards a moral system of paying appropriate taxes and also trying to adhere to competition rules and regulations. Employee Relations Statistics show that Microsoft is focused on increasing and improving the income and earnings of their top and critical managers. These people benefit the most from the profit sharing experience. Therefore, Microsoft must move towards the support of low-level staff by guaranteeing them job security and also increasing the percentage of money and resources they get as part of the profit sharing arrangements. Investor Relations Investors are more interested in improving and maximising their profits. However, they will need to be educated on the need for management to focus on the long-term survivability of Microsoft. Hence, they must be trained on the importance of CSR and other social giveaways that appear to be incompatible with short term profit-making. Hence, Microsoft must educate its shareholders and prepare their minds to support their social and environmental drives. It is therefore recommended that Microsoft should hold special sessions for the discussion of CSR and CSR reports and their details must be made significant and heavily emphasised in the annual reports of Microsoft. This will make Microsoft’s shareholders more informed and help them to improve their attitude towards CSR. Conclusion Microsoft is a major international organisation and they have focused on a lot of things in their corporate social responsibility processes. This include various activities like profit sharing and profit distribution with workers as well as other social practices that are compatible with the long-term success of Microsoft. Central amongst them is their adherence to high ethical and moral standards in operation which is reported proudly in their annual reports. Microsoft is also focused on promoting its long-term focus and actions relating to the growth of their shares and the enhancement of their environmental sensitivity. Also, Microsoft has been involved in various processes like the promotion of youth development and the sharing profits with their workers. They also promote transparent reporting to their investors and governments as means of enhancing their reputation and meeting corporate objectives. This research has recommended that Microsoft must transpose its corporate social responsibility actions to developing country. Hence, Microsoft ought to get a global CSR system and also transpose them to the local level. Microsoft must also try to develop environmental-conscious software that they will commercialise and make available to firms to ensure that they promote corporate social responsibility. The percentage of the profit sharing arrangements must be skewed in order to include low-level staff members and also help low level staff members to get higher levels of income and gain job security which they need. Finally, Microsoft must promote morality in the payment of taxes and also repair their image by supporting competition in their affairs. Bibliography Kotler, P., & Lee, N. (2013). Corporate Social Reponsibility. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons. Microsoft CSR. (2014, August 4). Corporate Citizenship. Retrieved August 21, 2014, from Microsoft: http://www.microsoft.com/about/corporatecitizenship/en-us/ Microsoft. (2014, August 4). Microsoft Accessibility Mission, Strategy and Process. Retrieved August 21, 2014, from Microsoft website: http://www.microsoft.com/enable/microsoft/mission.aspx Orcullo, N. (2013). Fundamentals of Strategic Management. London: SAGE. Smith, R. F. (2014). Business Process Management and hte Balanced Scorecard. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons. Read More