Importance and Advantages of CSR - Essay Example

Reflective Portfolio Table of Contents Part A 3 Social Media and CSR 3 Preparation 3 Seminar Discussion 3 Roles Played by Major Firms 3 Importance and Advantages of CSR 4 Social Media and CSR 4 Short Reflection 5 Whistle Blowing and Workplace Ethics 5 Preparation 5 Seminar Discussion 6 Role Played by Employees in maintaining Ethics in workplace 6 Whistle blowing activities in the activities in Apple Inc. 6 Importance of Workplace ethics 7 Short Reflection 7 Sustainability Strategy 7 Preparation 7 Seminar Discussion 8 Short Reflection 9 Part B 9 Reference List 13 Part A Social Media and CSR Preparation Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is the concept which allows the companies to incorporate social concerns in the organizational activities. Apart from taking care of the interest of the primary stake holders, the company also looks after the welfare of the society in which it is operating in. The social welfare of the company involves taking care of the interest of the employees, customers, social community and environment. Complying with the corporate social responsibilities, the firms should focus on the mutual sustainability of organizational operations and that of the society as well (Blowfield and Murray, 2008). The main aspects of CSR activities include the four main aspects which are human rights, labour standards, environment and anti-corruption activities (Leonard and McAdam, 2003). Several companies engage in CSR activities to take care of its social responsibilities. Coca Cola can be one of the examples of the companies who are best known for their CSR. The company has taken up the responsibility to take care of the under privileged and provide child education. It also takes care of the environment by reducing its carbon emission by following the necessary environmental standards. The company has also taken initiatives in water conservation (CSRWire, 2015). The concept of corporate social media is utilizing the social media networks for organizational purposes. Social media can have both positive as well as negative effects on the organizations. There are certain risks involved with the social media. If there is a lack of supervision from the higher authority then there can be a chance of misinterpretation of the organizational activities (Bucaro, 2007). Seminar Discussion Roles Played by Major Firms The seminar discussion began with the importance of the corporate social responsibilities and how it is related to the sustainability of the organization. One of the team members started with the example of Beijing TV, exposing the unethical activities of Toyota in China. He mentioned that Toyota deliberately took the advantage of a legal loophole and delivered car with no rear bumper. The car insurance policies only cover standards for the front and side of the car. Although the company did not do anything illegal, however, it definitely showed an irresponsive behaviour towards the consumers. He mentioned that almost all the well established companies are only focused on making money and hardly care for the community. To this ongoing discussion, I added another example of Apple Inc. I mentioned that the company had faced severe accusations of poor work environment in one of its manufacturing firms in China. The employees had started to commit suicide by jumping from the roof of the factory. This clearly indicates that the company hardly cares for its employees and is solely focused on generating revenue for itself (BBC, 2014). The discussion then moved on to the details of CSR activities and how it can influence the long term sustainability of the companies (Campbell, 2006). Importance and Advantages of CSR One of the members mentioned that there are several advantages of CSR that can help the company to achieve its organizational objectives. Involving in CSR improves the corporate image of the firms which in turn increases the brand equity and customer preference towards the brand. It also allows the company to measure the level of competitiveness in the industry and at the same time establishes good working relationships with other corporations (Kimber and Lipton, 2009). It also increases the motivation level of the employees, thereby increasing the internal efficiency. Moreover, taking care of the society also allows the firms to receive support from the government. Social Media and CSR The discussion then moved on to the topic of corporate social media and its importance. One of the members mentioned that the social media can have negative impacts on the organizations if they are not utilized by proper strategies. The lack of infrastructure may only lead to poor utilization of the platform. The companies must ensure that the social media is used to monitor the perception of the customers and take necessary actions to meet the customers’ needs and demands (Devinney et al, 2006). The discussion then moved on to the features of social media, regarding which I pointed out the following: autonomy, timeliness, convenience, diffusivity and diversity. It allows the firms to have a clear insight about the customers and influence their perception by strengthening communication (Kesavan, Bernacchi and Mascarenhas, 2013). Short Reflection From the discussion, I have gathered that the well established companies often ignore their responsibility towards the society and the environment. They only focus on the short term financial objectives. This as a result leads to corporate image of the firm. The customers perceive that the company does not care for them or its employees. This as a result will eventually decrease the brand equity of the firm. I also learnt that the social media can be used by the firms to further improve its business, but in order to achieve that, the companies must need to have a firm infrastructure and strategies to utilize the features of the social media. Whistle Blowing and Workplace Ethics Preparation Whistle blowing is the process of exposing unethical activities conducted in a firm. The person who exposes such incidents is known as a whistle blower. Whistle blowing is somewhat important from the perspective of the organization. It allows the higher authority to have a clear insight of what is going on in the organization (Lindgreen and Swaen, 2010). Whistle blowing can be done in several occasions, such as when an individual in the organization is involved in illegal activities or is associated with something which is against the organizational contract (Near and Miceli, 2013). He can also report if some of his fellow colleagues are avoiding their professional duties, doing damage to the assets or is conducting any criminal offence or covering up wrong doing (Leonard and McAdam, 2003; Luo and Bhattacharya, 2006). The act of whistle blowing is largely dependent on the perception and voluntary willingness to bring justice in the organization and to protect the employees from the bad influence. A person may only engage in whistle blowing if they feel comfortable in communication the issue with his respective employer. Every company has a whistle blowing procedure and every employee must have a clear knowledge of the actual practice of whistle blowing. The whistle blowing contract often promises to protect the whistle blowers’ identity to his colleagues, so that he and others like him gains confidence to further engage in whistle blowing in the near future. In some cases, the employer is also involved in the unethical activities in the organization. The individuals who are high up in the hierarchy ar4e often protected by their power of authority and hardly any subordinate would like to go up against him head on. In such cases he must contact a prescribed person or body. In most cases the whistle blower contacts the HR division to seek proper justice for the ongoing unethical activities. The HR division then takes the charge to communicate the concerned issue with the higher authority (GOV.UK, 2015). One might argue that in certain cases almost all the higher authorities of the organization is involved in the unethical activities including the HR department. In such rare cases, if the individual want to report the misdeeds of the company then he must consult with the local law enforcement authority. If the employer decides to dismiss the individual because of his whistle activities, then it will be an act of unfair dismissal and he can file a law suit against the authority in the court of justice (GOV.UK, 2015). Seminar Discussion Role Played by Employees in maintaining Ethics in workplace The discussion of the topic of whistle blowing started when one candidate mentioned that the unethical activities performed by a firm can easily be put to check if the employees take the necessary steps (Miceli, Near and Dworkin, 2013). Another employee mentioned that the act of whistle blowing can be dangerous for the person who takes the initiative, if his supervisors are also included in the unethical activities. In response, I mentioned that most of the companies have regulations to protect whistle blowers by keeping their identity secret. Whistle blowing activities in the activities in Apple Inc. Another member mentioned an example of Apple Inc, where an employee of Pegatron, a manufacturing firm of Apple Inc, testified to BBC that they are being forced to work for around 12 hours per day (BBC, 2014). This as a result has degraded their health and affected their personal life. The member in our group also mentioned about another incident where the employees of Apple have to work standing for long hours, which as a result led to swelling of their legs. The discussion then moved on to the concept of work place ethics. Importance of Workplace ethics Work place ethics can be defined as a set of ethical activities that the employees are expected to follow (Upshur and Bernstein, 2014; McWilliams and Siegel, 2001). This as a result leads to protection of the interests of the employees and the society as well. A company which operates ethically usually bears a good corporate image, which in turn increases its level of consumer preference (Bocchiaro, Zimbardo and Van Lange, 2012; Ferrell and Fraedrich, 2014). A member of the seminar also mentioned that several companies ignore the safety of the workers. He further added that the workers in Foxconn faced chemical injuries while using a poisonous chemical to clean the iPhone screens. Ideally, the employees should be given proper safety gears when they are asked to work with potentially hazardous items. Short Reflection From the discussion of the topic of whistle blowing and work place ethics, I learnt that the welfare of the organization and its stakeholders are the responsibility of both the employees and the employer alike. The employees should take the responsibility of reporting illegal or unethical activities to the concerned authority so that such activities can be avoided in the near future (Weiss, 2014). The act of whistle blowing is quite important in terms of organizational welfare. It keeps the unethical activities in check and it also lets the higher authority to monitor any ongoing unethical practices. If these practices are not taken care of, then over time they may lead to catastrophic consequences. I have also learnt that the concept of work place ethics is one of the most important topics of concern for the firms. To put it simply, I can state that the company should be responsible for all the entities that are directly and indirectly related to the operations of the firm. Sustainability Strategy Preparation The concept of sustainability describes that the organizations should conduct its present activities in such a way that it can keep its business sustainable in the near future. It also suggests that the current generation of firms should conduct their business activities in such as way that the future generation can meet their own needs (Green, Toms and Clark, 2015). Sustainability activities of the firms encompass its responsibilities towards promoting the environmental, economical and social concerns (Dempsey et al, 2011). The companies which adopts sustainability strategy ensures that the company is putting positive impact on the environment and at the same time it also makes sure that its business can last for a long time period. The concept of social contract suggests that an organization is bound by certain social responsibility (Kuik and Verbruggen, 2012). As the society is supporting the firms to flourish its business activities, so it is also the responsibility of the firm to take care of the society. The firms which are dependent on the natural resources procured from the environment must ensure that those resources are used responsibly and that there are plenty left for others and the future generation. The concept of Sustainable development is based on the fact that the firms undergo its developmental process in a sustainable manner, so that it can be continued for a long period of time. It improves the corporate image of the company and it also attracts the investors. The investors are more convinced to invest in a firm which have a stable infrastructure and is most likely to give higher returns. This as a result improves the financial conditions of the firm (Carroll and Buchholtz, 2014). Seminar Discussion The discussion of the topic of sustainability began when one of the members mentioned about the benefits of CSR. The CSR activities of the firm eventually lead to sustainable development of the company as well as the society. The members of the team had put up several examples of sustainability strategies. One of them mentioned that the illegal foresting in the West Bengal, India took the governments’ attention. The government decided to employ sustainable logging by introducing tree harvesting projects for the villagers, who would get 25 percent of the revenue from timber production. This in turn improved the economic condition of the region and also improved the condition of the forestry. Another member stated that an organisation can take small steps to improve sustainability of the firm. L’Oreal decided to improve its sustainability by using energy efficient lighting and equipments. The company used zoning light controls and other technological advancement to reduce the energy consumption of the firms (The Sustainability Consortium, 2011). Thus by reducing the energy requirement or by reducing the carbon foot print, it can foster long term sustainability. The seminar discussion then moved on to the topic on how the companies who work ethically have prospered in their business activities. In this regard one member has mentioned that the companies like Google, Microsoft, Dell, Accenture, PepsiCo, etc. are some of the companies who are known for their ethical business activities (Ethisphere, 2015). These firms are undoubtedly are among the successful ones in their respective industries, which is a clear reflection of their ethical practices. In response I added to the conversation that there are certain companies who faced devastating consequences due to their unethical practices. Among them Enron can be a notable example. The company got involved in to a major financial scandal resulting from improper accounts disclosure. This scandal led to devastating collapse of the company resulting in loss of jobs of thousands of employees and financial loss of several investors (TIME, 2015). Short Reflection From this topic of discussion, I have learnt that the sustainability is one of the primary concerns of the society. The firms need to employ its organizational strategies in such a way that the future prospects of the industry and the companies operating in it are protected. The firms need to take care of the society and the environment so that there is a steady flow of resources available for a long term period. The environmental concerns of the company should involve reducing its negative impact on the ecosystem so that stakeholders’ interests are taken care of. This as a result improves the corporate image of the firms and attracts the customers and investors alike. The firm which is more sustainable attracts investors as they are easily convinced that they will get high return on their investments and the company is not likely to face any unforeseen events. Part B The student led seminar focused on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and its associated aspects have taught me a lot regarding its influence on the business operations and how it can be achieved. The concept of CSR involves the social and environmental responsibility of the organizations. These responsibilities mostly include taking care of the interest of the community, employees, government, etc. Apart from the social responsibility, the company should also take care of the environment around it. The idea of engaging in CSR activities is to give back to the society in return from earning revenue from it (Schaltegger, Lüdeke-Freund and Hansen, 2012). A company cannot run without the support from the society and its people, which make the company obliged towards them. Most of the companies oversee of the society by taking care of the under privileged by giving free lunch and education or by taking care of the families of the blue collar workers. Now-a-days, the CSR activities are communicated through social media networks. Social media is used to conduct social events by the companies. However, the companies must ensure that it has a proper strategy to utilize the social media platform; otherwise it will only remain as a display medium. Social media has become a good platform for communication for the firms and at the same time it also allows the firm to gather a clear insight about the customers. Involving in CSR activities allows the company to establish a strong corporate relationship with other enterprises. This as a result leads to lobby formation and achieving strong competitive advantage. I have found that engaging in CSR activities also allows the firms to improve its corporate image among the customers. The customers perceive that if the company is responsible towards the society, then it will also be responsible towards its customers and will offer high quality products and services. Thus, CSR activities are mutually beneficial to the society as well as the company. Social responsibility of a firm also includes taking care of the internal stakeholders, such as the employees and the investors. In order to do so, the company needs to operate ethically and follow all the industrial standards to run its business operations. Work place ethics is quite important to ensure long term sustenance of the firm. I have realized that the firms which operate ethically are more successful in the long run as compared to the ones which are not. Workplace ethics involve taking care of the internal practices of the firms and that the employees as well as the higher management are not involved in any kind of illegal or immoral practices within the professional boundaries. In order to stop unethical practices in the work place environment, the companies often employ certain “whistle blowing” policies which allow the employees to expose the unethical practices of the organization and put them in sight of the authority. Whistle blowing helps the organization to keep unethical practices in check. In most cases, the whistle blowers are rewarded and their identity is kept confidential in the work place. Maintaining ethical practices is mostly conducted on the grounds of financial disclosure, proper employee management, offering justified remuneration and meeting promises made to the stake holders. Following ethical practices also helps the companies to increase their brand equity and gain customer preference. CSR activities also include taking care of the environment; this is mostly relevant for the manufacturing companies. In most cases, the manufacturing firms put negative impacts on the environment owing to their operational activities. Exhaust fumes and by-products from the production plants are released into the environment thereby affecting the ecosystem and the society in the long run. The companies following ethical practices always makes sure that the impact of its operational activities on the environment can be reduced as much as possible. This is mostly achieved by proper disposal of waste materials, developing innovating technologies to reduce waste and fumes emission. Several companies also ensure that their carbon foot print is as low as possible by recycling wastes and conservation of energy by installing energy efficient equipments, thereby increasing environmental sustainability (Cooper, 2013). The firms which are dependent on the natural resources should make sure that they are being gathered responsibly. Most of the natural resources are non-renewable in nature; therefore, these resources must be procured after ensuring that there are plenty left for the next generation. The firms which are dependent on renewable resources like, wood or water must take initiative to produce more of these resources by water conservation and forestation. Sustainability and sustainable development strategy allows the firms to ensure that its present organizational activities will help the organization to sustain for a long term period in the future. Some of the business houses are only focused on the short term financial objectives which as a result lead to the avoidance of long term sustainability strategies. Sustainability can be achieved both in terms of social, economic and environmental perspectives (Gonzalez-Perez and Leonard, 2013). The social perspective allows the firms to take care of the society so as to secure their support in the near future, at the same time the firms also ensure that the interest of the employees are also being taken care of. This as a result increases the motivational level of the employees, thereby increasing their individual productivity. Thus, I can state from the overall understanding of the CSR activities that in order to ensure economic and operational stability and also to ensure the long term sustainability of the firm and the industry itself, the companies must actively fulfil their social environmental responsibilities. Reference List BBC, 2014. Apples Broken Promises. [online] Available at: [Accessed 1 May 2015] Blowfield, M. and Murray, C., 2008. CSR: A Critical Introduction. 4th ed. New York: Oxford University Press. Bocchiaro, P., Zimbardo, P. G. and Van Lange, P. A., 2012. To defy or not to defy: An experimental study of the dynamics of disobedience and whistle-blowing. Social Influence, 7(1), pp. 35-50. Bucaro, R. C., 2007. Tackling the ethics question in business. Club Industry, 17(1), p.14. Campbell, J. L., 2006. Institutional Analysis and the Paradox of Corporate Social Responsibility. 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