Corporate Social Responsibility Issues - Essay Example

Reflection of the article Name of the student Name of the tutor Name of the institution This summary is intended to shade more light and give a general overview of the topics of the study. In the study experience, it provides four major definitions of corporate social responsibility (CSR). The study targets company managers, the government institution among other stakeholders. The first definition was according to Pearce & Doh (2012) where they defined CSR as responsibility which an organization takes for the whole of its value chain and its impacts on the ecological, social and economic parameters, in negotiation with stakeholders concerning society. This definition expands the target audience to include shareholders, society, and other stakeholders. The second major definition found in the journal was according to the European Commission, (EU) in which they states that CSR is a concept whereby companies integrate social and environment issues existing in their businesses activities and how they relate voluntarily with stakeholders. Lastly the definition according to World Business Council for Development Sustainable (WBCDS) as the commitment of business to give to a sustainable economic development, working with employees, their families, the local society to assist to improve quality of lives of people. In summary, we can conclude that corporate social responsibility is giving back to society by companies from the share of their profits. Therefore, the target audience is not limited to company managers, but all stakeholders in the business and corporate management. The study aimed first to establish the effect of the CSR on the image and reputation of the firm. Secondly, to find out the actual competitive advantage brought by CSR, and lastly to establish the level of the CSR usage among the companies. The article further defines statement of the problem where a recent online poll revealed that PR professionals believed that Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) budgets would be cut in the face of recession, yet companies such as Marks & Spencer are still investing heavily on CSR after knowing its impacts and role it plays in building company reputation and image. The journal further reveals that a new notion is emerging from recent studies which are sustainability development, which organizations such as Nike are adopting as part of their CSR. This topic could lead to discussions about whether CSR is merely used to create positive brand image and reputation or whether it offers real competitive advantage: and whether organizations are using CSR to its full potential. The study intended to carry out desktop research to investigate whether CSR is merely used to create positive brand image and reputation or whether it offers real competitive advantage: and whether organizations are using CSR to its full potential. From the literature review discussed Michelon, Boesso & Kumar (2013) as quoted in the journal deduced that they state that this relationship is a two-way traffic of give and take. The article concluded that, though the relationship is one of give and take, one individual who is the company is more dependent on society than the way society depends on the corporate. Companies to build a close relationship with the society and this can only be achieved through CSR. Nevertheless, the study has found that it is an expensive affair and small and medium organization find it difficult to compete with already established corporations in giving back to society; hence this is a competitive advantage for already developed companies. In a corporate world leader's forum, 5% of those leaders said that CSR is an important for the success of business, while 24% said that CSR is not very important however the shareholders interest is the most crucial for the company survival. CSR however was quoted as a complimentary to the corporate governance bringing the question of agency theory. Through the discussion, the literature review, the design used was a systematic review. One of the primary limitations of a literature review of this kind is the complete reliance on the previously published studies and the readily available thesis. This reliance is not good to prove or support particular findings since the time and conditions of the study might differ with the present conditions. The implication of over-reliance is that it can lead to wrong or inaccurate decision by management. The process of locating relevant article is tedious and time-consuming, and the resultant effect might result in file drawer effect which is a negative implication. Systematic review of the literature may result in the continuation of error from one research article to another hence it is not error free. Only if the data which is available are consistent across studies, detection of interaction and trends can be very difficult in systematic literature review. Although with many shortcomings, systematic literature review has several positive implications. First implication is that it can detect small but clinical relevant effects of an intervention in the study. Secondly, with a more heterogeneous nature of the subject across different articles and studies, the more diverse group of subject permits a more global solution to the question asked in the study. Like in our study, we were able to compare findings from different parts of the world like UK, India and US on the same subject matter giving a broad base of making a conclusion. Thirdly, one is in a position of avoiding the time and the expense of carrying out a new research study if there is availability of a broad range of research which has been done on the subject matter. Lastly, if one article has an error, others do not have. Hence, there are high chances of reducing the error made in one study as other articles will be used to make a conclusion. From the agency theory, management is a task of making profit for shareholders and not the society and CSR demands dividing shareholders profit with society hence bringing conflict of interest. This is a gap which needs to be filled in the following studies. There is a need also to compare companies in the same industries where one is doing CSR while others do not against shareholders value and makes a conclusion concerning the benefits of the impact of CSR on company reputation. This is a crucial implication as it influences the general perception and organization culture concerning CSR. This study exposes a major weakness of the literature review. Though the study gives various definitions, it is clear from the article that the researcher failed to give his or her definition as per his or her understanding of the concept of corporate social responsibility. A good scholar should be in a position of giving his or her own few on the topic of the study. The study mostly concentrated on the recent studies but failed to give the origin of the concept of corporate social responsibility. There is a need to provide the background of the study origin and how it has evolved. However, the study is wholesome, giving major parts of the proposal from chapter one to the conclusion of the study. The researcher was also explicit on how the topic of the study relates to the findings and objectives of the study. The concept of CSR needs to be a factor in the organization strategic management. This will help in controlling and managing conflict of interest, giving the management proper guidelines on how to go about the concept. It has the potentiality of building the company brand or destroying company reputation. Read More