Corporate Social Responsibility of Wal-Mart - Essay Example

?Select a major organization of your choice and critically evaluate its CSR strategies. You are advised to apply analytical tools for this purpose and explain what in your opinion, are the organization’s drivers of CSR strategies. Wal-Mart is an American chain of stores which is indeed the world’s largest public corporation in terms of revenue. The company was brought into foundation in 1962 by Sam Walton and its headquarters are in Arkansas. Without a doubt, Wal-Mart is the largest majority private employer as well as the largest grocery retailer within the United States. It has 8,500 stores in over 15 countries which have 55 different names. As far as its corporate social responsibility (CSR) domains are concerned, Wal-Mart has been a very helpful neighbor and an active citizen in thousands of communities around the United States and the world as well. Wal-Mart has a strong organizational philosophy towards being a member of the community that it has opened up its chain within. It feels that its role towards uplifting the human and societal domains is nothing short of a privilege. The organization believes on fostering as well as deepening the community partnerships since these remain very critical towards its future undertakings. It must be remembered here that Wal-Mart is one company that is renowned for its values-based, ethically-led promise towards the publics and the community at large. Wal-Mart believes in the age-old premise that an organization would serve the community in the best manner possible if it wants to build long term relationships with the people who are within the community itself. They would be best served if their interests are being upheld and when they are given the right to be themselves, and to manifest the basis of success through commitment and facilitation in the form of different environmental, social and charitable initiatives that have essentially been employed by Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart believes in the fact that community partnerships as well as good working realms ensure that the company grows by leaps and bounds, and that it has a positive word of mouth across a number of channels and within publics that it directly or indirectly caters to, in the long run (Hoffman 1990). Wal-Mart knows that it can only move ahead if it grows responsibly and intelligently along with strong community domains. The CSR strategy of Wal-Mart depends a great deal on the focus, implementation and the budget which has been earmarked for such settings. The CSR focus has remained on the areas including education, public health, sports, environment, disaster relief, child safety and charitable support over the years. On the same lines, the CSR implementation has been emphasized upon a great deal through its own projects, a foundation in the name of Wal-Mart, and the efforts that are done through volunteerism. The CSR implementation phase has therefore been divided into three separate initiatives that have been undertaken by Wal-Mart in essence. Moving ahead with the CSR integration phase, one can see that the CSR strategy is divided into two sub-units which include the company product and the company strategy. Both these sub-units depend greatly on how Wal-Mart brings about significant value for the sake of Wal-Mart and how it has shaped up beliefs and attitudes with the changing times. Since the strategy basically defines how products are going to be sent across the channels, it is of significance to comprehend what kind of strategy would reap the best results from the long term scheme of things (Schneider 1998). It is also pertinent to note here that the company product and the company strategy are inherently linked with each other, and thus there is a clear cut definition of both of these sub-units. What is mandatory on the part of the CSR integration is how these two would bring in the much needed value for the sake of the organization and specifically in terms of the CSR initiatives that have been taken in a head-on manner by Wal-Mart. The CSR representative within Wal-Mart reports to the board which is basically the head body of the organization and undertakes most of the decisions in a much decentralized fashion. There is emphasis on doing things right, and that too for the overall wellness of the society at large. The CSR budget is also imperative to understand because it essentially earmarks funds for the growth and development phases within the CSR activities so that charity organizations could be facilitated and other United States’ organizations are given room to support their own basis in entirety. One must understand that this CSR budget is the core essence of the CSR activities and indeed the CSR vision that has been undertaken by Wal-Mart, which shall bear rich fruit for the organization in the long run (Meyer 2006). The board also vets the funds which are in the form of a CSR budget to make sure that the anomalies within the funding regimes are taken care of, and the irregularities, if any are kept at a safe distance from the shores of the CSR initiatives undertaken by the organization. These steps are so taken to make sure that there is absolute synergy between the processes and activities, and essentially no loopholes exist which might come to the surface at a later stage within the CSR implementation phase. At Wal-Mart, CSR measurement and monitoring remain significant to understand. The tools of CSR measurement and monitoring remain the impact of CSR on the stakeholders as measured by surveys, rankings and external auditors. The impact of CSR on Wal-Mart as an organization are measured by the impact on public attitudes and their trust levels which are more or less in the form of different rankings. There is a dire need to know that the CSR measurement and monitoring tools would embody the basis of success for the organization and bring in the much required value for the company in the long run. It would comprise of the factors that shall shape up positive words for the organization and ask of the publics to remain loyal and steadfast towards the organization itself (Cocheo 2004). These endeavors on the part of Wal-Mart shall bring in what it requires most – a smooth link with the people and the community at large. It would also make the company accountable for all its actions and initiatives, and would put the emphasis on the different activities, processes and steps which it undertakes from time to time. The impact of CSR on Wal-Mart and the stakeholders is seemingly important because it helps shape up the different realms of the organization and gives it a very significant meaning in the long run. It establishes the basis of its success and how it would be able to manifest growth and development within the CSR regimes, which remain very pivotal for the sake of the organization in the future. There are some selected CSR projects which have been conducted at Wal-Mart, and which remain quintessential towards the basis of its long term success which shall be understood upon at great length within the domains of this paper. The first CSR project that receives significance here is based on the premise of environment where Wal-Mart has been able to sustain positive steps throughout its journey, ever since it was founded and continues to do so to this day. Other initiatives are for the sake of the community and the people in essence. The organization has understood its role well and thus facilitated its way through in reaching out to the publics, community and the environment in meticulous, thus bringing out its efforts and endeavors which are positively inclined by all means. The dependence on environmental sustainability is there because Wal-Mart has comprehended that this is a key towards enhancing the quality of life for the people around the globe. Other areas where importance of environmental sustainability has been demonstrated is in the areas of its employees, and the different community projects which have been going on for the last five decades or so. Wal-Mart is very focused on the role that it plays within the environment. This is because it has understood that the environmental understanding today would reap rich dividends in the future. Since it is a large international chain of repute, Wal-Mart is seriously aware of its impact that it would be having on the environment and the changes as well as challenges which have been impacting it for a number of years now. These changes and challenges remain on-going and can have drastic effects on the people and the environment in essence. The businesses face quite a number of these challenges with the passing day and age, and it would be only natural to think of these steps in the way they are supposed to be. This would reap positive results for the organization and would bring together the different initiatives under the umbrella of Wal-Mart’s CSR. Under such ranks, Wal-Mart has taken on a company wide, long term initiative to adapt its business practices which are in direct contact with the environmental restoration as well as sustainability in the strategic perspectives (Horwitz 2009). It means success for the organization from the long term standpoint as well as brings together collective efforts, all of which are meant to bring solidity towards the domains of Wal-Mart. Environmental restoration and sustainability therefore remain the buzzwords when an understanding is reached as far as Wal-Mart’s CSR is concerned. These initiatives would mean a great deal towards the long term reputation building of the organization and the manner in which it is able to garner support and approval for the different projects which are underway within the organization. Some significant goals and objectives of Wal-Mart within the environment discussions center on its complete reliance on renewable energy, helping in creating zero waste as well as in selling products which sustain different resources as well as the environment in the future, and even in the present age. Some activities which have been noteworthy comprise of an initiative to reduce packaging from the year 2008 and onwards. Wal-Mart has always believed in hiring suppliers who make use of the new packaging dimensions through the conservation of natural resources. The organization envisaged a reduction in packaging by around 5%. What this does in essence is to make use of the millions of pounds of trash each year whereby the return was much more solid and positive. It changed the trash into something that could be used into – packaging for Wal-Mart’s products and other initiatives (Luchsinger 2009). The decrease in the carbon dioxide emissions are some of the most significant aspects that Wal-Mart has therefore derived from such initiatives. The focus has relied on doing things right, and for the sake of Wal-Mart, this has been a reality ever since its vision amended to making use of the packaging in a much tangible form. Wal-Mart knows that it is doing something worthwhile for the sake of the people by contributing towards the environment and there is fair enough reason to understand such claims. Coming towards the realms of community within the CSR initiatives undertaken by Wal-Mart, one can see that Wal-Mart has been able to show its commitment towards the Children’s Miracle Network over the years. Apart from this, it has also created job initiatives for this company by taking care of important areas like education of the children, volunteering aspects and so on and so forth (Anderson 1994). Within the community programs, Wal-Mart has worked its way through the different schemes which have come up time and again, to raise the awareness amongst the community and to garner support all this while. The company also supports organizational programs like different literacy initiatives and community scholarships and thus is able to make significant contributions towards national and international companies whereby their networks are given the funding through mechanisms and activities undertaken by Wal-Mart itself. These networks and organizations include the American Cancer Society, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the American Red Cross, works within the Special Olympics and the United Way. Due to the overwhelming support within such programs and by providing assistance to these networks, Wal-Mart has been able to build up community support by making sure that its internal resources are geared to bring in maximum value. Wal-Mart also provides different resources to facilitate the affected communities in the form of cash donations towards local charitable companies which include the American Red Cross as well as through provision of the same to victims with their necessary supplies, as and when required (Spangler 2008). Also Wal-Mart has undertaken a Families Outreach Project with the assistance of the Sesame Workshop which is a not-for-profit organization that focuses on the different educational projects for the children in this world. It is for this reason that Wal-Mart and Sesame Workshop are able to distribute bilingual, multimedia kits that are outreach in nature. Wal-Mart also donated $575,000 towards this workshop and another $1.5 million in funding measures. When it comes to the people tangent within Wal-Mart’s CSR initiatives, one can see that its commitment has remained supreme to the people. It has been able to serve its customers and in this process tried its best to establish a link for a positive work environment with its employees in essence (Branch 2001). A set of diversity goals have been chalked up so that employees could be supported in their acts and the associates are provided facilitation through the different diversity and inclusion training programs. These have also included the various scholarship initiatives and other events which take place from time to time. The Unity Scholarships Programme is the brainchild of Wal-Mart which offers the same to minority college journalism students in order to enhance diversity within the different newsrooms in the country. Similarly, the Wal-Mart Foundation with the assistance of the Sam’s Club Foundation has been running a three year programme that sees a financial promise of around $500,000. Under this program, around ten different universities would be receiving the financial support when it comes to their journalism programs (Author Unknown 2004). As per the future of the CSR initiatives of Wal-Mart, one can see that there is a lot of research being done to make sure that the CSR premise remains stronger. Wal-Mart has planned to engage within a community dialogue process which shall include business unit leaders within its folds that would discuss the operational, realty, store design and construction areas. Also, Wal-Mart has chalked out a strategy to test this process within three different markets in the future. This would help Wal-Mart in establishing the link with the present day community engagement process and thus would assist in determining beneficial partnerships with the distinctive communities that Wal-Mart serves essentially (Entenza 2005). Also it aims to better comprehend and address the local needs, and for doing so it would launch Corporate Affairs offices within the significant metro markets. Wal-Mart has planned to build and design “stores of the community” that would employ relevant local store designs which would mesh well with the local architecture. There would also be efforts in the wake of Wal-Mart adopting a store site and construction mechanism which takes care of the social, environmental, historical and cultural issues that come up from time to time, and even on a proactive basis. The research on these future considerations within the CSR umbrella is underway and one can envisage a great amount of success coming to the fore of Wal-Mart in the future. References Anderson, Sarah (1994). Wal-Mart's War on Main Street. The Progressive, Vol. 58, November Author Unknown (2004). Wal-Mart to Award Journalism Scholarships to Minority College Students. Black Issues in Higher Education, Vol. 21, September 9 Branch, Al (2001). Wal-Mart Jumps into the College Textbook Market. The Magazine for Leaders in Higher Education, Vol. 2, October Cocheo, Steve (2004). Wal-Mart Is Looking for In-Store Partners Again. ABA Banking Journal, Vol. 96 Entenza, Rachel R (2005). Is Wal-Mart Smothering Small Town America? The Entrepreneurial Executive, Vol. 10 Hoffman, W. Michael (1990). Business, Ethics, and the Environment: The Public Policy Debate. Quorum Books Horwitz, Steven (2009). Wal-Mart to the Rescue: Private Enterprise's Response to Hurricane Katrina. The Independent Review, Vol. 13 Luchsinger, Vince (2009). Strategy Issues in Business Sustainability. Business Renaissance Quarterly, Vol. 4 Meyer, John W (2006). Globalization and Organization: World Society and Organizational Change. Oxford University Press Schneider, Mary Jo (1998). The Wal-Mart Annual Meeting: from Small-town America to a Global Corporate Culture. Human Organization, Vol. 57 Spangler, Melanie A (2008). Wal-Mart and Women: Good Business Practice or Gamesmanship? Journal of Applied Management and Entrepreneurship, Vol. 13 Read More