Social Responsibilty:Loonz and Toonz Pvt. Ltd case - Term Paper Example

? Social Responsibility Contents Contents 2 Introduction 3 Principles of Ethical Leadership 4 Manner of Handling Governmental Regulations 5 Managing Organizational Change for Sustainability 5 Sustainability Accounting 6 Corporate Social Responsibility of the concern towards the Community 7 Managing Corporate Reputation through Greenwashing 8 Assessing the Return on Investments for Sustainable Investment 9 Estimating Sustainability for the concern 10 References 11 Introduction A business corporation big or small cannot operate in isolation. Rather it has to depend on several environmental and social variables for continuing its manufacturing and other productive pursuits in order to compete with other related firms. In turn the business corporations in the modern day world are also required to fulfil certain obligations towards the society and environment at large. Such obligatory issues which emerge in respect to the business corporations in fulfilling the duties towards the social and natural environment are clubbed as the concept of corporate social responsibility. The managerial team of the business corporation are entrusted with framing certain policy guidelines in regards to protecting the society and natural environment. Further the assessment of such corporate social responsibility guidelines of the company are undertaken through the use of conducting audits which would reflect the areas where improvement is needed (As You Sow, 2011). The above discussion is further analysed in respect to a small business corporation mainly dealing with the manufacture of soft toys located in United States. Being a part of the toy industry our company Loonz and Toonz Pvt. Ltd. located in United States takes significant steps in the direction of producing environmentally safe toys. Care is taken to reduce the use of natural energy resources and extensive use of recyclable materials is suggested for the production of unique soft toys. Similarly healthy and informative packaging techniques are rightly adopted to satisfy both safety and information guidelines. Meeting is held with different stakeholders of the company like retailers and suppliers of raw materials to help the company work in sustaining the natural environment. Though quality materials are involved in the production of the toys yet care is taken in regards to setting the price standards. It is because the toys manufactured are meant not only for the children of the affluent families but also for poor children who eagerly wait for toys in occasions like Christmas. Thus effective communication is carried out to help the poor children get the feel of such toys (Toy Industry Association Inc., 2011). Principles of Ethical Leadership The concept of ethics is held to be a set of guidelines which help an individual or organisation to understand the principles of right or wrong action and thereby take corrective actions in that respect. With the help of ethical guidelines the morality in an individual is instigated to help deliver the right action to the society. In regards to the above discussion the principles of ethical based leadership come into actions which are observed to be mainly five in number. In that the individual or the organisation must have respect towards the work and the society at large. Thus the individual or the concern is required to deliver service as would help in developing the society. Again such individual or organisation is expected to be highly judicial in their actions while operating to meet the social needs. Thus the above statement also requires such individual or concern to be ethically right in their actions and hence must reflect high amount of moral standards. Finally the individual or the concern must also reflect large amount of responsibility towards the community at large. These five principles underlined above encompass the basic principles of an ethically based leadership model (Northouse, 2009, p.378). In regards to the above discussion analysis conducted over the ethical leadership guideline followed by Loonz and Toonz shows that it has high amount of respect for the needs of consumers of such products as they are mainly children. Secondly it endeavours to fulfil responsibility towards the society and environment by depending largely on the use of recyclable products for the making of the different soft toys. Thirdly being the Chief Operating Executive of the company I and my managerial team take the full onus of sharing potential information with the different stakeholders of the company like shareholders and also in gaining the views of different people belonging to different hierarchies. In that the organisation reflects an element of transparency and honesty both towards the internal and external society. Manner of Handling Governmental Regulations Our soft toy company being operative in the United States is thereby required to comply with stringent policies and strict regulatory guidelines. The toys being of stuffed quality the organisations is required to comply with safety guidelines and licensing policies envisaged by the United States government. Similarly the product manufacturing process is developed by greatly depending on consumer needs and special care is taken as to the quality of materials used for the production of such. The legislations relating to improvement of products passed during 2008 and further legislations relating to the manufacture of stuffed soft toys and licensing agreements are rightly followed in such respects. This shows that the company takes some stringent steps to help in the compliance of governmental regulations and thereby works in improving its relationship with the government of the day. Compliance with the government regulations by the company also helps in the production of trusted soft toys which can be purchased by children of all ages and henceforth enhances the goodwill factor of the concern. Similarly quality tests are carried out in regular respects to enhance the trustworthiness of the materials used in the making of such stuffed toys (Toy Industry Association Inc., 2011). Managing Organizational Change for Sustainability An organisation in order to exist in the competitive business environment must endeavour to bring about changes in its organisational philosophy or structure. This endeavour to bring about changes into its traditional set helps in rendering innovation to the existing set of business processes or in production of more productive goods and services. This helps in cultivating a sustainable approach for the business organisation to thrive in the long run. Bringing change in the organisational culture also helps in the enhancement of the knowledge aspects of the organisational people and thus creates a knowledge culture in the concern. Creation of a knowledge culture helps in bringing about large amount of coordination among the people spread along different organisational tiers and thus helps in enhancing the productivity aspects of the concern (Davis, 2010, p.97-98). In respect our stuffed toy organisation it is held that working on the ethical leadership model the principles of advocating durability is highly envisaged in the process of bringing about changes in the traditional organisational system. In keeping tune with the above discussion it is held that in our toy organisation the process of bringing about changes in the design for toys would help them gain a sustainable stand in the competitive market. Further in order to bring about newer products and designs the organisation needs to progress as a whole. In that the people belonging to the different hierarchies and departments like production, finance and marketing are coordinated to help them get imbued with the change philosophy. Thus this process in turn helps in enhancing the knowledge and intellectual aspect of the people and thus helps in sustaining the potential of the business concern. Hence change management is considered as an important approach in regards to rendering sustainability in a business concern (BSR, 2008, p.38-40). Sustainability Accounting The concept of accounting for sustainability best holds in regards to an organisation wherein the requirements to publish all the accounted documents for sharing of potential information between the different people both external and internal is stressed. In that respect the accounted information whether social, economic, accounting, legal or otherwise is rendered to both the internal stakeholders like employees and external stakeholder entities like suppliers, government and the like. This accountability aspect helps in enhancing the parameter of transparency as these groups of people would become able to get a full overview of the operational parameters of the concern. Further in regards to the social dimension the principle of sustainability accounting helps the organisation to reflect towards the society how it is concerned about operating based on fair means and works for the betterment of the community in general. It can also reflect to the government how the profits gained are used by the company in catering to the needs of the society in general. Again speaking on the economical approach the firm through the publishing of required information helps in making the shareholders and other stakeholder groups acknowledge the true profit and financial position of the company. Thus any conflict as to the nature and amount of dividend to be distributed to the shareholders can be solved through such sharing of the company’s information (White and White, 2009, p.13-15). In another concept regarding accountability of the sustainability concept the three bottom line factors concerning public relation department of a concern must be gauged. In that three main factors regarding economic gains of the community; social and economic justice of the individuals in matters relating to their health, security of their income and job and also reduction of other social disparities and security of the natural environment are looked after. Thus the paradigm of accountability has encompassed a greater dimension from measuring only the accounting and financial aspects and moved over to assessment of other qualitative paradigms concerning a firm’s operation (Parsons and Parsons, 2008, p.152-153). Loonz and Toonz in such respect also endeavour to share their potential information with the different stakeholder groups and also conducts audit of its corporate responsibility actions so as to enhance the transparency dimension. Social and economic audits conducted would rightly depict the organisation’s actions in bettering up the society or the community in which the business operates. Corporate Social Responsibility of the concern towards the Community The corporate social responsibility dimension of Loonz and Toonz reflects that firstly it mainly focuses on the using of recyclable materials for the production of such stuffed toys. This use of recyclable materials helps in putting lesser stress on the natural resources of the community. Secondly the company also renders large amount of focus in testing the quality and safety of the products in a specific and scientific manner for it is highly conscious of the fact that the end users of such products are the small children. Again in the third case it is found that the stuffed characters produced by the company mainly try to reflect on the different animal species both existing and in the road to extinction so as to create a holistic nature of consciousness among the buyers of such. Loonz and Toonz in the future also dreams to go for the creation of a theme park like Disneyland to display their characters more evidently to the children. This theme park would help the children get a more conscious understanding of the natural environment such that the entire park would be filled by different groups of flora and fauna waiting for them to be explored. Managing Corporate Reputation through Greenwashing Loonz and Toonz is a company which is conscious of its actions towards the environment and society and thus does not require any ‘Greenwashing’ initiatives to protect its corporate image in front of the society. Wherein large number of firms in order to protect its image from the action of environmentalists takes recourse to such ‘Greenwashing’ ventures wherein the companies endeavour to justify their different actions as stating them to be safe towards the natural environment. Such initiatives taken by the companies being of the nature as concealing their true identities from the society by wrapping them under a green cover is termed as ‘Greenwashing’ (Mooney, Knox and Schacht, 2010, p.475). However our company in order to be friendly towards the society and environment does not require concealing its actions from the community. The company with its continual use of recyclable materials helps in safeguarding the natural resources and thus enhances the trustworthiness of the society towards the company. These materials are tested totally so as to confirm of its safety and reliability standards. Further with the thought of constructing a theme park the social and environmental consciousness of the company has become largely evident Assessing the Return on Investments for Sustainable Investment The estimation of Sustainable Returns obtained from Investments made can be assessed based on mainly three parts like environmental, social and economic parameters. In regards to the environmental part it is assessed whether the concern emits harmful gases into the atmosphere mainly of the form of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and the like. Further other type of pollutants emitted by manufacturing industries comprising of both solid and liquid wastes are also assessed. This assessment thus reveals as to what amount of actions needs to be taken to help stop the growth of the menace. Further assessing the economic performance in regards to sustainable returns on the investments made it is understood how the use of photovoltaic bulbs has helped in reducing the energy consumption. Further the minimisation of transportation costs are also taken as a part of the initiative to drive in considerable economic gain. Further the social aspects of the company are also analysed in regards to the involvement of the community in the company’s operations thus creating employment. Again other social works delivered to the community like creation of parks are also assessed in regards to the social goals of the company. Thus herein it is found that certain costs are to be incurred by the company in respect to setting installations for helping in the reduction of the use of natural resources like water and other electrical energy sources. Further the set up of the process in regards to reduction of both solid and liquid wastes also requires considerable cost to be incurred. In the light of such costs incurred the cost to benefit ratio is determined in the light of reduction of costs pertaining to the reduction of use of water and other energy resources. Taking the above in the class of monetary advantage the other non-monetary advantage factors are assessed in terms of the increased health of the communities through reduction of emission of solid, liquid and gaseous pollutants (Behr, 2010, p.5, 8). The company Loonz and Toonz also works in reducing the dependence on energy resources by use of lamps burning out of solar energy in their different stores. The use of lead free petrol and natural gas are being used for the company’s cars and vans transporting goods to the production and sales outlets. Similarly the use of recyclable materials only for the production of stuffed articles further helps in conserving the natural resources. Estimating Sustainability for the concern Loonz and Toonz Pvt. Ltd. operating in United States and focusing on the production of stuffed toys has satisfied the social responsible parameters as envisaged by the government of the country and which are also laid by the different tenets and principles which have emerged from time to time. The managerial team of the concern look forward in rendering justice to both the internal and external stakeholders in regards to sharing of potential information. Further the company also works in protecting the natural environment by taking to the use of recyclable materials for production of such stuffed toys. The company in addition to increasing the social and environmental benefits as envisaged above also works to reduce the use of natural energy sources like water and electrical energy and uses solar energy for lighting up their stores. Even the transportation issues are looked after to help reduce the intensity of pollution. Thus the above business processes practiced by the company are assessed in helping the company to be sustainable in the long run in respect to its competitors. References As You Sow. (2011). Corporate Social Responsibility. Retrieved on October 04, 2011 from: http://www.asyousow.org/csr/ Behr, C. (2010). Shades of Green. Retrieved on October 04, 2011 from: http://www1.eere.energy.gov/femp/pdfs/behr_pres1208.pdf BSR. (2008). Aligned for Sustainable Design. Retrieved on October 04, 2011 from: http://www.bsr.org/reports/BSR_Sustainable_Design_Report_0508.pdf Davis, J. (2010). Young Children and the Environment: Early Education for Sustainability. Cambridge University Press. Mooney, L., Knox, D., and Schacht, C. (2010). Understanding Social Problems. Cengage Learning. Northouse, P. (2009). Leadership: Theory and Practice. SAGE. Parsons, P., and Parsons, P. (2008). Ethics in public relations: a guide to best practice. Kogan Page Publishers. Toy Industry Association Inc. (2011). Corporate Social Responsibility. Retrieved on October 04, 2011 from: http://www.toyassociation.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Corporate_Social_Responsibility Toy Industry Association Inc. (2011). Safety Standards. Retrieved on October 04, 2011 from: http://www.toyassociation.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=U_S_Standards White, G., and White, W. (2009). Sustainability reporting: managing for wealth and corporate health. Business Expert Press. Read More