Corporate Social Responsibility of an International Company - Coursework Example

Corporate Business We are living in a corporate world where every sphere of our activity takes a business mode. Corporation is an organization which conducts business in an enormous scale. They can be of varied forms with different nature of activity. Whatever may be their business every single of them is bound by legal restriction and policies. “Corporation is a separate legal entity. As such it allows a group of people to pool their energy, time, and money for profit or nonprofit activities. “The corporation comes into legal existence when its founders comply with their state's incorporation process”(Fritz,2010). Every corporation has a great responsibility towards the society and its consumers as a whole. Company has to take decisions which will prove beneficial to the people and environment conditions. They should be aware that their organization in no way should create threat to the society and living condition of planet. Like the emission of pollutants to the environment and other harmfully substance should be regulated by the organization to prove they benefit the economy. Freidman(1970)states that “The businessmen believe that they are defending free en­terprise when they declaim that business is not concerned "merely" with profit but also with promoting desirable "social" ends; that business has a "social conscience" and takes seriously its responsibilities for providing em­ployment, eliminating discrimination, avoid­ing pollution and whatever else may be the catchwords of the contemporary crop of re­formers”. Corporate Social Responsibility Corporate Social Responsibility can be describes as “business commitment to contribute to sustainable economic development, working with employees, their families, the local community and society at large to improve their quality of life”(Kotler,2005).It is a system employed by the organization which helps them in monitoring the standards of their business and adherence to the government policies and ethical standards According to CSR the company agrees to take responsibility for their act for the damage done to the consumers, society and environment, CSR promotes the business keeping in mind the growth of community and social environment. The term CSR came in to existence in the 18th Century with the boom of industrial revolution. With the emergence of big industries the concept of business ethics originated in order to create a discipline within the organization. The ultimate aim of this system is to ensure proper ethical standards keeping aside the financial motives. The nature of global business is sell good s and services in the international platform. A company has a great impact on the society of the whole world as its products, services, and commodities are circulated throughout the planet. The quality of the product and their effect on the human health is of great importance. The products should in no way threaten the biological system of the environment. So the company should make sure that their products and by products are very eco friendly and benefit maximum to the public .It seen mostly that products fail the standards in U.S are mostly marketed throughout other parts of the world for the motive of money making. These acts can be very risky to the underdeveloped countries and can harm their health and environment. The individual proprietors and business men are responsible for the upliftment of the community and reform the social norms as they are financially abundant. Corporate firm is an artificial entity and in that sense it responsibilities are also artificial but the person accountable is the owner or the proprietor’s has to take valuable decision and make sure the programs and policies are implemented to develop the local and national community. Corporate Social Responsibility of an International Company Corporate Social Responsibility has been criticized by many as a mere showcase by the company to blind the public .Many companies tell that they follow these rules but don’t. For example Coco Cola has raised many social issues in Southern India when it was contaminated my pesticides and risked the health of public. “The results of the study, which sampled 57 finished drink products at 25 different Indian Coca-Cola and PepsiCo plants, are clearly unacceptable as we know that pesticides are tiny toxins and impact our bodies over time”(Bremnar,2006). Pesticides are very damaging to the health especially if it’s consumed for a long tem. When an international brand like Coco cola franchise their product they should make sure that the quality of product supplied thought the world should be of equal standards. The consumers pay for the product and especially international brands have high price. They trust the companies for the quality of the product, so when they don’t come up to standard it is in a way cheating the society. The Coco Cola company is a widely acclaimed company with a reputation of holding a variety of brands .They have been formed in 19th century in USA and since it had been a hit among the Public. The company proclaim as “Since our first soda fountain sales in 1886, we have been a driver of marketplace innovation and an investor in local economies. Today we lead the beverage industry with more than 500 beverage brands -- including four of the world's top-five sparkling brands”. But while our business opportunities are enormous, our commitment to our consumers and the communities in which we operate is even greater (Kent 2006). Being an enormous firm it has an influence on the global society and huge responsibility to planet earth. Taking responsibility of their action should be the first priority of any business. “Being the biggest company in the soft drink industry; Coca Cola enjoys the largest market share. This company controls about 59% of the world market”(Khan, 2009). This shows the company occupies a large geographical area and enjoys a great success. They have a big product line of carbonated drinks and other beverages .The Company has a vast number of employees and franchisees running around the world and has a big commitment towards the consumers. The consumers of these products rely on them because of their goodwill in the market and expect a high standard from the same. The safety of the workers and environment friendliness should be a main criterion of such organisation.Since water is the main ingredient of such products the quality assurance of water is of immense value. The Coco Cola company has taken many steps towards improving their social responsibility standards. Their recent slogan has been “Water is the foundation of life and of every beverage we make. But within 20 years, two-thirds of the world’s population may face severe water stress. Improving water quality and availability is vital to our business and the Communities we serve. It’s what drives our water stewardship commitment -- and our focus on reducing, recycling and replenishing”(Kent ,2006) The company has joined hand in hand with WWF to ensure environment safety and its growth. Dax Lovegrove, head of business and industry relations at WWF, explains how the conservation group is helping to shape the drive towards greener business models (Young, 2009).Coco Cola has recently taken initiative to provide clean and safe drinking water to the communities of Kenya.Thier jargon is to provide low calorie drinks to public in order to reduce calorie intake to make health stable. They also have wide range of bottled water which encourages consumers to consume more water which lead to their well being. The bottling technique of the company has also ensured recycling so as to lessen the burden on environment. They have taken a very strong step to reduce the carbon emission which is a prime factor in global warming. They have Global Reporting Initiative which would allow them to monitor their performance internally and externally. The company has taken initiative to conserve water by establishing water shed and programs to balance water consumption. The company also provides safety and healthy working environment for their workmen which in turn give satisfaction to them Most corporate give great importance to Corporate Social Responsibility but practically the implication of these policies is yet to be seen. They develop many programs and policies which promises environmental and global growth but practicing in not up to the expectations of the common man. They try hard to come up to the demands of public with introducing certain programs but adherence with honesty only will pave way to the growth of global community as a whole. Importance of CSR and its contribution to Corporate Strategy In the present decade CSR has gained a very important status as it aids the survival of companies in the extremely competitive market .Companies are seeing it as an efficient tool to adopt to survive in the very unpredictable business atmosphere. Number of companies all around the world sees it as a beneficial practice .European companies are trying to incorporate this strategy in to their working system and are also engaging themselves in studying this concept more intensively. A social responsibility of a businessman would be to make extra expenditure in order to decrease the pollution to the environment or providing services to the poor and disabled of the community. Nowadays many companies have redefined their business values and goals to improve their ethical standard. “Corporation that embrace CSR do so by means of voluntary codes of conduct at local, regional,national and international levels but these are not legally banded in any way (Banerjee,pg18,2007) Corporate business has public responsibility as they involve in activities at a higher level which concerns all the communities around the globe. CSR allows the multi national companies to track their activities and measure their contribution to the environmental, social and economical level. Globalization has forced many companies to adopt this strategy in order to remain competitive locally. CSR ensures long term stability to the business and also ensure public support in the long run of business. The current growth in CSR is more marked in Europe,Japan,South Korea and Taiwan, while the rise of India and china as key players in global economy has given CSR a firm place on agenda(Visser,2007). A close attention has been given to the activities of companies and their consequences on social and economical environment. Many a times companies lose focus on social sphere and distract from their responsibilities towards public.CSR has been a confidence boosting strategy which will allow to gain the trust of community which will benefit the company in long run. An organization’s strategies are it s long term plans which will help it to achieve its objectives in a changing environment(Dransfield,2001).A company is a long tem project and it always has to change its policies according to the face of the decade. Only if it adopt policies and programs which enhance the social and economical background it can survive in the corporate world’s is very crucial in determining the achievement of the business long term objectives. CSR helps companies in working according to the statutory law of the countries as well as operating at eco friendly manner at low cost. Corporate level managers has to be very alert while making decisions as it has effect on an international basis.It is today considered by managers as a tool to build up their corporate image. Hopkin(2007) argues that “Government and their international arms, the agencies grouped under the umbrella of the United Nations (UN), have failed in their attempt to rid the planet of under development and poverty. Large Corporation, with their power and economic growth have taken a dominant position in the society. So this makes them to take up the responsibility to save the people and world”. Bibiliography Bremnar, B. (2006) India: Pesticide Claims Shake Up Coke and Pepsi . Retrieved June 19,2010, from http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/aug2006/gb20060810_826414.htm Banerjee, S.B. (2007). Corporate social responsibily:the good,bad and ugly. Glos: Edward Elgar publishing Company Dransfield., R. (2001). Corporate strategy. Oxford: Heinemann Educational publishers Freidman, M. (1970) The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase its Profits. Retrieved June 19,2010,from http://www.scribd.com/doc/23861496/Sejarah-%E2%80%9CThe-Program-of-Corporate-Social-Responsibility-is-the-Social Fritz, J (2010) Corporation - the Basics. Retrieved June 19,2010, from http://nonprofit.about.com/od/nonprofitbasics/qt/corpbasics.htm Hopkins., M. (2007). Corporate social responsibility and international.UK: Earthscan Kotler, P. (2005). What is Good?. New Jersey: John Wiley &Sons Inc..pg 3 Kent, M. (2006) Leading the Industry & Refreshing the World Responsibly.Retrieved June 19,2010, from http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/ourcompany/leadership.html Khan, S. (2009) Term Project Strategy. Retrieved June 19,2010, from http://www.scribd.com/doc/10552013/Coca-Cola-Marketing-Strategies Kent, M.(2006) Sustainability. Retrieved June 19,2010. from http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/citizenship/water_main.html Visser, W. (2007).The Ato z of corporate social responsibility. Chichester: John Wiley &Sons Limited Young, T. (2009) WWF wrestles with business world in push for greener practices. Retrieved June 19,2010, from http://www.businessgreen.com/business-green/analysis/2242587/wwf-puts-focus-water Read More