Human Resource Management and Corporate Social Responsibility - Coursework Example

Report about Corporate Social Responsibility Human Resource Management (HRM) and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Name: Course: College: Tutor: Date: Table of Contents Executive Summary ……………………………………………………………………………..3 Executive Summary ……………………………………………………………………………..3 2 Introduction 3 Literature Review 4 Discussion 6 Conclusion 7 Recommendations 7 Executive Summary Organizations have realized the need to have a commitment towards CSR and that is why a number of them have engaged in nurturing a corporate culture that underlines the importance of the values of CSR. In addition, the organizations have highlighted the need to check on the CSR competencies so as to achieve the designed benefits. Basically, in every organization, employees play a crucial role in the attainment of the objectives of the organization. Therefore, in this paper, we attempt to investigate the involvement of HRM in the enhancing awareness of CSR. In that effect, the paper suggests that the HRM should be at the forefront in encouraging the undertaking of CSR to achieve not only desired behavior but sustainable success of the organization. Introduction For a long period of time, CSR has become a concept that been perceived as being a strategic plan used by organizations to influence how businesses are undertaken. A number of organizations have realized the significance of social responsibility thus they have reframed their principle values to include social responsibility. Consequently, corporations across the world have used CSR as a way of making sure that they achieve their objectives because, CSR forms a foundation from which the HRM can use to obtain sustainable growth for the organization. By and large, having originated from North America, the concept of CSR has been increasingly adopted by organizations in a number of countries in the world. The growth of CSR has immense impact of the practice of HRM. That is, it influences several issues that range from ethical standards that deal with crucial stakeholders to “employment practices that attract employees” and the involvement of employees in activities such as volunteering and other social activities (Preuss, Haunschild & Matten, 2009, p.954). Primarily, HRM can use CSR to trigger the success of the organization because CSR affects numerous issues in an organization. In the case study, ‘Care for a Staff Puts a Firm a Step Ahead’, it is obvious that the functions of HR determine the effectiveness of marketing and at the same time, it ensures accountability. By paying attention to operation, production, marketing and other functions in an organization, HR improves the well being of the company by marketing the organization to aspiring employees and consumers. Similarly, when the HR evaluates the functions of the organization, accountability is achieved. Therefore, from the case study, it is apparent that HRM leads to greater awareness of CSR and thus sustainable success of the organization. Literature Review There are various research studies that have pointed out the relationship between HRM and CSR. From the studies, it is apparent that HR can contribute significantly to the implementation of CSR and in turn the attainment of the objectives of the organization. For example, in a study in Greening and Turban (2000, p.265), it was found out that the perceptions of employees and job aspirants towards the CSR of an organization influences their attraction towards the organization. Therefore, the CSR influences the attitudes of the employees towards the organization as well as how they undertake their activities while working in that organization. Based on the study, it is evident that the organization’s CSR affects how the employees view the organization and how they perform their duties. Consequently, the employees’ performance influence the quality of products and services produced hence the success of the organization. Researchers have discussed the role of HRM in the development of the culture of CSR in organizations. According to the scholars, human capital is vital in any organization because it dictates the success of the organization. For that reason, the HRM has to depict good leadership skills in order to provide leadership in the implementation of CSR values and programs in the organization. From case studies noted by Preuss, Haunschild & Matten (2009, p.995), it was realized that, HRM requires the implementation of CSR as a new idea of management. Having CSR as a way of managing an organization does not only depict good leadership skill but it improves the well being of human capital leading to success of the organization. In the case studies, the CSR policies and programs within the given organizations influenced the domestic operations in the organization and the outcomes. In particular, the conclusions of the case studies showed that when CSR is used as a management tool, the operations of the organizations are improved and the organization is bound to achieve its objectives. Primarily, research on the link between HRM and CSR shows that decision making process exhibited by HRM influences the organization by influencing matters associated mainly with human capital. For instance; in one study, it was found out that, the language and the ideas that are developed by the HR have a significant power to affect the CSR of the organization. The effect of CSR on the organization are then both internal and external because the organization’s social responsibility as well as the motivation to collaborate are affected and therefore the end products and or services of the organization. This means that, HR can use the CSR as a management tool to influence the production of the company since CSR affects the employees’ willingness to collaborate and to take up their social responsibilities (Palazzo, 2005, p.3). Discussion Based on research studies on the relationship between HRM and CSR, it is clear that HR department in every organization has a potential of contributing significantly to the development of CSR policies and programs within the organization. The implementation of CSR policies and programs in an organization leads to the success of the organization because CSR program influences the performance of employees and therefore, the products and services of the respective organization. Specifically, the CSR policies that have been implemented by HRM influences the attitudes or perceptions of employees and aspiring employees towards the organization hence their performance. McWilliams & Siegel (2001, p.118) note that, demand for CSR has increased due to consumer demand and demand by other stakeholders. Firms have continued to realize that improving CSR activities within an organization is beneficial because it affects the performance of the employees and in turn, it affects the resources (e.g. assets, expertise, attributes of the firm, skills and knowledge etc) of the firm. For that reason, studies illustrate that, the improvement of performance or production by an organization is dependent on the CSR strategies that have been implemented. Generally, management by HRM has a link to CSR in the sense that it influences the existing activities in the organization. The ideologies that are developed by the HRM have the ability to pay off positively especially in the long term if the issue of CSR is emphasized. As Palazzo (2005, p.2) points out, CSR is an investment that when taken up by the HRM, then it will benefit the organization by either paving way for direct financial returns or it can benefit the organization indirectly by improving the status of the organization e.g. by improving the reputation of the organization. Conclusion The success of an organization is largely dependent on the CSR policies and programs in place. On the other hand, the CSR policies and programs are determined by the management practices executed by the HR department of the organization. Therefore, HRM coordinates the CSR activities in the organization through various activities that lead to the enhancement of employee satisfaction. The HR department has the responsibility of implementing the appropriate CSR policies and programs so that the attitudes of job applicants and employees are positively influenced. When job applicants and employees have a positive attitude towards the organization, they are bound to perform well and in the long term, the organization can reap immense benefits either directly through economic gain or indirectly through the creation of a positive reputation for the organization. For that reason, the HRM can achieve higher awareness of CSR by putting in-place management tools that will enable them as managers encourage employee performance. Recommendations Based on the effectiveness of CSR as a management tool to be used by HR department of any firm, some of the recommendations that the organization should implement include; The available training facilities in the organizations should be increased. This is because; the facilities will help in instilling the culture of CSR among the employees. The facilities will be used for the purposes of enabling the employees learn and perform the activities of CSR (Young, 2006, p.10). The organization should train its employees on code of ethics that result to the stimulation of code of ethics. The HRM function and the employees should be able to support the organization’s CSR strategies after training on code of ethics has been undertaken. McWilliams & Siegel (2001, p.119) assert that, a number of organizations have successfully trained their employees on code of ethics and obtained positive results. The HRM of the respective organization should introduce orientation program in the organization so that newly employed employees can access detailed information about CSR. The HR should use the orientation program to state the importance of CSR and the HR can show reinforcement of the desirable behavior that the organization expects (Young, 2006, p.11). The department of HR should establish effective tools that can be used to measure and assess the CSR activities of the organization. For instance; the HR can check on the economic savings of the organization or check on the satisfaction of the employees, employee attitude etc and determine their influence on the performance of the organization (Greening & Turban, 2000, p.271). Reference List Greening DW & Turban DB, 2000, ‘Corporate Social Performance as a Competitive Advantage in Attracting a Quality Workforce’, Business and Society, Vol.39, pp.254-280 McWilliams, A & Siegel, D, 2001, ‘Corporate Social Responsibility: A Theory of the Firm Perspective’, Academy of Management Review, Vol. 26 (1), pp.117-127 Palazzo, G, 2005, ‘An Inductive Typology for Corporate Social Responsibility’, Academy of Management Best Conference Paper, pp.1-9 Preuss, L, Haunschild, A. & Matten, D, 2009, ‘The Rise of CSR: Implications for HRM and Employee Representation’, The International Journal of Human Resource Management, Vol. 20 (4), pp.953-973 Young, M, 2006, ‘HR as the Guardian of Corporate Values at Cadbury Schweppes’, Strategic HR Review, Vol. 5(2), pp.10-11 Read More