Doing Things Right - Coursework Example

Doing Things Right Introduction Corporate social responsibility is the concept of companies or organizations performing their own activities in a manner such that the interests of their employees, customers, community, shareholders and the environment are well taken care of. In other words, it is the obligation that companies feel they owe to society in return for the profit that they draw in every day. However, this concept has been a debatable topic for years, with people condemning such righteous acts to being superficial or something that is being done in order to be in the government’s favour. Whatever it may be, one thing is for sure- corporate social responsibility is still a good thing. It is a way for big multinational companies especially, to ‘give back’ to the society that has made them what they are. Corporate Social Responsibility within the Organization There are a variety of ways where corporate social responsibility can be done for the good of society. The management of companies usually start within their organization and perform activities for the benefit of their employees. Since it follows that a happy and healthy worker also produces good output of work, it is important that, for the company’s sake, that the employees are well looked after. One such example is Occupational Safety and Health, or OSH. Under such standards, it is the company’s responsibility to ensure that their workers are safe from any occupational hazard. The workers must be safe and their health must be well take care of. Through the OSH, a company can show how much they value their workers, and the workers, in turn, would want to remain in a company that looks after them. There is a need to educate the workers about the occupational hazards that can be encountered in the industry that they have chosen. Such a strategy would have two advantages. The first advantage would be the fact that workers could be aware of the different hazards that their work can expose them to. This way, they can avoid illnesses or injuries if they knew firsthand what consequences their job entailed. Secondly, another advantage would be the fact that should the worker experience unfortunate mishaps at work and may acquire a sickness or an injury, a good education of OSH would also make the worker aware of the kind of benefits or compensation entitled to him/her. This kinds of benefits or just compensations should be common in work areas such as factories where the workers subject themselves to high risks. There have been too many incidences in the past wherein gas leaks and chemical releases have killed many employees because of accidents. Of course, the possibility of having physical injuries due to further accidents in the workplace add to the long list of occupational hazards. For members of the workforce who find themselves in the white collar industry, doing paper work, are not exempt from experiencing situations where their well-being could be put at risk. Stress, for instance, could lead to a variety of sicknesses including heart diseases and other physiological problems. 1 Another method of showing corporate social responsibility within an organization is producing quality products and services that are environmentally friendly, in order to gather more supporters of the company brand. Quality should never be sacrificed, and the environment as well. For instance, cosmetics company, The Body Shop, has appealed to customers for years because it does not test its products on animals and is also involved in a variety of environmental causes. Among these causes include their ‘Protect the Planet’ campaign, which has been in effect since 1986. 2 Companies Showing Corporate Social Responsibility There are a variety of companies that foster the policy of exhibiting corporate social responsibility. For instance, Mc Donald’s, the famous fast food restaurant chain has eliminated, or at the very least, diminished reports saying that their products are unhealthy. Mc Donald’s branches in the United States, Australia and Europe have substantially cut down or completely removed usage of trans fatty acids in the food that they offer and serve their customers. This move shows how concerned McDonald’s is with providing food of good quality. In addition to this, their annual event, popularly known as World Children’s Day, raises funds for the Ronald McDonald’s house charity and a variety of other children’s charities around the world. The company is also largely involved in helping save the environment and established its Global Environmental Commitment in 1989. As a way of staying true to this committed, McDonald’s has made efforts to ensure that 82 percent of their packaging is made from materials that are renewable and recyclable. 3 Nokia, one of the world’s leading telephone companies, recently won the Green Awards 2008 Grand Prix and the Best Green Internal Communications award for their ‘Power of We’ global campaign, wherein they made efforts to inform people about environmental issues, and the right environmentally-friendly products to try and the environmentally-friendly lifestyle to lead. The campaign drove Nokia employees to recycle their old phones and accessories at an increased rate of 600 percent, as part of their mission to give back to the environment and show their corporate social responsibility. 4 Starbucks, the world’s most popular coffee shop chain, assures customers that their products are of the best quality. Coffee beans acquired for use by a Starbucks store are of the best quality and are roasted to perfection. They also make sure that their customers are fully satisfied with the way their coffee is made, and this customer-friendly policy is what makes customers happy that they will never leave a Starbucks store unsatisfied. In addition to this, Starbucks also uses recycled materials such as tissue paper, and they offer discounts on their products if the customer brings his/her own mug or tumbler, as opposed to using up another paper or plastic cup at the store. 5 Clothing and apparel stores are not exempt from showing their own ways of exhibiting corporate social responsibility. Nike, for instance, a popular sports apparel brand is also involved in corporate social responsibility, particularly in taking care of their environment. For instance, volatile compounds are used in making their footwear and other sports equipment. This means that products produced by Nike factories can easily be recycled. Furthermore, they also make sure that the materials that they use in preparing their products are environmentally friendly. 6 Standards for a Quality Management System There are a number of standards that measure whether a management system of a company is of good quality, where the quality of the products or services produced by the company is not compromised. For instance, the International Organization of Standardization includes the ISO 9000 which consists of a list of standards or serves as a guide to ensure development in the company’s overall performance. Under this guide, it is necessary for a company to give out detailed reports regarding all the key processes that are included in the management of the company, and quality objectives of the products and services should coincide with the organization’s standards. Products should be tested, and customer requirements and feedback should be take care of by the company for optimum performance. Decisions should come about by regular meetings and employees should also be provided with enough information about everything that goes on in the company. Basically, the entire way a company is run should pass the ISO’s standards of what good quality is all about. The ISO 14000, on the other hand, refers to the international standards set for environmental management. It basically helps organizations to be environmentally conscious of their environment, ensuring that their activities affect the environment to an absolute minimum possible. It is related to the previously mentioned ISO 9000 because both standards determine how a product is produced or how a service is rendered. Basically, the idea would be to make sure that the performance and the activities done by the company would be environmentally friendly with minimal negative impacts on the environment. Occupational and health control within an organization is captured by the OHSAS 18001. It is the standard on the national standard for safety and health management systems. It was established in order to avoid putting employees into dangerous situations. Basically, all three ISO 9000, the ISO 14001 and the OHSAS 18001 has been developed in order to ensure quality, environmental and occupational health and safety standards within an organization, in order to make sure that they have good management systems to make for optimum performance that would hopefully benefit the entire community. 7 Benefits of Showing Corporate Social Responsibility Apart from the fact that doing good for society and the environment in general is always a pleasing situation, exhibiting such forms of corporate social responsibility gives the company a positive identity towards the public. In a study done by Marin et al. (2008), it was showed that having a positive identity by way of corporate social responsibility programs, encourage consumers to be loyal to the company. This is because the consumer is able to trust the company that has a good reputation, and more often than not, the consumer would probably automatically think that if a company is environmentally and socially aware and active in doing positive and beneficial programs, it follows then, that the products or services that a company may produce is bound to be positive and beneficial as well for the consumer. This way, if the company adheres and supports the beliefs and the causes of the public, then it will not be difficult for the public to identify strongly with the company. To illustrate this fact, a survey performed in 2005 by the Fleishman-Hillard Research group, showed that 35 percent of the people interviewed, preferred that a company be socially responsible in order for them to be loyal patronisers of a brand. Naturally, it appeared that criteria such as price, quality and familiarity with the brand, were still important for the consumers. Other studies, on the other hand, have shown that a company’s philanthropic programs and employee support have led to positive results for the company’s overall performance level. Profits considerably increase if the people are aware of the beneficial programs done by a company. The greater achievements a company is able to acquire through showing corporate social responsibility, the better its reputation will be because the consumer is easily attracted to the company’s positive identity. Such a positive image for the company ultimately leads to prestige attached to the company’s name. This is because people immediately think that if a company is socially, culturally and environmentally aware, then the company is probably one of the most respected and admired in the corporate industry. Basically, companies are categorized into two categories. ‘Good companies’ are those that people will almost not hesitate to support. They are attracted to the products and services offered by the company, while ‘bad companies’ have the fate of being boycotted and not supported by what may be a large group of people who are against the company’s policies. However, it must be noted that companies are not just involving themselves socially, culturally and environmentally for the sake of attracting more business for the company. Studies have shown that showing responsibility for the community has improved business performance by improving a more positive and efficient workforce, among other things. Social responsibility serves as some sort of insurance policy for the company. The company would be willing to pour its efforts and a percentage of its investments towards social responsibility with the end thought that their efforts and investments may pay off in the end. They should be able to produce products and services that induce trust from its consumers, since trust is an important factor in deciding whether a consumer patronizes a particular product or service or not. 8 Conclusion Companies that are socially, culturally and environmentally responsible appeal to the entire community because it shows that these companies do not only care about making a profit. Such policies targeted at doing something good for everybody, including the environment has been discovered to increase consumer support and patronization. To aid companies and organizations, standards exist to ensure quality management systems within the organization and optimum organizational performance and development. Consumers have a higher chance of trusting a brand that shows corporate social responsibility since this gives the company an overall good reputation and good image towards the public. There are numerous companies who believe that corporate social responsibility is an obligation, as their way of ‘giving back’ to the community and the environment that has helped them, and still continues to help them towards success. Furthermore, doing things right undoubtedly does not only put forward such organizations in a good light, but also helps the world become a healthier, cleaner and happier place. References 1. Marin, L., Salvador, R., Rubio, A. (2008) The role of identity salience in the effects of corporate social responsibility on consumer behaviour; Journal of business ethics; pgs 1-15. 2. Castaldo, S., Perrini, F., Misani, N., Tencati, A. (2008) The missing link between corporate social responsibility and consumer trust: the case of fair trade products; Journal of business ethics; pgs. 1-16. 3. Leong, A. & Pandita, S. (December 7 2006) Popularising occupational safety and health in Asia; Retrieved on December 2 2008 from http://www.aprnet.org/index.php?a=show&t=conferences&i=80 4. McDonald’s Corporate Social Responsibility (2008) Values in practice; Retrieved on December 2 2008 from http://www.crmcdonalds.com/publish/csr/home.html 5. NikeResponsibility.com (May 24 2007) Global corporate responsibility strategy; Targets; Retrieved on December 2 2008 from http://www.nikeresponsibility.com/pdfs/Nike_CRR_Business_Targets.pdf 6. Starbucks.com (2008) Our Starbucks mission; Retrieved on December 2 2008 from http://www.starbucks.com/mission/default.asp 7. BSI Business Information; OHSAS 18001 made easy; Retrieved on December 2 2008 from http://www.osha-bs8800-ohsas-18001-health-and-safety.com/ohsas-18001.htm 8. Nokia.com (November 19 2008) Nokia wins the Green Awards 2008 Grand Prix and Best Internal Communications with the ‘Power of We;’ Nokia bulletin board; Retrieved on December 2 2008 from http://pressbulletinboard.nokia.com/tag/corporate-social-responsibility/ 9. The Body Shop (October 30 2007) The Body Shop activist- Striving for social and environmental justice; Retrieved on December 2 2008 from http://blog.thebodyshop.com.au/2007/10/climate-change-biggest-corporate-social.html Read More