Corporate Social Responsibility or Corporate Social Necessity? Evaluation of the effects of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in construction, real estate and related industries and analyzing the marketing strategy of the company ‘ENKA’ upon its level of commitment to CSR. For: CEM Assignments Office Date: 27/02/2013 From: Deniz Berkan Unsal Moscow, Russian Federation List of Contents 1.0 Summary 2.0 Question 1: Discussing the issues involved in CSR, and giving examples illustrating the benefits and limitations of making a commitment to CSR from the point of view of organizations in the construction, real estate and related industries. 3.0 Question 2: Stating the level of commitment the company ENKA has made to …show more content…
In addition to this, corporate commitment to health, safety and environment (HSE) issues such as zero accident policy within construction and real estate projects can also be considered as a part of CSR. Furthermore, construction and real estate industries recently have started to give place to social issues such as giving support to education, being sponsor for sports and cultural activities, besides environmental issues in their CSR policies in order to gain more reputation in the public aspect. First of all in environmental aspect, companies should be responsible not only to their stakeholders or clients but also to the society which they work in because society is directly influenced from environmental impacts. In construction and real estate industry, organizations frequently prove their commitment to environmental responsibility by environmental management certificates, which are given by independent certification institutions such as British Standards Institution (BSI). For instance, a construction based company can clearly declare that the company is aware of environmental impacts which may cause from its activities and will try to eliminate or at least minimize them, with its BSI certificate of Environmental Management System – ISO 14001:2004. Moreover, such certificates that are taken from prestigious institutions, are not only tangible evidences for the company’s commitment to CSR, but also provides a major advantage in project
Based on my interpretation of CSR, I see it as a voluntary obligation that companies have promised to their stakeholders to fulfill by improving, or at least not harm, the environmental and social wellbeing. When companies engage in CSR, they voluntarily promise to, for example, carry the responsibility to protect the environment and take actions against bribe or other corruptive activities related to their business. It certainly has some positive influences to specific areas based on my knowledge gained from other classes; nevertheless, when judge CSR in the context of total impacts on our society and environment, it is obvious that CSR has failed its mission to lessen the negative impacts of business based on the evidences that provided by the author. Also, since there is a strong positive relationship between CSR behaviors and consumers’ reactions to a firm’s products and services, it seems to me, now, that CSR for the most companies is just a fancy cover that helps them to create or promote a good image and reputation. The recent case that shows the failure of CSR of Volkswagen even make me believe that CSR programs may be just a marketing or public relation exercise for many
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is something that affects all companies and should be an active factor in the company’s decision making. It is something all corporations need to care about. CSR is when business’ or corporations take part in an initiative or campaign for a cause that will benefit society and/or in some way make the world a better place (Taylor, 2015). Initially, Corporate Social Responsibility started to take shape around the 1950’s, but some say that it dates all the way back to the 1800s, the idea of CSR was seen (Carroll, 2007). One may think that because it is dated so long ago, it doesn’t have an important impact today nevertheless, it is proven that Corporate Social Responsibility is a pathway for entities to self benefit as they are in the process of benefitting society.
and corporate social responsibility (CSR)”. Business need to transform for sustainable development. “CSR” is not only an empty talk which is also become the determinate factor of a company. “Jacoson and Nelson(2004) take more of a how-to approach, offering a principle-based framework for mastering what they called ‘new rules of the game’.” (Alessia, 2009) CSR of business began to wake. “There is growing sense that looking after the people and the community as well as the environment are all relevant to long-term business survival.” (Alessia, 2009) As the CSR become a esthetic standard and sustainability standard for a business, companies focus more on triple bottom line-people, profit and planet-also could definite as environmental, societal and business arenas. CSR is a start to lead business to sustainability. It is more likely a principle to measure companies’ ethics and sustainability. Berkhout indentified some challenges for companies under the CSR principle. “How to balance its social and environmental responsibility with its economic responsibility to
Corporate social responsibility brings a new perspective to the societal role of enterprise, while recognizing the relationship between profitability, ethical and environmental standards of the company. The position of companies in society is a subject of constant change. People today do not perceive the company only as producers or suppliers of the products that reach only for maximizing profits, but they assume that the company will meet the requirements of the other areas as well, such as the legal environment and that it will support development of other activities beneficial for the society.
Through globalization the gap between the rich and poor has increased, while the rich get richer, the poor get poorer. This can be one of the many reasons why companies choose to be more social responsible as CSR aims to reduce conflicts between stakeholders. Although, individuals are aware that more companies are producing social responsible goods, companies can benefit from CSR practices in different ways. When companies decide to be socially and environmentally active, not only will the society and the environment benefit from the companies ethical practices, but they can also differentiate themselves in today's competitive market.
The popularity of CSR has grown substantially in the last couple of decades. Many people may have grown skeptical of business in the wake of corporate scandals such as Enron, Tyco, and WorldCom followed by the sub-prime mortgage market, which have all gained large amounts of negative publicity. Stakeholders are more aware of the performance of companies along a broader set of metrics that portray the company’s operations in a more comprehensive manner that provides information about social performances and environmental performances. Much of the concept of corporate sustainability is rooted in the notion of sustainable development with can be defined as the ability to meet the needs of the current population without compromising the ability of future generations to
Furthermore, businesses are also helping to save environment for the welfare of the society. Today myriad environmental organization and leadership companies define corporate environmental responsibility as the duty to protect environment. And they have been assuming a positive role in furthering the causes of environmental protection in many ways such as make good product, eliminate waste and emission. But these companies take the view that financial and environmental performance can work each other to follow company growth as well as social reputation. “We green the earth” slogan made by some MNCs in Malaysia because we want to do something protect to environmental for the future generation (Towers Perrin, 2009). “Green Peace mission” is another example of CSR
Leading community businesses and governments admit Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as an official policy objective. Those companies who apply CSR are able to maintain sustainable progress. This development covers social, economic and environmental influence in how they run (Clegg, 2011, p. 216). Three areas are the bases of the triple bottom line (TBL) approach (Elkington, 1994). CSR itself has various meaning but in more simple way it can be defined as firms’ obligation to act ethically and to facilitate elaboration. Thereby they try to make employees’ life better and likewise help to demonstrate a positive impact on local society. Therefore businesses are responsible for two factors of how they operate. Firstly, they should be concerned about the quality of management including people and operations. Secondly, they have to consider the character and amount of their effect on community in different fields. External stakeholders take a huge concern on how an organisation acts whether they perform well in their products, services, and society or not. Moreover they take an interest in how they care towards the workforce (Baker, 2004). The following paper demonstrates the major reasons of why businesses should take CSR seriously and what advantages does CSR have when they use it. First aspect will be related to reputation and brand image. Then it will be followed by strategy of cost reduction. Third aspect will explain the approaches to gain a competitive
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), a concept that has been around for well over 50 years, has become prominent again recently. Peter Utting (2005) notes that an increasing number of transnational corporations (TNCs) and large domestic companies, supported by business and industry associations, are adopting a variety of so-called voluntary CSR initiatives that incorporate, for example, ‘codes of conduct; measures to improve environmental management systems and occupational health and safety; company ‘triple bottom line’ reporting on financial, social, and environmental aspects; participation in certification and labeling schemes; dialogue with stakeholders and partnerships with NGOs and UN agencies; and increased support for community development projects and programes’. The revival of CSR is reflected also in its recent prominence in public debate. CSR has also generated a very extensive literature in recent times. For example, a search on Google Scholar for the phrase ‘corporate social responsibility’ produced 12,500 citations. A more general search of the internet on Google for the phrase ‘corporate social responsibility’ produced 12,900,000 results. A general search for the phrase ‘corporate social responsibility’ on Australian sites produced 97,800 hits. This research paper is a conceptual paper regarding CSR consists the introduction, historical background of CSR, arguments in favour and against CSR also consisting the impact of CSR on performance of
In many cases throughout the business world we are able to observe the common belief that corporate social responsibility (CSR) as a business entity is used among CEO’s as a driving force for business operation and strategy to gain competitive advantage. It has many benefits, including cultivating the wider society through positive externalities, increasing operating efficiency and improving brand image. Yet in contrast, some individuals who belong to the academic world such as Milton Friedman and R. J. Klonoski believe corporate social responsibility to be a “cloak for actions that are justified on other grounds rather than a reason for those actions” (Friedman, 1970). Throughout this essay we shall explore the ways in which adopting a socially responsible approach to business strategy and operation can affect a businesses ability to maintain competitive advantage in a market and how the adoption of this strategy can lead to a businesses downfall or success.
Corporate social responsibility has become a buzzword within the industry in the last few years. Following the financial market crash investors and stakeholders began looking at corporations to act more socially responsible. The meaning of social responsibility differs across regions. Western countries are the ones who are pushing for corporate social responsibility -thesis--
In this essay I will discuss the business management term ‘corporate social responsibility’. I will show a strong awareness of this topic, this by showing the dangers and benefits of corporate social responsibility. I will convey the importance of CSR. By showing the effect CSR has on internal and external stakeholders of an organisation.
Lastly the International Guidance Standard on Social Responsibility defined CSR as “… the responsibility of an organization for the impact of its decisions activities on society and environment, though transparent and ethical behaviour that a) contributes to sustainable development, health and welfare of society; b) takes into account the expectation of stakeholders; c) is in compliance with applicable law and consistent with international norms of behaviour; and d) is integrated though the organization and practised in its relationships” (Blowfield and Murray, 2011).
During the 1970s, the Business world became aware of damages engendered by the human activity, in particular environmental damages. For this reason appeared the notion of « sustainable development » in the Brundland report (1987). This notion can be defined as the mean to assure the development of the current generation without compromising the development of future generations. The Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR) are in a sense the contribution of companies to respect the stakes of the sustainable development. The Corporate Social Responsibilities of companies base on social, environmental and economic concerns. This match the “triple bottom line” theory: “People, Planet, Profit”. Over the years, Corporate Social Responsibility expended and became very important in the Business organisation and a large number of companies take part in CSR initiatives. In 2004, approximately 90% of the 500 best performing companies according to Fortune magazine had invested in CSR efforts.
Most writers have made slightly different cases against CSR and its usefulness for modern business and society. One can see, even by looking at relevant case studies, that there are certainly a large amount of flaws involved in the concept of CRS and DWBD (Doing well by doing good), which I shall point out over the rest of this coursework. I shall also consider the positive aspects of CSR, I will explore the critical writings off Karnani, who claimed that in each case CSR is either irrelevant or ineffective, and compare those to other notable criticisms such as Reich and Visser who all analyse various faults with the concept of CSR.