Corporate Social Responsibility : Bank Of America

Wells Fargo Corporate Social Responsibility initiates of diversity and inclusion, economic empowerment, and corporate sustainability have contributed to social change in many ways that worthy of highlighting in this paper. However, I have selected to feature the following organizational activities related three social change and sustainability causes: (1) developing advanced clean technology, innovation and environmental solutions, (2) increase financial literacy and self-sufficiency, and (3) and advancing the need for diverse and inclusive businesses and leadership.

Bank of America thrives off of the premise that they are aiming to enhance the financial lives of their customers. Per the Code of Conduct, Bank of America believes in treating all of their customers equally; they claim to expand beyond expectations to deliver satisfactory customer service; they implement discipline to eliminate financial risks to customers; they pride themselves on acting responsibly; and they strive to help individuals to reach their full financial potential. This company enforces the belief that they honor their ethics fully. This includes making

Companies today are heavily influenced by the demands of customers and stakeholders. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) refers to the social and environmental responsibility policies and practices developed by an organization to increase its positive influence and reduce its negative activity towards society (Parks, 2008). The business approach and corporate philosophy of an organization is easily altered due to economic pressures, technological improvement and stakeholder needs and demands. "Going green" or being eco-friendly is one such demand. Environmental and sustainability concerns originate most often from governments, consumer activists, and the general public (Schlosser, 2008). Thus, organizations must implement sustainability into daily practices. In addition, sustainability alters the nature of competition and drives companies to think differently about products, processes, and technologies (Parks, 2008).

Contributing the one million dollars annually to the United Way would be a better choice in terms of ethics and social responsibility. If the company chooses to follow the concept of corporate social responsibility, the donation would allow United Way to keep helping the community. In turn, once individuals from the community are helped, they will later be financially stable to go out and purchase their own vehicles. This strategy will help the community first, while in the long run the automobile manufacturing may profit from this. Also, once the community finds out how involved and socially responsible an automobile company is over another, they will want to support them over an automobile company that isn’t socially responsible. Another

We started our research by finding a bank (Bank of America) that is moving towards sustainability but has not started to apply these concepts into their financial institution. We decided that Bank of America should focus on all the aspects of sustainability meaning they should have a strong role in being environmentally friendly, they should be socially sustainable, and should be economically sustainable. In our research, we looked at two major things: the process of any company becoming sustainable and how a bank should become sustainable in the financial world. We then decided the exact tasks that we want Bank of America to do and began more research on each specific area.

Target Corporation 's social responsibly commitment area for the employees, customer and communities are creating positive shopping experience, making Target Corporation a great place to work, and support the community. Positive experience includes selling clean natural products and organic and sustainable product better for human beings. The “Simply Balanced” is certified organic food that will not contain harmful Tran-Fats or any of food additive ingredients, and the plant based food are GMO-free (CSR, 2014). Target Corporation sells a resource responsible product by working with a supplier that helps to sustain food supply including seafood that is traceable. It designs a packaging using recycle and renewable material and reduces overall material thus reducing waste. This helps to protect the product and positive impact on the surroundings and environment.

Bank of America Corporation, a multinational banking and financial services organization that is the second largest holding company in the entire United States by assets, and the fourth largest bank by capitalization. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the banks serves clients in more than 150 countries and has a business relationship with over 99 percent of U.S. Fortune 500 companies and 83 percent of the Fortune Global 400. As of 2010, the bank is the 5th largest company in the United States by total revenue, as well as the 2nd largest non-oil company in the United States, while Forbes listed it as the 3rd biggest company in the world. Its acquisition of Merrill Lynch in 2008 made it the world's largest wealth management corporation. B of A holds about 13 percent of all bank deposits in the United States with a retail footprint that covers about 80 percent of the U.S. population or about 57 million consumers at over 6,000 banking centers making it one of the most powerful banking forces in the contemporary industry (Bank of America, 2011; The Global 2000; Fortune 500).

With the development of the society, the mean purpose of corporations is no longer only being profitable. According to Lee, Companies and organizations are expected to have more optimistic contribution on society (2008). Social responsibility has become a regular part of the corporations’ mission. Each organization have their own ways to involve in the corporate social responsibilities activities (as cited in Jong & Meer 2017). Environment is always an essential part in CSR, and a lot of strategies are used to improve the environment. As one of the five biggest banks in Canada, Scotiabank has made a lot of effort on environmental protection.

Bank of America 's company philosophy is “we believe, very simply, that it is the actions of individuals working together that build strong communities ... and that business has an obligation to support those actions in the communities it serves” (Lewis). As stated on their company website overview, Bank of America is committed to creating meaningful change in the communities they serve through their philanthropic efforts, associate volunteerism, community development, and investing, support of the arts, and environmental initiatives (Bank of America, n.d.). Their neighborhood revitalization and stabilization programs were designed to aid, restore, and invigorate communities suffering from the growing number of foreclosed and vacant properties. They are further committed to cost-efficient and environmentally sustainable practices that benefit the global community. An example of this is the Bank of America Tower in New York City, one of the world 's most environmentally-friendly skyscrapers. Bank of America expects and actively encourages its employees to act ethically, honor Bank of America’s code of ethics, care about one another, and value their communities.

‘Corporate social responsibility (CSR), broadly defined as the notion that companies should accompany the pursuit of profit with good citizenship within a wider society, has become an increasingly prominent feature of business life over the last 10 to 15 years’ (Sadler and Lloyd, 2009:613). This quote from Sadler and Lloyd is a useful starting point in demonstrating the rapid rise and development of corporate responsibility. Global issues, in an economic sense with the global financial crisis in 2008 and in an environmental sense with the threat of climate change have aided in bringing to the fore a need for businesses and the corporate world to manage themselves and the services they offer in a more responsible and sustainable way. In particular reference to the financial sector this has attempted to be achieved through global financial sustainability agreements such as the Equator Principles. By entering into global agreements careful monitoring and reporting of a banks activities is required to create transparency in assessing their contributions towards corporate social responsibility and the achievement of sustainable practices in the financial sector. One of the banks currently signed up to the Equator principles is Barclays, as one of the largest global banks in the world with a 300 year history it is a company that serves 48 million customers worldwide

Since 1998, Bank of America has become one of the most successful financial institutions in the industry. With the mission to “make financial lives better, through the power of every connection”, Bank of America has maintained aligning operation with its vision. While assisting its clients understand their money, the company also puts a lot of effort into helping the communities by executing Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). It is undeniable that the company has successfully addressed many critical problems in the environmental, social and economic arenas, as it continually receives awards and recognitions for its CSR efforts.

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (CSR) is a term describing a company’s obligation to be accountable to all of its stakeholder in all its operation and activities. Socially responsible companies consider the full scope of their impact on communities and the environment when making decisions, balancing the needs of stakeholder with their need to make profit.

Baker Hughes headquarters are located in Houston Texas and is a company that participates in the global petroleum industry and offers products and services for finding, evaluating, drilling, extracting, and producing hydrocarbons. (BakerHughes) These services operate in the Americans, Europe, Russia, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia Pacific. According to the last fiscal year, Baker Hughes has 24551 million dollars in revenue and makes a profit of 1719 million dollars. With the help of their CEO, Martin Craighead, and their 58,000 employees, Baker Hughes is ranked 119 in the Fortune 500, which is an improvement from last years ranking of 132.

Hongkong Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) is one of the largest banking and financial services organizations in the world. We are the world's local bank.

Sony Corporation’s is one of the world’s largest corporations. Sony was founded in 1946 with its headquarter in Japan. It produces a variety of products, such as consumer’s devices, gaming, and communication devices. Its invention of the portable tape recorder was the break that the company needed in order to grow and enter other markets. (Corporate Info, 2015). Corporation’s main purpose is to achieve the highest profit and to satisfy the stakeholder involved (Krishnan, 2011). This encapsulated in the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR). In this regard, it is important to examine Sony Corporation in terms of its adaptation and implementation of their social performance. Traditional business models have allowed companies to grow and expand since the focus is on the good of the businesses to the exclusion of everything else. This selfish regard for other stakeholders have taken its toll on people and the environment, hence, the call for greater responsibility and accountability from corporations, especially those that operate in many parts of the world (Seong-Tae and Lee Sang-Yoon, 2012). In line with this, this essay will examine Sony’s Social performance regarding to the environment, employment and human right issues, and the impact on company stakeholders and society. The stakeholder in this paper will be the shareholder, consumers and the employees in whom they share their business with.