Corporate Social Responsibility and Work Ethic Essay Example

by improving the effectiveness of operations throughout the entire value chain, either in supply chain or distribution chain. CRS which becomes increasingly applied both in academia and corporate managers is considered merely as equivalent to shared value platform in which the firm tries to co-create social and economic value. Corporations recognize the firm’s value of inventing new technology and manufacturing systems that aim at cutting the costs while alleviating the impacts on the environment.

In contrast to charitable giving which is evaluated through the environmental and social return, CSR’s initiatives are measured on their capacity to increase business returns and social responsibility value simultaneously. The main strategy in CSR seeks to re-engineer the entire value chain of a corporation as well as extraction and sourcing, manufacturing and delivery of products (Cadbury 2006).

Corporate Social Responsibility and Competitive Advantage

Application of CSR results in a sustainable competitive advantage linked to positive organizational reputation. The apparent social image of accompanying depends on its marketing strategies such as providing the consumers with solutions, promising support to the customers, and establishing loyalty with all the members of the public and help to avoid criticisms.

Companies publicize their affection to their customers to enhance their image and this provides sustainable advantage between competitors through a better and enhanced appearance. The accrued advantage is not tangible and is not easily duplicated, therefore, competitors working on matching their CSR competency will be dragged down in trying to capture the loyalty and trust of the customers and the government. The impact of organization’s positive public image is not only expected to increase the sales and income but also, increase the employee satisfaction, investor attraction and

even tax exemptions by the government. Sustainable competitive advantage results into a long-lasting profitability, in this case, CSR entails an obligation to stakeholders, and to increase revenue; and to generate a fair reward for the employees.

CSR also provides a platform for accomplishing growth rather than just the demand. A joint effort among the concerned parties and the company in advancement is the main aim of CSR and the basis for a company’s social and economic success (Maignan & Ferrell 2004).

Examples of Companies and Their Application of CSR

Nike is one of the companies which have succeeded in its application of CSR. It has established an ethical code of conduct seeking to govern its entire supply chain of production, including its partner factories where it has acquired contracts to manufacture its products. Its code of conduct requires that all employees are rewarded fairly, are well protected from dangerous unhealthy working conditions, as well as being treated with respect in the workplace. Nike has propelled an initiative to curb the negative impacts of its entire supply chain on environment ranging from sourcing of materials to manufacturing and distribution.

Applying similar strategy is the Gap, Inc. which launched a comprehensive campaign on stakeholder engagement to respond to highly venomous exploitative labor practices in its factories, some of which were manufacturing for Nike. Similar in fashion, Gap’s initiative on supply chain was in response to negative criticisms and protests. The initiatives taken by the two companies have ultimately benefited them by improving employee productivity and retention, reducing production cost and resource wastages (Lindgreen & Swaen 2010). On the other hand, other companies have not been successful in applying CSR

and example is Volkswagen motors which deliberately created a design meant to by-pass the emissions control with the aim of acquiring itself an unfair advantage over its competitors which would have made it a world’s number one carmaker, meanwhile it was poisoning the environment. As a remedy to this problem, the heads of the company should be empowered on issues concerning the importance of putting into consideration the impact of their products on the environment and people’s lives.

Another company which failed in integrating CSR is the Coca-Cola Company which was found to contain high levels of pesticides exceeding the internationally accepted limits; this finding severely affected their revenues since it attracted a lot of media and public attention. In remedy to this, the company started implementing the European Union regulations which saw it regain back the consumer loyalty in India and other consumer countries (Lindgreen & Swaen 2010).

Conclusion

According to various studies, I found that locally based businesses are becoming more conscious of the impacts of their socially responsible behavior. This brings a picture to the consumers that these local firms have a concern on their interests and will provide them with a long-run competitive advantage because of a good image they are depicting through their environmental awareness. Before providing any form of benevolent contribution, a business firm should first consider its profitability; it has to follow the legal and ethical obligations it has. Once these have been factored out, the firm can go on with its charitable responsibilities and other social concerns of the community.

It is the duty of the corporation to determine the costs and benefits of giving back to the community

and also to make sure that they are accountable for any socially responsible practices that they undertake in providing benefits to the community and the employees. Having demonstrated a CSR, a company can achieve both a sustainable competitive advantage and increased value chain through their workforce, organizational culture and contributions to the society. In applying CSR, a firm will have an added advantage both in good and bad times. Therefore, the firms should at all times seek to make a commitment to upholding a long-lasting socially responsible behavior.

References

1. Cadbury, A. (2006). Corporate social responsibility. Twenty-First Century Society, 1(1), 5-21.
2. Lindgreen, A., & Swaen, V. (2010). Corporate social responsibility.

   International Journal of Management Reviews, 12(1), 1-7.

3. Maignan, I., & Ferrell, O. C. (2004). Corporate social responsibility and marketing: an integrative framework. Journal of the Academy of Marketing science, 32(1), 3-19.