Corporate Social Responsibility and its Importance in the Retail Sector - Essay Example

Research Proposal Topic Corporate Social Responsibility and its Importance in the Retail Sector Background Today we are living in an era which is characterised by the intense amount of competition and rivalry amongst corporate houses. In an effort to attract the customer, companies on the one hand try to come out with innovative marketing strategies while on the other hand efforts are also made by the companies to project themselves as socially responsible corporate houses. Carroll (1991) proposed a pyramid of social responsibility for the corporate world with responsibilities like Economic, Legal, Ethical and Philanthropic. The corporate social responsibility department is supposed to take care of all such activities which in some way impact the society. The economic responsibilities are supposed to act as the foundation for all other responsibilities. The company is supposed to function in such a manner that the earning potential of the company increases and the management is seen as firmly committed towards making the company more profitable. But at the same time the company is supposed to function in such a manner that it is not it is not seen as working only with a profit motive by relegating other responsibilities to sidelines. A number of steps towards improving the quality of life in general play equally important role in projecting the company as a reliable and mature one. The very core purpose of any business, besides sustenance and profitability, happens to create and keep adding value for the customers. A retail chain in particular needs to take into account the changing needs and requirements of the customers, depending upon the changing environment, food habits, time management, availability of alternates in the market, increasing awareness about environmentally friendly goods and services etc. This way they can earn the loyalty of the customer while successfully attracting more customers. Customer's reaction to the product/ services is largely based on the customer's feelings, which are subjective in nature. Relationship management, the very basis of running a retail store, asks for earning the loyalty of customer. In these competitive times, grabbing customer attention is not a big deal but retaining customer loyalty requires sound thinking at the top. Retail Business requires managing a broad range of retail skills in the areas of customer sales and service, promotion & advertising, store layout, visual merchandising, economics & accounting, marketing, buying from suppliers, inventory control, and human resource management. As the marketing and industrial activities are growing around the world, imbalance in many forms is on an increase, which is threatening the very existence of the social fabric that we live in. In order to protect the social fabric, the nature and the interests of human beings, companies, organizations and individuals are supposed to take care of their social responsibilities in different measure. Companies in retail sector being in direct touch with the customers and the society often find it obligatory on their part to take care of the social needs as well. Though it is not obligatory on an organization that it should come forward to help out the society, but in order to reach out to the customers, earn the goodwill of existing as well as prospective customers, and to be seen as an organization indulging in ethical business practices, companies do come forward to help the society and fulfil their corporate social responsibilities. Research Questions and Objectives This study is primarily being undertaken to study the corporate social responsibility aspect in general and the manner in which retail sector is fulfilling its social responsibilities. During the study an effort would be made to study some of the reputed retail sector companies like Tesco, Marks & Spencer, Primark, Wal-Mart etc. While broadly analysing their business proposition and market share an effort would be made to sift through the corporate responsibility statements and activities being taken up by these companies. During the study, efforts would also be made to go into the reasons which have necessitated such social gestures on the part of these companies. The study will try to seek answers to the following key objectives. To analyze the levels of competition and management scenario in the retail sector To find out the types of strategies adopted by the retailers in attracting and retaining the customers. How the companies figure out the social tasks in different market segments What types of tangible and intangible benefits accrue to the companies as a result of implementing the corporate responsibility measures What impact does such gestures have on the workforce in general How the retail companies motivate their workforce towards successful implementation of the social responsibility initiatives Identifying and analysing some of the important initiatives taken up by some retail sector companies in the recent past What impact does such gestures have on the customer in general Research Methodology Research approaches and methods radically influence the overall outcome of the research. This in turn affects the policies designed in response to the research findings. A research carried out in an objective manner, on the one hand, helps the researcher in knowing about many unknown aspects. In addition it also provides a starting point or a benchmark as well for future researches. While planning policies and regulations the governments as well as the respective companies find the research outcomes quite handy at times. The manner in which the research is to be conducted, data is to be gathered and analysed forms the philosophical part of the research activity. This dissertation is a more of a qualitative case study focusing on an analysis of some of the companies in retail business. To carry out such a study in general we resort to two main approaches; Deductive Reasoning: Such type of reasoning basically makes use of deductive arguments which works from the more general to the more specific subjects. Sometimes this is informally called a "top-down" approach. In such approach we take up the 'theory' and then try to apply it to the hypotheses that we intend to test. For example while carrying out this research we might go into the rule book or some of the established principles for retailing and then see how these rules or principles apply to the companies shortlisted by us for the purpose. In deductive approach, gradually we narrow down to the testing of data and observations for their applicability to the theory/ theories to arrive at a confirmation of its applicability or not. Inductive Reasoning: It works on the principle of induction. The Inductive approach begins with collecting data, specific observations, which then lead to broader generalization and theories. In such case, we start gathering data about the functioning, marketing principles of some of the retail companies, follow their functioning in the recent past, figure out the problem or difference areas and then see the difference which helps customers in making a choice. Our focus area being the corporate social responsibility, for conducting the research with an inductive approach we will take a look at some such initiatives undertaken by the retail companies and how the society in general and the customers in particular perceive such initiatives. Such an approach in called as "bottom up" approach. The patterns thus detected are formulated into tentative hypotheses and we can therefore arrive at some general conclusion about our subject. This study will be taken up more in the nature of an inductive approach, but at places, we'll try to make a balanced mix of both these approaches so that we get to analyze the companies as well as established theories. A brief questionnaire would also be prepared to see the effectiveness of corporate social responsibility initiatives. The questionnaire could be distributed to some of the employees, particularly those handling the customers and the social responsibility tasks. In addition the questionnaire would also be administered to some of the middle level managers and the customers, to assess their point of views on the effectiveness of the corporate social responsibility initiatives. Principal Data Sources The method that will be involved in the process of collection of relevant data will be concise and yet comprehensive, aimed at soliciting maximum information related to the topic. Data will be compiled from the websites of the concerned companies, articles published in various journals, newspapers, books and magazines. An effort would also be made to take a cue from some earlier researches done on the subject by some individual researchers, as well as, some research institutions. Both, online resources and offline resources will be used to compile the data. In fact the retail industry has started making maximum use of the web-space as an alternative channel of reaching out to the customer, therefore it will be quite interesting to analyse the benefits of such activities as well. Data Collection Methods For this research to be able to achieve the desired outcomes, we need to adopt suitable methods for data collection. Some of the methods that will be used during the study include; i. Carrying out a comprehensive literature review: During this process a number of books and research journals will provide informative data about effective marketing techniques and the need to be seen as socially responsible. Contemporary research journals also carry articles and research papers from renowned scholars and other research students. ii. News reports in newspapers and current affairs magazines prove to be another source of data for the study. Since the subject is about the most competitive and evolutionary sector, therefore a lot of developmental news items are available in the public domain. Such reports provide the updated information and latest policy initiatives about different companies in industry. iii. Surveys, questionnaires and interviews form the backbone of data gathering and thus help in gathering crucial data and information about the subject. In order to assess the need and utility of corporate social responsibility initiatives, we can design a questionnaire and get it filled up from respondents who can be divided into two-three target groups depending upon how we plan to classify them. The questionnaire will include questions in three different forms; a. Open-ended questions: Such open ended questions help in; Developing ideas, which in turn lead to further inquiry, investigation, and research in to the subject Determining theoretical probabilities. Predicting the outcomes of the investigation and comparing the results with the hypothesis. b. Scaling questions: Such questions help in measuring the suitability of some policies or decisions implemented by the management. c. Checklists: This also helps in finding out the most relevant steps initiated by the management towards the effectiveness of social responsibility initiatives. References: 1. Carroll, A.B. (1991), "The pyramid of corporate social responsibility: toward the moral management of organisational stakeholders", Business Horizons, July-August. Read More