Starbucks Coffee Corporate Social Responsibility - Essay Example

? REPORT – CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY goes here] [Your goes here] [Due the paper Introduction Corporate socialresponsibility (CSR) refers to a firm’s obligations towards society. Any company or organization operating in any particular market needs to show social responsiveness to pursue goals that are beneficial for the society as well as for the company. Activities like helping society solve social problems, doing business ethically, giving money to charities, and creating a green environment are some of the basic elements of CSR (Mohr 2001). In the present world, most of the companies use corporate social responsibility as a tool to generate high revenues as well as to develop a positive image in the minds of customers and competitors. Some companies even have corporate social responsibility departments to manage social programs and events, as well as to make public aware of the firm’s efforts in the field of corporate social responsibility (Smith n.d.). 1.1 Methodology To carryout the research, the researcher will use a questionnaire to gather information about a firm’s corporate social responsiveness. The researcher will design the questionnaire in such a way that it will have three parts namely general CSR aspects, workplace policies, and cost savings – competitive advantage. The researcher will visit the firm personally in order to get information from eight people who will include employees and managers. The researcher will take the respondents in confidence by telling them that their completed questionnaire returns will be destroyed once the researcher is done with the assignment. 1.2 Structure of the Report The report will follow a proper sequence. The researcher will work through the questions one by one. Simple quantitative results will be used as percentage findings. There will be no fancy analysis of the results. The researcher will use pie charts to visually demonstrate the results. 3. Findings from the Survey Starbucks Coffee was the firm selected for CSR review. The researcher visited the firm personally in order to get information from eight people of the company. Let us now discuss the findings part by part. 3.1 General CSR Aspects In this part of the questionnaire, the researcher asked three key questions about the general aspects of corporate social responsibility. The aim of the researcher was to know whether employees and managers are aware of the CSR activities that their company carries out to show its obligation towards the wellbeing of society. Demonstration of corporate social responsibility is one of the success factors for a company as it has links with many other important factors, such as customers’ loyalty and company’s image (Mahoney 2005). The researcher wanted to know the awareness level of employees and managers because they are the ones who actually help the company achieve its goals regarding corporate social responsibility. Let us see the responses given by the respondents for this part of the questionnaire. 3.1.1 Response for First Statement The first statement was, ‘I am familiar with my company’s CSR activities’. One employee said that he is not fully aware of the activities, as he has to concentrate only towards his job tasks (neutral, percentage: 0.125). Three employees said that they are aware of the CSR activities since they participate in those activities personally (agree, percentage: 0.375). Two employees said that they are fully aware since they have to assist their managers in those activities (strongly agree, percentage: 0.25). The researcher also inquired two managers who said that the company is fully socially responsive and they are familiar with all CSR activities (strongly agree, percentage: 0.25). Pie Chart 3.1.2 Response for Second Statement The second statement was, ‘my company is socially and environmentally responsible’. In this case, two employees said that the company is socially and environmentally responsible but up to some extent (neutral). The reason that they gave was that the company focuses more on revenues as compared to CSR activities. Two employees said that the company is socially and environmentally responsible as they participate in those activities personally (agree). Two employees said that they are fully aware since they have to assist their managers in those activities (strongly agree). The researcher put the same question in front of two managers who said that the company is socially responsive and they personally supervise all CSR activities (strongly agree). Pie Chart 3.1.3 Response for Third Statement The third statement was, ‘my company gives support to charities and/or community projects’. In this case, two employees said that the company gives support to charities and social programs and that they have observed it twice in their job lifetime of more than a year (neutral, percentage: 0.25). Three employees said that the company gives support to charities and community-based projects as they participate in those activities personally (agree, percentage: 0.375). They said that they personally collect charities from different funds for the cause. One employee said that he is fully aware of the charity donation strategy as he is the assistant to finance department’s manager (strongly agree, percentage: 0.125). The researcher put the same question in front of two managers who said that the company donates charities to non-profit organizations on monthly basis (strongly agree, percentage: 0.25). Pie Chart 3.2 Workplace Policies This part of the questionnaire was somewhat indirectly related to the concept of corporate social responsibility. However, it was extremely important to be included in the questionnaire because it helped the researcher gather information about the workplace policies of the company that ultimately directs the corporate citizenship activities of employees and managers. The aim of this part was to know whether Starbucks considers employees’ inputs in decision-making processes or not. Moreover, the aim was also to know whether Starbucks equally treats all of its employees or some of the employees have faced some form of discrimination at some point in their job lifetime. Following are the responses of the employees and managers regarding workplace policies. 3.2.1 Response for First Statement The first statement was, ‘my company consults with employees on important issues’. Two employees said that they do not agree with the statement because they have never been consulted on any business matter (strongly disagree, percentage: 0.25). Two employees said that the company consulted them through survey forms after the process of decision-making just to know what they thought of the decision (neutral, percentage: 0.25). Three employees said that the company consults with them on important business issues (agree, percentage: 0.375). However, the researcher found that those employees were at higher ranks. The researcher also inquired a manager who also said that the company takes key employees in confidence while taking important decisions (strongly agree, percentage: 0.125). 3.2.2 Response for Second Statement The second statement was, ‘my company takes adequate steps against all forms of discrimination, both in the workplace and at the time of recruitment’. Only one employee said that she does not agree with the statement because the company often gives priority to her male counterparts for some particular job tasks, such as planning for CSR events and business decision-making (strongly disagree, percentage: 0.125). Four employees said agreed with the statement since they have never faced any kind of discrimination at work (agree, percentage: 0.5). One employee said that he was given priority over an Asian candidate during group interview. However, he did not face any kind of discrimination at work (disagree, percentage: 0.125). The researcher also inquired a couple of managers who said that the company never discriminates against any employee either at job or at any phase of recruitment (strongly agree, percentage: 0.25). 3.3 Cost Savings / Competitive Advantage This part of the questionnaire was about getting competitive advantage by carrying out cost saving CSR activities. This part of the questionnaire had four questions, each of which of equal importance. The aim of the researcher was to determine what employees and managers think of CSR activities and the benefits that their company is getting from those activities. Moreover, the aim was also to know whether CSR activities of the company are enhancing the levels of customer satisfaction and customer loyalty or not. Most of the answers given by the respondents were on positive side as far as this part of the questionnaire is concerned. Following are the responses of the employees and managers regarding workplace policies. 3.3.1 Response for First Statement The first statement was, ‘my company can save money by reducing its environmental impact (e.g. by recycling, reducing energy consumption, preventing pollution)’. Only one employee marked the neutral option for this statement because he was not fully aware of the benefits of showing corporate social responsibility (neutral, percentage: 0.125). All other employees and managers interviewed by the researcher said that the company can definitely reduce its environmental impact through these strategies. They said that these strategies can benefit the overall environment as well as the company in the long run (strongly agree, percentage: 0.875). 3.3.2 Response for Second Statement The second statement was, ‘my company can affect customer satisfaction by becoming a corporate citizen’. In response to this statement, four employees said that they have a strong desire to provide best services to the customers. They said that corporate citizenship can have a positive effect on the customer satisfaction level. They encircled the ‘agree’ option on the questionnaire (agree, percentage: 0.5). Two employees said that customers like the coffee taste of the company and come here to enjoy the atmosphere and coffee. They said that they hardly have any concerns about the company’s corporate citizenship (neutral, percentage: 0.25). The researcher inquired two managers who fully agreed with the statement (strongly agree, percentage: 0.25). 3.3.3 Response for Third Statement The third statement was, ‘CSR endeavors can enhance consumer loyalty’. In response to this statement, four employees encircled the agree option on the questionnaire (agree, percentage: 0.5). Two high ranked employees fully agreed with the statement and related CSR endeavors with improved customer loyalty (strongly agree, percentage: 0.25). They said that when customers will see that their company is putting up some great efforts for the benefit of the society, they will definitely love to be the part of such company even as customers. The researcher also inquired two managers who also fully agreed with the statement (strongly agree, percentage: 0.25). 3.3.4 Response for Fourth Statement The fourth statement was, ‘I am aware of ways in which my company can use sustainability of products and services to gain a competitive advantage’. In response to this statement, three employees encircled the neutral option on the questionnaire (neutral, percentage: 0.375). Two were not aware of any such strategy, so they encircled the disagree option (strongly disagree, percentage: 0.25). One employee (a chef) said that quality is the key to competitive advantage. He encircled the agree option (agree, percentage: 0.125). The researcher also inquired two managers who fully agreed with the statement (strongly agree, percentage: 0.25). 4. Conclusion Companies are required to show improved performances and corporate citizenship to remain in the market and develop a good image in the minds of customers and competitors. Corporate social responsibility leads to changes in the business approach of many companies. Sometimes a company needs to accept short-term financial returns for long-term social benefits to adhere to the standards of corporate social responsibility. Some of such examples include increasing employees’ pay and investing in better working conditions. Both of these strategies lead to increased employee motivation that ultimately leads to improved productively and profitability levels. The results of the research suggest that well-renowned companies, such as Starbucks Coffee, take effective steps to demonstrate corporate social responsibility. Such companies incorporate extra space for CSR activities to secure the environment as well as to provide a better work atmosphere for employees. However, Starbucks does not seem to be giving proper attention towards the need of employees to understand properly the company’s CSR policies and activities. Many companies tend to show corporate social responsibility while carrying out their business activities, but they do not fulfill all of its requirements (Hussain 2005). Starbucks needs to provide proper guidance to their employees regarding corporate social responsibility and the steps the company takes to play its role in creating a socially responsive environment. References Hussain, B 2005, ‘Corporate social responsibility: do customers get what they expect?’ Journal of Business Studies, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 133-139. Mahoney, L 2005, ‘Corporate social responsibility and long term compensation: evidence from Canada’, Journal of Business Ethics, vol. 57, no. 3, March, pp. 241-253. Mohr, L 2001, ‘Do customers expect companies to be socially responsible: the impact of corporate social responsibility on buying behavior’, Journal of Consumer Affair, vol. 2, no. 3, pp.1-45. Smith, S n.d., What is Corporate Social Responsibility? viewed 24 October 2012, . Read More