Corporate Social Responsibility - Essay Example

SALEH ALOTHMAN Week Assignments Word Count:1072 (without reference list) I have written in a previous paper about the difficulties of implementing the practice of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) throughout our business. As a result of this piece I received a number of questions from the group. One questions asked why CSR had been selected as a possible solution to perceived difficulties. The person wanted to know if the problem seen from the perspective of the employee and their particular obligation to the larger organizational community.

I was asked to explain the many issues linked to CSR. A second question raised was related to the commitment to CSR, and whether CSR is designed to help an organization to make a profit, whether it is truly concerned with the company’s degree of social commitment. Organizations are set up and designed in order to be profitable. In order to focus upon this they must of necessity publicize themselves in markets both local and worldwide. They can do this by undertaking various organizations undertake various procedures.

Another reason why companies need to promote themselves is the competitive element. There will always be other companies who are trying to get the edge over them. CSR is a positive response to such pressures and will be accepted in a positive way. A number of research studies have revealed the positive properties of CSR and its good effects upon employees (Ali and Ali, 2011; Gross and Holland, 2011; Brammer, Millington and Rayton, 2007) and upon the wider community (Tang and Tang, 2007; Mohr, Webb and Harris, 2001; Moir, 2001).

Within our organization CSR methods have been adopted in order both to serve the community and to enable employees to realize that they are part of a company which bothers about them, but which also cares about issues affecting the wider community of which it is part. A report from Kenexa (2010) clearly shows that organizations who practice CSR are perceived by their employees as being better places to work. Possible employees also seek out work opportunities with those organizations which are seen as being more socially active within their community.

In our own area there are many financial organizations who have embraced the principles of CSR. These businesses take part in in a variety of positive activities such as keeping the local environment both clean and safe , promoting different healthcare initiatives, school activities with children, sporting activities, providing free catering during Eid and a variety of other social programs. As a group we have personally been involved in cleaning up our local environment and in increasing public awareness of the need for environmental cleanliness.

The above discussion refers to interaction with the learning set. Now we get to the discussion of the workplace problem and why it was chosen. As stated above, and also discussed by a number of authors, is the strong relationship between taking up CSR and the human resources’ factor of employee engagement and their retention. How can this be accomplished using CSR? How can the amount of employee engagement and retention be increased using CSR? How can employees be made more aware of their place and role in CSR and their sense of belonging to the organization and also being part of the local community?

During the past two years , the organization has been active in a number CSR activities, but employee participation was not always as willing as it might have been. This brings a challenge to both create awareness among employees and at the same time increase their knowledge about CSR and how they can their participate not only within the organization, but also outside within the community. They need to support the group’s CSR activities in order to become ambassadors for the company. When employees become aware that they are part of a company that that both cares about and serves the community, this enables them to feel more secure in their employment, and a real part of the organization.

This idea is backed up by the Kenexa (2010) findings after their survey which was carried out in six different countries. Their aim had been to find out the possible relationship between taking part in CSR and the engagement and retention of employees. Kenexa found out that employees in organizations which have a strong CSR culture would rate their organizations as higher than others who do not participate in CSR. Even when seeking work , these future employees state their preference for work in organizations which are known to practice CSR.

This is to say that those organizations which adopt CSR methods are regarded most highly. It is therefore absolutely necessary for our organization to enable our employees to understand the importance of CSR and what it could mean for them. For this reason CSR has become an integral part of the company’s program of in-house training. During training sessions topics such an awareness of CSR are explored, as well as knowledge of what needs to be done, and of course the importance of their contribution as employees of the company.

As well as this any CSR initiative must involve our board of directors and all stakeholders. An initiative from the top management initiative shows their support. When employees know that top management are involved in such matters higher levels of participation were seen. We do however need even more of this kind of participation by the top management during the various CSR initiatives. Through the process of CSR our aim is to create higher levels of awareness among employees, so creating social as well as ethical awareness.

This should then lead to increased willing participation and engagement, and also have the benefit of retaining good employees over an extended period. Holt (2006 )describes the moral characteristics needed by managers. He states that managers are at times unable to act in a moral way. This is a challenge because if CSR is to be active then and positive and full participation from managers is a necessity. Holt (2006) states however that those in management positions tend to be driven not so much by corporate ideas, but rather by their own chosen values and judgments.

CSR on the other hand is about having a common interest and so participation on an equal basis from managers is needed. In our case CSR is a top management initiative, which actually promotes high levels of participation from all the concerned managers and so a possible barrier is using CSR overcome in our particular case. REFERENCES Brammer,S., Millington,A.,and Rayton,B., (2007) “The Contribution of Corporate Social Responsibility to Organizational Commitment” International Journal of Human Resource Management, 18(10), 1701-1719 Holt, R. (2006) ‘Principals and practice: Rhetoric and the moral character of managers’, Human Relations 59, pp.

1659-1680 Kenexa (2010) ‘Being Socially Responsible has a Positive Impact on Employees as Well as Their Local Communities and the Environment’, Executive Summary, No. 10, Kenexa Research Institute Mohr, Webb, D.J., and Harris, K.E.,( 2001). Do consumers expect companies to be socially responsible? : The impact of corporate social responsibility on buying behavior. Journal of Consumer Affairs. 35 (1), 45-72. Moir,L., (2001) What do we mean by corporate Social Responsibility? Corporate Governance , Volume 1, Issue 2, pages 16-22 Tang,Z.

,and Tang ,J.(2007) The Relationship of Achievement Motivation and Risk-Taking Propensity to New Venture Performance: A Test of the Moderating Effect of Entrepreneurial Munificence. International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business