Question

Learning Activity #2

Corporate social responsibility impacts a number of a company's stakeholders including: a) Communities, b) Consumers, c) Shareholders, and d) Employees.

For this exercise:

A. Please provide a specific example of a company you know or have read about, and how it has demonstrated social responsibility, and how this has benefited the company.

B. Explain why Corporate Social Responsibility is important to each of the above stakeholders.

Answer 1

1. Corporate social responsibility is the area by which companies ensure that the laws, regulations and ethical standards are upheld to ensure that the community gets maximum benefit. CSR is done when companies want to give back the benefits and value to the society that they have made over the years. To ensure this, a proper business model needs to be created and maintained and worked upon.

There is a good example of CSR which benefits the community and the organization which was demonstrated by Reliance Industries. Reliance is India`s largest Private Sector Company which has multiple plants across India. When they started the Jamnagar Refinery and Plant at Jamnagar, Gujarat the land they had undertaken was facing serious environmental issues. To ensure that the balance of eco system was maintained, Reliance took an initiative to plant trees in a large areas. This ensured that the eco system was maintained and the CSR activities were well managed. This also gave large opportunities to farmers and traders who were kept on behalf of Reliance to manage the entire plantation. Every year Reliance provides a huge portion of mango export to Indian economy. In addition to the CSR initiative, this also become a major revenue source for the organization.

Another CSR Initiative undertaken by Reliance is ensuring the maximum girl children get education. To ensure this they have tied up with local NGO`s and charitable organization to sponsor the girl child. They work with the rural government authorities to ensure the education framework is set in place and no girl child is left behind in terms of education.

2. CSR is important for all stakeholders in an organization. For communities it is a means to get the maximum benefit from the organization. In poverty stricken areas such activities have really high impact. In non educated areas of society, CSR ensures that everyone has a secure future. For consumers, it gives a good impression about the organization and promotes brand value and recall in their mindset. A company which focuses on the social well being of every consumer usually takes a higher preference in mindset over a profit making company. Shareholders get the comfort and confidence that they are doing their bit to ensure the community is safe and aids in the environmental well being. Employees get pride that they are part of a company which has changed the lives of many across the globe.