Corporate Social Responsibility Introduction (Term Paper Sample)

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: INTRODUCTION Student’s Name University of Course Professor Date CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION The growing need for services and commodities has brought the business and private sectors of many countries into a fast-paced growth track. Because of the growing demand for several services, businesses have continued to increase their operating capacities and thus increase their contribution to various social and environmental impacts. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practices aim to mitigate the negative impacts caused by the company's operation. Previously, it was the company's prerogative if they will engage in CSR practices. However, due to increasing awareness among all stakeholders, companies nowadays implement their own CSR programs in order to enhance their company's performance while also performing their social and environmental responsibilities. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY Competition with other firms pushes companies to increase company performance and the quality of services they provide. The pressure to build better facilities, employ the best employees, and produce quality products is more intense than ever. Building a pristine reputation has a significant effect on the company's prestige, and the amount of social and environmental impacts grows with it. In this age of social media, environmental consciousness is spreading rapidly, opening many big companies to criticism. Because of high levels of awareness, companies of size are expected to adhere to higher ethical standards by stakeholders and the masses, whether or not they are consumers patronizing a specific company. According to Meier and Cassar (2018, online), Fortune 500 companies spend around 20 billion dollars per year on CSR and CSR-related activities. This shows that top companies worldwide adopt CSR into their business strategies and that large sums of money are allocated for CSR efforts. These efforts range from environmental/sustainability programs, charities, incentives, and volunteerism. Valet (2019, online) reported in Forbes the Reputation Institute's most reputable companies for Corporate Responsibility for the year 2019. Ranked first was the LEGO Group which practices CSR through advocating for sustainability on various fronts. The company has initiatives supporting children through learning-through-play activities that aim to teach children. The company also advocates for sustainability in the environment. Efforts to use sustainable materials, packaging, recycling, and increasing waste efficiency have been the main programs implemented by the LEGO Group to contribute to the campaign towards zero waste. In the past year, Google has reported in its CSR report that they have been gearing towards efforts of maximizing energy efficiency by setting goals of using carbon-free energy throughout the years to come in order to mitigate adverse environmental impacts caused by their operations (Google, 2019, online). These are examples of CSR programs being undertaken by a few of the top companies worldwide. There are different factors that affect a company's competitiveness. Primarily, the ability to generate revenue relies highly on consumers who patronize the company’s offerings. A company’s ability to appeal to the masses can significantly affect their sales thereby indicating competitiveness. Because there are many companies that offer goods and services of the same line, competition is inevitable, even in companies with monopolies in certain locales. Factors such as brand image can affect the company’s competitiveness because it directly affects customer acquisition thus indirectly affecting income. Company competitiveness not only relies on the revenue brought by clients who patronize a company's offerings. An increase in the number and diversity of stakeholders subsequently increases investor interest. Blandinieres, et al. (2017, p.12) stated that financial measures are the most straightforward way of measuring the performance of firms and their inherent market competitiveness based on product competitiveness. However, measurements of financial performance metrics alone are not enough to link CSR effects on company competitiveness. As financial performances of companies are only available after the year has concluded, financial metrics are commonly based heavily on historical data. Therefore, additional measures of competitiveness should be used to determine the company's viability in the market. The company’s CSR performance can be measured using financial metrics. By determining the amount of effort and resources a company dedicates to its CSR, one can estimate the company’s involvement in CSR as a whole. In this study, the competitiveness of companies will be measured from their brand image and the perceptions of the possible patrons of their products and/or services. The relationship of that aspect of the company to their CSR efforts will be determined. SCOPE AND DELIMITATION The study focuses on firms that implement CSR programs into their business framework or model. In an effort to determine the effects of CSR on a company's competitiveness, the researcher sought to determine the CSR-rooted strategic goals and achievements of companies included in this research. The researcher will include companies based in Metro Manila, Philippines, as a primary source of data to gain a more in-depth understanding of how CSR affects the company's overall competitiveness in the market. This study will be conducted from START DATE to END DATE. The researcher has chosen two companies whose names will not be disclosed in the entirety of this study. They will be henceforth referred to as Company X and Company Y. The two chosen companies are known to implement CSR programs into their business models. This will help the researcher arrive at a meaningful conclusion and recommendation regarding the effectiveness of strong CSR practices among companies that have the capabilities to practice CSR. This study will not include factors outside the specified scope. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM This study aims to determine the effect of having a strong CSR practice on the competitiveness of firms. The research questions involved in the study are: 1 Does CSR have a significant contribution to the competitiveness of firms? 2 What are the perceptions of the chosen participants about the CSR programs the companies implement? 3 Does brand image provide a good measurement of the companies’ competitiveness with respect to their CSR practices? OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY The specific objectives of the study are: 1. To determine the level of competitiveness of the firms from the perceptions of prospective clients; 2. To determine the key strengths of the firms being ...