Corporate Social Responsibility - the Case of de Beers

Businesses, specifically larger corporations, play a major role in what occurs in society therefore, they are responsible to their stakeholders not only to pursue economic goals but the greater social good as well. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) means that a corporation should act in a way that enhances society and its inhabitants and be held accountable for any of its actions that affect people, their communities, and their environment. (Lawrence, 2010). Social responsibility is becoming the norm so much so that some businesses have incorporated it into their business model. There are three components of the bottom line of social

Corporate social responsibility for the authors of the mentioned article is a “form of management that is defined by the ethical relationship and transparency of the company with all the stakeholders with whom it has a relationship as well as with the establishment of corporate goals that are compatible with the sustainable development of society, preserving environmental and cultural resources for future generations, respecting diversity and promoting the reduction of social problems” (Milton de Sousa Filho, Soares Outtes Wanderley, Pasa Gomez, & Farache, 2010). Based on this understanding of CSR Milton de Filho, et al. concluded that a competitive advantage can be derived from social responsibility and has following positive consequences for the firm:

In this review, the primary subject is the ‘business case’ for corporate social responsibility (CSR). The business

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is something that affects all companies and should be an active factor in the company’s decision making. It is something all corporations need to care about. CSR is when business’ or corporations take part in an initiative or campaign for a cause that will benefit society and/or in some way make the world a better place (Taylor, 2015). Initially, Corporate Social Responsibility started to take shape around the 1950’s, but some say that it dates all the way back to the 1800s, the idea of CSR was seen (Carroll, 2007). One may think that because it is dated so long ago, it doesn’t have an important impact today nevertheless, it is proven that Corporate Social Responsibility is a pathway for entities to self benefit as they are in the process of benefitting society.

Rangan, K., Chase, L., & Karim, S. (2015, January 1). The Truth About CSR. Harvard Business Review, 40-49.

The area of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a constantly evolving field with direct impact on an organizations strategies and success, and it has become an important part of how the beer making industry promotes and advertises itself. Current portrayals of corporate social responsibility in the beer making industry are misleading and do not show the true nature of these practices. Relatively little research has been conducted on how the beer making industry promotes corporate social responsibility in their attempt to

Corporate Social responsibility (CSR) has been viewed in different ways by different school of thoughts; some see it has a voluntary initiative, while others think it’s a main part of every company’s structure and even an opportunity to improve brand. For this work, we would take the position of the later argument. It is simply giving back to the environment that you gain from. It involves protection of the environment, development of quality of the occupants of the environment and improving their quality of life. Like Barnard (1938), it is analyzing the social, economic, moral, legal and physical aspects of the environment.

A CSR program if conducted properly can reduce costs through more efficient staff hire and retention. The company will reduce the costs of continuous recruitment and selection because of lower turnover rate. It also reduce costs by implementing energy savings programs, managing potential risks and liabilities more effectively as well as less investment in traditional advertising. Companies like Unilever, Google, BMW, Microsoft, Benny and Jerry are known for their charitable deeds and they are thriving because they able to attract the best employees in the world because of their reputation.

The first approach to corporate level social responsibility is Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). CSR consists four obligations. First and basic obligation of a company is making profit in other words its economic obligation. It is essential for a company to make profit to continue its operations. Second obligation of a company is its legal responsibilities to society. CSR states that even if a company can bypass legal constrains, for example a company can violate laws because profit is greater than legal penalty, and it should not do so. According to CSR legal constraints are not a simple income-outcome calculation they are corporates obligations to social and natural environment. Third obligation of a company is ethical

Microsoft, Walt Disney, Google, BMW, Daimler, Sony, Intel, Volkswagen, Apple and Nestle are probably big company names that many have heard of. They are without doubt the sole powerhouses of their individual markets holding a big market share for themselves. But, despite the fact that they have that common factor, another thing that they have in common is that these 10 companies are the top ten companies with the highest CSR reputation in the world (SOURCE). CSR the acronym for Corporate Social Responsibility is currently a new business model that many businesses are starting to adapt. Throughout time, things improve and so do peoples expectations; CSR is a new model that incorporates things that people are more concerned with nowadays compared to the past. By requiring companies to spend more of their money on social responsibilities, CSR provides an opportunity for the companies to benefit more than just themselves in many different ways, but the question still lies at the point of to what extent does CSR benefits the companies themselves (SOURCE). There have been a lacking measurement in the actual benefits of CSR and companies are doubting whether or not CSR actually benefits company performance. Despite that though, there must be a reason as to why these powerhouses are incorporating CSR as their main business model and that reason would most definitely be that CSR benefits company performance in so many ways, both externally and internally, that no other business model

In terms of the importance of CSR, it can be broadly divided to three points. Firstly, being socially responsible is a good way for a company to publicise itself. The company which is willing to take CSR must be an honest and reliable company. A good corporate image can help the company not only to win the confidence of existing shareholders, but also to attract potential customers and business partners.

CSR practices also help enhance an organisation’s competitiveness, which can be defined as the ability to innovate; be it their products or strategies. This would force an organisation to develop a strategy to improve organisation’s performance on the whole (Vilanova, Maria Lozano and Arenas 2009).

This paper seeks to analyse and critically investigate the corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities and strategies of a blue chip company, which has business operations in many different parts of the world. According to Schutz (2012, p125), corporate social responsibility has been defined as the proactive initiatives that a company undertakes with the main objective of solving a pre-existing problem, which directly affects the company’s clientele. These problems are usually communal in nature and by providing solutions to them; the company can impact an entire society. The company under review in this paper is a global beverage giant: Coca Cola. This paper will analyse its corporate social responsibility program from a holistic perspective in terms of its investment, impact and overall reach. The paper will also include a proposal for a CSR program, which the company will be expected to undertake within the next financial year.

Social responsibility has become a primal interest to the humankind for the past two decades. In the earlier days, the firms and organizations concentrated only on the financial part of the business and ignored the ethical, social and moral sectors. But in the recent times, the businesses are getting a grip of the significance of the social, ecological and environmental effects on their success. This has resulted in the emerging interactions between organizations and social segments thus giving rise to corporate social responsibility (CSR) . This paper discusses about the ways and methods of CSRs that are applied in the University of Wisconsin and the impact these methods created on the social, environmental and ecological fronts of the

Firms perceived to have a strong commitment to CSR tend to have an increased ability to attract and retain their employees (Turban) which reduces turnover and retraining costs. Similarly, it is normal for employees to evaluate the CSR performance of their firm to determine the relationship between their personal values and those of the firm. Peters (40) argues that firms that improve the working environment and labor practices tend to experience increased productivity and curtailed error rates. Periodic controls in the production plants ensure that employees work in conducive environments. Though search practices might be costly, the increased productivity of the workforce and increased quality of the output generate positive cash flows that cover the incurred costs. As such, a firm can benefit from the actions of CSR in terms of worker morale and productivity (Moskowitz)