Business Society and the Planet

BUSINESS SOCIETY AND THE PLANET

Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Q1. Identify and describe the two companies you have researched; their core business activities
and the countries and/or industries in which they operate...............................................................2
Q2. What differences are evident between the two companies in terms of the range of issues
dealt with in their social reports and the depth of coverage on specific issues?..............................3
Q3. Discuss which of the Sustainable Development Goals you believe are most relevant to these
companies, their industries and the countries in which they operate. Discuss the extent to which
these SDGs were addressed, explicitly or implicitly, in the CSR/Sustainability reports of your
companies?......................................................................................................................................4
Q4. Based on your analyses of your companies’ sustainability/CSR reporting, identify in which
Sustainability Phase/s (Dunphy, Griffiths & Benn) each of your companies sit. Explain your
reasons for these assessments..........................................................................................................4
Q5. Discuss the extent to which the social reports provided by these companies reflect their
stated values.....................................................................................................................................5
Q6. Briefly reflect on your group’s discussions of these companies. In what ways did the ideas
presented by your group confirm your own conclusions, influence your thinking and/or present
another perspective to you?.............................................................................................................6
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................7
References........................................................................................................................................8
1

Introduction
Ethics have become one of the vital components of a functioning business organization. The
application of chosen values and principles in a business environment can be referred to as
business ethics (Trevino & Nelson, 2016). Business ethics define an organization’s activities and
preferences in relation to the primary goals and objectives. One of the most crucial business
ethics is environmental and social reform. It is the ethical responsibility of all major business
organizations to contribute towards the reformation of environment and society that they
function in (Chell, Spence, Perrini & Harris, 2016). This paper takes up two large-scale
companies-- Tata and Mercedes Benz, in order to compare their sustainability efforts and analyze
the particular differences. A thorough analysis of the two Company’s sustainability efforts would
help in identifying the perceived value in the process.
Q1. Identify and describe the two companies you have researched; their core
business activities and the countries and/or industries in which they operate.
Tata Motors and Mercedes Benz are one of the leading automobile companies in the modern
world of India and Germany respectively. They have made significant progress since their
establishment and have become truly successful and showed sustainability in their business
agendas and organizational goals (Dhillon, 2017). Tata Motors is a very popular brand in India
known for it’s pioneering in motor crafting and manufacturing and providing means of various
kinds of transport/construction/welfare services and equipments or vehicles to people. Keeping
business goals on one hand, Tata Motors has always shown improvements in their Corporate
Social Responsibility (CSR) reports every year successfully. Their main CSR efforts are
completely focused on improving and developing the area neighboring their business operations
by improving the quality of life of the underprivileged communities living there (Kulkarni,
2015). They aim to assist these communities through improving health, providing education,
accelerating employability and making the environment more sustainable (Peters, 2016). Their
sincere and honest efforts have impacted nearly 6, 44, 00 lives in India and have helped them
achieve many CSR and Sustainability Awards.
2

Mercedes Benz is a prestigious brand in Germany which has earned its name by manufacturing
top-class vehicles which can be bought by the public and some are even used in governmental
bodies where more secured vehicles are provided by the company for governmental officials and
VIPs (Ozdora‐Aksak & Atakan‐Duman, 2016). Their perseverance of delivering a safe,
comfortable and memorable drive has led them to discover and introduce the world’s first
Passenger Safety Body in 1959 and the revolutionary Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS) in 1978
and many other certificates and deliveries of excellence. Their CSR activities and agendas are
emphasized on the development of local communities where local issues are identified and dealt
with. The Company actively engages local people in many welfare projects and their inputs
being correctly valued and appraised. By providing education, developing infrastructural
facilities and providing safe drinking water, Mercedes Benz has always achieved and excelled in
their sustainability goals and organizational agendas.
Q2. What differences are evident between the two companies in terms of the
range of issues dealt with in their social reports and the depth of coverage on
specific issues?
Both the companies selected in this study have shown very similar aims and perspectives when it
comes their CSR and sustainability agendas. Tata Motors and Mercedes Benz have their own
unique ways of presenting their reports publicly (Blenkhorn & MacKenzie, 2017). Tata Motors
of Tata group is the largest automobile company in the industry and is known for its ethical
transparency when it comes to sustainability and development of business along with the
environment and the surrounding factors like the people residing near business operations. Tata
Motors has impacted and changed many underprivileged lives with huge welfare operations and
projects and have successfully build trust in most of their neighboring communities.
Tata motors have their distinct style in presenting their initiatives with names common people
can relate to whereas; Mercedes Benz has failed to present their initiatives by naming them and
absorbing them as their own strategies and initiatives. This simple approach to mark your
initiatives shows a huge difference in both the organization’s CSR goals and the efforts they take
practically in efficiently delivering their commitment. Transparency of CSR activities is a major
difference between these two companies. Tata Motors is comparatively more approachable with
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