Business Law Report: Role of CSR and Communication in Bluestone Lane Company

The report discusses the importance of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in Bluestone Lane Company. It explores various CSR theories, issues management, and the role of CSR in the company's operations. The report highlights the need for better CSR communication and recommends the implementation of transparent reporting. It emphasizes the significance of consistent CSR communication with stakeholders. However, it points out that the company lacks a proper CSR reporting system.

Running head: BUSINESS LAW
Business Law
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Table of Contents
Executive Summary............................................................................................................... 2
Introduction............................................................................................................................ 3
Theories on the integration of CSR with Issues Management................................................3
Role of CSR issue management pertaining to bluestone Lane Company..............................5
Consistency of CSR communication......................................................................................6
Evaluation of Bluestone Lane Company’s CSR communication and certain recommendation
............................................................................................................................................... 7
Conclusion............................................................................................................................. 8
References............................................................................................................................. 9

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Executive Summary
Corporate social responsibility is a significant organisational operation of all kinds of
business. It is a theory, which instigates the company to contribute for social cause that is for
sustainability and social welfare. Various internal and external issues become an obstacle in
the way of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities. Better CSR activities needs to
be introduced and implemented for efficient corporate governance in an organisation. To
contribute more to the society, companies should think about forming a transparent and
more efficient communication system in their businesses to invest in a larger market and to
form a better business reputation and brand image. In this report, the corporate social
activities of Bluestone Lane Company of Australia and its various issues of Corporate
Governance including its issues of internal management and communication has been
discussed in context to the necessity of Corporate Social Responsibility and its reporting.

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Introduction
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) refers to a business model, which is self-
regulatory and it makes an organisation socially accountable to the company itself, to the
society and to the stakeholders (Schwartz, 2017). CSR strives to develop the community
and improve the poor quality of life that many people experiences in the society. This paper
will discuss the various activities, theories and management issues of CSR of Bluestone
Lane Company of Australia. Bluestone Lane Company is a famous chain of coffee shop,
which has spread its wings in California and New York, USA. This company has earned the
reputation of providing coffee and food of first class quality and service. This study will
discuss about the corporate social responsibility of Bluestone Lane Company and the
general necessity of the communication of CSR to its stakeholders for forming a better
business reputation and brand image.
Theories on the integration of CSR with Issues Management
Corporate Social Responsibility theories like Stakeholder Theory, Shareholder Value
Theory and Business Ethics Theory discuss about different aspects of CSR which are
applied to better corporate governance in context to CSR. According to the Stakeholder
Theory, stakeholders are significant entities for their interest in the corporation out of utmost
importance and are addressed by responsible and important practices of the corporation
(Cooper, 2017). The Business Ethics Theory is based upon a wider scope of social
obligation of the corporation and includes the ethical duty that a corporation must carry out
towards the society (Spence, 2016). This theory includes three topics, which are Social
Justice, Human Rights and fairness, and emerging and evolving social expectation,
responsibility and responsiveness for specific social issues. This theory strives to incorporate
ethical values for contributing for social well being. In addition, the Shareholders Value
Theory under CSR is based on generating data values for the shareholders to follow for
contributing to the community development. Therefore, it can be assumed from this theory
that generation and maximization of profit is the significant purpose of this theory which
tribes to generate values for the shareholders (Mishra & Modi, 2016).
Issue management is the process, which identifies and dissolves various issues that
crops up inside as well as outside the Corporation. Therefore, it can be deduced that issue
management is associated with the interest of the stakeholders of a corporation by
establishing the way to create highest value and profit for the organisation. The most
significant steps issue management comprises of the identification and analysis of the issues
which leads to undertaking strategic decisions and actions and lastly the evaluation of the
outcome (Laamanen et al., 2018). The Issue Life Cycle Model is applied issue management.

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Any situation in a corporation can be marked as an issue from one perspective to another
under the following four perspectives: a) from the corporation’s perspective, b) policy
maker's perspective, c) from the perspective of the pressure groups, and d) perspective of
the issue networks (Ansoff et al., 2019). Therefore it can be analysed that the perspective of
these actors who are sometimes the stakeholders in majority of the issues of a corporation,
affects the operation as well as reputation of the company.
Corporation may face challenges regarding issue management in context to CSR
activities as well. Issue management of a corporation may include problems like corporate
credibility, skepticism and blame. Zhang and Borden (2017) explored the Balance Theory in
context to issue management and CSR activities of companies. This clearly shows that CSR
programs and issue management helps to decrease skepticism when stakeholders have
developmental issues along with issues with positive attitude. Skepticism is the mediator
between CSR issues and corporate credibility. In this context, the Balance Theory states that
individuals seek for a balance towards different aspects of a corporation and strives to pacify
the imbalance attitude that results from psychological tensions of individuals (Rawlings &
Friedkin, 2017). Therefore, it can be assumed that Balance Theory helps to understand the
perspective of the stakeholders in relation to CSR issues and issue management and it can
be confirmed that the Balance Theory can be amalgamated with the Stakeholder Theory of
CSR.
Role of corporate Social responsibility in context to Bluestone Lane Company
Bluestone Lane Company is one of the major coffee chain companies, which strive to
offer the best quality coffee to its customers. The company seeks to change the perspective
of the coffee drinkers by making it relevant and important other than showcasing the need
and importance of caffeine (bluestonelane.com, 2019). The company provides the highest
quality of artisanal coffee along with the best possible service to its customers by serving
coffee along with healthy food items. Along with focusing on profit maximization, the
company has been involved with various types of CSR activities that aim to shape the well-
being of the society and also helps the local coffee growers as well as overseas producers.
The company promotes and encourages social sustainability pertaining to its
products and the supply chain. Rainforest Alliance CertifiedTM seal is used by the company,
which is among the best certified products that comes from forests that follow sustainable
practices (bluestonelane.com, 2019). The company followed rigorous environmental, social
and economic standards to achieve the Rainforest Alliance CertifiedTM seal. Bluestone Lane
Company has been successful in promoting sustainability by acquiring the certified seal from
the Rainforest Alliance. Bluestone Lane plans to expand its business and open 60 more

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stores by investing 19.5 million dollars (Brown, 2018). It has been a successful venture in the
USA by offering Australian style of hospitality for serving coffee. It has not only formed
services for its countrymen but also generated employment for the people in New York,
Washington DC, California, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and many more by paying wages that
is up to the industry standard and this results to a better standard of living for the employees.
The company is planning another expansion in Boston, Texas, Austin along with capturing
the UK, Canadian and Asian market which could contribute in the sustainability and
economic development in those countries too. The company has opted for collaboration with
Foreseeable Future Foundation for boosting their CSR initiatives (Prnewswire.com, 2019).
This Foundation provides library access to all in the society and also helps visually impaired
people to enjoy their lives by way of recreational and sports activities. All such CSR activities
and contribution to the community has helped the company to create their brand reputation
and awareness. This has benefited the stakeholders, which comprises the investors,
employees, consumer, supplier, the present Government and the environment as a whole.
However, it can be seen that there are certain lacuna in terms of communication process
pertaining to CSR initiatives.
Role of CSR issue management pertaining to bluestone Lane Company
Corporate Social Responsibility issue management is a significant aspect of
Bluestone Lane Company and they are involved in to CSR initiatives that work through
donation. However, as mentioned about there is a lacuna in communication regarding the
programs and initiatives which creates the issues pertaining to CSR for Bluestone Lane
Company. There are legal issues that include HR problems, procurement issues and
community affairs with government that needs to be managed by implementing better
policies for handling CSR (Lim & Greenwood, 2017). In addition it is held that the company
must enhance its contribution pertaining to collaborations with the NGOs in terms of social
welfare. In addition, there is another significant issue that the company encounters is
regarding the reporting and communication of CSR initiatives. There is no proper CSR
reporting system of this company. The company needs to have CSR reports for showcasing
its initiative to the stakeholders for transparency is of utmost importance when it is
expanding its business. This would aid in the enhancement of the reputation of the company
as well.
The company can make use of the media for spreading its CSR programs and
initiatives to the stakeholders. For the internal stakeholders that is the board of directors and
the employee, newsletters and emails can be used for communicating regarding the CSR
programs. An annual CSR report should also be produced containing the programs
initiatives and the probable outcomes along with the cost of investment and returns should

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be mentioned for better communications of the CSR initiatives. Such report should be
published by the help of press release so that the stakeholders can get hold of the
company's plans of CSR initiatives.
As mentioned by Fournier & Srinivasan (2018), CSR issues and risk has the
capability of affecting the reputation and brand image of the operation if they are not
managed effectively. Proper use of technology for identifying analysing and resolving issues
pertaining to CSR issue management is important. In addition employee related issues can
also challenge CSR, which can affect the production and brand image.
Consistency of CSR communication
CSR programs and initiative should be consistently communicated with the
stakeholders. It should be communicated by way of different forms of messages like emails,
advertisements, newsletters and other forms and its purpose should be to reach out to the
target audience and stakeholders (Mazzei & Ravazzani, 2015). Different types of messages
are required for different stakeholders. Therefore, the company is required to design and
implement different forms of communication method. There are corporate communications
consistencies that Bluestone Lane need to maintain for communicating with its target
audiences like:
a) The company’s logo is same for all its stores in different locations all around the
globe that represents the company and helps to form a brand image consistently.
b) From the perspective of the stakeholders bluestone lane focuses on customer
satisfaction through its services and offers one of the best coffee experiences
globally by providing artisanal coffee and healthy snacks. This reflects the
Australian coffee culture which is rich and overwhelming for global audience for it
superior ambience, pricing, packaging and delivery service. This refers to a good
reputation and brand image for the company, which helps it to grow
internationally as well as locally.
c) Along with establishing a good brand image the company tries to communicate
with stakeholder through newsletters advertisements, notices, and meetings with
its external as well as internal stakeholders. For example, the company had
notified its employee by putting up Employee Health Fund on its website for
providing health benefits to the employees (bluestonelane.com, 2019).
All these means of communication mark as a consistent effort of the company to
communicate with its stakeholders.
However, one of the major drawbacks is that Bluestone Lane Company does not
publish any CSR report for its stakeholders to get hold of the CSR programs and initiatives,

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which is a severe communication gap. Although, the company makes donation to two
charitable institutions and emphasizes to implement introduction of sustainable products and
supply chain; however, few know about such social welfare initiative of the company as the
CSR programs are not promoted to the target audience. Although, there are communications
with internal stakeholders; however, there are no published documents for the external
stakeholders as well as for the public in general. Therefore, for the growth of the company in
terms of CSR by means of publishing proper newsletters for ensuring a consistent
communication pertaining to CSR must be formulated and implemented for the target
audience (Doorley & Garcia, 2015). Although the company's website discusses the various
mission and promotion regarding its products and future expansion however there is no
information in context to its CSR programs and initiatives for welfare practices pertaining to
sustainability. Therefore it is of utmost important for Bluestone Lane Company to produce an
annual CSR report by way of press release and media publication so that there are no gaps
pertaining to consistent communication for showcasing its CSR initiative, which actually
helps the society as well as it boosts its own brand image.
Evaluation of Bluestone Lane Company’s CSR communication and certain
recommendation
The Bluestone Lane Company being one of the best coffee chains international
strives to tell about the best coffee culture and experience to customers locally as well as
internationally. The company has tried its best to retain its Australian culture and heritage
even though it has spread its wings into the foreign markets through its ambience, service
style, product variety, décor and the varieties of product that is offered to its customers. They
bring out the coffee culture of the country by showcasing that coffee is more than just
caffeine; it is an experience. The company’s official website contains all the necessary
information about it services and products including its reservation facilities, forthcoming
events, career options, vacancies and various other information about its cafes and coffee
shops. The website also gives information about private events, purchase information for
wholesale coffee and loyalty rewards for its customers. Like all other websites, it lays down
its privacy policies, terms of use, terms of sale, facility to locate cafes and policies regarding
its web accessibility along with return policies of products. It is clear that the company tries to
establish a connection with its customers and external stakeholders. The company also
offers several benefits like my health benefit fund for its employees which is a part of its CSR
program. Although, it has several communication gaps regarding its CSR initiatives, it has
been featured in several newspapers and magazines all over Australia and USA which finds
its mention in the official website of the company (bluestonelane.com, 2019). The company
uses it's on social media accounts like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to connect with

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stakeholders and target audience, which somewhat helps it to connect to its customers and
popularise itself. The company sends regular newsletters and events pertaining to its newly
launched products and events to its customers who are subscribed to the company’s
website.
In spite such efforts the company lacks good communication pertaining to it business
performances and CSR activities. Therefore the following recommendation to establish good
communication is suggested to the company:
1) The company publishes annual sports pertaining to its mission, objectives, annual
performances, expansion plans as well as its CSR programs and initiatives. Such
efforts establish a link between the company and its stakeholders as well as its target
audience. Consistent corporate communication with the external and internal
stakeholders and target audience is also important through various modes of
communication like, advertisement, email, newsletters, social media consciousness
and website improvement.
2) The company must ensure better marketing and promotion through social media,
radio television, YouTube, newspaper, Billboard and magazines. This would boost
the company’s reach to a wider and international audience and would establish brand
awareness.
Conclusion
Therefore to sum up, Bluestone Lane Company requires a better CSR policy and
designed program along with a solid issue management and consistent communication for
its stakeholders. It would help the company to create a better brand events and reputation.
Inefficient framing of programs can cost the company several internal and external issues
pertaining to its stakeholders. This can be handled through effective, consistent and
transparent communication with its internal and external stakeholders. The company should
have a plan to identify analysed and resolve its issues better. In addition the company
should focus on improving its communication system by maintaining consistency and
transparency. The company should focus to publish an annual business and CSR report so
that the stakeholders get an insight of the company’s aims and objectives along with its
annual performance. Although the company is working hard to spread its wings by various
social welfare activities; however, it did not get highlighted for failures of communication
gaps. This will be resolved if the company follows the above mentioned recommendation.

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References
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bluestonelane.com. (2019). About Us | Bluestone Lane. Retrieved from
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Brown, N. (2019). Bluestone Lane Plans to Grow to 60 Stores with $19.5 Million Minority
Investment. Retrieved from https://dailycoffeenews.com/2018/07/11/bluestone-lane-
plans-to-grow-to-60-stores-with-19-5-million-minority-investment/
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Doorley, J., & Garcia, H. F. (2015). Reputation management: The key to successful public
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Prnewswire.com. (2019). Bluestone Lane Secures Growth Capital from RSE Ventures.
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Rainforest Alliance. (2019). Bluestone Lane. Retrieved from https://www.rainforest-
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Spence, L. J. (2016). Small business social responsibility: Expanding core CSR
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