logo

Corporate Social Responsibility Theories and Sustainability : Essay

   

Added on  2020-05-28

6 Pages1933 Words184 Views
ESSAY: CSRAs per Schermerhorn, CSR can be defined as the obligation for the companies to serve thesociety at its best. Corporate social responsibility is topic that has been researched intensivelybecause of its popularity amongst the organisations these days. It is the concept that hasdeveloped gradually from the theory to the actual management practices in the organisations. Itis involved in the management practices in order to enhance the image of the company. This isthe essay that argues about the various corporate social responsibility theories and their relationwith the concept of sustainability (Lindgreen & Swaen, 2010). Understanding the concept ofsustainability in CSR practices is also very important because it is one of the major reasons forimplementing CSR activities. Some of the theories that have been discussed in this essay aretriple bottom line theory and the theory of stakeholder’s. The company that has been used tostudy the practices of CSR is IKEA which deals with home appliances and is considered as oneof the major companies that follow the CSR policies. Corporate social responsibility has many forms. Any practice that the company conducts in orderto serve the society falls under the corporate social responsibility. It develops the situation wherenot only the society gets the benefits but the company also get benefited in terms of enhancedbrand image. The major aim of the businesses is to earn revenue and also to serve the society atthe same time. This requires the company to engage in the practices that helps the society todevelop in return of the earnings they get from the society. Sustainability is one of the majoraspects of corporate social responsibility because being sustainable in its practices also helps thecompany to contribute for the society’s good (Tai & Chuang, 2014). Sustainability is consideredas the need of hour and thus it is required by the companies to engage in the practices that aresustainable by making their processes sustainable in nature. It is the term that basically means thepractices that benefits the present generation but could not harm the environment for the sake ofthe future generation. There are three major theories of corporate social responsibility such ascorporate social responsibility theory, stakeholder’s theory and triple bottom line theory. As theconcept of sustainability is considered, triple bottom line and stakeholder’s approach consideredsustainability and CSR as the integrated concept (Crowther, 2008).As per triple bottom line

theory, the leaders of the organisation not tabulate the results only in terms of economy but theyalso consider the aspects of social realm and environment. According to this theory economicsustainability is the sustainability that deals with long term profitability of the business ratherthan short term benefits. Social sustainability deals with the practices by the organisations thatdoes not harm the sentiments of any of the community of the society and the last one theenvironmental sustainability that deals with practicing the activities that least harm the resourceavailable in the environmental and making the process sustainable. All these there notion oftriple bottom line approach deals drives the business to conduct the activities that supports thesociety’s benefits instead of becoming a money machine. Another theory is stakeholder’sapproach. As per this approach, there are many stakeholders of the company and thus they havedifferent expectations from the company (Przychodzeń & Przychodzeń, 2014). Considering theexpectations and requirements of all the stakeholders and making the policies in order to fulfilthe same is the responsibility of the company. This makes the company a responsible corporate.Some of the major stakeholders of the company are shareholders, employees, customers,suppliers and communities. All these have different needs and companies have to fulfil the same.Shareholders want that the company should earn higher profits every time so that they get theirpart while the employees want to get the handsome salary and good working environment at thecompany (Crane & Matten, 2007). Customers may expect that the company should provide themthe quality products in affordable prices and communities wants the companies to invest forsome social causes. Most of the companies these days are collaborating with the NGO’s so thatthey can do charity out of some percentage of their profits. This is used as the marketing strategyby the companies to have a good brand name in the market. There are companies who areperforming their responsibilities very gracefully and supporting the society along with gettinghigh revenue benefits along with enhanced brand image (Dahlsrud, 2008). One of thosecompanies is IKEA. The below section clearly explains the practices of IKEA which makes itresponsible socially as well as sustainable in nature. This is the company that operates in the industry of how and furniture appliances. Its processesare very much sustainable in nature and one of its policies to deal with only the sustainablesupplier’s works into the benefits for the company. The company is very much known for itssustainable practices that make it socially responsible (Málovics, Csigéné & Kraus, 2008). Mostif the products that the company launch in the market use very less energy as compared to other

products that are in competition. The company also provides these products in comparatively lowprovide which makes the products affordable for all. Some of those products are LED lights,energy efficient products of home and kitchen. All these products are considered as environmentfriendly because they are using very less resources. As far as the process of the company isconsidered, it has been analysed that it makes very less usage of energy in the prices ofmanufacturing and using the stage of lean production that eliminates the unproductive activitiesin the process (Andersen & Skjoett-Larsen, 2009). The strategy of recycling and reusing alsohelps the firm to make effective use of the resources and the waste produced. One of the majorstrategies that the company follows is dealing with the sustainable suppliers. The company is notonly making its own processes sustainable but helping the suppliers to make their processsustainable in nature, and only dealing with the suppliers who have sustainable approach tomanufacture and work. This ultimately makes sustainable supply chain of the company. All the strategies that have been used by the company are benefitting each and everystakeholders of the company (Strand, 2009). Making the price low helps the customers to buy theproduction affordable pieces and at the same time giving large profits to the company because ofeconomies of scale. This fulfils the responsibilities of the company towards shareholders as it hasthe capability to provide great revenues and profits to the shareholders. As triple bottom lineapproach is considered, it has been analysed that the products of IKEA are socially,economically and environmentally sustainable and thus the company is following this approachin its practices (Benn & Bolton, 2011). IKEA is serving the society and earning their profits atthe same time. This is reasons why the company is well known in the market and has itscompetitive edge over other competitors in the market. The clear evidence of sustainability and corporate social responsibility has been given in this saywith the study of IKEA. Examining the practices of IKEA helped in understanding the conceptsof sustainability and CSR along with their integration (Montiel, 2008). The company shows thatsustainability is the very integral part of CSR practices and managing both the aspect collectivelycan help the firm to develop a situation where it can fulfil all its responsibilities along withearning high amount of profits. It has been analysed integration the CSR practices andsustainability develops a new ways for the companies to achieve success in terms of economy,society and environment.

End of preview

Want to access all the pages? Upload your documents or become a member.

Related Documents
Essay on Corporate Social Responsibility
|6
|2012
|47

Assignment on Management Theory & Practice
|9
|2099
|125

Assignment on Management Theory & Practices
|8
|2061
|99

Corporate Social Responsibility and its Impact on Profitability
|8
|2634
|33

Strategic Management for Competitive Advantage (Project C)
|7
|1809
|83

Thematic Issue On Corporate Social Responsibility
|14
|3545
|38