ASDA's CSR and Organic Product Sales

This assignment examines ASDA's Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategy and its impact on the sale of organic products. The student analyzes how ASDA's CSR efforts contribute to achieving sustainable objectives, drawing upon research methodology, data analysis techniques, and insights from relevant literature. The assignment highlights the relationship between ASDA's CSR initiatives, particularly those concerning organic products, and the company's overall commitment to sustainability.

UNIT 6
MANAGING
SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
PART 1............................................................................................................................................1
P1. Aim and objectives of research.............................................................................................1
P2. Project management plan......................................................................................................3
P3. Work breakdown structure and Gantt chart..........................................................................4
PART 2............................................................................................................................................6
P4. Research methodology..........................................................................................................6
PART 3............................................................................................................................................9
P5. Data analysis using appropriate tools and techniques...........................................................9
P6. Appropriate recommendations............................................................................................16
P7. Reflection on the value of undertaking research to meet stated objectives .......................17
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................18

INTRODUCTION
In the present scenario, there is growing recognition of the significant effect that business
activities are having on its stakeholders. Now-a-days, it is clear to the firms that they can
contribute effectually in society’s wealth as well as in its own by giving due emphasis on the
effect that they are having on the world at large at the time of making business decisions. In
modern business practices, now a trend is there in the market where firms have to adopt
responsible competitiveness or can be said as corporate sustainability to survive in the long run .
Thus, to perform corporate social responsibilities (CSR) are high imperative for organizations in
order to fulfill the needs, concerns and expectations that stakeholders have with the firm
(Hombert and et.al., 2014). The current report emphasizes upon investigating the sustainability
objective of ASDA in implementing their CSR initiatives. Henceforth, an initiative of ASDA
will be undertaken to carry forward the study with keeping in mind the formulated CSR
objectives.
PART 1
P1. Aim and objectives of research
→ Topic : Investigating ASDA's sustainability objectives in entertaining the CSR initiative
within UK.
Background of the research
With the changing scenario and increasing competition in the retail sector of United
Kingdom, it has become necessary for firms to adopt and implement CSR activities in such a
way that sustainable objectives of business and competitive advantages will be attained. Major
competitors of ASDA in the market where it is operating are like Tesco, Sainsbury, Waitrose,
Morrison, etc. that are effectually performing their CSR activities and thus, able to grab the
attention of large customer base as well as they are successful in keeping all their other
stakeholders (Cha, Yi and Bagozzi, 2016). So, it can be said that if ASDA wants to beat the
competition, it is essential for the firm to attain sustainable objectives which can only be
achieved through performing appropriate CSR activities. Henceforth, the current study lays
emphasis upon analysing the sustainability objectives with respect to ASDA. Every organization
aims to sustain the development which it had been observing since long. Adding more to this,
ASDA has been emphasizing upon its CSR initiative of providing healthy products to its
consumers which are organic in nature to positively impact their health. So, the present study
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would be conducted upon analysing the sustainability objective regarding ASDA, in
implementing its CSR initiative of providing healthy organic products to its consumers.
Aim :-
“To investigate the sustainability objective of ASDA : A case study on undertaken CSR
initiative of providing healthy organic products.”
Objectives :-
 To analyse the sustainability objective of ASDA
 To determine the importance of CSR initiative undertaken by ASDA in meeting the
sustainability objective
 To analyse the link between sustainable objective and CSR initiatives To recommend ways in which sustainable objective could be achieved by aid of CSR
initiative
Research Questions :-
 What is the significance of ASDA's sustainable objective ?
 What is the importance of CSR initiative undertaken by ASDA in meeting the
sustainability objective ?
 What is the existing link between sustainable objective and CSR initiative ?
 What are the ways in which sustainable objective could be achieved by aid of CSR
initiative ?
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P2. Project management plan
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P3. Work breakdown structure and Gantt chart
In order to perform the business activities of organisation, breakdown of structure is
highly significant as it helps the researcher in framing a particular structure with the help of
which planning about carrying out of research activities can be done effectively. As ASDA is a
retail firm, there are many activities to be conducted while performing research. Breakdown of
activities plays a crucial role in helping the organization in a way that it can effectively allocate
the tasks among employees depending on their area of interest as well as by emphasizing on their
field of expertise. With the help of this, organization gains a lot of assistance and ultimately,
gains the perfect work done. Apart from that, breakdown will help ASDA in allocating the time
to each activity within which it has to be completed. This will prove to be highly effectual for the
organization to manage work in a systematic and proper manner. In addition to this, organization
gains a lot of help in making proper plan through which all tasks can be performed in a managed
way.
Work breakdown structure
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Gantt chart
Gantt chart is a sequence of horizontal lines that shows the particular duration of time in
which specific tasks and amount of work will be accomplished in the research. It represents the
schedule of activities to be conducted while performing study along with their specific duration
to be completed. In Gantt chart, both; the beginning and end dates are specified for each activity
to be performed in order to reach at the final conclusion. It is a graphical illustration of the
schedule on the basis of which researcher plans, coordinates and tracks the specific activities for
completing study in an accurate manner.
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PART 2
P4. Research methodology
It can be referred as the process by which information is collected through different
suitable methods on the basis of which business decisions are taken. Along with that, after
gathering data for the purpose of research, the techniques for analyzing it is used. However, all
methods as well as tools and techniques used by the researcher are based on the nature of study.
Therefore, depending on the same, final, accurate and relevant conclusion is made along with
giving suitable recommendations for the business organisation . So, for implementing CSR
activities within ASDA for meeting sustainable objectives, research methods used are like: Research design – It is a framework of study in which the entire research work is carried
out. Descriptive research design will be used in the research as study requires in-depth
information about the topic (Kumar, 2014). The subject of research is completely
theoretical and thus, this research design will prove to be helpful in depicting the
participants in an accurate manner . Under this method, all people who take part in the
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study are described and on the basis of their response, results are formulated by the
researcher. Research approach – To investigate ASDA's sustainability objective regarding its CSR
initiative of providing healthy organic products to its consumers, interpretivism research
approach will be used. It will help in interpreting the elements of study and therefore, it
can be said that interpretivism research approach integrates with the human interest
within study (Mackey and Gass, 2015). As per this, researcher will assume that reality
can be accessed only through social constructions like instruments, shared meanings,
awareness as well as the language. Research philosophy – It is one of important parts of research methodology which states
about the collection of data in an effectual manner. It is based on the set of shared
assumptions along with various concepts, values and practices used by the scholar
(Taylor, Bogdan and DeVault, 2015). Here, for the present study, in order for
investigating ASDA's sustainability objective regarding its CSR initiative of providing
healthy organic products to its consumers, inductive research philosophy will be used
where scholar would collect the data first and make specific observations related to
ASDA which at the end of the study will come to broader generalizations and theories
that can be applicable to other firms of different industries as well. Data collection – In the present study, information based on topic will be collected from
primary and secondary sources both as they both are necessary to make accurate and
relevant conclusion. Under primary data collection method, interviews will be done with
using the tool of questionnaire consisting of both open and close ended questions
(Glesne, 2015). However, on the other hand, collection of secondary information will
include journals, online material, books as well as published material that will help in
making researcher understands about the topic. Sampling – To investigate ASDA's sustainability objective regarding its CSR initiative
of providing healthy organic products to its consumers, research universe will be
customers of the organisation in UK where sample size will be 20. These would be
selected through using simple random technique in which probability of each person to
get selected is equal (Flick, 2015).
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 Data analysis – As the topic is completely theoretical and does not require any
numerical calculation, qualitative method of data analysis will be used for the present
study. Under the same, collected information from primary and secondary sources will
be analysed with the help of tool, that is, thematic analysis in which different themes
based on analyzing the CSR initiative of ASDA to meet sustainable objective, will be
prepared. On the basis of justification of these themes, final conclusion will be made by
the researcher (Vaioleti, 2016). Validity and reliability – In order to assess that whether the study made is valid or not,
credibility and believability of research are evaluated. It makes the readers ensure that
information which gathered by the scholar is true to his knowledge as he collected the
same from authentic sources. On the contrary, reliability of research means if scholar or
any other author will again perform the study on same topic, then he/she will get the
same results. It means that study has been conducted in a fair and appropriate manner .
Validity and reliability of information used in a study have a strong relationship in
between them as it can be said that reliability of information is obvious if it is valid
(Panneerselvam, 2014.). But, reliable information will also be valid, it is not essential. In
the present study, as the data will be used from authentic sources only, results will be
valid as well as reliable. Ethical considerations – While making interviews on the selected sample of ASDA,
conducting it in a fair and ethical manner is highly essential. It can be understood as
before interviewing the respondents in selected sample, this is important to make them
inform about the purpose of study and reason why they are being interviewed (What
might be the ethical issues and risks that arise in my research?, 2017). They must be
given with the surety that information provided by them will not be disclosed to any
other third party and would be used for the purpose of research only, that is, to
investigate ASDA's sustainability objective regarding its CSR initiative of providing
healthy organic products to its consumers.
 Limitations to the research – Major limitations which researcher may have to face while
performing research is with respect to money, time and information. It is because;
many-a-times, shortage of all these threes resources, that is, time, money and
information occurs because of which researcher becomes unable to perform his study in
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an effectual manner as well as meeting deadline of the completion also becomes
difficult for him . As the nature of present study is qualitative, researcher may face the
major issue of lack of time as there is plenty of data available and gathering every
information present is not possible as later it is to be analyzed and interpreted on the
basis of which final results will be gained. Due to time shortage, including every data
available is not possible for the researcher and thus, he may have to leave some of the
information that might be important (Methodologies, 2017). Apart from this, there are
some websites, accessing of which is only possible when a particular amount to will be
paid and if there will be lack of funds with the scholar, then information available on it
will have to be left out.
PART 3
P5. Data analysis using appropriate tools and techniques
For the present study, a questionnaire with open and close ended questions based on
investigating sustainable objective of ASDA in entertaining its CSR initiative of providing
healthy organic products to its consumers, has been prepared by the research so that purpose of
the study can be fulfilled. On the basis of this questionnaire, final results in the form of
conclusion will be gained on the basis of which suitable and appropriate recommendations would
be made. The sample size undertaken for the questionnaire is 20 customers of ASDA to meet the
aim and objectives of current research.
Questionnaire
Name : ___________
Age : _________
Gender : ___________
1. Is attaining sustainable objective important for organization ?
 Yes
 No
2. Are any initiatives undertaken by ASDA regarding CSR implementation ?
 Yes
 No
 Not sure
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3. How is their current initiative of providing organic products affected you ?
 Healthy habits are attained
 Less prone to any disease
 Not affected
4. Do you agree that offering organic products will assist in meeting their sustainable
objectives?
 Agree
 Strongly agree
 Disagree
 Strongly disagree
5. What impact will attaining the sustainable objective have upon ASDA by its undertaken CSR
initiative ?
 Increase in customer value
 Increase in brand image
 Expansion of business
 No impact
6. Is there any other initiative that assists ASDA in meeting sustainable objective ?
 No compromising regarding quality
 33% reduction in energy consumption
 Cutting down of carbon
 No initiatives
Theme 1 : Importance of sustainable objectives for organizations
Criteria Responses
Yes 18
No 2
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18
2
Yes
No
Interpretation : From the above questionnaire, it was found out that majority of 18
respondents stated sustainable objectives are of utter importance for organizations. The
remaining 2 customers stated that sustainable objective are of no importance for organizations.
From this it can overall be said that organization should emphasize upon implementing certain
set of activities that would assist them in attaining sustainable objective.
Theme 2 : Any initiatives undertaken by ASDA regarding CSR implementation
Criteria Responses
Yes 15
No 1
Not sure 4
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15
1
4
Yes
No
Not sure
Interpretation : From the above questionnaire it was found out that majority of 15
respondents stated ASDA consistently undertakes CSR initiatives. 1 respondent stated that no
such initiatives are undertaken by ASDA. However, 4 of the remaining respondents were not
sure about CSR implementation by ASDA. So, overall it could be said that ASDA has been quite
effective enough in implementing CSR initiatives for attaining sustainable objective. This is
quite a plus point for the enhancement of their organizational performance as well.
Theme 3 : Effect of CSR initiative undertaken by ASDA to provide organic product
Criteria Responses
Healthy habits are attained 8
Less prone to any disease 9
Not affected 3
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8
9
3
Healthy habits are attained
Less prone to any disease
Not affected
Interpretation : From the above questionnaire, it was found out that, majority of 9
respondents stated ASDA's CSR initiative of providing organic products makes them less prone
to diseases. The remaining 8 respondents stated that organic products offered by them assists
them to attain healthy habits. However, remaining 3 respondents stated that they are not as such
affected by this undertaken initiative. So, overall it could be stated that the initiative of Corporate
Social Responsibility regarding providing of organic products has proven to be quite beneficial
for the organization. So, authorities should emphasise upon implementing more such initiatives.
Theme 4 : Offering healthy organic product assistance in meeting sustainable objectives
Criteria Responses
Agree 3
Strongly agree 15
Disagree 1
Strongly disagree 1
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3
15
1
1
Agree
Strongly agree
Disagree
Strongly disagree
Interpretation : From the questionnaire above, it was found out that, majority of 15
respondents strongly agreed CSR initiative of providing organic products has greatly assisted
ASDA in attainment of sustainable objectives. The remaining 3 agreed about the same. Among
the last remaining 2, 1 disagreed and other one strongly-disagreed about the same. So, overall it
could be said that authorities of ASDA should make this initiative more advanced by expanding
them in other parts of UK as well. They should further implement more of these strategies so as
to contribute in attaining sustainable objective.
Theme 5 : Impact of attaining the sustainable objective have upon ASDA by its undertaken
CSR initiative
Criteria Responses
Increase in customer value 6
Increase in brand image 4
Expansion of business 8
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No impact 2
6
4
8
2
Increase in customer value
Increase in brand image
Expansion of business
No impact
Interpretation : From the above questionnaire, it was found out that majority of 8
respondents stated attaining sustainable-objective by CSR initiative assists ASDA in expanding
their business more. Other 6 stated that this helps in increasing the customer values. The
remaining 4 stated that brand image is enhanced by its aid. Other 2 stated that no impact was
experienced as such. So, overall it could be said that, attaining sustainable objective greatly
assists in enhancement of the organization. So, authorities need to take more of such initiatives in
consideration for further enhancement of ASDA.
Theme 6 : Initiative that assists ASDA in meeting sustainable objective
Criteria Responses
No compromising regarding quality 6
33% reduction in energy consumption 6
Cutting down of carbon 6
No initiatives 2
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6
6
6
2
No compromising regarding
quality
33% reduction in energy
consumption
Cutting down of carbon
No initiatives
Interpretation : From the above questionnaire it was found out that, 6 of respondents
stated initiative of not compromising against quality assists ASDA in meeting sustainable
objective as well. Another 6 respondents stated that, 33% reduction in energy consumption
assisted them in attaining sustainable objective as well. Other 6 stated that, cutting down of
carbon has also assisted ASDA in attaining of sustainable objectives. However, there were 2
respondents who stated no such initiatives were there. So, overall it could be said that ASDA has
been consistently making efforts in attaining sustainable objectives since long. Besides providing
organic foods which has been the most successful one, others have assisted as well.
P6. Appropriate recommendations
From the obtained outcomes it can overall be said that in order for attainment of
sustainable objective organizations need to take implement certain set of CSR initiative. These
initiatives should be formulated keeping in mind all the members of organization and also ways
in which market position of ASDA could be raised. Adding more to this, the CSR initiative
undertaken by ASDA in terms of providing organic products to its customers, has proven to be
quite effective enough in helping them to attain sustainable objective. Also, authorities should
emphasise more upon such CSR initiatives so as to attain sustainable objective. Furthermore,
seeing the current competition in market, it id of utter importance that ASDA gives importance
to methods of attaining sustainable objective to lead the competition.
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P7. Reflection on the value of undertaking research to meet stated objectives
From the above report, I have gained in-depth knowledge in relation with CSR activities
that are being conducted by ASDA as well as which it has to perform in the future to remain in
the competition. I even got the idea about the ways in which CSR initiatives assists in attainment
of sustainable objective. With the help of this survey, I came to know that firms performing
CSR activities at a large scale and in an appropriate manner, government is also supporting them
to run their business in a successful manner. On the other hand, another great experience which I
have from this research is from the questionnaire from selected respondents, that is, the
customers of ASDA in UK market. It is because; I never conducted any survey before. Further,
in order to analyse data and make graphs helped me in having knowledge about the software that
are being used for attaining the best results. Apart from that, my time management skills got
improved by which I completed my study within stipulated time period. Further, through this
study, I came to know about the attaining of sustainable objective of ASDA is aided majorly by
its CSR initiative of providing organic products to its consumers.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Cha, M. K., Yi, Y. and Bagozzi, R. P., 2016. Effects of customer participation in corporate
social responsibility (CSR) programs on the CSR-brand fit and brand loyalty. Cornell
Hospitality Quarterly. 57(3). pp.235-249.
Flick, U., 2015. Introducing research methodology: A beginner's guide to doing a research
project. Sage.
Glesne, C., 2015. Becoming qualitative researchers: An introduction. Pearson.
Hombert, J. and et.al., 2014. Using the firm-level corporate social responsibility (CSR) ratings of
Kinder, Lydenberg, Domini, we find that firms score higher on CSR when they have
Democratic rather than Republican founders, CEOs, and directors, and when they are
headquartered in Democratic rather than Republican-leaning states. Democratic-leaning
firms spend $20 million more on CSR than Republican-leaning firms ($80 million
more... Journal of Financial Economics. 111(1). pp.158-180.
Kumar, R., 2014. Research methodology: A step-by-step guide for beginners. Sage.
Mackey, A. and Gass, S. M., 2015. Second language research: Methodology and design.
Routledge.
Panneerselvam, R., 2014. Research methodology. PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd.
Taylor, S. J., Bogdan, R. and DeVault, M., 2015. Introduction to qualitative research methods:
A guidebook and resource. John Wiley & Sons.
Vaioleti, T. M., 2016. Talanoa research methodology: A developing position on Pacific
research. Waikato Journal of Education. 12(1).
Online
Methodologies, 2017. [Online]. Available through :
<http://www.socscidiss.bham.ac.uk/methodologies.html>. [Accessed On : 1st July 2017].
What might be the ethical issues and risks that arise in my research?, 2017. [Online]. Available
through : <http://www2.gre.ac.uk/research/ethics/what-might-be-the-ethical-issues-and-
risks-that-arise-in-my-research>. [Accessed On : 1st July 2017].
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