Managing a Successful Business Project: Implementing CSR for Sustainability and Competitive Advantage

This project explores the implementation of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policies within an organization, focusing on the resources required and challenges faced. It examines the benefits of CSR for business operations, assesses employee perceptions, and evaluates the success of CSR in terms of sustainability. The project utilizes both qualitative and quantitative research methods to analyze the impact of CSR on a UK-based publishing house, Bloomsbury, and its partnership with a Sri Lankan paper-producing company, Maximus. The research highlights the importance of CSR in enhancing sustainability and competitive advantage, demonstrating how Bloomsbury's CSR initiatives contribute to a positive social impact and brand value.

MANAGING A SUCCESSFULL BUSINESS PROJECT [MERIT]
1

Table of Contents
Introduction........................................................................................................................3
Part 1.................................................................................................................................5
P1. Devise clear aims and objectives............................................................................5
P2. Produce a project management plan incorporating: costs, scope, time, quality,
communication, risk and resources...............................................................................5
P4: Carry out small scale research by applying qualitative and quantitative research
methods appropriate for meeting project aims and objectives....................................12
Conclusion and recommendation....................................................................................21
Appendix:.........................................................................................................................22
Reference List..................................................................................................................27
Bibliography.....................................................................................................................28
2

Introduction
In the present environment, focusing on matters, which were earlier considered
unnecessary, has become a trend. The newest amongst these, CSR (Corporate Social
Responsibility), is becoming more and more important for different companies all
around the globe, irrespective of the industry or sector they operate in.
Figure 1: An excerpt from “The KPMG Survey of Corporate Responsibility
Reporting 2017”
(Source: C1cleantechnicacom-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com, 2018)
According to the survey mentioned above, the majority of the companies, which
participated in it, resorted to denying climate change as a financial risk. Such an attitude
is present throughout the world, if even larger assessments are to take into concern. To
make matters worse, the larger nations, or rather the more “developed nations”; play a
greater role in contributing towards these factors.
3

Figure 2: Overall Results CCPI (Climate Change Performance Index) 2018
(Source: Phys.org. 2018)
With aspects such as these, this report shall look into the various obstacles that are
faced by companies while trying to implement changes that might be considered
potentially risky. Although this report will mainly focus on Bloomsbury, a UK-based
publishing house, and their approach towards CSR with respect to sustainability, it
shall reflect the industry in general as well. However, the varying approaches taken will
only be limited to Bloomsbury. Bloomsbury buys paper from Sri Lankan paper-
producing company named Maximus. Maximus uses elephant dung as their raw
material to manufacture paper. Per shipment of paper, Bloomsbury pays 9000 pounds
to Maximus. Bloomsbury gives out 10000 textbooks to Sri Lankan children free of cost.
These textbooks are published according to the syllabus followed in Sri Lanka. This
activity of Bloomsbury is considered as a CSR activity which helps in improving the
education scenario in the country.
4

Part 1
P1. Devise clear aims and objectives
Project Aim:
The aim of the project is to identify the resources required while implementing CSR
policies within an organization, with ample focus on the many challenges that a
company needs to face for the same.
Project Objectives: The objectives of this project are as follows-
 To identify the resources by an organization while implementing CSR activities
 To assess the risks that might arise while trying to implement CSR policies
 To understand the needs for CSR in the present business environment
 To reflect on the ways through which the whole process for implementing CSR
can be made smoother
P2. Produce a project management plan incorporating: costs, scope, time,
quality, communication, risk and resources
Costs:
Activity Cost (in GBP)
Cost/ shipment 9000
Import Duty 560
Excise Duty 950
Customs Duty 540
Transportation Cost 2500
Manual Labor 300
Replacing previous machinery 12000
Total 25850
5

Scope:
Included Scope-
 To understand the benefits that CSR has towards business operations
 To assess employee perceptions regarding organizations implementing CSR
 To evaluate the success of CSR in terms of sustainability
Excluded Scope-
 To assess consumer perceptions regarding CSR implementation
 To analyze the key success factors through which CSR implementation can be
measured
Time
Although the time required for this project is near to 18 months, Bloomsbury, through
their effective performance management systems shall try to implement the complete
process in a span of 12 to 14 months. Given below is a plan that reflects the time that
might be required for project completion.
Activity
Time required/shipment
(days)
Concluding negotiations with selected client 3
Transportation 12
Publishing 25
Transactions 2
Recycling left out paper 15
Total time for one round of publishes 57
Projected number of publishes in 2018 1,50,000
Total shipments required 7
6

Total time required 399
Quality
Quality management in this process will comprise of two main steps, which can then be
categorized accordingly. However, the two broader sectors of quality management for
this process are as follows:
 Secure overseas shipping: For control over quality, Bloomsbury will tie up with
international shipping services such as FedEx and DHL, for safe and secure
departure and arrival of their cargo. While it might incur high costs on the
company, it is necessary in order to make sure that the new paper is in no way
damaged or non-usable. Printing quality and press machinery maintenance: Bloomsbury will pay very
high attention of the paper that leaves their house once printed. Since this is a
new approach, the company will release only 1000 units every time. At the same
time, the publishing house will focus greatly on properly maintaining their press
from wear and tear.
Communication Plan
Objective Sender Description Receiver
To negotiate with the
client
Project Manager The Project Manager
has to successfully
reach a deal with an
overseas supplier,
favorably a Sri Lankan
client. The ultimate
deliverable for this
objective is a deal that
satisfies both the
supplier as well as
Bloomsbury.
The entire Bloomsbury
workforce, the overseas
supplier (Maximus, Sri
Lanka) and other
directly related to the
deal.
To inform the
workforce about the
new process
Project Manager and
CEO
It is the duty of the
Project manager and
the CEO to convey their
Bloomsbury Workforce
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new approach towards
CSR to their entire
workforce. This shall
help in participation as
well as transparency.
Consumer Interaction Marketing Team, IT
department and the
Project Manager
Bloomsbury will focus
on letting their
customers know that
they are one of the first
publishing house in UK
to spend so much for
CSR, through an
immaculately designed
marketing campaign.
Bloomsbury’s existing
consumers, the writers,
other institutions.
To monitor all stages
of their CSR
implementation
Project Manager,
Project Supervisors,
Team Leaders
It is the duty of the
employees concerned
with this project, to
cordially report on all
advancements.
The Board of Directors,
Trustees.
8

Risk Management Plan
Projected Risk Risk Owner Contingency Response
Risk
Level
Negotiation
Failure
Project Manager
and the Board
Multiple choices
for the company
Appropriate
negotiation
skills
Mediu
m
Shipment
postponed
Supplier and Project
Manager Bulk Shipments Re-supply High
Employee
Dissatisfaction Project Manager
Performance
Based Reward
Meetings and
seminars Low
Machinery
Failure
Project Manager,
Project Supervisors Spare machinery Refurbishment
Mediu
m
Inappropriate
Implementation Project Manager Better workforce team meetings Low
Resources
Resource Required Time Cost
Third Part organizations as
representative negotiators
3 days per negotiation £ 300 per negotiation
Shipping companies 12 days per shipment £ 1250 per shipment
Press machinery 25 days per publish £ 600 per publish
Work Breakdown Structure
Activities
Start
Date
Duration
(Days)
End
Date
Project Initiation
30-06-
2018 1
01-07-
2018
Development of aims and
objectives
01-07-
2018 3
04-07-
2018
Literature search
04-07-
2018 7
11-07-
2018
Risk assessment
11-07-
2018 2
13-07-
2018
Cost and resource assessment
13-07-
2018 4
17-07-
2018
Preparing questionnaires
17-07-
2018 2
19-07-
2018
9

Surveys and interviews
conducted
19-07-
2018 4
23-07-
2018
Analysis and interpretation of
data
23-07-
2018 8
31-07-
2018
Presenting findings
31-07-
2018 2
02-08-
2018
Recommending possible
solutions
02-08-
2018 1
03-08-
2018
Submission of project
03-08-
2018 1
04-08-
2018
Personal reflection
04-08-
2018 2
06-08-
2018
Gantt chart:
Project Initiation
Literature search
Cost and resource
assessment
Surveys and interviews
conducted
Presenting findings
Submission of project
30-06-2018 10-07-2018 20-07-2018 30-07-2018 09-08-2018
Figure 3: Gantt Chart
(Source: created by learner)
Milestones: In this research project, there are various milestones that are required to
be achieved. The project needs some statistical data. The data will be collected by
interviewing the consumers. The questions which will be asked to the consumers are
given below. The next activity would be arranging the collected data in a tabular format.
10

This will give an idea about the direction in which the research project is heading
towards. The managers will be required to give a proper schedule and working structure
of their activity. Interpretation and analysis of the data will be done which will be helpful
in getting some conclusive points.
Schedule: A schedule has been formed to complete the various tasks that are involved
in completing this project. The project would roughly require 37 days to be completed. A
rough schedule of the activities that has to be undertaken is as follows:
 The initiation of project would require 1 day
 For developing aims and objectives, 3 days would be required
 To draft the literature review, it would take 7days
 Various risks can be assessed in 2 days
 4 days will be required for resource and cost assessment
 For preparing the questionnaire for conducting the survey, 2 days will be required
 Interviews and surveys can be conducted within 4 days
 For analyzing and interpreting the data, 8 days will be required
 Findings can be presented in 2days
 To get possible recommendations, 1 day will be required
 1 day will be required to submit the project
 To compile personal reflection on the project, 2 days will be needed
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P4: Carry out small scale research by applying qualitative and quantitative
research methods appropriate for meeting project aims and objectives
Quantitative analysis:
1. What is your gender?
Options Percentage No. of
Respondents
Total No. of
customers
Male 60% 30 100
Female 48% 20 100
Table 1: Gender of the employees
56%
44%
Percentage
Male Female
Figure 1: Gender of the employees
2. What is your age?
Age Percentage Total No. of
customers
No. of
Respondents
20-25 years 25% 100 25
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26-30 years 30% 100 30
31-34 years 20% 100 20
35 years and above 25% 100 25
Table 2: Employee’s age
20-25 years 26-30 years 31-34 years 35 years and
above
25%
30%
20%
25%
Percentage
Figure 2: Employee’s age
3. How well are you acquainted with the term ‘corporate social responsibility’?
Options Percentage No. of
Respondents
Total No. of
customers
Well-acquainted 30% 30 100
Neutral 30% 30 100
Somewhat
acquainted
20% 20 100
Not at all
acquainted
20% 20 100
Table 3: customer acquaintance about CSR
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Well-acquainted Neutral Somewhat
acquainted Not at all
acquainted
30% 30% 20% 20%
Percentage
Figure 3: customer acquaintance about CSR
Findings and Analysis:
It can be observed from the above represented table and figure that, among 100
customers, 30% of them are well acquainted with the term CSR, 20% are somewhat
acquainted, 30% had neutral responses and 20% of customers are not at all acquainted
about the term CSR. Hence, it can be said that as the customers are aware about CSR,
the companies’ need to be more conscious about this practice. People in Sri Lanka are
well aware about the CSR activities conducted in their country by Bloomsbury.
4. Do you think that profitability and CSR of a company are interrelated?
Options Percentage No. of
Respondents
Total No. of
customers
Yes 40% 40 100
No 25% 25 100
Neutral 35% 35 100
Table 4: Interrelation between profitability and CSR
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Yes No Neutral
40%
25%
35%
Percentage
Figure 4: Interrelation between profitability and CSR
Findings and Analysis:
It can be observed from the above represented table and figure that, 40% of the
customers agreed that CSR and profitability are interrelated and on the other hand, the
percentage of customers’ who did not agree is 25. Furthermore, 35% neutrally
responded to the question. Hence, it is observed that a huge number of customers’ will
be considering companies that have active CSR policies and that is why the companies
which do not have any active CSR policies must start incorporating it. This is because
the profit of company is mainly dependent on their customer base. The profit margin
and CSR are well connected with each other. When the people of Sri Lanka will get to
know about the CSR activities of Bloomsbury in their country, it would improve the
image of the brand in the market. This would directly results into greater profit margins
and more market share.
5. Which of these do you think is a CSR activity?
Options Percentage No. of
Respondents
Total No. of
customers
Building NGO’s 30% 30 100
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Reduction of carbon
footprints
35% 35 100
Child education 25% 25 100
Planting saplings 20% 20 100
Table 5: customer knowledge about CSR activities
Building NGO’s Reduction of
carbon footprints Child education Planting saplings
30%
35%
25%
20%
Percentage
Figure 5: customer knowledge about CSR activities
Findings and Analysis:
It can be observed from the above represented table and figure that 35% of the
customers identified reduction of carbon footprints as CSR activities, 30% identified
building NGO’s as a CSR activity, 25% stated child education as a CSR activity and the
remaining 20% identified planting saplings is a CSR activity. It is hence observed that
the ideas about CSR activities among the customers are different but a huge number of
customers agreed that reduction of carbon footprints is very necessary to enhance
environmental stability. The companies who have not yet added CSR activities in their
operations they need to take active part in adding CSR activities so that they can be
able to enhance sustainable growth and competitive advantage. Giving out books free
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of cost is a CSR activity. Bloomsbury would give out 10,000 textbooks to the children in
Sri Lanka.
6. Do you think every company has allocated funds for implementing CSR?
Options Percentage No. of
Respondents
Total No. of
customers
Yes 50% 50 100
No 28% 28 100
Neutral 22% 22 100
Table 6: customer knowledge about fund allocation for CSR activities
Yes No Neutral
50%
28% 22%
Percentage
Figure 6: customer knowledge about fund allocation for CSR activities
Findings and Analysis:
It can be observed from the above represented table and figure that, 50% of the
customers’ agreed that every company already has allocated funds for CSR activities,
28% denied that companies do not allocate funds for CSR activities and the remaining
22% neutrally responded about fund allocation for CSR activities in companies.
Therefore, it is observed that a huge number of customers’ are convinced that every
company has their own CSR policies and they always allocate funds to promote CSR
17

activities. Many customers who are not aware about the importance of CSR activities
within business organizations and hence they neutrally responded to the asked
question. Bloomsbury has allocated enough funds for conducting CSR activities in Sri
Lanka.
7. Is it important for you that every company should operate responsibly on the
social level?
Options Percentage No. of
Respondents
Total No. of
customers
Yes 28% 28 100
No 50% 50 100
Neutral 22% 22 100
Table 7: importance of CSR activities
Yes
No
Neutral
28%
50%
22%
Percentage
Figure 7: importance of CSR activities
Findings and Analysis:
It can be observed from the above represented table and figure that, 50% of the
customers believed that many companies do not operate on social responsibility levels.
However, around 28% agreed that the companies operate on social responsibility levels
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and 22% neutrally responded to the question. It is therefore observed that, many
customers are not yet aware whether companies are operating on social responsibility
level or not and that is why the companies need to take active role in promoting their
CSR activities. Bloomsbury does enough activities related to CSR.
Qualitative analysis:
Does your company communicate about CSR policies with the stakeholders?
Manager 1: As opined by the manager, the company do communicates about CSR
policies with the stakeholders. The company conveys about their CSR activities to the
employees, customers and their suppliers. The manager added that the company
arranges campaigns and training programs for the employees’ about impact of CSR
activities. The manager also added that if CSR policies are not conveyed to the
customers’ there is a chance that the performance of the company will be hampered.
The Manager of Bloomsbury, should inform the stakeholder about their CSR activities in
Sri Lanka. The organization gives out 10,000 textbooks to the children of Sri Lanka
which is free of cost. The books published by the publishing house are made on the
syllabus following the educational standards of Sri Lanka. This would improve the lives
of many children who are unable to buy books for education. This would influence the
literacy rate in Sri Lanka in a positive way.
Manager 2: As opined by the other manager, the company communicates about CSR
policies with the stakeholders because CSR adds value to the organizational culture
and enhances sustainability within the organization. Furthermore, the manager added
that the stakeholders are an integral part of organizational culture. Communicating
about CSR activities to the stakeholders is important because it is necessary for every
organization to adorn positivity and identify the issues to avoid negative publicity. The
CSR activities of the organization should be intimidated to the various stakeholders of
the organization.
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Conclusion and recommendation
This project highlighted on the importance of CSR activities done by the various
organizations. The CSR activities not only make the society a better place to live but
also increase the value of the brand in the market. The good will of the brand increases
in the market due to CSR activities. Bloomsbury is a publishing house which indulges
itself in CSR activities in London. This would increase the market share of Bloomsbury
in Sri Lanka as a good image of the brand will be highlighted in the eyes on the
consumers. In the quantitative analysis which was conducted, it was found out that
consumers are well aware about the various CSR activities that are going on in the
society. The given proposal of the research if implemented correctly can yield positive
results from where relevant conclusions can be derived.
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Appendix:
Project Logbook:
Project Logbook
Name:
Project title: Managing a successful business project
Date: 21.06.2018
Update on weekly research/tasks achieved
Points to consider: What have you completed? Did you fulfil task requirements? Are
you on track and within deadlines set? Did you need to make any changes to your
project management plan?
Yes, I have completed the understanding about the impact of CSR activities in order
to meet sustainable objectives. Yes, I fulfilled the task requirements, conducted a
proper research, and gained an idea of impact of CSR activities on enhancing
sustainability and competitive advantage within an organization. Yes, I am on track
and will be able to finish the research within the scheduled time.
Any risks and/or issues identified.
Points to consider: Did you identify risks/issues with a lack of skills required for
undertaking research/tasks? Did you identify any additional risks/issues that have an
impact on the project management plan?
Conducting a proper research with the customers’ opinion was tough at the initial
stage as many customers had neutral response about impact of CSR activities.
Additionally, no risks were identified.
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Problems encountered
Points to consider: What barriers did you face? How did you overcome them?
Convincing the customers to participate in the survey was one of the barriers and for
overcoming that barrier, my team and me had to organize meetings with them and
convince them about the importance of CSR activities.
New ideas and change of project direction
There were no changes in the direction of the project
What have I learnt about myself this week?
Points to consider:
When I faced some grave issues, I was firstly demoralized. But as time passed I
coped up with the situation and was able to handle the upcoming pressure.
According to my team and my tutors I have performed well in the activities that were
assigned to me.
Time management was one such thing which I have learnt while doing this project.
This particular trait would help me in the future to get all the activities done on time.
Tasks planned for next week
Points to consider: All the tasks regarding the research proposal has been done.
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Project plan status to date
The project is not lagging behind. All the tasks are being completed within the
stipulated time.
Supervisor comments to address
The supervisor commented on the structure of the questions which were going to be
used in the surveys. According to the comments of the supervisor, the questions were
changed accordingly.
Performance review:
Performance Review
 What was the project supposed to accomplish?
The project was supposed to shed light on the impact of CSR in enhancing
sustainability and competitive advantage within the organization.
•Did the project succeed in its aims? How do you know? Specifically, please
outline any evaluation and assessment undertaken.
Yes, it has successfully addressed all the aims.
•What things do you think worked well and why? Evaluate all aspects of the
project (e.g. initial inception, project activities and project outcomes) from a
23

range of perspectives.
I worked on qualitative analysis, quantitative analysis, project management plan and
the communication and risk management plan. The management schemes are
changing continuously, which seemed to be a major problem.
•What problems emerged during the project and how were they tackled? Was
there timely identification of issues and resolution during the project process?
Cooperation among the team was a barrier at the initial stage. Decreasing the
communication gaps within the team and engaging them to work in coordinated
manner helped in overcoming the barriers. Fortunately, I was able to identify the
problems within time.
•What did you learn from undertaking the project?
I have learnt various things from the project. Firstly, I understood the impact of CSR in
enhancing sustainability and competitive advantage within the organization. With the
help of this project I was able to shape up my managerial skills and communication
skills. I also was able to incorporate better decision-making skills.
•How would you rate your performance as project manager?
As a project manager, I would rate my performance as average
•What strengths and weaknesses of your performance did you identify?
My strength was communication. I communicated well with the people to whom I went
to conduct the survey. Time management was my weakness. However, by the end of
the project I was able to overcome my weakness.
•How will this inform and support your continuous professional development?
Actually, with the help of this project, I was able to develop my communication skills.
24

Presently, I am confident about conveying and illustrating my ideas to the team. In
future, I will be able to help the management of the company I will work with to
manage the customers. I have also developed my management skills as well as I was
able to polish my leadership and time management skills. Now whenever I get
projects I am able to manage my team well and I can make each of the team
members understand what the reason is after a decision.
25

Reference List
C1cleantechnicacom-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com. (2018). [online] Available at:
https://c1cleantechnicacom-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/files/2017/11/Climate-Change-
Performance-Index-2018.jpg[Accessed 27 Jun. 2018].
Phys.org. (2018). Understanding how society will change as we move to renewable
energy sources. [online] Available at: https://phys.org/news/2018-03-society-renewable-
energy-sources.html[Accessed 27 Jun. 2018].
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