Corporate Social Responsibility: A Case Study of Morgan Stanley Bank

This document is a case study that explores the corporate social responsibility initiatives of Morgan Stanley bank. It provides an overview of the company, its services, and its commitment to philanthropy. The case study highlights various CSR activities undertaken by Morgan Stanley, such as building a lighthouse for abused children, participating in a strategy challenge for non-profits, and partnering with brand ambassador Justin Rose to provide books to needy children. The document also discusses the recognition and reputation of Morgan Stanley in the field of CSR.

Running Head: MORGAN STANLEY CSR 1
Corporate Social Responsibility: A case Study of Morgan Stanley bank
By
University Affiliation
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Part I
Morgan Stanley is a multinational investment and financial services company. It is based
in midtown Manhattan, New York City in the United States of America. The company is proud
of having offices in more than 42 countries and more than 55,000 employees. In 2018 it recorded
a revenue of $40.1 billion dollars (Morgan Stanley 2019). Morgan Stanley was founded in 1935
by Henry Sturgis Morgan and Harold Stanley (Corporate Finance Institute, 2019). The
organization offers a wide range of services such as; wealth management, investment banking
and capital markets, sales and trading, research, investment management, sustainable investing,
and inclusive innovation. Its main clients are individuals, families, government institutions, and
business organizations (Corporate Finance Institute, 2019). Over the years Morgan Stanley’s
reputation as a reliable investment bank has continued to grow.
Part II
According to Morgan Stanley (2019), Morgan Stanley is committed to philanthropy and
public works as stated on its website. The organization has published several reports on its
website about its engagement in corporate social responsibility (CSR), examples of the
company’s engagement in corporate social responsibility include; first, building a lighthouse for
London’s abused children. In this approach to CSR Morgan Stanley’s executive director Travis
Ritz, was involved in formulating a strategy that helped the United Kingdom’s National Society
for the prevention of cruelty to children (NSPCC) to draft a plan on how to build the facility and
offer therapeutic help to abused children (Morgan Stanley, 2019).
The second approach to CSR is one in which Morgan Stanley’s employees participate in
a strategy challenge. The challenge aims at helping non-profits to make good strategic decisions

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and plans (Morgan Stanley, 2019). The company’s data shows that from 2009 to 2017, the
strategy challenge had provided 117 non-profits with more than 81,000 hours of pro bono
services valued at $12.4 million (Morgan Stanley, 2019). The third approach to CSR is one in
which Morgan Stanly partnered with its brand ambassador Justin Rose in giving books to needy
children (Morgan Stanley, 2019). The fifth approach to CSR is the Morgan Stanley Foundation.
It deals with the following; supporting firms in dealing with natural disasters and tragedy,
promote children’s health, promote access to financial services, and reward high performing
volunteers (Morgan Stanley, 2019).
The information that Morgan Stanley avails in its website is of good quality since it
clearly depicts how the organization was engaged in CSR. According to Servaes & Tamayo
(2013), the provision of truthful information is one way of promoting an organization’s public
confidence. The information mainly focuses on philanthropic engagements of Morgan Stanley.
The information also emphasizes on the impact that the philanthropic work has on the
beneficiaries. For example, in 2017 Morgan Stanley bank, its employees, and Morgan Stanley
international foundation together donated $102.8 million to philanthropy (Morgan Stanley,
2019).
The internal data portrays Morgan Stanley as a socially responsible organization which is
committed in philanthropy. According to Orlitzky, Siegel, & Waldman (2011) corporate social
responsibility makes an organization to be acceptable in the society that it operates in. The data
also shows that Morgan Stanley is very much likely to continue giving back to society. This is
because the organization has taken CSR as part of its major objectives. Morgan Stanley has
already created a culture of philanthropy among its staff that is why many of its staff are
engaging in CSR in various ways (Morgan Stanley, 2019).

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Part III
3BL Media recognizes Morgan Stanley as a global leader in corporate social
responsibility. 3BL Media has cited the following examples as ones in which Morgan Stanley
engaged in CSR. First, in April 2018 Morgan Stanley launched a broad-based commitment to
develop a systemic solution to reduce global plastic waste. It aims at removing 50 million metric
tons of plastic from water bodies by 2030 (3BL Media, 2019). Secondly, in 2017 Morgan
Stanley foundation donated $23 million to food banks across the USA with the aim of feeding
needy Americans (3BL Media, 2019).
FundsforNGOS an organization which provides funds to Non-governmental
organizations acknowledges Morgan Stanley foundation for engaging in CSR in the areas of
Environment protection, Social Finance, and Community development. According to
FundsforNGOS (2019), Morgan Stanley works with charitable organization and community-
based initiatives in its CSR. For example; in September 2015 Morgan Stanley launched a health
city program in Huston city that aimed at providing healthy meals to needy children in the city.
Morgan Stanley has a good reputation in relation to corporate social responsibility.
CSRWIRE a digital media platform that publishes news about corporate social responsibility has
published numerous reports in which Morgan Stanley has engaged in CSR. For example,
CSRWIRE (2019) records that in 2019 Morgan Stanley launched clean cookstoves to help
combat premature deaths from traditional cookstoves. A good reputation in CSR is likely to give
an organization sustainability in the market. Morgan Stanley will continue to develop its good
reputation in CSR due to its commitment and passion for CSR.

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Part IV
Company standards are the specifications or performance metrics that each individual in
an organization should adhere to (Cizek, 2012). Morgan Stanley has lived up to its standards this
can be justified by the following facts; it has been able to achieve high performance in terms of
profits. Secondly, it has been able to adopt diversity by having staff from different cultures.
Third, it has been able to give back to the society through its various corporate social
responsibility activities. This is in accordance with its objective of being a community rooted
company (Morgan Stanley, 2019).
External Standards refers to the set of instructions, rules, and performance metrics which
are set as a benchmark for performance by an entity such as government agency, standardization
body, or professional body (Cizek, 2012). Morgan Stanley has maintained external standards
since it has been recognized by various third parties such as 3BL Media, CSRWIRE, and
FundsforNGOS for its contribution to community welfare. For it to achieve such a good
reputation it must have complied with various standards. Compliance with standards positively
influences the quality of products and services thus promoting the good performance of an
organization (Cizek, 2012).
In evaluating Morgan and Stanley’s corporate social responsibility, I have used the
following guidelines according to Orlitzky, Siegel, & Waldman (2011); the various types of CSR
acts that Morgan Stanley has engaged in. For example in 2017 Morgan Stanley engaged in more
than 5 CSR activities (Morgan Stanley 2019). Secondly, the number of beneficiaries who benefit
from Morgan Stanley’s CSR. For example, in 2017, 117 non-profits benefited from pro bono

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services (Morgan Stanley 2019) Third, unethical acts that the company engaged in. For example,
Banktrack (2019) records that Morgan Stanley unethically funded the Trans Mountain Expansion
project in Canada. From the analysis of the above metrics, I would rate Morgan and Stanley as a
great contributor to society’s welfare.

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References
3BL Media. (2019). Morgan Stanley | 3BL Media. Retrieved from
https://www.3blmedia.com/Profiles/Morgan-Stanley
Banktrack. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.banktrack.org/bank/morgan_stanley/pdf
Cizek, G. J. (2012). Setting performance standards: Foundations, methods, and innovations.
New York, NY: Routledge.
Corporate Finance Institute. (2019). Morgan Stanley - Overview, History of Global Investment
Bank. Retrieved from
https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/careers/companies/morgan-stanley-
investment-bank/
CSRWIRE. (2019). Morgan Stanley - Corporate Social Responsibility News, Reports and Events
– CSRwire.com. Retrieved from http://www.csrwire.com/members/10264-Morgan-
Stanley
FundsforNGOs. (2019). Morgan Stanley International Foundation - fundsforNGOs. Retrieved
from https://www.fundsforngos.org/article-contributions/morgan-stanley-international-
foundation/
Levina, I. (2014). A puzzling rise in financial profits and the role of capital gain-like
revenues. Political Economy Research Institute Working Paper, 347.
Morgan Stanley. (2019). Giving Back Is a Core Value. Retrieved from
https://www.morganstanley.com/about-us/giving-back

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Orlitzky, M., Siegel, D. S., & Waldman, D. A. (2011). Strategic corporate social responsibility
and environmental sustainability. Business & Society, 50(1), 6-27.
Servaes, H., & Tamayo, A. (2013). The impact of corporate social responsibility on firm value:
The role of customer awareness. Management Science, 59(5), 1045-1061.