Report on Mastering Corporate Communication Function: CSR Perspective

This report delves into the critical aspects of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and its integration into corporate communication strategies, as requested by the CEO of MnM Company. It examines various CSR models, including economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropic responsibilities, highlighting their importance in the 21st century. The report also addresses the role of media in shaping CSR perceptions, the upside of CSR initiatives such as reputation risk management, brand differentiation, and talent retention. Furthermore, it discusses consumer values, investor pressure, employee involvement, and the significance of 'going green'. The report emphasizes the importance of communicating CSR efforts effectively and integrating social and environmental concerns into corporate decision-making, underlining the role of CSR in fostering positive impacts on both the community and the organization.

Corporate social responsibility
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents.......................................................................................................................1
What is CR or CSR (corporate social responsibility)?...............................................................2
CSR model.................................................................................................................................2
The 21st century CR surge..........................................................................................................2
Corporate responsibility and the media......................................................................................3
The upside of CR.......................................................................................................................3
Reputation risk management......................................................................................................3
Brand differentiation..................................................................................................................4
Talent attraction and retention...................................................................................................4
CR and the corporate reputation................................................................................................4
Consumer values and expectations............................................................................................4
Investor pressure: the growth of socially responsible investing................................................4
Responsibility inside and out: employee involvement in CR....................................................5
Being green................................................................................................................................5
Communicating about CR..........................................................................................................5
CSR: a commitment to integrate social and environmental concerns:......................................5
Public and environmental interests into corporate decision-making.........................................6
References..................................................................................................................................7

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What is CR or CSR (corporate social responsibility)?
Corporate social responsibility means a business approach that contributes towards
sustainable development through producing social, economic as well as an economic benefit
towards all the stakeholders of the firm. It is about the study of how the company affects the
economy and its environmental and social aspects. CSR is different for different companies.
The set of activities and objectives are supported by the corporate social responsibility of a
company.
CSR model
The CSR model proposed by Carroll illustrates the responsibilities which it serves:
Economic: the business needs to earn the desired profits and the returns on the revenue
invested. And it is the only way by which the company can gain the benefit of trust from
society and make it survival sustainable in the long term (Forbes 2019).
Legal: this criterion obliges the company to follow the laws and the policies and abide by the
other rules and the regulations such as the regulations under the employment sector, the
competitive laws and the policies one must follow while competing and the rules concerned
with the health and the safety issues.
Ethical: the ethical responsibility asks the company to act morally and ethically where the
business and its operations are required to work beyond the narrow obligations of the law,
and the policies such as the company should treat its employees, customers and the investors
abiding by the moral and the ethical nature (Griek et al. 2019).
Philanthropic: this responsibility suggests the company to return to the society whatever it
has taken from them by doing the charity, giving the donations and others. This responsibility
is not mandatory, but it is an important role which must be performed by the company.
The 21st century CR surge
The corporations and the companies have gained more awareness about their interests
and the objectives. The societies that are collapsing are not beneficial and suitable for the
company’s survival. The business operations also need stability in the political aspects. The
approval of the community only allows the company to conduct its operations. All the
environmental and the social issues must be considered as the changes in the climate, the
inequality in the income of the population and the negligence of these aspects have a serious
influence on the company (Management 2019).

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Corporate responsibility and the media
CSR is an imperative force for business organisations and the corporations as they
play a key role in producing sustainable development for the firm. The media can play a
major role in broadcasting the importance of CSR in a company by employing volunteers
taken from society or from the specified areas where the company launches the CSR
initiatives. Moreover, articles can be published about the mission and the values of the
company while promoting CSR. Media can play the role of the reminder to the companies
about fulfilling their ethical and philanthropic responsibilities (Smallbusiness.chron.com
2019). The media can even analyse the CSR reports of the companies and give a critical view
of whether the company is abiding by its responsibilities or not.
The upside of CR
There are various upsides of CR, such as it can impose positive impacts on the
community. It encourages the business organisations to work ethically simultaneously
considering the social and the environmental aspects of their operations. It helps in the
avoidance of the adverse impacts on the community as a whole. It also allows to change the
values and bring alterations in the services to gain more benefits in the areas where they
lacked. The CR also helps in supporting the outcomes of the public value, which means the
value which is contributed by the organisation to the society. Thus, the CR has many upsides,
which help the organisation as well as the society in which it operates (Doorley and Garcia
2015).
Reputation risk management
The perception of the company in front of the customers and the stakeholders is a
major role defining the company’s success. The company’s most important factor is its
reputation, which depends on the performance of the employees, the relationships with the
business partners, investors, authorities and others. The reputation risk is managed by taking
a significant approach. For instance, identifying the impact of the different tasks, creating
base for measuring and improving them, establishing a continuous procedure for detecting
and managing the issues which have adverse impacts on the reputation of the company, and
coordinating the actions of management and the rising issues with their potential to cope up
with the crisis (Peltier 2016).
Brand differentiation
To gain a competitive advantage, it is very important to introduce brand
differentiation in the company’s strategies. It is a continuous process which helps in

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enhancing the evaluation of the firm and the market place to become successful. The brand
differentiation helps in competing strongly with other firms and does not even add pressure to
the price of the product and the services (Smallbusiness.chron.com 2019). The relationship
with the buyers and the investors is also facilitated being the driving forces of growth and
development.
Talent attraction and retention
Talent attraction and retention are very important for the company at its success. It
means the hiring of the individuals who are talented in the respective fields required by the
company. It is the company’s responsibility to attract talented people in their organisation and
retain their talents for the efficient and productive operation of the company.
CR and the corporate reputation
Corporate responsibility affects corporate reputation in various aspects. It helps in
bringing the good or the bad reputation of the company and is the key component in the
reputation of the company. Corporate reputation being the multi-stakeholder context is
reflected by corporate responsibility.
Consumer values and expectations
It is essential for the company to know about the expectations and the perceived value
of its customers. The company must be aware of the needs and wants of the customers and
what are the different attributes which affect their judgement leading them to switch to a
different company and their products and services. The values and the expectations may be in
the smaller context as well as in, the wider context which will determine the utility of the
product and the services of the company (Peltier 2016). It is the responsibility of the company
to analyse the taste and preferences of the customers and satisfy their values and
expectations.
Investor pressure: the growth of socially responsible investing
There are many criteria which have been used by the investors lately such as the
environmental and the social factors which affect their financial and the non-financial
investments in the company which is very important to make the investments done ethically
and also assures its sustainability. The investors do a complete analysis before making a
significant investment to avoid the unwanted pressure on them and the company (O’Rourke
2019). And thus, the economy has noticed the significant growth in socially responsible
investing.

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Responsibility inside and out: employee involvement in CR
It is not only the responsibility of the company, but its employees are also responsible
for contributing to the CR of the company. The employees must also support the management
of reputation risk. The employees are also responsible for improving their talents and skills
for effective and productive performance (Kerzner and Kerzner 2017). There is a huge impact
on employee involvement in the CSR of the company.
Being green
This means the role of the CSR in going green on the environment with the company.
There has been immense support of the customers to the companies who promote ‘go green’
motives. And thus, the company can impact more and more customers attracting the
positivity of the environment socially and ethically (Vercic and Zerfasss 2016). The company
thus takes the different approaches for going green in terms of the environmental aspects.
Communicating about CR
Communicating about CR means the giving of the information and the insights about
the activities of the company’ CR. It is the study of the structure in the wider context where
the employees, the investors and the customers are involved while discussing the impacts on
the society.
CSR: a commitment to integrate social and environmental concerns:
It suggests the different ways by which the services they provide directly or indirectly
contribute to society. It also helps by giving the freedom of choice to the employers, which
helps the company further in captivating more employees and customers and gaining the
flexibility of work. It further makes the company realise its practices in favour of the
community and the employees, such as the sound and appropriate working conditions are
given to them (Wan et al. 2016). The CR helps in the professional and personal development
as it allows its employees to explore the benefits of the practices and the impacts on society.
It helps in the enhancement of the relationship with the clients and gives them space for
enriching their perspectives. Thus, it is committed towards the social and the environmental
integration of concerns.
Public and environmental interests into corporate decision-making
CSR plays the very important role in incorporating the public and the environmental
interests into the decision making of the corporate system because of the impacts it has on the
community and the initiatives taken to change the positive impacts into the negative ones
(Kerzner and Kerzner 2017).

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References
Doorley, J. and Garcia, H.F., 2015. Reputation management: The key to successful public
relations and corporate communication. Routledge.
Forbes.com. 2019. The Future Of Work: Corporate Social Responsibility Attracts Top Talent.
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Griek, O., Bennet, C., Iskandaryan, M., Dunbar, M. and Owens, B. 2019. 6 Ways Corporate
Social Responsibility Benefits Your Employees - Conscious Company. [online] Conscious
Company. Available at: https://consciouscompanymedia.com/workplace-culture/hr-
innovations/6-ways-corporate-social-responsibility-benefits-employees/ [Accessed 24 May
2019].
Kerzner, H. and Kerzner, H.R., 2017. Project management: a systems approach to planning,
scheduling, and controlling. John Wiley & Sons.
Management, R. 2019. Reputation Risk Management - ERM - Enterprise Risk Management
Initiative | North Carolina State Poole College of Management. [online] Erm.ncsu.edu.
Available at: https://erm.ncsu.edu/library/article/reputation-risk-management/ [Accessed 24
May 2019].
O'Rourke, J.S., 2019. Management Communication: A case analysis approach. Routledge.
Peltier, T.R., 2016. Information Security Policies, Procedures, and Standards: guidelines for
effective information security management. Auerbach Publications.
Smallbusiness.chron.com. 2019. The Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility on
Organizational Stability. [online] Available at: https://smallbusiness.chron.com/impact-
corporate-social-responsibility-organizational-stability-62563.html [Accessed 24 May 2019].
Vercic, D. and Zerfass, A., 2016. A comparative excellence framework for communication
management. Journal of Communication Management, 20(4), pp.270-288.
Wan Ahmad, W.N.K., de Brito, M.P. and Tavasszy, L.A., 2016. Sustainable supply chain
management in the oil and gas industry: a review of corporate sustainability reporting
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