Corporate Social Responsibility Report: Analysis and Evaluation

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), starting with its definition and background, and then exploring its regulatory frameworks, environmental, economic, and social dimensions. The report delves into the benefits of CSR for employees, its impact on the supply chain, and its influence on business performance and marketing strategies. It also addresses potential conflicts arising from CSR implementation. A significant portion of the report is dedicated to a case study of Adidas, examining their CSR policy and initiatives. The report also analyzes stakeholders' needs and recommends changes for improvement. The Adidas case study highlights the company's efforts in recycling plastic waste and its collaboration with Parley for the Oceans. The report concludes by emphasizing the voluntary nature of CSR and its importance for businesses to improve society and ensure a sustainable future.

Running head: CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Corporate Social Responsibility
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Assignment 1
Task 1
1.1 Definition of CSR
Corporate social responsibility refers to the obligation of the various business
organizations of a region to be accountable to the individuals of the society.1 Under the
mechanism of corporate social responsibility, it is essential for the business firms to be obligated
for all of theirs acts of omission and commission. In this regard, they need to ensure that the
resources of the world should be utilized in a manner which promotes a sustainable future.
1.2 Background and changing attitudes to CSR
The initial times when corporate social responsibility was first introduced, the
organizations were required to pay financial resources for any activity which negatively
impacted the society. However, with the changing times of the contemporary society, the firms
now have become more responsible. They now have to ensure that they use the resources of the
society in a regulated manner as set out by the non-governmental organizations of the world.2
1.3 Regulatory framework in CSR
The United Arab Emirates strengthened its regulatory frame work with regards to
corporate social responsibility on 1st February 2018. This law imposes on the business firms of
the country to take in to account the different contributions made to such activities of corporate
social responsibility. Furthermore, the financial contributions would also apply to the companies
1 Unit, Business. "Corporate social responsibility." (2015).
2 Murray, Alan. Corporate responsibility: A critical introduction. Oxford University Press, 2008.

2CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
on a mandatory basis. In this regard, it can be seen that the country allows certain incentives to
the firms to undertake activities related to such kind of responsibility.
1.4 Environmental issues in CSR
One of the main reasons which led to the introduction of corporate social responsibility is
that of its impact on the environment. The profit making motive of the firms led them to exploit
the natural resources of the Earth. This caused a serious negative impact on the environment
which can be noticed in the form of drastic climate change.3 In order to prevent this, the firms are
required to utilize the resources in a regulated manner which would not put stress on Earth.
1.5 Economic and political issues in CSR
The economic issue which is related to corporate social responsibility is that of
maximization of the profits.4 Since corporate social responsibility helps in the improvement in
the society, the firms that engages in this activity are likely to increase their sales volume. This in
turn, proves to the economically beneficial for the concerned firms.
Politically, corporate social responsibility is needed in the society. In the contemporary
times, more attention is being paid to the sustainability of the society. In this context, the
different politicians harp on the adherence to CSR in the hopes that the individuals would vote
for those politicians who want to improve the society.5
1.6 Social and community issues in CSR
3 Burchell, Jon, ed. The corporate social responsibility reader. Routledge, 2008.
4 Crane, Andrew, Dirk Matten, and Laura J. Spence. "Corporate social responsibility in a global context." Chapter
in: Crane, A., Matten, D., and Spence, LJ,'Corporate Social Responsibility: Readings and Cases in a Global
Context 2 (2013): 3-26.
5 Mellahi, Kamel, Kevin Morrell, and Geoffrey Wood. The ethical business: Challenges and controversies.
Macmillan International Higher Education, 2010.

3CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
The social issue related to corporate social responsibility is that it is widely preferred by
the individuals of the community.6 This activity obliges the firms to take up responsibility for
their selfish actions and therefore, to compensate to the society.
This social obligation of the business firms leads to the improvement of the community in
the form of better management of the cultural and ethical values that are adhered to. Corporate
social responsibility leads to the improvement of the society not only with regards to the proper
management of the resources but also instilling in the people the obligation of following such
ethical principles.
6 Hopkins, Michael. The planetary bargain: corporate social responsibility comes of age. Springer, 2016.

4CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Task 2
2.1 Benefits of CSR to the employees
The company is facing a lot of problems with regard to the conditions of the employees
within the firm. In this context, the adherence to corporate social responsibility would benefit the
employees as their work life would improve and they would be able to friendly working
environment.7
2.2 Impact of CSR on the supply chain
Adherence to the idea of corporate social responsibility would allow the management to
ensure that the code of conduct pertaining to the suppliers to followed. This would, in turn, allow
the supply chain to become more transparent and effective.8
2.3 CSR policy impacting business performance
The development in the working condition of the employees and in the increase of
efficiency in the supply chain, would lead to the rise in the performance of the business
activities.9 For instance, CSR would reduce the amount of wastage produced by the firm, which
in turn, would decrease the financial burden on the same.
2.4 CSR policy impacting marketing strategy
CSR is considered to be essential for marketing strategy of an organization as it aims to
improve the society. When the individuals of the society realize that a firm is taking the
7 Wang, Heli, Li Tong, Riki Takeuchi, and Gerard George. "Corporate social responsibility: An overview and new
research directions: Thematic issue on corporate social responsibility." (2016): 534-544.
8 Flammer, Caroline. "Does corporate social responsibility lead to superior financial performance? A regression
discontinuity approach." Management Science 61, no. 11 (2015): 2549-2568.
9 Kang, Charles, Frank Germann, and Rajdeep Grewal. "Washing away your sins? Corporate social responsibility,
corporate social irresponsibility, and firm performance." Journal of Marketing 80, no. 2 (2016): 59-79.

5CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
important obligation of ensuring sustainable development for the future generation, the
individuals get inspired to purchase their products from such organizations.10 They believe it is
an ethical obligation on their part to support the growth of such businesses that work for the
development of the society.
2.5 Conflicts occurring through CSR
Although the idea of CSR is important for the growth of a business, certain conflicts can
be observed with regards to the different stakeholders of the firm. The first stakeholder identified
is that of the suppliers. Earlier, the suppliers did not have to adhere to any code of conduct.
However, with the imposition of the CSR, the suppliers would now face a problem as they need
to be transparent about the quality of the raw materials supplied by them.11 This would pose a
challenge as the suppliers can no longer supply sub-quality products to increase their own margin
of profit. Thus, in trying to satisfy the expectations and needs of the customers, a conflict would
be faced from the suppliers.
Another conflict that may arise is with regard to the management. The CSR requires
introduction of a friendly work environment for which the working hours need to be reduced.12
This would, in turn, affect the production level which is needed to increase the profit margin of
the firm. Thus, in trying to satisfy the needs and expectation of the employees, a conflict would
be faced from the managers.
10 Petrenko, Oleg V., Federico Aime, Jason Ridge, and Aaron Hill. "Corporate social responsibility or CEO
narcissism? CSR motivations and organizational performance." Strategic Management Journal 37, no. 2 (2016):
262-279.
11 Frynas, Jędrzej George, and Camila Yamahaki. "Corporate social responsibility: Review and roadmap of
theoretical perspectives." Business Ethics: A European Review 25, no. 3 (2016): 258-285.
12 De Roeck, Kenneth, Assâad El Akremi, and Valérie Swaen. "Consistency matters! How and when does corporate
social responsibility affect employees’ organizational identification?." Journal of Management Studies 53, no. 7
(2016): 1141-1168.

6CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

7CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Assignment 2
Task 1
Review of the CSR policy of Adidas
One of the most well renowned sports manufacturer in the contemporary time period of
that of Adidas. Due to the significant position occupied by this firm in the global context, the
managers of the firm has initiated the need to adhere to the idea of corporate social
responsibility. In this regard, it can be seen that the organization believes in the giving of charity
and engaging with the community on an active note.
In the year 2018, the company manufactured around five million pairs of shoes all of
which contained plastic waste which were recycled.13 Plastic wastes are considered to be harmful
for the health of the environment as they do not decompose for many years. Furthermore, much
of the plastic wastes are non-biodegradable in nature, which means that they remain present in
the environment until they are forcefully destroyed. The use of such plastic waste by the
company of Adidas ensured that the amount of plastic waste present in the atmosphere reduces to
a significant extent.
In order to achieve this objective, the organization has collaborated with the firm of
Parley. Both of them undertake significantly important measures to ensure that the plastic wastes
present in the ocean bodies of the world, are properly removed and treated. The waste is
collected and transformed in to a yarn which constitutes one of the most important unit of the
foot wear manufactured by Adidas. The goal of this company is to produce around 11 million
13 'CSR Information For Adidas AG' (CSRHub - Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsiblity (CSR) ratings on
over 32,145 of the world’s largest public and private companies., 2019)
<https://www.csrhub.com/CSR_and_sustainability_information/adidas-AG> accessed 31 August 2019.

8CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
foot wear by the year 2019, all of which would constitute of such recycled versions of the plastic
waste taken from the oceans of the Earth.
To conclude, corporate social responsibility needs to be voluntary in nature. It is an
obligation which is placed on the different business firms of the world to ensure that they are
made responsible for their various acts of omission and commission. In this regard, it needs to be
a conscious attempt on the part of the firms themselves to improve the society and ensure a
sustainable future.

9CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Task 2
1. Suppliers – The demands of the suppliers can be observed to be the maintenance of a strong
and stable supply chain. The raw materials need to be transferred to the firms in an effective
manner so that they are bale to earn a profit margin.
2. Customers - The need of the customers is the availability of quality products at affordable
prices. In this regard, they need the raw materials to be organic and sustainable in nature. The
change that can be recommended is that the firms use only those raw materials in their
manufacturing process which are environmental friendly and dermatologically preferred.
3. Employees - The employees constitute one of the most important stakeholders. In order to
ensure that they are kept satisfied, it is recommended that they are given proper work
environment. This would help them to work in an efficient manner.14
4. Environment - The environment is affected the most due to the activities of the different
business organizations in the world. The firms use raw materials extracted from the surface of
the Earth in their manufacturing process. During such times of extraction, there is considerable
wastage produced, which in turn, affects the health of the planet when they are left untreated. In
this respect, it can be recommended that the companies should ensure that they extract the
materials from the wastage already produced as can be seen in the context of Adidas who uses
plastic waste for manufacturing.15
14 Saeidi, Sayedeh Parastoo, Saudah Sofian, Parvaneh Saeidi, Sayyedeh Parisa Saeidi, and Seyyed Alireza Saaeidi.
"How does corporate social responsibility contribute to firm financial performance? The mediating role of
competitive advantage, reputation, and customer satisfaction." Journal of business research 68, no. 2 (2015): 341-
350.
15 Ağan, Yavuz, Cemil Kuzey, Mehmet Fatih Acar, and Atif Açıkgöz. "The relationships between corporate social
responsibility, environmental supplier development, and firm performance." Journal of Cleaner Production 112
(2016): 1872-1881.

10CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
5. Community – The activities of the firms affect the health of the community. The members of
the community form the vital customer base of such firms across the world. The decisions of the
business affects the health of the community. In this respect, it can be recommended that the
CSR reports of the concerned sports manufacturer should be made available for the community
so that they would be made aware of the good deeds pursued by the firm concerned.

11CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Task 3
The potential impact of these changes in CSR on business performance
With regards to the sports manufacturing company, the first change that was proposed
was with regard to the suppliers. The suppliers needed to adhere to certain codes of conduct
which would allow them to follow the supply chain in a transparent manner. This would affect
the business performance to a significant extent as the suppliers would start to face a loss from
all the unethical activities that was carried out by them for so long.16 However, the ethical
application of the supply chain would ensure the use of environmental friendly raw materials in
the long run.
The employees of an organization are the most important constituent units within any
firm. As a result, they need to be properly taken care of by the way of reducing their working
hours. This would affect the productivity of the firm in the short run, but in the long run, this
would motivate the employees to work harder than before.
Another change that has been proposed is with regard to that of the customers. The
customers are the ones who purchase the products of the firms, thereby leading to the rise of
sales volume of the firm. The adherence to such activities of corporate social responsibility
would make the people aware of the ethical and social obligation of the firm. This would, in turn,
inspire them to purchase from such companies.
Thus, to conclude, it can be observed that corporate social responsibility aims to provide
obligations on the part of the businesses to fulfil their social and ethical responsibility to the
members of the community. Although it is initially perceived to be a burden on the effective
16 Epstein, Marc J. Making sustainability work: Best practices in managing and measuring corporate social,
environmental and economic impacts. Routledge, 2018.