Preparing for a Professional Career: CSR Challenges, Ethics & CPD

This report delves into the challenges businesses face in implementing Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policies, particularly focusing on greenwashing, using Marks & Spencer as a case study. It emphasizes the importance of transparency and ethical conduct, highlighting how misleading practices can damage a company's reputation and erode customer trust. The report outlines relevant codes of conduct and guidance from professional bodies like the International Institute for Sustainable Development. Furthermore, it includes a Continuing Professional Development (CPD) plan aimed at enhancing knowledge and skills related to CSR and ethical practices. The CPD plan focuses on action learning and understanding professional body policies to promote sustainable development and ethical business operations. Desklib provides access to this and other solved assignments.

Preparing for a
Professional Career

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
PART A - Report.............................................................................................................................1
Introduction of challenge/ issue chosen.................................................................................1
Code of conduct that can assist in resolving the issue............................................................2
Guidance available from the professional bodies...................................................................3
Conclusion..............................................................................................................................3
PART B – CPD Plan........................................................................................................................3
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
In the global business world, there are numerous hurdles that have an impact on corporate
performance. In this context, a number of issues that businesses have in running their businesses
are discussed, as well as the best course of action that they should take to ensure long-term
viability. In addition, the paper examines numerous standards of behaviour, as well as possible
professional assistance and support, as well as the potential impact on business circumstances.
PART A - Report
Introduction of challenge/ issue chosen
The action of managers to ensure the overall development and social welfare is referred
to as corporate social responsibility. Various philanthropic, benevolent, volunteer, and activist
organizations are concerned with the important functions. In today's world, businesses must
contend with a slew of difficulties in order to maintain and implement appropriate CSR policies.
Green washing is used as a primary concern for organizing CSR activities in this case (Scales
and et. al., 2018). It can also be noted in the case of Marks & Spencer, where the company asks
customers to bring in effective clothes that they are not wearing in order to participate in
recycling efforts. The primary motive for the organization to adopt this strategy is to protect the
environment by minimizing pollution and appropriately utilizing waste. By reusing discarded
clothes, they lead to the creation of new apparel. As a result, the main practise has changed, and
their clients have been mislead by this approach. The companies also produced a lot of
pollutants, which had a bad impact on the environment, it was discovered (Greco and Kraimer,
2020). It has been noticed that events resulting from a steep increase in green washing have a
significant influence on a company's environmentally friendly initiatives. Customers' faith and
trust in the company are also being impacted negatively as a result of this. At first, it was
discovered that customers had begun to trust Marks and Spencer's significant activities, which
provided the corporation with a competitive advantage.
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They also believe that the corporation cares about the environment, as evidenced by their
use of environmentally beneficial techniques. Also, as the company learns the truth about the
situation, the entire scenario changes. It has a negative impact on the company's existing image.
As a result, there are a variety of well-known and well-known organisations that are unconcerned
about the environment or society as a whole, opting instead for CSR initiatives to boost their
brand image in the marketplace. Aside from that, some other organisations are leading to
appropriate efforts for society's total economic and social well-being.
Code of conduct that can assist in resolving the issue
Code of conduct undertake various norms, rules and regulations that are developed to
follow regarding the effective operations of business. There is different code of conduct for the
private, public and non-profit companies. Despite from this, all the organisations regardless their
size and scope need to consider some code of conduct which are discussed as:
 Transparency is vital because it protects the interests of a variety of internal and
external stakeholders in a corporation. It is the company's job to offer necessary
information and details to its shareholders, customers, investors, employees, and other
stakeholders. It contributes significantly to the development of stakeholder trust.
 The primary code of conduct has been determined to be the organization's pre-defined
tasks and responsibilities toward the environment, economy, and society.
 As a vital rule of conduct, respecting and supporting human rights is also undertaken
(Coates, 2020). In this case, businesses must provide high-quality products as well as
services to clients in order to safeguard their long-term interests. In addition, it is
beneficial to preserve the company's strong brand image in the market.
Hence, it has been analysed that there are several codes of conducts in which some of
them are developed by companies and some by legal entities to maintain effective business
operations. In order to sustain their image in the market for a long period of time, these rules and
norms need to be considered.
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Guidance available from the professional bodies
CSR initiatives are primarily guided by the International Institute for Sustainable
Development. This organization provides a lot of helpful recommendations to businesses in order
for them to successfully utilise relevant resources. It leads to the formation of numerous
suggestions in fields such as international commerce, renewable energy, and energy
measurement, among others (Gromoll, 2021). This institute helps Marks and Spencer run their
business in an ethical manner. There is a wealth of information available on the institute's
website that is being collected by many programmers. Aside from that, they provide significant
financial support and run a number of programmers aimed at assisting international and small
businesses in planning effective CSR operations.
Conclusion
Following the discovery of multiple policies created by various professional groups, as
well as diverse code of conducts made to run their business properly. Companies like Marks &
Spencer will benefit from establishing a positive brand image in society in order to get a
competitive advantage. It is also agreed that professional bodies offer organizations with the
required financial and policy help, assisting in the consideration of CSR operations in the
effective development of society and the overall economy (Campbell, Porsch and Hobbs, 2019).
Several standards of conduct are also necessary to protect the interests of various parties
involved with the company. Aside from that, these bodies are developing some rules that
companies must follow in order to safeguard themselves and comply with legal requirements.
Apart from this, code of conduct may harm business data of company as it is important to
maintain required transparency which is related with the financial position of company that can
also disclose their confidential data to unauthorised parties.
PART B – CPD Plan
The complete procedure that an individual chooses to achieve new skills and talents with
the appropriate goal of developing their knowledge is depicted by a continuous growth plan
(Castellano and et. al., 2017). While an individual works at a firm, this information can be
gathered in a variety of ways, both informal and formal. Aside from that, it also includes their
future consequences as well as significant actions that individuals are taking to acquire
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innovative skills and overall experience. There are some set norms of conduct in the CSR
industry, and people must be aware of these principles. A CPD strategy is created for this
purpose:
CPD Plan
Area of Learning Reflection of
learning
Future Implications Action
Greenwashing
practice
Customers can be
misled by
greenwashing CSR
practises and
activities, as I
discovered from this
workshop.
Consumers are
oblivious of the
unethical practises
used by companies
doing promotions and
commercials that
have a big impact on
customer mindsets,
according to research
(Muscat, 2017). It
will help me
accomplish relevant
activities in an
efficient manner
when I work as a
professional in the
future. It will also
help me make
appropriate
judgments at work.
In this regard, key goal is to
increase my knowledge of
greenwashing activity by 40%
in the next four months.
Policies of
professional bodies
to guide in CSR
activities
Professional
organisations make
policies for the
development and
In today's corporate
world, the business
environment is
dynamic, with
In this regard, one of my goals
is to increase my research
skills by 17% in the next four
months, so that I can more
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enhancement of the
environment and
society in this way
(Ormrod and Burton,
2020). In this lesson,
I learned about a
variety of policies
that are dynamic in
nature, as well as
how to identify the
need for ongoing
monitoring and
change. It leads to me
gaining a vast amount
of knowledge about
the evolution of
society.
numerous changes
occurring on a
regular basis.
Professional bodies
make several
modifications to
current policies, and
it is vital for me and
my company to
comprehend and act
on these changes. It
will assist me in
improving my future
performance and
engaging in
appropriate activities
at work (Suryani,
2020). Apart from
that, by obtaining
appropriate
information, I would
be able to ensure the
successful growth
and development of
society. This will
assist me in
efficiently analysing
the situation and then
making appropriate
decisions to resolve
the company's
effectively find appropriate
professional body policies.
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difficulties.
CONCLUSION
In light of the above discussion, it has been determined that CSR is viewed as a
company's moral obligation that must be met in a timely manner. Companies have faced a
variety of obstacles when it comes to effectively organizing CSR initiatives. Effective
conversation has taken place regarding the code of behavior, norms, and laws that must be
followed by companies in order for them to stay in the market for a longer period of time. There
are various professional bodies that have been created with effective policies in mind and
provide the necessary support to entities to carry out CSR functions ethically. Regardless, CPD is
critical for individuals to improve their total knowledge and potential, which is critical for future
development.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Campbell, C., Porsch, R. and Hobbs, L., 2019. Initial teacher education: Roles and possibilities
for preparing capable teachers. In Examining the Phenomenon of “Teaching Out-of-
field” (pp. 243-267). Springer, Singapore.
Castellano, M.E and et. al., 2017. Preparing students for college and career in the United States:
The effects of career-themed programs of study on high school performance. Vocations
and Learning, 10(1), pp.47-70.
Coates, K., 2020. The value of soft skills: preparing the next generation of workforce for future
work.
Greco, L.M. and Kraimer, M.L., 2020. Goal-setting in the career management process: An
identity theory perspective. Journal of Applied Psychology, 105(1), p.40.
Gromoll, J., 2021. The Fading Pipeline: Preparing the Next Generation of Weapons
Inspectors. American Journal of International Law, 115, pp.100-105.
Muscat, A., 2017. Action research: Preparing Maltese football players for migratory based
transitions. Liverpool John Moores University (United Kingdom).
Ormrod, G. and Burton, R., 2020. Preparing for Transition: Putting it all Together. Transition to
Professional Nursing Practice, p.342.
Scales, R.Q and et. al., 2018. Are we preparing or training teachers? Developing professional
judgment in and beyond teacher preparation programs. Journal of Teacher
Education, 69(1), pp.7-21.
Suryani, A., 2020. The Role of Religious Beliefs in Teacher Education Students’ Career
Aspirations. In Preparing Indonesian Youth (pp. 66-88). Brill.
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