Corporate Social Responsibility: Personal and Professional Impact

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This essay provides a comprehensive overview of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and its connection to sustainability. It explores how CSR impacts individuals, society, and the environment, emphasizing ethical business practices and the importance of considering social, environmental, and economic issues. The essay reflects on personal learning experiences, highlighting the development of a sense of responsibility towards the environment and community. It also addresses common issues in CSR, such as income inequality, lack of education, and gender inequality, and discusses how applying CSR principles can contribute to personal growth and professional success as a future manager, fostering ethical behavior, and driving positive change within organizations and society. Desklib provides access to similar solved assignments.
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Corporate Social Responsibility 0
[Type the company name]
Corporate Social Responsibility
Student’s Name
5/30/2019
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Corporate Social Responsibility 1
Introduction
Sustainability is considered a holistic approach that considers the economic,
ecological and social dimensions to leave the lasting prosperity. It focuses on meeting
personal needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their personal
needs. It focuses on using the natural resources efficiently to protect it for the future
generations and provide equal opportunities to all the members in the community for
sustainable livelihood. It helps in improving the standard of living and focuses on health and
the safety of the community (Clayton & Radcliffe, 2018).
It helps in developing the relationships between people and understanding of the new
habitat. The concept of sustainability provides the learning to manage the possible scenarios
by adopting new approaches that provide equal opportunity to all and aims to alleviate
poverty. It allows the person to be responsive to the environmental and social issues faced by
the country and develop the strategies that address the issues. It is considered as a new way to
look towards reality and promotes unity and respect for the multiculturality. It describes the
new ways of living lives that promote the health and safety of the existing and future
generations (Mowforth & Munt, 2015).
The practice of sustainability has provided a new vision to life that embraces equality
and respect for all. It allows me to use fair practices and efficiently use natural resources to
protect it for future generations. It helped me in realizing the responsibilities towards the
environment, social and economic issues and inbuilt the values that will provide respect to all
and concerned for all. It is considered as the responsibility towards the environment and
society (Crane & Matten, 2016). The above paragraphs will reflect upon corporate social
responsibility as a part of sustainability. It will also cover the impact of corporate social
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Corporate Social Responsibility 2
responsibility upon the individual and the reflection of the impact of CSR upon personal
level.
Corporate Social responsibility
It is considered as a self-regulating business model that helps the company to be
socially accountable to itself, stakeholders and to the society. It describes the way the
company operates the business to leave a positive impact on upon society and within the
company. It is concerned about the impact upon the social, environmental and economic
issues. It involves the practice of conducting the business ethically to boost morale and
establish a good employer-employee relationship (Baland, Bardhan & Bowles, 2018).
It focuses on leaving the positive impact upon the community and contributes towards
the development of the economy by conducting the business ethically and providing quality
life to the employees. It focuses on conducting the practices that are beneficial for society as
well as the business (Unit, 2015).
The activities of being socially responsible towards the environment and to the
organization help in developing a good reputation which further allows me to establish good
relations within the company. Practicing CSR activities in daily life provides self-satisfaction
that I am doing the right things and being a socially responsible citizen. It helps the person to
be responsible for the community and towards the environment. It will help me in developing
a strong relationship within the company by ethically behaving and conducting the things that
are right (Epstein, 2018).
After learning the concept of corporate social responsibility I am focusing on
effectively contributing towards the environment by using the resources efficiently and
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Corporate Social Responsibility 3
conducting the activities that are ethically correct. I ensure to protect the natural resources for
future generations and do not exploit the available resources (Grayson & Hodges, 2017).
“The charity begins from home”. I have realized it is not imperative to be employed in
a company for an effective contribution towards the community and the environment. I have
realized that the actions of each individual leave the major impact on society. This concept
has developed the learning to be a responsible citizen and save the resources for future
generations. It majorly stresses to conduct the activities that are right and helps in developing
a good reputation among society (Crowther & Seifi, 2018).
We as humans are the part of the society so it the responsibility of the person to take
care of its society and maintain harmonious relationships with them all. It reflects that the
person must embrace diversity and must have equal respect for all the diverse cultures. My
actions should not provide harm to the environment and to the community. I should be
responsible for my actions and must focus on creating a positive impact on the environment
(Grayson & Hodges, 2017).
The rights and the duties are considered as two wheels of the same vehicle. If the
person believes to attain rights it is the duty to be responsible towards the society. The person
must focus on the betterment of the society along with its personal growth. If the person has
the right towards the education it must focus on empowering the people by sharing its
education and must volunteer towards the activities that benefit society. I have learned to
conduct the activities honestly and in a responsible manner to be considered as a proper
citizen of the country (Crane, Matten & Spence, 2019).
Issues in CSR
The common issues that emerge the need to inculcate CSR practices include the
increased income inequality and lack of education among the society. The individuals are
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Corporate Social Responsibility 4
practicing malpractices due to the achievement of the personal goals which includes the
involvement of bribery and corruption. The people in the society are exploiting the resources
and creating a bad impact on the climatic conditions (Flammer, 2015).
The consumers in today’s modern world are well aware and educate which turn
requires sharing the transparent information and maintaining the interest of the stakeholders.
It the duty of the firms and the individuals do not persuade the customers using false
information. The gender inequality for employment is considered as the major issues under
CSR. The companies do not provide equal opportunities to the males and females for
exploring their skills and applies to the job. The companies are not focusing upon the health
issues faced by the employees and leading to high employee turnover which in turn affects
the performance of the business (Wang et al, 2016).
The companies are practicing corruption and do not disclose the true information to
the public. There is a lack of proper corporate governance and the rights of the employees are
exploited. The employees feel disrespected and the diversities at the workplace are not
embraced. The resources are not properly used and there is a release of harmful gas emissions
that are harmful to the environment (Schrempf-Stirling, Palazzo & Phillips, 2016).
Impact of CSR
Application of CSR as an individual
The contribution of corporate social responsibility provides a combination of
independent motivations. It helps in the personal growth of the individual which bring
intrinsic altruism. It inculcates the feeling of doing well to society and helping the individuals
who are in need. Learning about CSR activities helps me in developing behavior to inspire
others to contribute maximum to the society. It provided me the insight about the right
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Corporate Social Responsibility 5
actions and the benefits the community will receive from my actions. I have realized that in
order to gain the rights to information, participation. It is my duty to contribute maximum
towards the community and the environment. I have learned to provide maximum benefit to
the individuals through providing education and empowering women to reduce gender
inequality. I am able to consider a contribution towards the society as a duty and conduct the
activities that are morally right (Cannon et al, 2017).
Contribution towards the CSR initiatives also provides material incentives. Charity
contributions reduce the taxable amount to be paid and opportunities to earn money through
sourcing the activities under corporate social responsibility. Through practicing the CSR
initiatives I will be able to develop a positive image in the society and will increase the self-
esteem (Maduerio et al, 2016). Volunteering in creating awareness regarding the CSR
initiatives and educating the people helped me in boosting my self-confidence and helped me
in becoming a better person. It developed positivity and made me happier in contributing to
society. After learning the importance of CSR I am able to have clear goals in my life and
becoming a responsible citizen (Shaukat, Qiu, & Trojanowski, 2016).
Application of CSR as a potential future manager
Understanding of the CSR importance and activities will help me in becoming a better
manager because I will be able to develop good employer-employee relation by sharing
transparent information with the employees and practicing good corporate governance. It will
help me retain the interest of the stakeholders by sharing the actual information and
practicing CSR activities as a statutory obligation. It will help me improve the performance
of my business by enhancing the reputation of the business and attracting investors to be part
of the company that contributes towards the community (Ruggie, 2017).
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Corporate Social Responsibility 6
Through participation in the CSR initiatives, I will be able to derive creative and
innovative solutions that will help in the growth of the business. It will help me to inbuilt the
culture that focuses on ethical behavior and conducting the activities that provide maximum
benefit to the community. Adoption of the CSR activities will help me in understanding the
needs of the employees and retaining them by satisfying their needs and making them more
committed towards the organization. It will help me to remove the selfishness and priority to
the personal benefit over the benefits of the company to carry of out the business genuinely
and leaving the positive impact upon the society (Chen, Wen & Luo, 2016).
It will help me in developing an ad-hoc program that provides satisfaction both to the
employees as well as society. Understand the importance of implementation of CSR
initiatives will help me in inspiring the leaders to practice CSR and develop a strong
reputation in the eyes of the customers. It will help me in practicing ethical behavior at my
workplace and integrates the efforts towards the achievement of the common goal. CSR is
considered as a responsible business strategy that helps the business in sustaining its
competitive advantage and bring positive change in society (Frynas & Yamahaki, 2016).
Through adopting the CSR practices I will be able to cut the cost of the products by
using the environment-friendly packaging and will use less energy to save the cost of the
products. It will help me to develop innovative products and differentiate my business with
other competitors. It will help me in sustaining my business for a longer period of time and
will engage the customers by contributing towards the good. It will help me in engaging the
employees and create a harmonious working environment (Renouard & Ezvan, 2018).
PERSONAL LIFE IMPACT
Learning about the importance of corporate social responsibility as a daily activity has
helped me to become a responsible citizen and has changed my thinking in a way better
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Corporate Social Responsibility 7
manner. It has influenced my buying decisions as I have started paying more for the socially
conscious brand. Earlier, I use to focus upon the price of the products rather the contribution
of the company towards the society but after learning the importance of CSR I am willing to
pay to the brands that effectively contribute towards the organization.
I have started shopping from the companies that share their values and effectively
contributes towards the community. I will not purchase a brand that harms the environment
and the animals in producing their goods and is harmful to my health. After getting the
insight about the CSR initiatives the customers in the modern world is getting more aware
and expects that the companies behave ethically with its employees and maintain good public
relations. I will prefer the brand that contributes towards the social movements (Cramer,
2017).
Practicing CSR activities has helped me in changing my purpose of life. It has
developed positivity and creativity in me. My selfish nature is converted into selflessness and
focuses on being a socially responsible individual that wishes to make a positive contribution
to society. It has helped me in influencing my buying behavior and be part of the initiatives
that positively contribute towards the community (Lins, Servaes & Tamayo, 2017).
I have become responsible for my actions and focuses on behaving ethically. I will be
a responsible manager who will introduce a new way to resolve the problems of the
employees and will provide a platform to keep them more engaging. I will be open and
honest to my company and will perform the job ethically. I will develop an honest
relationship with my employees and will design an effective reward system to keep the staff
motivated and encouraging them to become the leaders. I will focus on recognizing the
attitude of the employees and will make them feel more valued to encourage them to be more
committed towards the organization. It has helped in becoming a better human and will make
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Corporate Social Responsibility 8
the maximum contribution towards the community. It has developed the feeling of treating all
the persons equally and respecting the entire individual’s. I will be more transparent in my
actions and will consider it as a social responsibility to leave a positive impact upon the
community. I have learned to contribute to society through my actions.
Critique of the reflection
Apart from the positive outcome of practicing corporate social responsibility
initiatives it also leads to a negative effect upon the business as the companies get involve
more towards the social responsibility and forget the aim towards the business. The focus of
the companies’ shift from generating profits to involving more in the community initiatives
and in turns creates difficulty in maintaining the interest of the stakeholders. Practicing of the
CSR initiatives hits the reputation of the company because the company itself discloses the
faults in its products when it violates the CSR initiatives and in turn hampers the brand image
of the company and loses the trust of the customers (Hong & Liskovich, 2015).
Adoption of the CSR initiatives creates difficulty in convincing the customers to buy
the products. The consumers feel good to contribute towards the society and engaging with
the company towards its CSR initiatives but when they do not see the emerging result they
start feeling discouraged and consider it as an activity to develop public relations. Such
changes in the perceptions hamper the brand image of the company and create difficulty in
convincing the customers. Practicing of the CSR activities increases the cost of production.
The increasing expenditure upon the CSR activities increases the price of the products and is
not managed by small businesses. It becomes difficult for the small business to manage the
cost of the CSR initiatives (Hirose, Lee & Matsumura, 2017).
Implementation of the CSR initiatives requires money and increases the workload
during the implementation stage which in turn lowers the morale of the employees because
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Corporate Social Responsibility 9
they have to spend extra working hours and disturbs the work-life balance of the employees.
It increases the labor turnover and the cost of hiring new employees. The expectation of the
shareholders is not met because the focus of the companies shifts towards contributing
towards the environment and they do not focus on providing the value to the shareholders
(Hirose, Lee & Matsumura, 2017).
Initiating CSR strategy at the companies creates more scrutinizing of the company
because the media assures that the company does not make any false promises and hampers
the trust of the customers towards the brand which in turn decrease the sales of the company.
However, it is analyzed that practicing CSR initiatives requires a huge amount of money and
resources. It increases the risk of hampering of the reputation and decrease in the sales of the
company. It shifts the business objective from profit creation to community contribution.
However, apart from the positive impact it also creates a negative impact upon the customers,
shareholders, employees and the profitability of the business (Weinzimmer & Esken, 2016).
CONCLUSION
From the above discussion, it is concluded that sustainability and contribution towards
the environment are considered an integral part to develop a positive brand image and
become a socially responsible citizen. Understanding of the CSR concept has helped me in
becoming a better person and has provided a purpose to my life. I was able to gain the
confidence to become a responsible manager who will be honest in actions and will focus to
make a positive contribution to the business as well as the society. It has provided me the
opportunity to develop innovative ideas and increase the material incentive along with
personal and professional growth.
Through the implementation of the CSR activities, I will focus on building strong
relations with the employees and creating the platforms and the rewards that increase the
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Corporate Social Responsibility 10
morale of the employees and make them more committed towards the organization. It has
helped me to become more aware of the environmental issues and has influenced my buying
behavior by prioritizing value instead of the price of the product.
Apart from the positive contributions of CSR initiatives it also creates a negative
influence upon the business as the focus towards the profitability shifts towards contribution
to the community. It creates difficulty in convincing the customers and hampers the brand
image of the business. It increases the cost of the company and creates difficulty for the small
business to manage the cost of production and lowers the morale of the employees.
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Corporate Social Responsibility 11
References
Baland, J. M., Bardhan, P., & Bowles, S. (2018). Inequality, cooperation, and environmental
sustainability. Princeton University Press.
Cannon, J. N., Ling, Z., Wang, Q., & Watanabe, O. (2017). 10-K Disclosure of Corporate
Social Responsibility and Firms’ Competitive Advantages. Available at SSRN
2805068.
Chen, Y. H., Wen, X. W., & Luo, M. Z. (2016). Corporate social responsibility spillover and
competition effects on the food industry. Australian Economic Papers, 55(1), 1-13.
Clayton, T., & Radcliffe, N. (2018). Sustainability: a systems approach. London: Routledge.
Cramer, J. (2017). Corporate Social Responsibility and Globalisation: an action plan for
business. London: Routledge.
Crane, A., & Matten, D. (2016). Business ethics: Managing corporate citizenship and
sustainability in the age of globalization. United States: Oxford University Press.
Crane, A., Matten, D., & Spence, L. (2019). Corporate social responsibility: Readings and
cases in a global context. London: Routledge.
Crowther, D., & Seifi, S. (2018). Redefining Corporate Social Responsibility. Emerald Group
Publishing.
Epstein, M. J. (2018). Making sustainability work: Best practices in managing and measuring
corporate social, environmental and economic impacts. London: Routledge.
Flammer, C. (2015). Does corporate social responsibility lead to superior financial
performance? A regression discontinuity approach. Management Science, 61(11),
2549-2568.
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