Aston Chemicals: CSR Activities and Sustainable Objectives Report

This report analyzes the implementation of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities within an organization to achieve sustainable objectives. The report begins with an introduction outlining the aims, objectives, and research questions. It then details a project management plan covering scope, cost, time, quality, communication, resources, and risk. A work breakdown structure and Gantt chart are included to visualize project tasks and timelines. The research involves a small-scale study of Aston Chemicals, a chemical distributor, and utilizes a questionnaire to gather data from 20 employees. The data analysis employs a thematic analysis technique, interpreting responses across several themes, including the importance of CSR for sustainability, profitability, and competitive advantage. The report concludes with recommendations based on the research and evaluates the value of undertaking the research, providing valuable insights into the role of CSR in meeting sustainable objectives.

Managing Successful
Business Project

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Research Title: “Implementing CSR activities within organisation to meet sustainable
objectives”........................................................................................................................................3
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................3
P1) Project aims and objectives...................................................................................................3
P2) Project Management Plan......................................................................................................4
P3) Work Breakdown structure and Gantt Chart.........................................................................6
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................8
P4) Small Scale Research............................................................................................................8
TASK 3..........................................................................................................................................11
P5) Analysis of research and data .............................................................................................11
P6) Recommendations based on the research............................................................................18
TASK 4..........................................................................................................................................19
P7) Value of undertaking the research.......................................................................................19
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................19
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RESEARCH TITLE: “IMPLEMENTING CSR ACTIVITIES WITHIN
ORGANISATION TO MEET SUSTAINABLE OBJECTIVES”
INTRODUCTION
Businesses have different kinds of functions and operations that have to be executed in a
strategic manner so that objectives and aims which have been designed by leader can be
accomplished. Successful business projects can be handled effectively with incorporation of
corporate social responsibility. In this report, the basic aims, objectives and the research related
questions have been described. A small scale research has been conducted for the company
Aston Chemicals. It is an organisation that works as the chemical distributor with 31 employees
at present. Being a small scale organisation, this company provided speciality chemicals and
basic raw materials to the personal care industry of Europe. This research shall depict the
contribution and impact CSR activities will have in meeting sustainability and the business
objectives for the company.
TASK 1
P1) Project aims and objectives
Sustainability is a state or phase which is achieved by an entity when any action or
reaction produced by this entity doesn't affect the environment or the individuals residing in the
same (Martinuzzi and Krumay, 2013). Following are the aim, objective and the research
questions which will help in guiding and enlightening different activities during the research.
Aims:
To understand and analyse the impact on organisation and its sustainable objectives when
implementing activities according to corporate social responsibility.
Objectives:
Objectives are stepping stones which help in aligning the different research based
operations with the aim of the project. For every business organisation it is important to have
some objectives so that actual purpose of functioning is obtained.
 To recognise the conceptual elements of CSR.
 To know the relation between competitive advantages and CSR for the business.
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 To identify the impact of implementing CSR activities within business objectives of
Aston Chemicals.
Research questions:
Research questions are the links which are created by researcher for exploring every
corner of the research project and bring in more depth in the information that is to be acquired.
Following research questions have been developed for this concerned project.
 Explains meaning of CSR within the organisation context?
 What is the importance of CSR for Aston Chemicals?
 How is CSR helping the organisation?
 What are the various methods through which CSR activities can be applied in Aston
Chemicals?
 In what ways Aston Chemicals will be able to achieve its sustainable objectives when
considering CSR?
P2) Project Management Plan
The document which provides the basic information and detailed description regarding
the complete processing and execution of the project is considered as the project management
plan. It has to be created by covering different aspects like scope, cost, time, quality,
communications, resources and the associated risks (Crane and Matten, 2016). The decisions and
assumptions which have to be made for these issues are according to the project management
plan. For this research on Aston Chemicals, following project management plan has been
devised.
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The purpose of the project management is to generate a value proposition associated with
this project. The entire team that is working on this particular research must be able to deliver
their best and provide authentic research which can be assessed only through a systematic
approach. The type of work and the deliverables related with the research are also depicted
through project management planning. Specific timeline is developed that provides a clear idea
about when each task has to be executed.
Scope: There are two types of scope related when considering project management.
These are product scope and project scope. For this research, the concerned element is project
research and it helps in evaluating the work or task that will be accomplished for delivering the
desired outcome (Too and Weaver, 2014). The functions related with this research have been
depicted in this project management plan which automatically defines the scope.
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Cost: Investments and monetary support is always required by the organisation for aiding
the processing the project requirements. An in-depth analysis of the assets and liabilities is
performed which further helps in understanding whether project costs are bearable or not
(Arjaliès and Mundy, 2013). For Aston Chemicals, the implementation of CSR activities is not a
costly project. It can be fulfilled by using company assets.
Time: The timeline has been divided according to the 14 week structure which has been
depicted clearly in the project management plan.
Quality: The consistency of the services and products is beneficial for the organisation in
terms of customer satisfaction. Similarly, there has to be a consistency in the flow of information
and activities in the project for maintaining the quality. The processes and activities related with
this project have to be managed efficiently.
Communication: Aston Chemicals despite of being a small scale enterprise, has many
stakeholders. Any action or decision taken by the company has some impact over the
stakeholders. Hence, every aspect of the project management plan has to be discussed with these
individuals (Rangan, Chase and Karim, 2015). Furthermore, the communications management
amongst the team members of the concerned project helps in executing respective task without
any hindrances.
Resources: Resources are the elements which will be required at different points of time
for facilitating the various functions of the research. It is important to communicate these
requirements to the stakeholders so that objectives can be accomplished. Human skills,
information technology requirements and the necessary inventory for the purpose are evaluated
in this classification.
Risk: The recognition, analysis and evaluation of the elements that can cause a blockage
to the project is risk management. When considering the implementation of CSR is the important
organisation functioning, there is no such risk related (Loorbach and Wijsman, 2013). But still
the organisation has to allocate certain time for the overcoming the risks or finding a solution to
the issues which may occur during execution.
P3) Work Breakdown structure and Gantt Chart
It is used in project management planning for getting a detailed understanding about the
different elements included in the prepared plan. The responsibilities and duties which are related
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with each and every task are easily accommodated amongst different team members. Total scope
of the entire project is further bifurcated for meeting the aim and objectives (SILvIuS and et. al.,
2012).
Following is the Gantt Chart that was followed according to the project management plan.
Activity We
ek 1
We
ek
2
We
ek 3
Wee
k 4
Wee
k 5
We
ek
6
We
ek
7
We
ek
8
We
ek 9
Wee
k 10
We
ek
11
We
ek
12
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ek
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ek
14
Reading Literature
Developing
objectives
Drafting the literature
review
Producing the
research proposal
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Drafting research
methodology
Developing
questionnaire
Recording and
collecting data
Analysing and
interpreting data
Drafting the recorded
information
Completing
remaining tasks
Submitting the draft
report to professor
Receiving feedbacks
Making corrections
Producing final
report and
submission
TASK 2
P4) Small Scale Research
In order to conduct a small scale research, it is important to jot down the different
methodologies and respective components which will be applied for conducting the research.
Type of investigation: Qualitative research is based on extracting information in terms of
quality without focusing on the quantities while qualitative research is completely based on the
collection of large quantities of information and then extracting the useful data (Jamali, El Dirani
and Harwood, 2015). The type of investigation that is chosen for this research is qualitative and
limited to a small scale.
Research Philosophy: The basic essence of research philosophy is limited to the source,
characteristics and progress which will be addressed in terms of knowledge. All the beliefs and
assumptions that are catered in this process of research have to be valid and authentic.
Pragmatism, positivism, realism and interpretivism are the major research philosophies. For this
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research, interpretivism philosophy is adopted for gaining in-depth knowledge through small
samples and qualitative information (Silvius and Schipper, 2014).
Research Design: The purpose of the project or research is the first component which
helps in choosing the research design. For this research, descriptive design is chosen as the study
is facilitated by human participation.
Research Approach: Data collection pattern differs from one research to another
depending on the suitability and feasibility for gaining the best outcomes. When generalised
theories are used then deductive approach is initiated while when specific issues are considered
then inductive approach is said to be used (Baumgartner, 2014). The aim and objectives are
accomplished in an efficient manner if such effective research approaches are adopted.
Data collection methods: Primary and secondary research methods are the sources of
data. A questionnaire has been formulated for conducting the primary research while the
secondary research shall be performed using published sources and articles which are present
over the internet and in different sources.
Sampling: The number or unit of individuals that are to be subjected or will be
addressing the primary research are considered as sample. Choosing and deriving the right
amount of sample is considered as sampling. The current research is facilitated with 20
employees (Córdoba and Piki, 2012).
Data Analysis: There are different approaches of conducting data analysis. It is important
that the concerned analysis is performed in accordance to the aims and objectives of the research.
Thematic analysis method has been chosen for this research. It helps in analysing the data
according to the frequency of response and the graphical interpretation which is acquired from
the same (Nwagbara and Reid, 2013).
QUESTIONNAIRE
Name:__________________
Age: ________
Gender: ___________
1) Do you consider CSR as an important aspect in achieving sustainability?
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 Yes
 No
2) Can application of CSR principles in the organisational dynamics enhance profitability?
 Yes
 No
3) Mark the level of agreement with the fact that CSR helps in facilitating the sustainable
objectives.
 Highly agree
 Moderately agree
 Neutral
 Disagree
 Strongly disagree
4) According to you, what factor is the most important when considering CSR.
 Ethical governance
 Concerns for environmental balance
 Developing interest of stakeholders
 All of the above
5) Mark the component that is highly essential for successful application of CSR principles.
 Organisational support
 Assessment of environmental impact
 Developing stakeholder involvement in decision making
 All of the above
6) Do you consider CSR as an important aspect in building strong corporate image?
 Yes
 No
7) Can Aston Chemicals gain competitive advantage with help of CSR activities?
 Yes
 No
 Don't know
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TASK 3
P5) Analysis of research and data
The questionnaire which has been developed before is used for gathering data from 20
employees. The analysis of this research is conducted through use of thematic analysis
technique. Following is the data interpretation and analysis according to the response acquired
from each theme.
Theme 1:Consideration of CSR as an important aspect for achieving sustainability
Do you consider CSR as an important aspect in achieving
sustainability? Number of respondents
Yes 17
No 3
Interpretation:
11
17
3
Consideration of CSR in achieving sustainability
Yes
No

The above depicted pie chart describes the response which was acquired from 20
employees of Aston Chemicals. It is evaluated that 17 employees responded positively for the
fact that CSR helps in achieving sustainability. On the other hand, 3 employees did not agree
with this fact. The majority response depicts that for attaining sustainability that is continuous
achievement, company has to move with corporate social responsibility.
Theme 2: Enhancing profitability through application of CSR principles in the organisational
dynamics
Can application of CSR principles in the organisational dynamics
enhance profitability? Number of respondents
Yes 13
No 7
Interpretation:
Profitability is one of the functions of internal environment (Schaltegger, Lüdeke-Freund
and Hansen, 2012). The pie chart depicts agreement of employees when considering the
12
13
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Enhancing profitability through application of CSR
Yes
No