Corporate Governance and CSR: A Critical Analysis of G4S PLC

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TASK 2: CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AND CSR: G4S
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CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AND CSR:
G4S PLC
Introduction
In the modern era of business, globalisation has caused global organisations to take various
measures and adopt different policies for the sustainability and growth of their company. As a
result of this, the company has to follow many different regulations and approaches to thrive in
this competitive world of business. Corporate Social Responsibility is one of the most prominent
business approaches that help in the sustainable growth and development of an organisation
through benefitting the social, economic, and environmental aspects for the stakeholders
(Crowther and Seifi, 2018). G4S is a multinational security service providing company based in
London, England and founded in 1901 with reform in 2004 when Securicor, a security company
in London, merged with Danish business Group 4 Falck (G4s.com., 2019). The company
provides security and monitoring equipments as well as personnel and prisoner transportation.
The following study critically analyses corporate governance and all its aspects as well as
Corporate Social Responsibility using Archie Carroll’s CSR model in the context of G4S.
Corporate Governance
The concept of corporate governance in the context of an organisation refers to the systems and
procedures of processes, rules, and practices that are followed by the organisation so that the
organisation can be governed and directed properly. As opined by Tricker (2015), corporate
governance includes balancing of the stakeholders of an organisation such as shareholders,
management, investors, government customers, suppliers, and the public. Corporate governance
is also able to provide an organisation with a suitable and effective framework for accomplishing
the goals and objectives of the organisation. As a result of this, corporate governance has
complete control over the entire realm of management within the organisation ranging from

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AND CSR:
G4S PLC
action plans to corporate disclosure. From the research works of Dimopoulos and Wagner
(2016), it has been found that for the corporate governance of the organisation to be successful,
there are four main principles, which need to be upheld by the organisation. These include
accountability, responsibility, fairness, and transparency. Accountability signifies the
responsibility of the stakeholders for actions of the organisation, responsibility refers to the roles
that must be carried out the stakeholders, fairness denotes equal treatment of all the stakeholders,
and transparency refers to openness and integrity of the stakeholders.
However, there are roles of the stakeholders without which the corporate governance cannot be
successful. As pointed out by Yermack (2017), the Board of Directors is the stakeholders who
hold complete authority over the affairs and actions of the organisations. The shareholders are
the stakeholders who provide funds for the different operations of the organisations and own part
of the organisation. The management is the stakeholder, which manages all the different aspects
of the operations within the organisations. The customers are the stakeholders for which the
organisation is generating revenues and making a profit. As such all of these responsibilities of
the stakeholders within the organisation are able to sustain an effective corporate social
responsibility within the organisation.
Corporate Social Responsibility
The concept of corporate social responsibility refers to the business approach that helps an in the
sustainable growth and development of an organisation through contribution to the social,
economic, and environmental aspects for the stakeholders. From the research works of Carroll
(2016), it has been found that Archie Carroll, a business management professor, has been able to
innovate The Pyramid of CSR, which has been helpful to evaluate the corporate social

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AND CSR:
G4S PLC
responsibility of an organisation. The key characteristic features of Archie Carroll’s Pyramid of
CSR are that the CSR is developed on the foundation of profit and profit is prioritized first.
Furthermore, an organisation should be able to comply with the laws and regulation as well as
consider their ethical duties Spence (2016). Archie Carroll’s Pyramid of CSR is able to elaborate
on the reasons as to why and how an organisation should be able to meet social responsibilities.
For this, the pyramid is categorized into four different parts, which are economic, legal, ethical,
and philanthropic.
Figure 1: Archie Carroll’s Pyramid of CSR
(Source: Carroll, 2016)
CSR in G4S PLC
In the context of G4S PLC, the application of Archie Carroll’s Pyramid of CSR would be as
helpful for elaborating how and why G4S PLC should be able to meet social responsibilities.

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AND CSR:
G4S PLC
Economic
Economic aspect refers to the responsibility of the organisation where the organisation aims to be
profitable and survive by benefitting society. In the context of G4S PLC, the organisation is able
to provide security and monitoring equipments as well as personnel and prisoner transportation.
This is not only limited to the private organisation and governmental institution, but it is also
available for the public. As a result of this, the company is able to benefit society and at the same
time, they are able to generate high revenues and profits for themselves (Harris, 2018).
Legal
Legal aspect refers to the responsibility of the organisation where the organisation aims to obey
the laws, rules, and regulations set forth by the government (Carroll, 2015). In the context of
G4S PLC, the organisation is able to follow various laws and regulations due to its status as a
public limited company specializing in security services. As such, the company follows the UK
Employment Act, UK Health and Safety Act, Data Protection Act, and many more. This allows
them to be perceived as a company, which is entirely legal in all their aspect and operations.
Ethical
Ethical aspect refers to the responsibility of the organisation where the organisation aims to act
morally and ethically as well as abide by the laws so that nobody is hurt or cheated (Carroll,
2015). In the context of G4S PLC, the organisation is able to follow various ethical laws and
regulations such as the duty of confidentiality and many more. This is due to the fact that G4S
PLC is a company that deals with security services and as such, being ethical is very critical and
integral for their business operations and activities. Furthermore, the company is also able to

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AND CSR:
G4S PLC
follow the ethical treatment of suppliers and employees as well as ethical measures for keeping
information and data.
Philanthropic
Philanthropic aspect refers to the responsibility of the organisation where the organisation aims
to provide the society unconditionally with many things (Carroll and Brown, 2018). In the
context of G4S PLC, the organisation is able to take part in charitable donations and charities,
welfare development contribution, providing staff members with bonuses and favorable offers,
providing the customers with many benefits at no additional costs, and many more. This helps
them to bond with society and the public, which enhances the perception of the people regarding
G4S PLC and boosts their brand image and reputation.
Therefore, through the economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropic aspects, G4S PLC is able to
successfully maintain their corporate social responsibilities, which helps to contribute towards
their growth and sustainability in the market.
Conclusion
The above-written study critically analyses corporate governance and all its aspects as well as
Corporate Social Responsibility using Archie Carroll’s CSR model in the context of G4S. From
the study, it has been found that the concept of corporate governance is extremely important in
the context of an organisation and helps to govern and direct it. Moreover, the study is able to
analyse the importance of corporate social responsibility as well as Archie Carroll’s Pyramid of
CSR for an organisation and applied it in the context of G4S PLC. Therefore, it can be concluded
that through their activities, G4S PLC is able to maintain its growth and sustainability in the UK
market.

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AND CSR:
G4S PLC

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AND CSR:
G4S PLC
References
Carroll, A.B. and Brown, J.A., 2018. Corporate social responsibility: A review of current
concepts, research, and issues. In Corporate Social Responsibility (pp. 39-69). Emerald
Publishing Limited.
Carroll, A.B., 2015. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is on a sustainable trajectory. Journal
of Defense Management, 5(2), pp.2167-0374.
Carroll, A.B., 2015. Corporate social responsibility. Organizational dynamics, 44(2), pp.87-96.
Carroll, A.B., 2016. Carroll’s pyramid of CSR: taking another look. International journal of
corporate social responsibility, 1(1), p.3.
Crowther, D. and Seifi, S. eds., 2018. Redefining Corporate Social Responsibility. Emerald
Group Publishing.
Dimopoulos, T. and Wagner, H.F., 2016. Corporate Governance and CEO Turnover
Decisions. Swiss Finance Institute Research Paper, (12-16).
G4s.com. (2019). G4S Corporate website. [online] Available at: https://www.g4s.com/
[Accessed 10 Apr. 2019].
Harris, L., 2018. The Internal Effects of Corporate Social Responsibility on Firm Performance.
Spence, L.J., 2016. Small business social responsibility: Expanding core CSR theory. Business &
Society, 55(1), pp.23-55.

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AND CSR:
G4S PLC
Tricker, B., 2015. Corporate governance: Principles, policies, and practices. Oxford University
Press, USA.
Yermack, D., 2017. Corporate governance and blockchains. Review of Finance, 21(1), pp.7-31.