Corporate Social Responsibility (Blog 10)

Definition to Corporate Social Responsibility

Jamali (2015) explains that CSR is the obligation for business organisations to impact the society in which they operate beyond the singular motive of pure profit maximization and further she emphasise the role of HRM in the development of internal CSR initiatives by claiming that the nature of the organisation’s CSR objectives has impact on the role of HRM in developing these objectives. Sahlin-Anderson (2006), considers CSR as a global trend incorporating business corporations, states, international organizations and civil society organizations.

                                                    Video 1: What is CSR

Human Resource is a strategic partner in an organisation and as such, can help drive the formulation of the CSR strategy. This is the case especially in companies where CSR is positioned in HR department and thus the HR manager has a key role when it comes to CSR strategy development (Strandberg, 2009). According to Cohen (2010), HR can leverage CSR strategies to deliver greater benefits for the business, for employees, for society, for the environment and ultimately, for HR professionals themselves.

Carroll’s Pyramid of Corporate Social Responsibility

This covers the Economic, Legal, Ethical and Philanthropic responsibilities of an organisation.

            ( Figure 1 : Carroll’s Pyramid of Corporate Social Responsibility )

Economic responsibility: Companies have a responsibility of an economic nature, since they have a responsibility to produce goods and services that society wants and sell them in a profitable way. The basis for the functioning of a company is producing and selling goods for profit.

Legal liability: The company expects companies to undertake their economic mission within the legal requirements established by the legal system of society. It is expected that the company complies with laws and regulations or that the products and services offered by companies have security standards and comply with existing environmental regulations.

Ethical responsibility: Represents ethical behaviors that are expected that companies have. This has become more important, because the tolerance of society against unethical behavior is dwindling. The decision should consider the consequences of their actions, honoring the rights of others, fulfilling obligations and avoiding harming others.

Philanthropic responsibility: Represents discretionary actions taken by the company in response to social expectations. They respect the activities undertaken by companies assuming a social role that goes beyond the legal and ethical obligation, assuming an increasingly strategic importance. Examples: charitable contributions, employee training, extension of benefits to employees' families.

The Benefits of Corporate Social Responsibility

A successful CSR initiative takes organisation beyond compliance with legislation and leads them to honour ethical values and respect people, communities and the natural environment. CSR is sustainable - involving activities that organisation can maintain without adversely affecting your business goals (Geethamani, 2017).

( Figure 2: benefits of CSR ) 

Researcher Geethamani (2017) express Advantages and Disadvantages of CSR,

Advantages of CSR

• Companies would know what is expected of them, thereby promoting a level playing field.

• Many aspects of CSR behaviour are good for business (such as reputation, human resources, branding and making it easier to locate in new communities) and legislation

• It could help to improve profitability, growth and sustainability.

• Some areas, such as downsizing, could help to redress the balance between companies and their employees.

• Rogue companies would find it more difficult to compete through lower standards.

• The wider community would benefit as companies reach out to the key issue of underdevelopment around the world.

Disadvantages of CSR

• Additional bureaucracy, with rising costs for observance.

• Costs of operation could rise above those required for continued profitability and sustainability.

• Critics already argue that the CSR of companies is simply to make a profit, and legislation would increase the vocalisation of these concerns.

• Reporting criteria vary so much by company, sector and country, and they are in constant evolution.

References

• Carroll, A. B. (1979) ‘A three dimensional conceptual model of corporate social performance’, Academy of Management Review, Vol. 4(4), pp. 497-505. 

• Cohen, E. (2010) ‘CSR for HR: A necessary partnership for advancing responsible business practices’, Sheffield: Greenleaf Publishing Limited.

• Geethamani, S. (2017) ‘International Journal of Applied Research’, Vol. 3(3), pp. 372-374. [Online] Available at: http://www.allresearchjournal.com/archives/2017/vol3issue3/PartF/3-3-11-827.pdf [Accessed on: 02 October 2018]. 

• Jamali, D. R., El-Dirani, A. M. and Harwood, I. A. (2015) ‘Exploring human resource management roles in corporate social responsibility: the CSR-HRM co-creation model. Business Ethics’, A European Review, Vol. 24(2), pp. 125-143.

• Sahlin-Anderson, K. (2006) ‘Corporate social responsibility: A trend and a movement, but of what and for what?’ Corporate Governance, Vol. 6(5), pp. 595-608.

• Strandberg, C. (2009) ‘The role of human resource management in corporate social responsibility’, Burnaby: Industry Canada.

• Figure 1:   PIDGETHINK (2018) Carroll’s Pyramid of Corporate Social Responsibility, [Online] Available at: https://pidgethink.net/the-beginning-of-my-journey-in-exploring-business-ethics [Accessed on: 02 October 2018].

• Figure 2: Benefits of CSR : [Online] Available at: https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-benefits-of-corporate-social-responsibility-to-companies [Accessed on: 02 October 2018].

• Video 1: What is CSR. [Online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSNUyKV1ybo [Accessed 02 on: October 2018].

Organisational Culture (Blog 9)

What is Organisational Culture..?

Culture is the commonly held beliefs, attitudes and values that exist in an organization. Put more simply, culture is ‘the way we do things around here’ (Furnham and Gunter, 1993). Brown (1998) states that “current interests in organisational culture stems from at least four different sources: climate research, national cultures, human resource management and from conviction approaches which emphasise the rational and structural nature of the organisation to be unable to offer a full explanation of organisational behaviour”.

“Organisational culture is the distinctive norms, beliefs, principles and ways of behaving that combine to give each organisation its distinct character” (Arnold, 2005). Schein (1985) also defines organisational culture as “a pattern of basic assumptions invented, discovered, or developed by a given group as it learns to cope with its problems of external adaptation and internal integration that has worked well enough to be considered valid, and therefore, to be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think, and feel in relation to those problems”.

Functions of Organisational Culture

(Figure 1:Functions of Culture)

Brown (1998) states the following functions of organisational culture:

Conflict reduction - A common culture promotes consistency of perception, problem definition, evaluation of issues and opinions, and preferences for action. 

Coordination and control - Largely because culture promotes consistency of outlook it also facilitates organisational processes of coordination and control.

Reduction of uncertainty - Adopting of the cultural mind frame is an anxiety reducing device which simplifies the world of work, makes choices easier and rational action seem possible. 

Motivation - An appropriate and cohesive culture can offer employees a focus of identification and loyalty, foster beliefs and values that encourage employees to perform. 

Competitive advantage - Strong culture improves the organisation’s chances of being successful in the marketplace.

The Components of Organisational Culture

(Figure 2: key elements of organisational culture)

As per Armstrong and Taylor (2014), Organisational culture can be described in terms of values, norms, artefacts and management or leadership style.

Values

Values are beliefs in what is best or good for the organisation and what should or ought to happen. The ‘value set’ of an organisation may only be recognised at top level, or it may be shared throughout the business, in which case the business could be described as value-driven.

Norms

Norms tell people what they are supposed to be doing, saying, believing, and even wearing. They are passed on by word of mouth or behaviour and can be enforced by the reactions of people if they are violated.

Artefacts

Artefacts are the visible and tangible aspects of an organisation that people hear, see or feel and which contributes to their understanding of the organisation’s culture. Artefacts can include such things as the working environment, the tone and language used in e-mails, letters, people address each other. Artefacts can be very revealing.

Management style

The approach managers’ use to deal with people, their management or leadership style is a significant part of the culture of an organisation. Every manager has his or her own style but this will be influenced by the organisational culture, which may produce a prevailing management style that represents a behavioral norm for managers that is generally expected and adopted.

References

• Armstrong, M. and Taylor, S. (2014) ‘Armstrong’s Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice’, 13^th edn., London, Kogan page.

• Arnold, J. (2005) 'Work Psychology: Understanding Human Behaviour in the Workplace', 4th edn., London: Prentice Hall Financial Times.

• Brown, A. (1998) 'Organisational Culture', 2nd edn., London: Financial Times Pitman Publishing.

• Furnham, A. and Gunter, B. (1993) 'Corporate Assessment', Routledge, London.

• Schein, E. H. (1985) 'Organizational Culture and Leadership', 1st edn., San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

• Figure 1: Functions of Culture :[online] Available at:  http://genesisventures.us/company-culture-diagram.html [Accessed on : 01 October 2018].

• Figure 2: Kaplan Financial Knowledge Bank (2012) Key elements of organisational culture: [online] Available at: http://kfknowledgebank.kaplan.co.uk/KFKB/Wiki%20Pages/Organisational%20Culture.aspx [Accessed on : 01 October 2018].