CSR Notes

Tuesday, January 14, 2014 4:51 PM

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Corporate Social Responsibility Research about: What CSR is (definition) and give specific examples Weigh the pros and cons for a company to have CSR or to be socially responsible (e.g the positive and negative impacts on the company) The necessity of CSR for a company, and why it is good/bad for companies to have CSR (is it necessary for them to have CSR and why) REMEMBER TO KEEP TRACK OF ALL SOURCES OF INFORMATION AS YOU WILL NEED TO RECORD A BIBLIOGRAPHY IN MLA FORMAT LATER ON Present your information in a form that is suitable for Year 5's (e.g. Video/Animation not an Essay). If you chose to present by a video, it should be no more than 2 minutes Include a bibliography of all your sources in MLA format Cross check your work against the rubric (is all your information accurate and relevant? Is it easy for a 10 year old to understand? Are you clear when speaking/writing?.... CSR o Corporate Social Responsibility A concept where companies involve environmental and social concerns in operations within the company and with interactions with stakeholders (http://www.unido.org/en/what-we-do/trade/csr/what-is-csr.html) ( In other words, Corporate= Company, Social= Community, Responsibility= Contributing or improving I would say that CSR= when a company actively tries to improve or contribute to the community Different companies have follow CSR in different ways Some companies believe that having CSR is following and abiding by the law or donating money These companies don't actively seek out methods to enhance the welfare of society They may fund or provide support This is known as a reactive approach Other companies such as the Body Shop go further and believe that CSR must protect and enhance the welfare of society (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fVpOrodlu0) They care about their employees Teach them to act with a moral code of behavior Teach the employees to value honesty, care, and respect They are a 'company that cares' They encourage and actively participate in fair trade They invest in marginalized communities They have gotten cocoa from a Ghanaian lower-income community for the past 10 years and have created many job opportunities for men and women of their community Also provide access to clean drinking water Conduct social audits They want to ensure that they are abiding by their own 'ethical framework' The difference is that the Body Shop is actively attempting to enhance the welfare of society (known as a proactive approach) (http://www.thebodyshop.com/services/aboutus_history.aspx) Some tobacco companies try to skirt around advertising laws Although they are technically abiding by the rules they are not being socially responsible PepsiCo Thailand is known to have a more proactive approach when it comes to CSR (http://www.koamtv.com/story/22540302/pepsico-habitat-build-homes-in-joplin): They fund and actively participate in Habitat For Humanity Builds Mondelez, a company in the US, helps Habitat for Humanity set up for fundraisers and is also involved with Habitat for Humanity when the actual building of houses takes place Here is an example of a flyer that promotes CSR

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o Weighing the Pros/Cons Pros of being Socially Responsible (http://smallbusiness.chron.com/pros-conscorporate-social-responsibility-56247.html) Can provide opportunities for people who are a part of marginalized communities (e.g. body shop) Can help the environment Can increase the company's reputation and credibility Can help improve company-customer relations (77% of customers say that companies should be socially responsible) Can increase profits (studies showed that customers are willing to pay 10% more for products that they consider to be or to have derived from socially responsible methods) Cons of being socially responsible (http://smallbusiness.chron.com/pros-conscorporate-social-responsibility-56247.html) The costs of funding or participating in CSR activities can be quite high Some people believe that a CEO or Owner's first priority should be getting profits, not being socially responsible Some companies use CSR to cover up things that don't look as good (e.g. spreading images of their employees participating in CSR related activities around the media, to make them look better) (http://www.corporatewatch.org/?lid=2688) o Necessity of CSR I think it is necessary Pros outweigh cons Different points of views: Marginalized Communities: CSR can help improve society and make the world a better place for many people, some of which would not have opportunities otherwise. Employees (http://www.thebodyshop.com/services/aboutus_careers.aspx): Having CSR can help make the workplace a nicer environment and a friendlier place to work. For example, the Body Shop values their employees and are doing everything in their power to make the office feel like home. As a result of this, many employees have turned down alternative job offers to stay with the Body Shop, as they feel that the work environment is very nice. Customers Customers like to shop for products knowing that it has been produced fairly, or has been produced as a result of the company having CSR. Company: Having CSR is smarter for the company. CSR attracts costumers which will in turn increase profits, which is every company's goal. It can also improve company to government relations which can increase credibility which in turn will
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relations which can increase credibility which in turn will make the company look better. In conclusion, having CSR is very smart for a company as it benefits everyone; society, employees, customers or consumers, and the company itself.

Works Cited Branston, Philllip. Personal interview. 8 Jan. 2014. Raghavan, Chemba. Personal interview. 14 Jan. 2014.

Subramaniam, Girish. Personal interview. 14 Jan. 2014

"PepsiCo & Habitat Build Homes in Joplin - KOAM TV 7." PepsiCo & Habitat Build Homes in Joplin - KOAM TV 7. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Jan. 2014. <http://www.koamtv.com/story/22540302/pepsico-habitat-build-homes-injoplin>. "Pros & Cons of Corporate Social Responsibility." Small Business. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Jan. 2014. <http://smallbusiness.chron.com/pros-cons-corporatesocial-responsibility-56247.html>. "The Body Shop Community Trade." YouTube. YouTube, 24 Nov. 2007. Web. 14 Jan. 2014. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fVpOrodlu0>. "The Body Shop | About us | Our Careers." The Body Shop | About us | Our Careers. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Jan. 2014. <http://www.thebodyshop.com/services/aboutus_careers.aspx>. "The Body Shop | About us | Our History." The Body Shop | About us | Our History. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Jan. 2014. <http://www.thebodyshop.com/services/aboutus_history.aspx>.

"WHAT'S WRONG WITH CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY? : The arguments against CSR." WHAT'S WRONG WITH CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY? : The arguments against CSR. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Jan. 2014. <http://www.corporatewatch.org/?lid=2688>.
"What is CSR?." What is CSR?. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Jan. 2014. <http://www.unido.org/en/what-we-do/trade/csr/what-is-csr.html>.

"CSR Toolkit." CSR Policy. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Jan. 2014. <http://simplycsr.co.uk/>.

Script: 1. HI! Today I am going to talk about Corporate Social Responsibility or CSR for short. You might be
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1. HI! Today I am going to talk about Corporate Social Responsibility or CSR for short. You might be wondering what this means (don't worry I'm still a bit confused too!) so I'm going to make this very simple. Let's break the three words down: Corporate is another word for a company or a business, Social is another word for community or your surroundings (society), and responsibility is what you know you should do. I know that's a bit confusing so I'll make it even simpler: CSR is basically when a company actively tries to improve or contribute to the community. Heres an example: Mr. Muffin works for the Body Shop. How many of you know that company? Basically, the Body Shop SELLS DEAD BODIES No Im just joking! They sell body products such as lotions and perfumes. However, the Body Shop shows some great CSR by working with poor people in Ghana. This is a PROACTIVE approachwhere they buy ingredients from these people at a fair price. This is good CSR because they are actively trying to make life better for the workers by giving them jobs with fair salaries. Mr. Coco here works for a different company, which still has CSR, but all they do is give money to charity, or donate funds. Although donating money is okay, this is not a proactive approach. Another company that has proactive CSR is Mondelez where workers get together and support Habitat for Humanity by building houses for poor people. 2. Having a Proactive CSR may help companies by making them look better, creating good jobs, and helping the environment. ALSO, research shows that buyers are willing to pay more for things that come from companies with Proactive CSR. If there are so many benefits, you may now be wondering why all companies dont have Proactive CSR. Many companies may feel that it is too expensive to have Proactive CSR. Some may feel that they can use the money for other things. Others may believe that donating money is good enough. However, I believe that PROACTIVE CSR is necessary and good for all companies. Its good for the customers because they can feel good about shopping, it is good for the company because it can increase the number of buyers which will increase the amount of money coming in, it is good for creating jobs for poorer people. In other words, CSR benefits EVERYONE! So, now that you know that having good CSR is good for everyone, I hope you will convince your future companies to have a proactive CSR!

3. Thanks for watching!

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