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| On Target by John
K. Harrell |
A reputation of being social responsibile as an organization
is one of the most valuable assets a company can have (Peloza, Loock, Cerruti,
& Muyot, 2012). "Many
stakeholders, from customers to investors to employees to purchasing managers,
report that sustainability is an important factor in their decision-making
processes" (Peloza et al., 2012, p. Abstract). Companies chose different levels of
responsibility. Some corporations make
an effort to add this to their mission statement and really live this
goal. Other companies do not even
consider social responsibility. In this
essay, three American companies will be reviewed for their corporate social
responsibility (CSR)
“Corporate
responsibility … means… you must... take care of the shareholder, but that is
not your exclusive responsibility” (Boatright, 2009, p. 348). Boatright (2009) describes the concept of
corporate social responsibility as a corporation’s voluntary assumption and
belief in their responsibility beyond the economic and legal tasks of the
company. Corporate social responsibility
has become very popular as corporations have become larger and even more
powerful. Organizations have formed to
monitor the actions of corporations and report bad companies who do not keep
their standards for being socially responsible (Logan, 2005).
Corporate
Social Responsibility (CSR) Monitoring
The International Institute for Sustainable Development
published a study in 2001. Of note was
the fact that 28% of people who invest money do the research into the
background of the company to see if they are socially responsible. A similar picture emerged in Canada, Japan,
Britain and Italy (International Institute for Sustainable Development [IISD],
2013). Corporate social responsbility
(CSR) had a greater brand influence on a company than other influences. " In 20 developed countries surveyed,
CSR-related factors collectively accounted for 49% of a company's image,
compared with 35% for brand image and just 10% for financial management"
(IISD, 2013). And, on the opposing side,
companies that ignore CSR-related factors, well... buyers tend to ignore their
products. IISD (2013) stated,
Consumers, especially those in North America, are likely to
vote with their wallets against companies whose social and environmental
performance is perceived to be poor. Forty-two percent of North American
consumers reported having punished socially irresponsible companies by not
buying their products.
Coors, Haagen-Dazs®,
and Tyson
Coors, Tyson, and Haagen Daaz are organizations that have
devised clever ways to give back to the community. Coors, for example, spends more money on
responsible drinking education than on alcohol centered events (Coors, 2005.
Haagen-Dazs® is committed to raising honey bee awareness. The ice cream company has created a microsite
to raise awareness that honeybees pollinate one-third of all the food we eat;
including foods such as all natural ice creams/yogurt; tying it back to the
company’s core mission.
Realizing
early on that honey bees were crucial to the pollination of ingredients in more
than half of the Haagen-Dazs brand's all-natural ice cream products, the brand
created the Haagen-Dazs loves Honey Bees™ program and donated funds to
Pennsylvania State University and the University of California, Davis for CCD
and sustainable pollination research. In the past two years, the Haagen-Dazs
brand has donated a total of $500,000 to both universities. (Haagen-Dazs, 2013).
Tyson is committed to fighting hunger. They have taken
advantage of social media by creating a blog. Tyson agreed to donate 100 lbs of chicken to
the Austin food bank for every comment posted on its blog. Tyson always give back to the military too
("Tyson donates chicken products to feed military", 2003).
Conclusion
As Peloza et al. (2012) stated that a corporation is wise to
invest in a mission of corporate social responsibility. Monitoring organizations exist to ensure they
are adhering to their missions of CSR.
IISD (2013) stated that consumers in well-developed countries are more
likely to vote with their wallets when they consider a company's corporate CSR
mission. Coors, Haagen-Dazs, and Tyson
are just a few of the American companies that demonstrate corporate social
responsibility.
Author: Dr. Andree Swanson, EdD
Boatright, J. R. (2009). Ethics and the conduct of
business (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NY: Prentice Hall.
Coors, P. H.
(2005). Corporate Social Responsibility: A Context tor Alcohol Policy. In M.
Grant, J. O'Connor (Eds.), Corporate social responsibility and alcohol: The
need and potential for partnership (pp. 97-101). New York, NY US:
Routledge.
Haagen-Dazs. (2013). Haagen-Dazs(R)
Ice Cream Challenges Consumers to Imagine a 'World Without Bees'. PR Newswire. Retrieved from http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/haagen-dazsr-ice-cream-challenges-consumers-to-imagine-a-world-without-bees-69843567.html
International Institute for
Sustainable Development [IISD]. (2013). Corporate social responsibility
monitor. Retrieved from http://www.iisd.org/business/issues/sr_csrm.aspx
Logan, J. (2005), Corporate Social Responsibility. Business
and Economic Review, 31, 25-25. Retrieved
from http://search.Proquest.com/docview/209589976?
Peloza, J., Loock, M., Cerruti, J., & Muyot, M. (2012).
Sustainability: HOW STAKEHOLDER PERCEPTIONS DIFFER FROM CORPORATE REALITY.
California Management Review, 55(1), 74-95.
Tyson donates chicken products to feed military. (2003). Nation's Restaurant News, 37(17), 94-94.
Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/229302772?accountid=32521
