Learning Journal and Reflective Essay. What is CSR?

LEARNING JOURNAL AND REFLECTIVE ESSAY
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INSTRUCTOR
Learning Journal and Reflective Essay
Part A
What is CSR?
The concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is one that I was not entirely familiar with until I encountered it in this business studies unit. The lecture first created a difference between a corporation and the shareholders or the investors. These two are different entities whose existence interdepend on one another. Whereas the shareholders are interested with the profits from their investments and the corporate being a different entity it creates a conflict in the balance of interests between the two (Tilt, 2016). The enterprise should not only focus on satisfying the needs of the investors but also its workforce and the overall business environment. This brings in the concept of corporate social responsibility which is defined as a business model that is self-regulating and enables businesses to manage their processes in such a manner that positively impacts the entire society.
One most outstanding example is the case of Ok Tedi Mine in Papua New Guinea which released a lot of untreated waste to the environment. This case opened up my mind on the concept of global warming and its tremendous effects in society. The number of deaths associated with release of the waste was way far too much than the taxes that the company paid to government. We keep talking about environmental conservation, lectures after lecture, conference after conference, summit after summit discussing the same issue but here we are with such a case. It begs the question on the seriousness of humanity in living a free environment that does not only misuse other people or the environment at the expense of making profits. The concept led me to the issues discussed by renown economists Karl Marx and his Marxism theories. According to Marxism theory, the capitalists will utilize the proletariats maximally irrespective of what happens to them ( Kołakowski, 2005 ). Their main interest is the money that they make out of such investments and do so little about the livelihoods of the rest of the people. Have people become so inhuman at the expense of destroying not only the environment but the lives of other human beings?
Ethical Theories
Lecture three on ethical theories presented a very challenging concept of human reasoning that has been a point of dilemma in my life at some point. Consequentialist and deontological reasoning were the most interesting aspects of this lecture. Whereas deontological reasoning looks at the overall ethics, rules and regulations, the consequalist is guided by the desire to reduce magnitude of the consequences. The example about a child working in a company explained this concept very well. The conclusion was that whereas it is morally wrong for the child to work in a company, consequentialists look at the other existing factors such as the environment and what would happen if the child stops working for the company.
These type of reasoning applies in everyday life especially in an environment that is economically strained. For instance, in a country whose economy is struggling, most children drop out of school to fend for themselves. Whereas education is important, it is not more important than life and finding food to sustain themselves. In overall, the topic opened my mind on key issues to consider before making any decision not only as business leader but even at personal level. I have learnt to always analyze a problem, look at it critically and weight the consequences before making decision on the most appropriate approach to solve the problem. Most importantly, this topic sounded like an opener to the human thinking systems, it was more of the inner human being than the physical human being. Companies too should have this approach in exploring their ventures. However, despite my understanding of the first two issues, I am yet to master the concept of utilitarianism because I do not really find any big difference from the first two issues discussed. I will need to carry out further research in combination with the concepts and theories of economists such as Karl Max.
The forces of change
In the forces of change topic, we learnt that businesses thrive best with little intervention by government. Whereas businesses operate best in a free market, there are limitations and actions taken to ensure that they fully comply with the regulations and when they do not comply then there are consequences which may work negatively against the company. It is also clear that the society observes what activities take part in and make their purchase decisions based on this fact. For instance, in the case of the disposal of Brent Spar, which was an oil storage installation belonging to Shell company. It is mentioned that consumers boycotted the products of Shell after the company made the unwise decision to dispose of this installation in the sea. This action showed the public that Shell did not care about the effects of its business processes to the environment and therefore this was interpreted to mean that they did not have the interests of the consumers at heart.
This example left me wondering how the world would be if all consumers decide to boycott product or companies that do not adhere to the basic social responsibility. The example stood out as a key lesson that it is not always about money but also the morals which enable one to gauge whether the activities that a business does are right or wrong CITATION Sch19 \l 1033 (Schooley, 2019). If for instance, the activities and processes negatively affect society and the environment, then it means that the business lacks ethics or morals and therefore, whatever it is doing is very wrong. On the other hand, adhering to societal and environmental needs is an indication that a business has morals and therefore, it is doing what is right.
Strategies
This lecture was important in informing on how critical CSR is for a company. First and most importantly, corporations cannot solve all the problems in their environment for them to be socially responsible. It needs proper analysis and strategizing before choosing on the most important aspects to focus on as by the materiality matrix. The first step is to identify the main issues that the company needs to be socially responsible. Secondly, since not all issues can be solved at once there is need to prioritize. The third aspect is that of stakeholder engagement for them to support the issue. Fourthly, there is need to validate the process internally. Strategic alignment comes fifth followed by reporting on the outcomes. Notably, all these alignments and planning for CSR have appositive impact for the company. It affects both the employees, consumers and he overall legal environment.
This lecture reminded me ways back when I was working in a community store, I always wondered why our store often got many customers while our competitors in the same business were reporting a low number every time despite the fact that we were both selling the same products. Concerning this issue, this course has helped me realize that the other business was less concerned about corporate responsibility, as the manager was known for constantly harassing his employees and giving them very low pay. Consequently, the less motivated employees represented the business negatively when the manager was not around, and therefore, they kept losing their customers. Before gaining the knowledge in this area, I always assumed that the competitor business was failing because they did not know how to carry out business, but as it turns out, they did not know the value of embracing corporate social responsibility in business.
Measurements in reporting
Notably, the corporate social responsibility directly affects the company's performance and growth. In this lecture I learnt the key aspects of measuring CSR through looking at the social aspects, governance and the environment. Notably, continuous sustainability reporting helps a firm to not only improve in terms of finances but also in terms of its brand image CITATION M...