Describe What Is Meant by Csr

Question 1: Describe what is meant by CSR

CSR stands for corporate social responsibility it is meant to be businesses responsibility towards their stakeholders that how their business operations and interactions with their stakeholders. CSR integrated in a business model with the policy function, the policy functions as a self-regulatory mechanism while business operations or demonstrations can be ensures its active compliance with the spirit of the law, ethical standards and international norms.

A very wide ranging of activities can be done or contribution from an organisation to be able to respond and demonstrate their responsibility towards all stakeholders.  Either the internal stakeholders or external stakeholders, company also must ensure every needs and extent are covered with fairness example like providing job security, good pay and job satisfaction to their employees’ different stakeholders will have different needs to fulfil. From the article, we can know that the CSR had been carry out by Primark was a project which is raising awareness and delivering healthcare education to female worker in supplier countries that name as HERproject.

Other than this, it is also shown how businesses respond or integrate with environmental and society concerns like example involving or organize charity, philanthropy, sponsorship or even project that involved to strengthen or helpful to community nowadays. Meanwhile company involving in such activities it also helps in their business management when valuable contribution are made at the same time it will directly enhance the reputation of the company and strengthen its brand as well. Which mean CSR also could be a business management concept to lead company on achieving a balance of economic, environmental and social imperatives.

From the article, we can conclude that Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is very important for a company. Activities such as wide-ranging as encouraging employees to volunteer in community projects; sponsoring and supporting charity work; or contributing time and money to improving its environmental impact can boost better media coverage. Socially responsible companies, large and small, have better reputations, can better detect and respond to risk, and can anticipate the needs of their stakeholders with greater certainty. When things go wrong, they are more quickly forgiven for mistakes. Furthermore, consumer feels good shopping at institutions that help the community.

Next, Apart from the profits gain from consumer, putting effort in CSR could also boost the productivity and performance of employee in the company. We can see a good example from Primark, after launching HERProject, employees build supportive relationships and talk to each other out of work. Workers are not so shy to talk to managers anymore, they are willing to share the problem and get help from managers. This working environment builds trust and confidence. In turn, it also leads to improve teamwork and motivation to accept more responsibility and leadership roles in the community. Happy employee almost always equals positive output.

A good CSR control will also result in healthy returns on the money invested by the company. This has been achieved through improvements in productivity, a more stable workforce, lower absenteeism, decreased labor turnover, improved quality and a reduction in housekeeping costs. We can see from the statistic shown by Primark in HERProject, one managing director in Bangladesh found that absenteeism in factory fell by 55% during the first six month of the HERProject. Turnover of female workers dropped from over 55% to around 12%.

Question 2: Explain the basis for a company undertaking CSR activities

The basic concept of CSR is ‘to act and trade ethically’. This simply means a company undertaking CSR activities would align its business operations with social values. In other words, a company with CSR would be continuing committed by its business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as the local community and society at large. It is all about how companies manage the business processes to produce an overall positive impact on the community. Companies would demonstrate their CSR responsibilities in various ways. For example, encourage their employees to involve in community projects, supporting charity work, or donating money as well as time to improve environmental impact on society.

As for Primark, their CSR basis is to produce goods and take responsibility of their factory workers at the same time. Ensuring that their rights are respected is their key focus. They have been initiating a bunch of activities which supports its CSR stance and ensures that its trading meets the company’s values and ethical standards. For instance, Primark’s Code of Conduct. It ensures that all workers making its products are treated decently, paid a fair wage and work in good working environment.

Besides that, the HERProject in Bangladesh is an example of how Primark is actively seeking to make positive changes in the lives of its supplier workforces especially the female workers. Improving the health of women workers in Bangladesh and helping to empower and educate the female workforce is an important ethical goal in its own right.  

Question 3: Analyse why the HERproject has been a business success, over and above improving the well-being of the workforce.

HERproject was initiative started by BSR (Business for Social Responsibility), a non-governmental organisation that work with the companies on environmental, social and human rights to  set as an education key tool for improving the health of female workers through training and education.

From the beginning of the organisation formed until now, HERproject was educates more than 200k of females workers on their knowledge of hygiene, health and nutrition and of cause understanding on the woman’s body works. These set the HERproject was greatly encouraged by the factories to their local workforce.  There were some reasons that make the HERproject has been a business success, over and above improving the well-being of the workforce. There are;

HERproject choose a number of female staff in a factory to be selector as a ‘peer group educators’ and then the local health service giving services by training this groups of persons to enables them to have a knowledge in the aspect of their health. The women will be more knowledgeable on their health issues as well as their own body health before they educates to their circle of friends. This helps the women to prevent from any unhealthy of consuming food or drinks such as drinking pipe water without boiled or filter. By this way, the women in the factories will be healthier and this would increase the factories productivity.