Question

Corporate Social Responsibility as a Motivating Force

Whatever their perspective, most people have a cause that they are passionate about. Bitcoin or net
neutrality, sea levels or factory farming—social causes bind us to a larger context or assume a higher
purpose for living better.

So what motivates employees to give their all, work creatively, and be fully engaged? According to CB
Bhattacharya, the Pietro Ferrero Chair in Sustainability at ESMT European School of Management and
Technology in Berlin, Germany, employment engagement, or how positive employees feel about their
current job, was at an all-time low globally in 2016: 13 percent. But not all companies battle such low engagement rates. Unilever employees more than 170,000 workers globally and has an employ
engagement level around 80 percent. How? Bhattacharya credits the success of Unilever, and other
companies with similar engagement levels, to an emphasis on a “sustainable business model.” He
outlines eight steps that companies take to move sustainability and social responsibility from buzzwords
to a company mission capable of motivating employees (Knowledge @ Wharton 2016).
According to Bhattacharya, a company needs to first define what it does and its long-term purpose, and
then reconcile its sustainability goals with its economic goals. With its purpose and goals defined, it can
then educate the workforce on sustainable methods to create knowledge and competence. Champions
for the effort must be found throughout the organization, not just at the top. Competition should be
encouraged among employees to find and embrace new goals. Sustainability should be visible both
within and outside the company. Sustainability should be tied to a higher purpose and foster a sense of
unity not simply among employees, but even with competition at a societal level (Knowledge @ Wharton
2016).

Other companies have made social responsibility an everyday part of what they do. Launched in 2013,
Bombas is the brain child of Randy Goldberg and David Heath. Goldberg and Heath discovered that
socks are the most-requested clothing at homeless shelters. In response, the two entrepreneurs
launched a line of socks that not only “reinvents” the sock (they claim), but also helps those in need. For
each pair of socks purchased, the company donates a pair of socks to someone in need (Mulvey 2017).
According to the company website, “Bombas exists to help solve this problem, to support the homeless
community, and to bring awareness to an under-publicized problem in the United States” (n.p.).
Although the New York–based company is still growing, as of October 2017 Bombas had donated more
than four million pairs of socks (Bombas 2017).

In 2016, the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) launched a pilot program called Jump in which employees
participated in challenges on ways to save water and electricity, as well as other sustainability issues. At
the end of the pilot, 95 percent of the employees reported that they felt the program had contributed to
employee engagement, team building, and environmental stability. Given the success of the program, in
2017 it was expanded to all RBS sites and a smartphone app was added to help employees participate in
the challenges (Barton 2017).

Placing a company in a larger context and adding a second, higher purpose than the established
company goals motivates employees to police the company itself to be a better global citizen. Companies
benefit from reduced waste and increased employee engagement. Many companies are successfully
motivating their staff, and working toward more sustainable practices while improving lives directly.


1. Do you think social responsibility to promote sustainable practices? Why or why not?
2. Do you think most companies’ CSR programs are essentially PR gimmicks? Why or why not? Give
examples.

ANSWER BOTH QUESTIONS. DON'T LEAVE A QUESTION A LONE BY ITSELF.

Answer 1

1. Social responsibility is an ethical framework, where an individual or an entity has an obligation to act for the benefit of the society. It is a duty everyone has to perform inorder to maintain the balance between the economy and ecosystem. So, an entity being socially responsible it should try to develop sustainable practices inorder to contribute goodness for the society. Sustainable practices does not harm the environment, indeed it helps to maintain the equilibrium in nature. The RBS bank made their employees to participate in the save water and electricity challenge, this had made the employees to be more engaged, develop team work and had made them to contribute for environmental sustainability. Similarly, Bombas has identified that socks as the most required clothing of the homeless shelters and they had given a pair of socks free for the homeless for every single purchase of socks. This contributes to the sustainable development by providing better living element to the poor. similarly companies can adopt sustainable practices in their production process, like they can use envirnment friendly raw materials and processes, proper waste management, pollution free transportation system, being cruelty free, reduce reuse and recycle the products etc. The organisation can develop a management system which makes thier employees to carry their activities sustainabily and thus contributing to less carbon credit to the environment. For example, like saving water and electicity during work hour, proper disposal of waste, maintaing good erganomics etc. Thus an individual or organisation being socially responsible will automatically promotes sustainable development and practices.

2. Corporate Social Responsibility helps an organisation to be socially accountable. Certain percentage of their profit is used for CSR activity. Companies organise programmes which contribute to the society. Such activites will help them to gain public attention and it can contibute for their future growth. We cannot say that every companies conduct CSR activites for gaining attention or publicity. Some huge firms like TATA contribute more than 2% of their profit for CSR activity. (In India a company should contribute atleast 2% of their profit for CSR activity.) The activites conducted by TATA are countless. Thus CSR activites do act as card for gaining publicity and positive attention but inturn their are many companies who act themselves as socially responsibile and contribute to the society without looking forward for gaining attention or fame.