Corporate social responsibility involves an organization contributingto the welfare of a community. It is always not easy to choose theactivity to engage in since some of them can tarnish the name of thecompany among the direct and indirect competitors. Also, aninstitution can be in a dilemma to avoid letting down the communityand at the same time upholding its duty of creating a positive impacton its local environment. According to Broomhill (2007), anenterprise should only implement a CSR activity if it gives it acompetitive edge in the community.
Our reputation in this society not only affects the subsidiary firmbut the whole conglomerate. Since this is not a duty of individualemployees, but rather a responsibility of the entire entity, wecannot involve our staff without their consent. Their union mayobject the idea of engaging them in extra activities that do not fallwithin their work contracts. Therefore, it will be imperative toacquaint them with the company’s intention to help the socialfacility that cannot cater for its repairs. All employees have aresponsibility of contributing towards the objectives of theenterprise (Broomhill, 2007). Consequently, their commitment to thegoal of creating a friendly environment can be determined by theirparticipation in the activity. The merit of explaining to them isthat they will not expect any form of remuneration after theactivity. It will also result in a feeling of having contributed tothe community development. As the manager, however, my authority willbe limited on those who may disregard the idea.
In addition, I am evaluating the possibility of our employeessustaining injuries in the process. As a company’s policy, all ouremployees have medical covers. Therefore, in the case of any mishap,the company will not incur extra costs. However, the organizationcannot cover any further damages to the structure in the socialfacility. To avoid such a misfortune, our team of engineers willassess the situation first and recommend the best course of action.Besides, the local repair shops may perceive the company as a threatto their work. However, both Keynesian and Liberal theorists agreethat CSR involves incurring given costs. If the activities result inan organization achieving an advantage in the market, the managementshould not hesitate to pursue it (Broomhill, 2007). Therefore, theperception of the local shops should not be a barrier towards ourmotive. Since the facility cannot afford the repairs, they do notstand a chance of securing a contract to offer their services.
There is also the challenge of settling for the next activity afterimplementing the repairs in the community facility. Nevertheless, itis worth noting that the community members approached us for help.Therefore, as an independent business, we may not have the liberty ofchoosing the activity to participate in unless the community approvesit. Chipping in this event will portray a desirable image of thecompany, and needy community members will not find it difficult toapproach us (Broomhill, 2007). Therefore, it will, not be difficultto choose the next activity.
As the upper management, you should not consider the offer as a wasteof time and resources. The rationale for this is that the CSR is nota recurrent activity (Broomhill, 2007). Besides, participating in therepairs will polish the reputation of the subsidiary company in thecommunity. The effect of the action will ripple to the wholeorganization. According to Broomhill (2007), one of the factors thatleads to a firm taking part in the community functions is theexpectation of the stakeholders. It would be imprudent for us to turndown the plea to support the facility bearing in mind that it cannotcater for the costs. The community forms the core of ourstakeholders. They may find it irresponsible if we fail to supporttheir activities.
Besides, as the senior management, you should not consider this asan activity to make the enterprise feel better, but rather as acontribution towards the society development. Besides, all socialresponsibility activities have the objective of raising the positionof a company in a given setting (Broomhill, 2007). The benefitsreaped by the enterprise are likely to surpass the costs incurred.
Conclusively, the objective of corporate social responsibility is tocut a niche for business in a given community. The stakeholdersdevelop a positive attitude towards the firm and its goals. As asubsidiary of a conglomerate, the effects of our activities ripple tothe whole organization. Assisting the local social support facilityin making repairs will give us a competitive edge among ourcompetitors. Also, the costs incurred in the activity are minimalbecause the company will not outsource skills. Our engineers willassess the situation and advise us on the requirements. Although thelocal shops may consider it as a competition, it is worth noting thatit would be more disastrous, to our reputation, if we turn down therequest. Therefore, I would propose that you allow us to carry outthe repairs.
References
Broomhill, R. (2007). Corporatesocial responsibility: Key issues and debates.Adelaide: Don Dunstan Foundation.