Topic 20 Corporate Social Responsibility & Ethics

@imaan – I understand your frustrations, however you will have to choose an organisation that definitely has had issues. The markers will take a tough stance (as they do with Topic 8 and 15) and if the company does not meet the criteria you will just get a straight fail.

The rationale for changing the requirements for both Topic 20 and Topic 17 apparently was that in some parts of the world OBU felt that mentors were issuing students with a ‘tick sheet’. The RAPs though not plagiarised in the strict sense of the word were not entirely original, markers reported they were remarkably similar in approach and that they were very ‘same-old, same-old’. The whole idea of a degree is that a student should be able to demonstrate they can think for themselves.

The new titles should stop the ‘tick-box’ approach and it will be more obvious if a mentor has gone beyond their prescribed role of guiding and directing and is laying out a blueprint for the student just to fill in the gaps. The University is also keen to encourage students to conduct detailed research and think about the dynamic aspects of companies in their environments and the idea behind the new titles is that they will encourage this and prepare students better for both work, further study at Masters level and life generally.

I have tried to set out the type of approach that you need to adopt in our existing forum for Topic 20 and giving examples of the types of social issues to look for but the emphasis is on examples – there can be no comprehensive list. (As I do not think we need a new forum topic for Topic 20 I shall be merging this one with it in a few days as much of the advice and what is on there is still relevant to the new title)

thanks

@imaan – generally primary data e.g. questionnaires are not done well by students so I advise the main focus should be on secondary research particular using the business pages of quality newspapers and online Reuters and Forbes. In relation to the company’s CSR statement this, as I think you have grasped, must be used in a balanced way (useful as something to refer to but not necessarily to be trusted 100% as just because a company says something does not prove it is absolutely true as they may not be stating the full facts).

However with T20 there is some scope to conduct a brief face to face survey around the issues you have found. For example with Amazon you could ask if respondents agree (using a Lickert scale or a simple agree / disagree/ Don’t know type response) with the statements: (i) is it morally right that global corporations should be able to move most of their taxes off shore or to jurisdictions with low tax regimes even if this is not technically illegal? (ii) are the working practices and regime at Amazon* unacceptable? (iii) low tax payments and minimum wages can be justified if they mean lower prices for customers (iv) I would never buy from this company because of its record on these issues. And ask for any comments. You could then do a comparison with whether the answers to the specific questions on issues (i) and (ii) actually impacted on their decision to be potential customers / decisions to buy [questions (iii) and (iv)] and whether there was a slight change of attitude in the respondents views. (In my family we will only buy anything from Amazon as a very last resort preferring to support local businesses even if it means paying more as we strongly disagree with Amazon’s tax and work practices -one family member actually received a gift card and returned it to the giver explaining that she could not accept the gift as she felt so strongly about the company’s working practices and ethical stance and that these were so bad she could not use the gift card).

This type of simple questionnaire could be adapted for other companies to accommodate their perceived CSR failings.

With the last question you ask you seem to be mixing up T17 and T20 – the practices you mention seem to be CSR and therefore T20, not T17 related. With T17 the scandal in the first instance must normally be something that the Board has done in violation of a law or CG Code or have condoned in relation to knowing the law or Code was being circumvented.

*see this and similar articles so that these practices can be outlined to interviewees https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/aug/18/amazon-regime-making-british-staff-physically-and-mentally-ill-says-union

Please note: we request that students only start a new thread if absolutely necessary. Although the title has changed, unlike with Topic 17, there are still many similarities between the new and old topic 20.

Regarding your actual query: the 5 years in the title is because OBU does not want students dredging up issues that have been done to death (e.g. if there were no constraints I could guarantee that about half of students would do Enron for Topic 17!!!). So when it comes to the financial information 3 years may be adequate. It would depend upon whether your aim is to show the impact the knowledge of the poor CSR has had on earnings etc.

I suggest that you read through some of the latest posts on the existing Topic 20 thread. I have made some suggestions there about what constitutes weak CSR and just today in the news both Apple and Amazon face challenges to the way they have paid tax on business revenue in Europe. In addition previously Amazon has been criticised for poor staff working practices and Apple for inflated prices (the cost of their latest iPhone has an inflated price in the UK compared with the USA).

Be careful how you interpret the figures though as ‘one size will definitely not fit all’. In the cases cited above and particularly with Amazon the stringent staff practices (limited breaks and poor pay) is likely to have held down COS. However even though the decision by the European Commission to levy a demand for back-tax will be challenged by both companies they will still have to make huge provisions both for legal costs and for potential payment of the tax demanded and while the issue is pending it is likely to affect share price (as will most poor CSR practices once exposed).

Sorry I missed this query – you can normally resubmit under the old rules if you choose since the new rules relate only to those who make a first submission in P35. However if you want to go for the new rules you can.

….and Apple may also be considered a contender: using mechanisms to avoid paying tax, over-priced products and spare parts and the underhand way it has been slowing down older iPhones to encourage new sales. I find latter fact doubly pernicious as how many millions of people have been conned into buying a replacement unnecessarily and how much resources (energy, plastics and packaging and shipping etc.) are wasted in this whole process – really just so that Apple can increase its bottom line??

Also I don’t think it’s just the phones Apple is interfering with – a friend of mine has been complaining for about a year that their IPad was very,very slow – and just before the deliberate slowing down of phones story hit the headlines guess what? They brought a new iPad! So probability that iPads too are involved in this deception.

Other points for discussion could revolve around the ‘Error 53’ problem (which I am not sure was ever resolved) https://www.theguardian.com/money/2016/feb/05/error-53-apple-iphone-software-update-handset-worthless-third-party-repair
and also when it refused to unlock a suspected terrorist phone see both of the following links for a more balanced opinion on this:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/us-wants-apple-to-help-unlock-iphone-used-by-san-bernardino-shooter/2016/02/16/69b903ee-d4d9-11e5-9823-02b905009f99_story.html?utm_term=.1f1fe8f489a5
https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and- tech/news/what-is-the-real-reason-apple-wont-unlock-the-san-bernardino-killers-iphone-a6884581.html

One can balance this with a few positives where it might have good CSR and critically evaluate what it gives back to society or measure what it might do better e.g. charitable initiatives as a percentage of profit. (Do be aware though that sometimes charitable trusts are set up by companies but it is their employees and customers who contribute as much if not more than the actual company)

is it possible to research on a company and its subsidiaries as well.For example ZESA has subsidiaries,ZETDC,Powertel,ZPC,ZETA ?

High rates of executive pay have reached the headlines (yet gain!). Probably an issue that relates to most companies in the FTSE top 250 (not just the top 100). So iif applicable Is probably something that could be mentioned in the analysis of your report alongside the other scandals and points of weakness (how independent really those Remuneration Committees who agree these levels and how does it impact on employees in the organisations when at best they have just cost of living increases and at worst no increase at all?)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-45183881

I made above post in relation to Topic 17 but the subject of high executive pay. Is also a CSR issue as the rates paid to CEOs compared with the average worker is now socially divisive, so also relevant to Topic 20

This is an interesting topic and I hope you might consider doing it as you would find it quite rewarding if you select the right company.

There is a variation of Google called “Google Scholar” where you may find academic articles (however access to some of these is subject to payment / subscription). Using key words you will find relevant articles. Note: The links below are to free accessible articles.

There is no one definition of CSR. It is more a series of concepts and in the last decade or so has also focused on sustainability for the planet. For an appropriate overview look at the two links.

https://lexicon.ft.com/Term?term=corporate-social-responsibility–(CSR)

and this (although the title of the link itself looks odd !)

https://www.ed.ac.uk/careers/your-future/options/occupations/csr/what-is-csr

Have a read through this article from the Harvard Business Review which sets out how good CSR policies can be advantageous and the OECD guide to gain deeper insight into the topic

https://www.comfama.com/contenidos/servicios/Gerenciasocial/html/Cursos/Columbia/Lecturas/Strategy-Society.pdf

https://www.oecd.org/corporate/mne/WP-2001_5.pdf

https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/oxfam-multinational-companies-failing-csr

also take a look at the Global Reporting Initiative website and
https://www.globalreporting.org/information/sustainability-reporting/Pages/default.aspx
All of these will give you an excellent background on which to increase your understanding and help you with your project but bear in mind that concepts are expanding and evolving and in particular best use of resources has now become more prominent (maximising natural energy, minimising pollution and eliminating waste- the all important sustainability element)

Then you need to select an appropriate company and in respect of your chosen company see where in particular is it falling down and is not performing well on CSR front on a number of aspects – also bear in mind the sorts of issues that are high profile – these are general examples: insufficient recycling initiatives (some of the coffee companies and supermarkets using too much plastic packaging for example), companies not paying their ‘fair share’ of corporation tax (making statements about paying all the tax due is not quite the same thing when tax loopholes and tax havens are used to avoid tax: Facebook, apple, Google and many other big name global corporations); poor working terms and conditions (Amazon, Sports Direct) ; exploitation of child labour in poorer parts of the world by clothing retailers and also lack of security over customer and employee data (websites being hacked and such data being stolen).
You will also need to use a model. I suggest Carrolls Pyramid (see this article)
https://cf.linnbenton.edu/bcs/bm/gusdorm/upload/Pyramid%20of%20Social%20Responsibility.pdf

It is useful to use this pyramid as the structure for Part 3 using the various heading e.g. Philanthropical, Ethical, Legal and Economic although you might also want to add Environment. Alternatively you could use different headings such as “People, Planet, Profit’

The crunch comes choosing a company –this may help with European companies https://tu-dresden.de/bu/wirtschaft/bu/ressourcen/dateien/dateien/veroeffentlichungen/good-company-ranking-2013-eng?lang=en

With US companies you may find that articles may praise some companies for CSR that personally I would question (e.g. Amazon for its poor working practices and tax avoidance and Apple – a company that deliberately incorporates obsolescence in its products to maximise sales and profit in my opinion is not adopting responsible CSR practices) so you do need to subject the company chosen to object scrutiny.

Im about to start my RAP and for T20 i have chosen Sports Direct as the organisation. In my opinion issues regarding Sports Direct such as appalling workplace conditions, minimum wage level, health and safety issues, six strikes policy etc all relate to CSR. Correct me if im wrong.
Secondly, im concerned whether i’ll be able to produce a report of 7500 words by just discussing the above mentioned issues.
I’ll use a comparator or compare Sports Direct against best practice. Models i am planning to use in my analysis are Corrall’s Model, Stakeholders Theory and Triple Bottom Line Model.
Im too stressed out and dont know how to start with all the research i have done.
Your suggestions and guidance would be appreciated.

I’ll be having my first mentor meeting in a day or two. Atleast now im relieved that the topic and Organisation i chose are fine. Thankyou for your timely response, you’re the BEST !!

I have set out some points in an earlier post above.

Here is an article from 2013 about how apple uses manipulation techniques to lock customers into its products by imposing high ‘switching costs’ (often in terms of inconvenience that mean customers just find it easier not to switch
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S015599821300032X

Another of Apple’s customer complaints is that the advertised low cost battery replacement service is a bit disingenuous as customers are expected to pay full price first for non- existent faults before any battery replacement

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-43960267

The idea though behind all of the RAP work is that the student should do the research!

This is slightly difficult to prescribe because it depends on the nature of the business and its customers, markets and fields it operates in. Look up what being a good corporate citizen and what social responsibility means on a search engine. Consider also the principles behind the Carroll hierarchy and Triple bottom line. Companies that take advantage of society (polluting, exploiting loopholes in laws and taking from a country but giving little back in return) are examples of poor CSR.

Going back in time many big companies used to deliver much better on CSR than they do now as their founders felt they had a social responsibility e.g. Cadbury in the beginning provided many social benefits for employees (housing, schools welfare) but buyouts by other companies and putting profit before people means that very few companies perform really well in respect of CSR.

Regarding making comparisons unlike Topic 8 you are not restricted to one organisation – instead you may cite different entities to illustrate best practice and compare your organisation against these particular examples