Strategic Management Concepts

These debates willingly or unwillingly blame companies as being responsible for the issues that the society faces. In spite of the strong roots of CSR, it is clear that the age of these debates is still young. And momentum is gained in a fast motion in the business internationally supported by measures, publications, regulations from the government, incidents etc. this article tries to research on the effect of CSR in business today with its concept to other strategic management concepts. KEYWORDS: CSR (Corporate social responsibility) sustainability, responsibility, stakeholder, issues, value. Comparatively, when mentioning the term responsibility, three considerations have to be involved: social, environmental and economic view. Through implicit and explicit demands by the society, organizations are advised to go further than the predominantly economic view by considering a concept that is wide enough.

On a corporate level, this responsibility has been recently referred to as corporate social responsibility (CSR). It is no doubt that one of the new challenges organizations face in this date is CSR, most specifically when thought from the perception of obligations of sustainability and growing needs. These two vital concepts have to be positioned in a debate so as to grasp these developments. The rate in which goods, capital and people travel across borders is in large quantities due to an increasingly globalized world. Furthermore, there is a limit in the global markets today in the way organized stakeholders, nation states and society at large are influenced normatively. Consequently, issues concerning developing nations and market economies that are emerging generate as a result of the integration of globalization in the world markets.

Unfortunately, such concerns are given a cold shoulder by the privileged people in the society living in industrialized countries forgetting that day by day they become vital problems. Sustainability After the release of the publication of the first report in the 1970s, a sustainability debate was ignited. Previously, companies were predominantly disrespected by self-interest when they adopted a broader perspective on their responsibility. Needs for employees such as education, health, sports and shelter were seen as zones that would lead to a dependable return on social investment since they were perceived to be justifiable. To an organization, employees that are highly motived, well-educated and have good health meant continuity and prosperity. In the society today, things have changed: what was closed is now open while local has become international.

There is a connection between everybody and everything. An innovative vision is needed for CSR to incorporate externalities and contributions to the social context. CSR Organizing CSR perspectives that are usually utilized in the CSR debate are referred to as the triple bottom line. Sustainability is represented by the planet, a changing social responsibility is people, and profit is the results that come from a successful business. This typology that was flagged by John Elkington in the mid-1990’s has gained acceptance globally, hence CSR has been able to be positioned in organizations through its help. The triple bottom line of CSR has seen to be a success both conceptually and semantically. Regarding attention focus on CSR, Porter and Kramer were early on finding out “much more than a cost, a constraint, or a charitable deed—it can be a source of opportunity, innovation, and competitive advantage” (Porter & Kramer, 2006).

The determination of a factor that adds value is never realized easily. When an organization is able to respond to opportunities and threats that an environment faces, then capability and resource tend to become valuable (Bell & Dyck, 2009). Bell’s and Dyck’s argument is based on a radical perception. In their description of value; one or various human needs have to be met while at the same time financial viability is maintained. The relationship between CSR and strategy management concepts are clearly abridged by the CSR model. Strategic CSR as suggested, is the incorporation of the social dimension of a firm into its individual strategic planning while paying attention to core operating activities. There has to be a formulation and reflection of understanding by the CSR concept and other strategic management of the vital role of CSR as a necessity in the organization, thus official documents such as code of ethics or code of conduct have to be utilized in communication.

Stakeholders in a firm, legal and economic requirements reflect the economic environment in today’s business so as to directly contribute to the society and natural environment (Esptein & Roy, 2001). Figure 2 CSR concept today Business performance Leaders with large companies paid attention to business performance since vital information on the state of the companies was given to them, the development and future outlook. Various firms have already implemented new strategies by CSR connected with EFQM evaluation. For instance, the Ferenc Liszt airport 2011, the operator announced that a CSR strategy had been developed and deployed based on the EFQM model. “Committed to CSR” was the name given to the initiative. The company in Hungary had an objective of setting a pace to other firms in the nation and also implement a fitting strategy for the airport industry.

CSR activities are measured through an ideal framework provided by the EFQM to understand the influence of these activities on the business performance. So far this theory has been wieldy accepted and practised by business globally as a tradition. Similarly, the managerial conception of responsibility is dominated by a leitmotiv of wealth creation. Stakeholders, in this case, are those who have a stake in the organization hence when the concern of profits is mentioned, they are acknowledged. Arguments have it that the value of a shareholder can be maximized in specific conditions. Political theories The interaction and connection between business and society is a focus that several groups of CSR theories major in regarding position and power of business and responsibility.

Due to that, we are able to classify most relevant theories of CSR into four main groups of political, instrumental, value and integrative theories. These four major theories could be further analyzed through a research into their most relevant theories. This will specifically consider the limitations and contributions of each theory. Finally, the most challenging part is the strategy for coming up with a new theory that would help fix these limitations. An accurate knowledge of reality and a sound and ethical foundation will be required to achieve it. Nonetheless, deals conducted by the business goes positively with the health of the environment and safety, information disclosure, corporate governance, and with no corruption nor bribery. The GR1 G3. 1 indices considered by Apple has helped in relating to human rights, economy, and society for its governance publication, recycling, supplier responsibility, and product environment products.

Apple’s indicator records report on steps taken to eradicate child labour (Smith, et al. The EN26 performance indicator has been used by the firm on product environmental reports, this initiative helps it strategize on ways of reducing the environmental impact that might be as a result of its products. Human right is a vital aspect of the CSR management of the company, its suppliers are asked to understand the rights of each worker and conduct their work with dignity. Compliance with CSR Standards Responsibility To ensure there are proper working conditions in the factories, Apple considers the responsibility of the firm. As it is stated in the supplier conduct, “Apple is committed to ensuring that working conditions in Apple’s supply chain are safe, that workers are treated with respect and dignity, and that manufacturing processes are environmentally responsible” (Lewis, 2014).

Involvement of stakeholder Regarding corporate and social responsibility issues, Apple does not give information on whether stakeholders are involved. Dialogue with stakeholders is encouraged by EICC since stakeholders are an active member. The company has about 900,000 workers with over 420, 000 contracted to work at the Shenzhen plants of Foxconn. 15 factories have been covered in this plant including hospital, hostels, hotels, and banks. In 2006, there were complains concerning discrimination of workers from China by leaders in Taiwan. About a year later in May 2010, via the media, Foxconn was the main topic of discussion on suicides cases. Workers amounting to 13 were reported to commit suicide from 2009 to 2010. However, it was revealed after several interviews by Foxconn workers that not all workers were dissatisfied. Some said that it was even worse to work at smaller companies.

A worker from Foxconn eve added that the suicides incident to them sounded like media propaganda; an exaggeration and possibly these suicides to him were a result of romance or sentiment at work. The media reported in 2011 that there was a high rise of child labour in suppliers dealing with iPhones, and iPods. A supplier responsibility report by Apple in 20111 revealed a total of 91 workers who were underage working at the suppliers (Torres, et al. Apple had to terminate a few business contract with convicted companies, for instance, one was reported to have poor governance that led to child labour. To curb hiring of underage workers in future, Apple had to set up a training in 2010. The Chinese labour does the training for human resources managers, however, child labour issues will most likely not be solved through such training.

Shortage of labour is as a result of the rise in labour cost, raw materials and energy. Such instances force factory owners to either find cheaper labour or cut costs. Business Horizons 10(4), 45–51 ed. s. l. :s. n. & Roy, M. J. Sustainability in action: Identifying and measuring to identifying key performance Drivers. s. l. s. l. :s. n. Husted, B. Kane, G. et al. Strategy, not technology, drives digital transformation. MIT Sloan Management Review and Deloitte University Press, 14. s. n. Ku¨sku¨, F. From necessity to responsibility: Evidence for corporate environmental citizenship activities from a developing country perspective. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management. ed. Lewis, T. Booms. In Book of Extremes (pp. Copernicus, Cham. s. E. & Kramer, M. R. The link between competitive advantage and corporate social responbility.