MBA作业代写:Critical Discussion of Corporate Social responsibility (CSR)

发布时间:2022-09-26 13:31:12 论文编辑:cinq888

MBA作业代写-对企业社会责任(CSR)的批判性讨论。本文是一篇留学生MBA作业代写范文。主要内容是解释企业社会责任(CSR)是指公司超过法定商业标准。企业社会责任政策是相关的,因为除了法定义务外,它们还规定了公司打算实现的目标。公司必须遵守雇佣合同等法律标准。然而,如果公司选择支付“生活工资”而不是最低工资,则可以超越这些原则。下面就一起参考这篇留学生MBA作业范文。

MBA作业代写范文

Corporate Social Responsibility Defined 企业社会责任定义
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is when a corporation exceeds statutory business standards (Johnson and Scholes 2008). CSR policies are relevant because they state what a company intends to achieve, in addition, to its statutory obligations. A corporation has to comply with legal standards such as employment contracts. However, a company can exceed those principles if it chooses to pay a ‘living wage’ rather than the minimum wage (Bloomer 2014).
Introduction to the Critical Discussion 批判性讨论导言
The discussion will examine a traditional criticism of corporate social responsibility through the work of Friedman. This is a view which proponents of CSR will need to refute. The essay will then discuss how social and environmental responsibility can be reconciled, with profitability, using the work of Porter. The example of Hewlett Packard is discussed at length. This is because its policies emphasise how a multi-national company can achieve both environmental and social responsibility together with corporate profitability. The work of Handy is then considered. This argues that companies should have corporate objectives which are broader than just profitability and consider the purpose of the business.
本次讨论将通过弗里德曼的工作来审视对企业社会责任的传统批评。这是企业社会责任支持者需要反驳的观点。然后,本文将利用波特的工作,讨论如何协调社会和环境责任与盈利能力。本文详细讨论了惠普公司的例子。这是因为其政策强调跨国公司如何实现环境和社会责任以及企业盈利能力。然后考虑Handy的工作。这一观点认为,公司应该有比盈利更广泛的公司目标,并考虑业务的目的。
Friedman’s View of Corporate Social Responsibility 弗里德曼的企业社会责任观
Friedman’s view is a non-interventionist or laissez-faire vision of commerce. In his view business should aim to earn money while complying with “the basic rules of the society” such as paying taxes (Friedman 1970:1). It assumes that consumers are sovereign and are able to significantly influence corporate decision-making. This view of commercial organisations underplays the significance of consumer market failure. It is assumed that consumers can take their business elsewhere as Friedman believed that consumers can transfer their business to other producers (Friedman 1970). However, this is not possible if the consumer is unable to pay for another competitor firm’s products. This is the case if a consumer were unable to pay for the safety features, offered by a car manufacturer such as Volvo, as discussed below. To summarise, socially responsible polices, can be seen as unrealistic if consumers are unwilling to pay for them.
弗里德曼的观点是一种不干涉主义或自由放任的商业观。在他看来,企业应该以赚钱为目标,同时遵守“社会的基本规则”,如纳税。它假设消费者是主权的,能够显著影响企业决策。这种商业组织的观点低估了消费者市场失灵的重要性。假设消费者可以将其业务转移到其他地方,因为弗里德曼认为消费者可以将业务转移到其它生产商。然而,如果消费者无法为另一家竞争对手公司的产品付款,则这是不可能的。如果消费者无法支付沃尔沃等汽车制造商提供的安全功能,则会出现这种情况,如下所述。总而言之,如果消费者不愿意为社会责任政策买单,那么社会责任政策可能被视为不切实际。
Friedman argued that socially responsible business policies, such as promoting equality, can harm company performance. For example, Ben and Jerry’s adopted a payment scheme where the highest paid employee could only earn “no more than five times the income of the lowest paid firm employee” (Barney and Hesterly 2010:7). This payment scheme made it difficult to recruit senior managerial talent to make sure that the company grew and remained profitable (Barney and Hesterly 2010).
弗里德曼认为,对社会负责的商业政策,如促进平等,会损害公司绩效。例如,Ben和Jerry’s采用了一种薪酬方案,最高薪酬的员工只能获得“不超过最低薪酬公司员工收入的五倍”。这种薪酬方案使得招聘高级管理人才以确保公司增长并保持盈利变得困难。
A More Progressive View of Corporate Social Responsibility 企业社会责任的更进步观点
There is an increasingly an expectation that companies will contribute to society to a greater extent than when Friedman was writing in the early 1970’s. Companies operate in a social environment as well as an economic environment (Grant 2008). A firm’s ability to survive depends upon its acceptability among consumers who give the firm ‘social legitimacy’ (Grant 2008:446). Examples of social awareness, such as a demand for safer cars, suggest that companies are wise to respond to consumer concerns (Grant 2008).Corporations have come under “increasing pressure to contribute to the societies … in which they operate and to adopt more socially responsible business practices” (Christodoulou and Patel 2013:467).
人们越来越期望公司对社会的贡献会比弗里德曼在20世纪70年代初写作时更大。公司在社会环境和经济环境中运作。一家公司的生存能力取决于其在消费者中的可接受性,消费者给予公司“社会合法性”。社会意识的例子,如对更安全汽车的需求,表明公司应对消费者的担忧是明智的。公司面临着“越来越大的压力,需要为其经营所在的社会做出贡献,并采取更具社会责任感的商业实践。
The corporate setting of voluntary objectives can be seen as an adequate response to the needs of society. Companies can set voluntary standards: to reduce the extent to which their actions cause negative externalities or side-effects (Barney and Hesterly 2010). For example, if a car manufacturer builds a car with a large number of safety features which more than comply with legal requirements. Volvo has promoted the benefits of a “relatively safe car … which adds value that the customer is willing to pay a premium for” (Thompson and Martin 2005:95). However, this approach can also be seen as merely serving a premium segment of the market, rather than being particularly socially responsible. In this case, Volvo is taking a marketing position which conforms to sales objectives while offering better safety to the motorist (Johnson and Scholes 2008). Corporate social responsibility is only conforming to financial requirements.
公司制定自愿目标可被视为对社会需求的充分回应。公司可以制定自愿性标准:降低其行为造成负外部性或副作用的程度。例如,如果一家汽车制造商生产的汽车具有大量安全特性,这些特性超过了法律要求。沃尔沃宣传了“相对安全的汽车……它增加了客户愿意支付溢价的价值”。然而,这种方法也可以被视为仅仅服务于高端市场,而不是对社会特别负责。在这种情况下,沃尔沃采取的营销立场符合销售目标,同时为驾驶者提供更好的安全性。企业社会责任仅符合财务要求。
Porter’s View on Corporate Social Responsibility and the Environment 波特的企业社会责任与环境观
The concept of CSR is useful as it can help reconcile the financial needs of business with say the safety needs of society. Porter argues that it is a mistake for business to see environmental legislation as a threat to be resisted (Porter and van de Linde 1995). Rather, socially responsible businesses can view regulation in a positive manner; that environmental regulation can be built upon to utilise resources more effectively. It is argued, that there are costs incurred with the elimination of environmental problems but that these are outweighed by the benefits, including financial savings and improvements to product quality (Thompson and Martin 2005). Therefore, it is possible for corporations to be socially responsible without compromising the financial status of the organisation. Porter’s argument is useful. It has allowed thoughtful companies, such as Hewlett Packard, to reconcile investment in environmental initiatives with corporate profitability.
企业社会责任的概念是有用的,因为它有助于协调企业的财务需求和社会的安全需求。波特认为,企业将环境立法视为一种必须抵制的威胁是错误的。相反,对社会负责的企业可以以积极的方式看待监管;这种环境法规可以更有效地利用资源。有人认为,消除环境问题会产生成本,但这些成本超过了效益,包括节约资金和提高产品质量。因此,企业有可能在不损害组织财务状况的情况下承担社会责任。波特的论点很有用。这使得像惠普这样的深思熟虑的公司能够将环保计划的投资与公司盈利能力相协调。
The Hewlett Packard Report 惠普报告
Hewlett Packard has a strong reputation in terms of corporate social responsibility (thecro.com 2010). The company’s CSR policies are detailed and indicate a high level of social responsibility. For example, the company presents environmental information, in a proactive manner, with evidence of wanting to improve recycling programmes. It aims to improve environmental programs to reduce the waste from its production operations (Hewlett Packard 2011). Through these environmental initiatives, the company can help reduce business costs. Hewlett Packard’s CSR report discusses how it aims to extract value from products which are at the end of their product life (Hewlett Packard 2011). An example is the company’s commitment to re-manufacture its printer cartridges so that they can be used again. The company is attempting to promote a strong corporate responsibility through proactive environmental investment.
惠普在企业社会责任方面享有很高的声誉。公司的企业社会责任政策非常详细,表明了高度的社会责任。例如,该公司以积极主动的方式提供环境信息,有证据表明希望改进回收方案。其目标是改善环境计划,以减少生产运营中的废物。通过这些环保举措,公司可以帮助降低业务成本。Hewlett-Packard的企业社会责任报告讨论了如何从产品寿命结束的产品中提取价值。例如,该公司承诺重新制造打印机墨盒,以便再次使用。该公司正试图通过积极的环境投资促进强大的企业责任。
Hewlett Packard has demonstrated strong social responsibility policies. This suggests that such policies can be implemented on a large scale. The company has provided a significant amount of disclosure on a wide range of corporate areas from the environment to human resource management. The detail provided by Hewlett Packard is superior to other companies given that online trade publications have viewed Hewlett Packard’s performance favourably (thecro.com 2013). Given that Hewlett Packard was assessed favourably then the information provided, in its CSR report, can be interpreted as thorough and accurate.
惠普在政策上表现出了强烈的社会责任感。这表明这些政策可以大规模实施。公司在从环境到人力资源管理的广泛公司领域提供了大量信息披露。惠普提供的详细信息优于其他公司,因为在线贸易出版物对惠普的业绩评价良好。鉴于惠普公司得到了良好的评估,其企业社会责任报告中提供的信息可以被解释为全面和准确。
The company attempts to improve the wider business community with measures to develop its external supply chain. The company aims for strong standards of behaviour outside the company’s core business. This suggests that it is attempting to improve working relationships with its component suppliers (Hewlett Packard 2011). Hewlett Packard’s CSR document conveys that the company is enabling social responsibility to be addressed. The company suggests that it has a grievance procedure so that different stakeholders can report social or ethical problems to senior management (Hewlett Packard 2011). The company is clearly investing in a responsible approach as it describes legal observance as an “absolute minimum” which it expects of different stakeholders (Hewlett Packard 2011:82). They argue that their decision making achieves better employment standards, than laws in the different countries in which the company operates (Hewlett Packard 2011).
该公司试图通过发展外部供应链的措施来改善更广泛的商业社区。公司的目标是在公司核心业务之外建立强有力的行为标准。这表明,该公司正试图改善与组件供应商的工作关系。Hewlett-Packard的企业社会责任文件表明,公司正在实现社会责任。公司建议制定申诉程序,以便不同利益相关者能够向高级管理层报告社会或道德问题。该公司显然是在投资于一种负责任的方法,因为它将法律遵守描述为它期望不同利益相关者的“绝对最低要求”。他们认为,与公司运营所在国的法律相比,他们的决策实现了更好的就业标准。
Concerns over Hewlett Packard’s Stated Policies 对惠普声明政策的担忧
Hewlett Packard attempts to make the company accountable, to external industry scrutiny. Procedures have been outlined which should make sure that ethical labour standards are achieved (Hewlett Packard 2011). The concern is that ethical objectives could be difficult to implement. There does not appear to be a specific example of how this guidance statement could be delivered in practice. However, there is a well structured diagram which outlines how the company will provide a “governance structure” so that the company can comply with ethical challenges (Hewlett Packard 2011:82).
惠普试图让公司对外部行业监督负责。概述了确保达到道德劳动标准的程序。令人担忧的是,道德目标可能难以实现。似乎没有一个具体的例子来说明如何在实践中实施这一指导声明。然而,有一个结构良好的图表概述了公司将如何提供“治理结构”,以便公司能够应对道德挑战。
Some of Hewlett Packard’s environmental statements can be interpreted as platitudes. The company claims that that it wants to conserve more resources than it consumes (Hewlett Packard 2011). The concern is that it is easy to provide such statements. However, it is more difficult to assess how they are going to conserve more than they consume. This is because environmentally acceptable re-manufacturing programmes will still require energy consumption despite the conservation of the materials.
惠普的一些环保声明可以被理解为陈词滥调。该公司声称,它希望节约比消耗更多的资源。令人关切的是,提供这种陈述很容易。然而,更难评估的是,他们将如何节约超过消费。这是因为环境上可接受的再制造方案仍然需要能源消耗,尽管节约了材料。
Hewlett Packard may have worse polices, in practice, than those conveyed by its report. This is because suppliers could be forced to comply with the company’s standards. There are power relationships between dominant multi-national companies, such as Hewlett Packard, and their suppliers (Locke et. al. 2012). The international sourcing of computer components has left suppliers vulnerable to the dominant buying policies at Hewlett Packard (Wetherly et. al. 2011). These power relationships will tend to be overlooked, in corporate social responsibility reports, because companies will want to portray themselves in a favourable light.
实际上,惠普的政策可能比其报告所传达的政策更糟糕。这是因为供应商可能被迫遵守公司的标准。主要跨国公司(如惠普)与其供应商之间存在权力关系。计算机部件的国际采购使供应商容易受到惠普主导采购政策的影响。在企业社会责任报告中,这些权力关系往往会被忽视,因为企业希望以有利的角度来描述自己。
Corporate social responsibility policies have been criticised. The development of CSR policies have been difficult to implement for many firms (Birchall and Cook 2006). However, these criticisms should, generally, not be directed at Hewlett Packard due to the level of detail contained in its CSR report. Arguably, they have made an honest corporate attempt to contribute to society (Porter and Kramer 2002). The report goes beyond the legal compliance advocated by Friedman. The detail provided is of a superior standard when compared to a minimum level of legal compliance.
企业社会责任政策受到了批评。许多公司很难实施企业社会责任政策。然而,由于惠普公司社会责任报告的详细程度,这些批评通常不应针对惠普公司。可以说,他们做出了诚实的企业努力,为社会做出贡献。该报告超越了弗里德曼倡导的法律合规性。与最低法律合规水平相比,所提供的细节具有更高的标准。
The Business and Ethical Concepts of Handy Handy的商业和伦理概念
The work of Handy, arguably, goes beyond the corporate responsibility work of writers such as Porter. This is because Handy emphasises the importance of mission statements and the purpose of the organisation. Handy argues that “the purpose of a business . . . is not to make a profit, full stop. It is to make a profit so that the business can do something more or better. That ‘something’ becomes the real justification for the business” (Sage Publications 2015:15). Handy argues that a firm’s profit should be the means to a larger end (Sage Publications 2015). There are companies which adhere to a deeper purpose than merely profit. Tradecraft, in the UK, would be a good example as the company’s purpose is to operate “life-changing development projects” (Traidcraft 2015).
可以说,Handy的工作超越了波特等作家的企业责任工作。这是因为Handy强调了使命声明和组织宗旨的重要性。Handy认为,“企业的目的……不是为了盈利,而是为了盈利,从而使企业能够做得更好或更好。这种‘事情’成为企业的真正理由”。Handy认为,公司的利润应该是实现更大目标的手段。有些公司坚持更深层的目标,而不仅仅是利润。英国的Tradecraft将是一个很好的例子,因为该公司的目的是运营“改变生活的发展项目”。
However, Traidcraft operates in a niche area of the retail market where affluent consumers, who are willing to pay higher prices, contribute to international development. Therefore Handy’s ideas may have limited application to businesses throughout the whole of the United Kingdom. However, his ideas are useful where they can be applied. Tradecraft’s mission moves beyond immediate stakeholders, such as owners and clearly considers the needs of the broader society (Dess et. al. 2010). The company is an excellent example of a company which incorporates social and environmental, as well as financial factors, into its decision making (Dess et. al. 2010).
然而,Traidcraft在零售市场的一个利基领域运营,富裕消费者愿意支付更高的价格,为国际发展做出贡献。因此,Handy的想法可能对整个英国的企业应用有限。然而,他的想法在可以应用的地方是有用的。Tradecraft的使命超越了直接利益相关者,如所有者,并明确考虑了更广泛社会的需求。该公司是一家将社会和环境以及财务因素纳入其决策的公司的优秀范例。
The challenge for proponents of ‘social responsibility’ is that many retailers only undertake social and environmental policies which do not damage their sales and profits. Many retailers will concentrate on environmental responsibility in their stores, where they can achieve resource efficiency targets (Jones et. al. 2009). Many retailers’ social responsibilities are guided by what they can achieve within their financial imperatives (Jones et. al. 2009). However, such corporate policies could lead to accusations of ‘greenwashing’. In other words, that the retailers’ commitment to the environment is limited and that social responsibility reports can play a public relations role rather than a social responsibility role. Many firms are engaging in ‘greenwashing’ to mislead consumers about the extent of their environmental activities (Delmas and Burbano 2011).
“社会责任”支持者面临的挑战是,许多零售商只采取不损害其销售和利润的社会和环境政策。许多零售商将把注意力集中在他们商店的环境责任上,在那里他们可以实现资源效率目标。许多零售商的社会责任取决于他们在其财务职责范围内所能实现的目标。然而,这样的公司政策可能导致“绿色清洗”的指控。换句话说,零售商对环境的承诺有限,社会责任报告可以发挥公共关系作用,而不是社会责任作用。许多公司正在进行“绿色清洗”,以误导消费者对其环境活动的程度。
Conclusion 结论
There is evidence of improvements to companies social responsibility polices. This is because firms have realised that it is financially prudent to use environment resources wisely. It is also necessary for business to be sustainable and to invest in good employment practices and proper labour standards. However, there is a concern that corporate social responsibility is limited by what the consumer is willing, or able, to pay for more ethical approaches. There are few examples of businesses which are willing to adopt socially responsible policies which affect their profitability. Ben and Jerry’s is one example before its takeover by Unilever.
References 参考文献
Barney, J. and Hesterly, W., (2010), Strategic Management and Competitive Advantage: Concepts and Cases, Third Edition, Boston: Prentice Hall
Burchell, J. and Cook, J. (2006), Confronting the “corporate citizen”: Shaping the discourse of corporate social responsibility, International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, Vol. 26, No. 3/4, 2006, p. 121-137
Bloomer, E. (2014), Local action on health inequalities: Health inequalities and the living wage, Public Health England.
留学生MBA作业提出有证据表明公司社会责任政策有所改善。这是因为企业已经意识到明智地使用环境资源在财务上是谨慎的。企业必须可持续发展,并投资于良好的就业做法和适当的劳工标准。然而,有人担心,公司的社会责任受到消费者愿意或能够为更道德的方法付费的限制。很少有企业愿意采取影响其盈利能力的社会责任政策。Ben and Jerry's是被联合利华收购之前的一个例子。

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