Management Theory and Practices Social Responsibility

Question: Discuss about the Management Theory and Practices for Social Responsibility. Answer: Introduction Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is the form of corporate self regulation that is integrated into the business model. It is an obligation of the companies that helps to ensure that the organizational interest and the interests of stakeholders, representing society at large is efficiently served. One of the important goals of the organization is to have a sustainable position in the market in which it operates (Muller, 2014). Woolworths is a supermarket store chain in Australia that practices many CSR practices within the organization in order to achieve the best possible outcome for the company and sustain in the highly competitive market of Australia. Discussion Woolworths has been considered as one of the organization that follows effective CSR policies in the organization. The company further aims to transform itself into a more sustainable business. The strategy adopted by the organization focuses on improving the efficiency of the organizational activities, reduce the amount of waste produced during the manufacturing process and meet the expectations of the customers regarding the responsible sourcing (Woolworthslimited, 2016). The company practices the CSR within the organization in order to allow the organization do their part of duty towards the society, the environment, customers and the stakeholders of Woolworths. The CSR practices further gives the employees of Woolworths, an opportunity to contribute towards the company and the society. The sustainability practices considered by the company are 40% reduction in carbon emissions, reduction up to 25% in carbon emissions per square meter for new sustainable store designs, developing ecological footprint calculator to evaluate the interior design and the fit-out. In addition to this, the company intends to carry out sustainable packaging. Thus, the company is able to benefit by adopting cost effective strategies with the help of CSR. The CSR practices support the organization to increase the customer loyalty as the company is able to meet the expectancy of the customers (Cheng, Ioannou Serafeim, 2014). As per the theoretical concepts, the CSR is composed four main obligations. The economic responsibility of the company is to make profit. In the opinion of Navi, (2012), this obligation is considered to be the business version of the human instinct to survive. The legal responsibility of the organization is to abide by the rules and the regulation of the market in which it operates. On the contradictory Okpara and Idowu, (2013) argue that the legal obligation needs to be understood as a proactive duty of the organization. The ethical responsibility of the company states that there are certain activities that the organization needs to perform even when there is no need for it in the organization. Moreover, the philanthropic responsibility contributes in the projects undertaken by the society when there is independency of a certain business (Mason Simmons, 2014). The triple bottom line approach of the CSR states that the corporate leaders consider bottom line results in economic as well as company term. Korschun, Bhattacharya Swain, (2014) added that at the combination of ethics and economics, sustainability plays an important role as it ensures long-term maintenance of balance in the company. The economic sustainability allows long term financial firmness over the volatile short term profits. The social sustainability on the other hand values the balance in the life of the people and the manner in which the individuals live. The environmental sustainability starts with the affirmation that the natural resources are limited. Hence, if the natural resources reduce the healthy lifestyle of the organization and the society will be hampered. The stakeholder theory is a theory of the corporate social responsibility that addresses the values and the morals involves in the managing of organization. The theory describes the strategies that the company can implement to increase the involvement of the stakeholders in the activities and thereby increase the productivity of the company (Chandler Werther Jr, 2013). The stakeholders of Woolworths include the owner of the company, the workers, the potential customers, suppliers, creditors, investors and the government of the country. The corporate social responsibility practices influences the organizational behavior to a great extent. The CSR allows the company to achieve stability which is one of the important goals of Woolworths. The company can gain long term revenue growth and increase the earning of the profit margin with the help of sustainability through CSR practices. Furthermore, Vogel Trapp, (2014) opined that the customers might restrict themselves from doing business with the companies that are well known for being socially irresponsible. Thus, by practicing the CSR, Woolworths will be able to attract a number of customers by showing its commitment towards the community and the environment in which it operates. In addition to these benefits, following the CSR practices helps the company to access to funding. A healthy brand image and reputation encourages the investors to invest capital into the company for its development. According to O'Shea et al., (2013), the organization can create a stable workforce by retaining the top talents that positively influence the organizational behavior. In order to acquire the best talent, Woolworths need to compete. Moreover, ignoring the environmental regulations for the employees tends to damage the reputation of the company. Thus, it is important for Woolworths to consider effective CSR practices within the workplace. Conclusion The CSR plays a crucial role in every organization to provide a sustainable position to the company in the highly competitive market. Woolworths is one of the organization in the retail industry that adopts a number of CSR practices in order to achieve organizational benefits as well as provide benefits to the stakeholders of the company. The CSR practices of the company supports Woolworths to achieve the organizational aims and the objectives. The Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is an organizations responsibility to perform in methods that serve both its own benefits and the benefits of stakeholders, representing society at large. References Chandler, D. Werther Jr, W.B., 2013.Strategic corporate social responsibility: Stakeholders, globalization, and sustainable value creation. Sage Publications. Cheng, B., Ioannou, I. Serafeim, G., 2014. 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[online] Woolworthslimited2015.csr-report.com.au. Available at: https://woolworthslimited2015.csr-report.com.au/sustainability-strategy.html [Accessed 12 Dec. 2016].