Corporate Social Responsibility in an Organization's Strategy - Paper Sample

Introduction

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is an organization's ability to consider the interests of the shareholders, customers, employees, and the community. The organization can consider the social, ecological, and environmental consequences of the business to the community. In modern times, CSR has become a standard business practice. Organizations can create corporate and social value by incorporating CSR processes in stakeholder management and organizational processes; this will promote the achievement of organizational goals. CSR allows companies to enact positive changes, whether huge or small. Organizations can do the right thing, not only for their benefit but also for others' benefit.

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Importance of CSR in Organizational Strategy

When consumers use products of a socially responsible company, they feel more loyal to that brand. Consumers become more supportive when they know a company is socially responsible. CSR encourages positive change, builds trust, and raises social awareness. Many companies are doing their part in ensuring Social responsibility, and their actions have far-reaching consequences impacting major issues in the world like hunger, global warming, and health. An excellent example of such a brand doing CSR successfully is Johnson & Johnson. For three decades, the company's focus was the reduction of their impact on the planet. They have many initiatives that range from providing safe water to communities through leveraging wind. They also provide an economical and renewable alternative to electricity while reducing pollution; after purchasing Texas privately-owned energy supplier. The company is in a continuous quest to seek renewable energy to procure up to 35% renewable energy.

Johnson & Johnson CSR Policy

CSR is part of Johnson & Johnson's business model. Their CSR policy considers the impact of their services and goods as well as their accountability in decision making, to stakeholders, the public, and itself. A strong policy on CSR is good for a company's brand. The long-term consequences can be the growth of a company. A strong CSR policy makes the company responsible in all aspects, economic, social, and environmental making consumers happy to do business with the brand.

CSR in Johnson & Johnson has been shaped by the Tylenol products' historical case, which killed seven people in 1982 (Werther & Chandler, 2010, p. 107). Tylenol was one of the company's flagship products, and it was used as a pain reliever. After investigation, the findings showed that the wrongdoings of the company did not cause the deaths. The Tylenol was tampered and loaded with poison by an unidentified person before reaching the consumers. Regardless, the incident had far-reaching consequences to Johnson & Johnson, tarnishing their name forever. After this incident, the CEO, at that point, decided to remove all Tylenol products from the shelves across the country. This move cost the company a hundred million dollars. Their commitment to social responsibility saved their situation at the time. This CSR move showed their commitment to social responsibility putting the company in a positive light. They also offered refunds and safer tablets for their customers. They were honest, quick and responsible for handling the situation, which investors and the public had taken positively.

Pillars of CSR

After the Tylenol incident, the CEO then, wrote a credo representing their mission statement, which guides Johnson & Johnson. He wrote that they owe a responsibility to their nurses, doctors, mothers, fathers, and everyone using their products and services (Werther & Chandler, 2010, p. 107). This credo also embodied their CSR role, touching on fair treatment of suppliers, environmental sustainability, and prompt customer services. This organization seems to be more focused on ethical and philanthropic CSR.

Aligning CSR and Mission Statement

Aligning CSR with core business strategies and purpose makes intuitive sense. Alignment with important business metrics has many advantages, like the reduction of waste and promotes success. The CSR policy of Johnson & Johnson aligns with the credo guidelines stating that they are responsible for those using their products and to the communities around them (Mitra & Schmidpeter, 2020, p.5). Their policy and credo stem from the belief that consumers, communities, and employees are equally important. Their mission statement and policies align, showing that they have a passion for treating everyone with care and inclusivity. The first example is that the companies mission statement aligning with CSR is that they focus on philanthropy to uplift everyone and making the world a healthier place; the CSR policy provides for the requirement to save lives, promote maternal and child health, training practitioners, and supporting educational events like summits in health issues. In improving health, the company has focused on providing resources for research and creating health-care products (Mitra & Schmidpeter, 2020, p.5). The second example of CSR's alignment with the mission is environmental protection, where they focus on clean energy and energy efficiency performance. The CSR policy provides for monitoring their environmental performance. They participate in different projects in promoting energy efficiency.

Conclusion

To conclude, CSR involves an obligation to benefit society at large. Additionally, there needs to be a continuous commitment for organizations to behave ethically while promoting economic development. With emergent demand to consider environmental and social consequences, CSR is a key priority for managing any business.

References

Mitra, N., & Schmidpeter, R. (2020). Mandated Corporate Social Responsibility. Springer.

Werther Jr, W. B., & Chandler, D. (2010). Strategic corporate social responsibility: Stakeholders in a global environment. Sage.