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Stakeholder Social Responsibility

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Stakeholder Social Responsibility

The past decades have witnessed numerous companies realizing the importance of

Corporate Social Responsibility. This is because it has now become a critical requirement for

most business organizations to take into consideration activities concerning their social

responsiveness before arriving at a variety of business decisions. It is indeed a fact that social

responsibility is a key matter of interest, especially to company stakeholders. Organizational

annual reports indicate that a significantly huge percentage of budgeted funds are directed

towards achieving maximum CSR. However, recently, other research experts in this field of

study have come up with arguments that Corporate Social Responsibility has tended to be

outlived. They claim that business enterprises now need to lay more focus on the concept of

accountability and particularly pay more attention to the inclusion of the entire group of

stakeholders if maximum organizational performance was to be achieved. In this research paper,

we are going to discuss this emerging development regarding the need to eliminate Corporate

Social Responsibility and replace it with accountability.

Admissibly, CSR deals with the attempt to ensure that company activities are morally

upright. Trivially, there is no fault at making sure that a company engages in good activities.

Nevertheless, it is highly likely that such actions may bring about certain negative impacts on the

overall performance of the company (Rupp, 231, 2015). This is because Corporate Social

Responsibility does not adequately attend to the fact that business enterprises do play a critical

role in enhancing community social welfare across the globe through such activities as job

creation. As a result, most corporations end up engaging in scrupulous activities with which they

have little or no experience.

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Additionally, CSR does not portray any positive correlation with the increment of firm

profits. Spending on public needs does not necessarily cater to a firm's lost customers. In this

case, therefore, business entities need to lay more focus on the generation of value in all possible

aspects within the corporation (Verma, 2013). Companies need to gain more understanding on

the issue of capitalism, which is the core concept that defines value creation as it encourages

individuals within the company's jurisdiction to work together mutually. Perceiving this concept

in a contrary manner may lead to adverse consequences due to inappropriate policy

implementations.

Another issue of concern that has come to rise about CSR is the fact that this concept has

only been focused on the social responsibility of the firm itself. This implies that it is only

concerned with the overall company size alongside its pattern of shareholders. Well, it is only

obvious that huge corporations have a superior responsibility towards social welfare compared to

the small and medium-sized companies (Googins, 119, 2013). This is because such large

business entities have numerous products and services with which millions of members across

the globe consume. It is, however, frustrating to know that most of us would tend to believe that

being accountable for activities with potentially high risks implies a positive loss to the

company.

Generally, our argument insists that the utilization of an approach based on value creation

for stakeholders with a corresponding acknowledgement of the fact that both ethical issues and

values are equally imperative in the quest to maintain numerous benefits of CSR. Notably, socio-

economic, political aspects are not usual in any way (Rupp, 231, 2015). Therefore, a framework

which integrates social and business accountabilities are direly needed for ultimate
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organizational success. It is therefore essential that companies integrate the previously known

aspects of CSR with other concepts surrounding accountability.

Notably, many social enterprises across the world have accommodated this perspective

and put it in practice. In the United Kingdom, there are more than 1700 Social Enterprises which

have been created to help cater for the various needs of the entire society among other

environmental issues. Community Interest Companies have adopted the use of this particular

approach and as a result positive outcomes have been achieved (Rupp, 231, 2015). Their main

aim is to ensure that their activities, businesswise are directed towards ensuring maximum

economic growth. Their technique of gaining higher profits is by ensuring that numerous

underprivileged people are employed, while maintaining the rates if investment in social

projects.

Case study: The Grey Valleys

The Green Valleys is known as an international Social Enterprise whose headquarters is

at Brecon Beacons, Wales. The primary objective of the company is to provide a source of

inspiration to members of the society in the generation of a variety of advantages with respect to

their socio-economic surroundings. This is achieved through ensuring maximum awareness

among individuals across Britain and the world at large regarding the attainment of low emission

rates of carbon and carbon related effluents. The company faces a huge problem due to frequent

and rapid changes in climatic conditions. However, the corporation is determined to combat this

humongous challenge through combined efforts of all employees and the management team.

Ever since the formulation of the company, which is a decade ago, the Community

Interest Company has worked hand in hand with diverse communities in the quest to ensure that
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useful innovative projects are created to help conserve energy sources and establishing multiple

forms through which energy can be renewed. Improvements on the diversification of bio life are

also part of the main focus of the company.

The Green Valley Industrial Park was initially conceived with the purpose of fuelling the

Big Green Challenge. This company therefore comes up with innovative ideas focused on

promoting environmental conservation and conservation of energy. The harmonization and

safeguarding of stakeholder interests allows for the company to ensure a mutual cohesion

between socio-economic and environmental factors. The structure of the organization is designed

in a flexible way such that it can accommodate a unique Corporate Social Responsibility

Structure. It has been enhanced to ensure that all the requirements pertaining to sustainability are

achieved.

The Green Valleys Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy

As stated earlier, The Green Valleys Community Interest Company has adopted a newly

formulated model of CSR which focuses on increasing accountability measures for the benefit of

the society (Clark Jr, 839, 2012). It exhausts all means possible to enhance people’s welfare

statuses through the adoption of viable means to ensure maximum sustainability in the fields of

education, public health, infrastructure and the environment. For this reason, the company is

known for its high level of innovation evident from a variety of innovative strategies.

In the field of public health, for example, The Green Valleys CIC has helped in funding a

variety of programs and medical groups as well as the provision of support in aid of the flagship

project. This project has ensured the provision of Medicare services together with provision of

social needs to underprivileged individuals (Young, 41, 2012). In addition to this, the corporation
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has developed sustainable systems for effective management of the environment. These practices

have hugely helped in fostering education throughout the country by ensuring that all educational

institutions exist in a friendly environment (Lindgreen, 6, 2010). Furthermore, businesses are

able to operate smoothly due to the activities with which the company practices. A few examples

of projects conducted by this Community Interest Company include reforestation and generation

of artificial water plants. Campaigns against deforestation are also carried out by the corporation

with the aim of creating awareness among various people within the country regarding the

importance of conserving trees and the environment at large.

Development of a positive relationship with stakeholders

Stakeholders are referred to a particular group of people whose actions within the

jurisdiction of the company are bound to implicate the extent to which organizational success can

be achieved. Recently conducted research indicates that this new approach to Corporate Social

Responsibility has many distinct and advantageous features. For one, the framework provides

members of the managerial department with an opportunity to contend with any significant

environmental changes without necessarily having to incorporate new complex strategic models

(Doherty, 421, 2014). This approach is, therefore, apt especially for the Green Valleys Social

Enterprise as it is mainly concerned with combating issues to do with climate change for the

good of the entire country.

Known to us is the fact that in every business entity, maximum corporate sustainability

can only be achieved through the adoption of a strategized decision-making model. This

stakeholder model ensures that this objective is well achieved by making sure that the interests of

stakeholders are attended to as required at all times (Battilana, 53, 2012). Incorporating the new

CSR model has allowed for the company to pay more attention to matters regarding maximum
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integration among all company stakeholders alongside all other decisions on activities which are

bound to generate ultimate value for all members within and outside the company's jurisdiction;

including the company workforce, consumers investors and the Society at large.

Conclusion

Evidently, there are a lot of arguments which have come to rise concerning the reliability

of the previously formulated strategy of CSR in ensuring the effective running of business

corporations. Some analysts have argued that Corporate Social Responsibility has indeed

surpassed its importance due to its flaws. However, the incorporation of a new model of CSR

which primarily focusses on accountability is inevitable if an organization were to meet its

desired objectives. We have utilized the use of a CSR strategy of The Green Valleys- a Social

Enterprise in Britain, to illustrate the effectiveness of this newly formulated framework, as

discussed in the subsequent paragraphs.

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