BUSINESS ETHICS, CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND GOOD

GOVERNANCE
JOURNAL ARTICLE REVIEW
SATURDAY 5:00 – 8:00 PM PST
SUBMITTED BY: RIKI JONAS A. TAGPUNO

TITLE: HOW CSR MANAGERS CAN INSPIRE OTHER LEADERS TO ACT ON

SUSTAINABILITY

SUMMARY OF READING:

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) managers, according to Wickert and de Bakker (2019), are

critical change agents in maintaining the momentum for CSR – but their role must be recognized

and strengthened if firms want to become leaders in sustainability. Four tactics for mobilizing

others have been identified as the most effective. These are as follows: establish a network of

internal allies, make sustainability resonate, identify appropriate incentives, and use external and

internal benchmarking. In the first tactic, create a network of internal allies, it is critical to

surround yourself with people who share your passion for sustainability in order to foster an

environment that is interested in advancing CSR. Being surrounded by those types of employees

gives you confidence and peace of mind that the team will support you in achieving the

company's goals. The next strategy, make sustainability resonate, entails explaining to each and

every employee what sustainability means for the company (Wickert & de Bakker, 2019). You

can help each employee discover their purpose in their specific situations by explaining the

importance of sustainability to them. Third, identify adequate incentives, such as offering

incentives as a perk to entice employees to participate in CSR. Most employees work or believe

that if they work hard enough, they will be rewarded with performance-based incentives. As a

result, for this tactic to work, CSR managers must be able to persuade employees by learning
what motivates them to work and follow instructions. Finally, use external and internal

benchmarking. Creating benchmarks against which CSR project progress can be measured is an

important tactic (Wickert & de Bakker, 2019). With these types of benchmarks, you can try to

provide specific incentives to those who performed the best in terms of sustainability. Internal

benchmarking differs from external benchmarking in that internal benchmarking compares your

goals to those of your company's various divisions. External benchmarking compares your goals

to those of other companies.

REACTION:

I agree with Christopher Wickert and Frank G.A.'s four strategies. Bakker, de. It is critical to be

surrounded by people who share your perspective. Because you know you have a support group,

you are motivated to work hard to achieve your goal. In terms of incentives, I believe they are

necessary nowadays because most employees are working for their families or some employees

want to be recognized for their hard work. Not only are you surrounded by employees who share

your goals, but you also get to have friendly competition within the company as a result of those

incentives, which results in a better company overall by having good results because everyone

wants to be recognized.

APPLICATION IN PHILIPPINE SETTING:

Through its programs involving engagements with underprivileged communities, the Philippine

Airlines Foundation (PAL Foundation) promotes social sustainability. The Foundation has

different programs namely:

  Youth, Persons with Disabilities – they encourage young people to cultivate their talents

and skills in order to become the best they can be. They are doing this by providing travel

assistance to the underprivileged who wish to represent the country.

 Victims of Calamities, Elderly Persons – they provide goods transportation, medical

supplies, and donations to those affected by disasters.

 Indigenous community – they provide sustenance to Indigenous Peoples' communities

through environmental protection programs.

 Base of the pyramid – annual Christmas activities include gift-giving and feeding

programs for orphans and street children.

 Child welfare, education – they support the GMA Kapuso Foundation and the ABS-CBN

Lingkod Kapamilya Foundation, respectively, for school assistance and the protection of

at-risk children.

 ALAY SA OFWs – they gave donations for the Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW)

residing in Lebanon on September 24, 2020.

REFERENCES:

Wickert, C. and de Bakker, F. (2019). How CSR Managers Can Inspire Other Leaders to Act on

Sustainability. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2019/01/how-csr-managers-can-inspire-

other-leaders-to-act-on-sustainability

(n.d.). Corporate Social Responsibility. PAL Holdings, Inc. https://phi.com.ph/corporate-social-

responsibility/