Emerging Concept of CSR and HR Departments in Organizations - Research Proposal Example

Name: Tutor: Course: Date: THE EMERGING ROLE OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (HRM) IN CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (CSR) Abstract The purpose of this research study will be to identify the various ways in which the emerging concept of CSR has affected the mandate of HR departments in organizations and by extension the business enterprises. The study will target members of staff in HR departments in our country as well as other sectors in the world of commerce. The ultimate goal will be to establish the nature of the complex interrelationship between the two components and identify the most effective and compromise tactic in offering satisfactory solutions to the corporate business world. Introduction Corporate Social Responsibility, abbreviated as CSR, is widely viewed as a deliberate attempt to incorporate environmental or social considerations into the day to day operations and decisions of a business (Strandberg 2). On the other hand, the author, defines human resource management as the organizational functions that deal with recruitment, management, development, and motivation of people including the provision of practical but specialized support systems required for not only effective employee engagement in the quest to uphold human rights standards but also ensure regulatory compliance in employment. Over the past few years, Brennan and McCrohan (5) observe that many companies have increasingly been forced to take into careful consideration the resultant impacts attributable to their singular activities in the host societies. No doubt, the professionals in the human resource departments across the globe have a rather tall order in assisting their respective mother organizations realize CSR objectives. On this front, Itika (7) notes that effective employee engagement is one of the key and critical success factors in gauging the performance of a CSR. Arguably, most employees prefer to work in organizations where individual values and consequently the assimilation of employee brands in CSR activities is treasured in safeguarding employee retention amidst the evolution of tight labor markets. In the same vein, high performance in CSR organizations goes a long in fostering a strong corporate culture where CSR decisions are rewarded and incentivized (Strandberg 5). However, the good news is that CSR can easily be integrated with the HR toolkit consequently creating a roadmap for any human resource practitioner to follow up with the different parties that wish to sustain the momentum towards the realization of business aspirations on a given organization. This is because such initiatives are key pillars in improving environmental and social conditions not only at the local level but at global level as well. It, therefore, follows that human resource managers across the globe need to equip themselves with the appropriate tools so as to effectively leverage the commitment of individual employees in augmenting CSR objectives and strategy at organizational level. Statement of the problem Despite the existence lots of literature to guide firms that wish to effectively manage employee relationships in a manner that is socially responsible, there exists a glaring information dearth for a significant proportion of HR managers who see the need to embed their CSR values across entire organizations (Heslin 4). The gaping hole of important references would have been instrumental in any concerted efforts to boost the struggles of the executive teams while trying to integrate CSR activities in their companies’ DNA. This is because, already, there is enough evidence of corporate failures at high profile levels occasioned by organizations merely paying lip-service to CSR instead of transforming it into organizational culture. The purpose of this study will be to describe the current status of HR departments across the country and interrogate the pivotal role they are poised to play in championing the quest for a transformative corporate social responsibility. Background Review of Related Literature According to (Coyle-Shapiro, 5) the role of the HR departments lies in communicating and implementing policies, ideas and behavioral changes that centralize on the fulfillment of organizational objectives in integrating CSR throughout its operations. In fact, he argues, deliberate attempts should be made to guarantee methodical employee engagement right from the departmental levels to the top. Indeed, the HR department can effortlessly facilitate the creation and establishment of the relevant systems and processes but the collective drive towards the ultimate goal remains a shared responsibility among the different stakeholders. Consequently, the more the HR practitioners get to grasp the best way in leveraging their knowledge with regard to CSR the better such insights are passed across to other business partners. Many scholars have argued that human resource managers as well as heads of departments are better placed in helping their respective organizations become environmentally and socially responsive (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe 10). Being in the league of the top vision bearers, the human resource professionals are seen as better placed to influence CSR strategies in their firms not only to impact positively on both the environment and the society at large but also as an implausible way of driving optimum financial performance. Additionally, there is already growing evidence that effective implementation of CSR goes a long way in motivating and also in developing and retaining a cohesive team of staff. For instance, when Novo Nordisk, a pharmaceutical company in Denmark that is CSR oriented first launched a programme dubbed ‘Values in Action’ in bid to align its business goals with principles of sustainable development, staff turnover reportedly dropped by 5% within a year (Samy 3). According to Strandberg (5), a landmark CSR study carried out globally among human resource practitioners revealed that motivation did boost employee morale by a whopping 50% compared to productivity at 12%. The survey found out that, worldwide, HR managers are not only developing but also implementing appraisal systems and incentives that embody critical organizational values. This is further supported by a research conducted by the Conference Board which explains that half of the global managers are realigning the mission of their respective companies to include corporate citizenship as one of the key performance indicators. Nonetheless, leadership towards the realization of CSR objectives remains overly limited despite the deliberate moves by a greater majority of global organizations to incorporate it as a key component of the human resource mandates. A number of documented case studies have also proved beyond reasonable doubt that HR practices like competency development could play a big role in embedding CSR in a particular organization (Dermol and Rakowsk 8). The researchers confirm that the perilous success factors in implementing any CSR strategy include but are not limited to having an all-encompassing vision that incorporates CSR aspects at the senior most management levels; continuous training of staff and skills upgrade coupled with the necessary on-the-job tools and incentives. Obviously, this has been known to make staff buy-in and participate in delivering the CSR aspirations of any company or organization. Oftentimes, it has been found that companies whose CSR reputation is beyond reproach are likely to benefit from the common stakeholders’ view that the presumed behavior of a company and its people remain consistent with the CSR values (Samy 3). Consequently, the companies willing to establish a formidable trust from their marketplaces must seek o deliberately embed their CSR values in their daily operations. This is because current trends indicate that most of the world’s leading companies are slowly but surely beginning to notice the significance of nesting their respective employee brands as part of value proposition when working with a given community. Further, the development of CSR capabilities in an organization will call for a concoction of human resource levers that require defined leadership programs (Dermol and Rakowsk 10). To guarantee this, the pair argues, it would be prudent for companies to review a number of HR facets: incentive systems and performance management; planning for succession; career development planning and the relevant skills and knowledge when sourcing or welcoming a new talent to the organization. To make this a reality, sustainable human resource management will be central. Another significant consideration in the prevailing trends of the labor market and one that is poised to improve connectivity between CSR and HR is the ‘Millennials’ who are aggressively in the lookout for opportunities to work in organizations where their individual values are respected and nurtured, observes Strandberg (7). This youthful generation yearns for a meaningful job; one that not only enables them to earn a living but also provides a pedestal from which to give back to the society in a big way. This cohort of workers wants the impacts of its work to be seismic and in the long run produce positive a impact across the larger society rather than within the confines of their places of work. In a broader perspective however, the future HR leadership will have to reinvent its recruitment and management style to focus more on value-based ethic among employees who make up the internal brand. Against this backdrop, people will apparently become progressively inclined to devote their energy and time to organizations keen on upholding sustainability values. Ultimately, the constrained labor market will breed structured ‘war for talent’ where differentiation by employers will become a key aspect, notes Coyle-Shapiro (8). In the same vein, employees will become increasingly biased to working for organizations that are keen on building a conscience of values. This is likely to compel a greater majority of prospective employees to seek the basics in employment security at the expense of short term employer conscience. Such an eventuality will, most likely, tilt the scales in favor of companies that have got the capacity to walk their talk by clearly spelling out their CSR objectives and infusing corporate values with the CSR objectives. On the same perspective, the lion’s share of these companies will need to be intentional and sophisticated in their commitment to CSR goals by way of integrating CSR beliefs to their corresponding financial business models. Further, to integrate the proposition of CSR values, such companies will also need to prove their financial stability and viability so as to attract the young talent (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe 14). Objective of the Study The main objective of this study paper will be to examine to interrogate the basic approaches that are essential for an organization to foster corporate social responsibility through its human resource department in the quest to ensure sustainability and consequently realize the particular mission and vision. In addressing the broad idea, the specific objectives to be addressed will be: To establish the approaches employed by the contemporary business organizations in responding to the emerging concept of CSR; To determine the role of CSR strategies in safeguarding business continuity; To find out how the CSR concept altered the traditional mandates of the HR departments across the world. Guiding Scholarly Principle In pursuit of our objectives, we’ll endeavor to adopt an inter-disciplinary approach on critical issues around human resource management and its role in enhancing corporate social responsibility. This will help to bring in the much needed understanding of the specific impact that the concept of CSR has had on HR management as well as how the two correlate. On this front, we’ll strive to conceptualize the best ways in which organizations can realign their HR departments to effectively integrate CSR in their operations. Research Methodology In the proposed research study, we intend to bring together various theories touching on the subject of the role played by the human resource departments in managing the idea of corporate social responsibility. During the process of study, we’ll put up with a very keen interest on the much touted view that CSR is not a dire element while pursuing organizational objectives. Owing to the nature of this research work, we believe it will be best suited to apply some fundamental survey techniques like the use of questionnaires. This is because, it is practically impossible to interview the entire population that characterizes the individual organizations to be sampled and therefore a fixed set of questions would be most appropriate. The interviewees’ responses will then be systematically classified for the purposes of quantitative comparisons as described by (Bryman and Bell 10). Methods of Data Collection and Analysis Our main tool of data collection will be through the administration of questionnaires. Questionnaires will be advantageous in data collection in that they are easy to standardize and replicate (Saunders et al. 12). This is because they often make use of closed-ended questions that call for brief responses. In addition, several respondents can be contacted quite easily and quickly hence hastening the process of gathering data. Suitable statistical descriptive techniques including but not limited to simple pie charts will be also be applied in analyzing the data obtained. These statistical tools will help standardize that data and consequently bring out the success as well as challenges faced in interrogating the broad but new concept of corporate social responsibility. Possible Limitations with regard to the Method of Data Collection adopted According to Bryan and Bell (6), it is important to note that, questionnaires have a number of limitations when applied in data collection. To start with, lack of one-on-one interaction with the respondent makes it difficult to understand interviewee’s emotional and behavioral characteristics at the time of response. Secondly, the pair cautions that there is a possibility of misunderstanding between the interviewer and the interviewee as there is no room for clarifications on information that is perceived as ambiguous. Thirdly, chances of imposition by the researcher are high as the interviewer designs questions on basis of his or her own opinions and thoughts. Besides, Saunders et al. (13) observe that there is a possibility of low response rates as some potential respondents may not bother at all to take part in the survey. To counter such an eventuality, it would be important to adopt intimate interviews where timely illuminations can be made and questions reframed as necessary. Further, such an approach would place the crossexaminer in a better position to gauge the credibility of the information provided (Bryan and Bell 7). Expected Results By way of this study, we’ll expect to provide solutions to a myriad of questions touching on the entire subject of the connection between human resource management and corporate social responsibility. The substantive questions which we’ll attempt to respond to include: How are the modern-day organizations responding to the emerging concept of CSR in the business world? What roles will CSR strategies play in ensuring business continuity? How has the CSR concept altered the traditional mandates of the HR departments across the world? No doubt, the research results will serve as an eye opener to the present-day governmental and non-governmental agencies as well as the private sector as they individualistically re-examine their internal policies with regard to the role played by HR departments in embedding the CSR objectives. Subsequently, a sober debate among the various stakeholders will hopefully enhance a broad support in this subject as the business world seeks to determine the best way to integrate the two interwoven components. Granted, the study will convincingly seek to nullify the existing notions and misplaced assumptions that the role of CSR in contemporary business world is overrated. Works Cited Brennan, L. and McCrohan, J. Implementation of Environmental Sustainability in Business: Suggestions for Improvement. Georgia State University. 2014. Print Bryman, A. and Bell, E. Business Research Methods. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007. Print Coyle-Shapiro, J. Human resource management. The London School of Economics and Political Science, 2013. Print Dermol, V. and Rakowsk, A. Strategic Approaches to Human Resources Management Practice. To Know Press Bangkok, 2014. Print. Heslin, P. Understanding and Developing Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility. Organizational Dynamics, 2008 Vol. 37, No. 2 http://www.organizational-dynamics.com Itika. Fundamentals of Human Resource Management. African Studies Centre, University of Groningen African Public Administration and Management series, 2011. Print. Samy, A. Corporate social responsibility: A strategy for sustainable business success. Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 2009. Print Saunders, M, Lewis P & Thornhill A. Research Methods for Business Students. Harlow: Pearson Education Ltd, 2009. Print Strandberg, C. The Role of Human Resource Management in Corporate Social Responsibility. Strandberg Consulting, 2009. Print United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. Human Resources Management and Training., United Nations New York and Geneva, 2013. Print. Activity Timetable S/No. ACTIVITY DURATION (Aug. 2016 to April, 2017) Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec Jan. Feb. March April 1 Conceptualization of an Idea 2 Development of the idea into a problem statement 3 Preliminary design 4 Preliminary Presentations(Research Proposal) 5 Implementation of the proposed changes in the research proposal and acceptance 6 Material gathering for data collection 7 Data collection and analysis 8 Writing of the report 9 Discussion of the final report with the supervisors 10 Amendments of the final report in line with supervisors’ advice 11 Presentation of the Final report 12 Compiling the final report for onward forwarding to implementing agencies Read More