Corporate Social Responsibility and Communication - Assignment Example

Corporate Social Responsibility and Communication Name: Course: Instructor: Institution: Location: Date: Corporate Social Responsibility and Communication The term corporate social responsibility is referred to as the initiatives that organizations take to ensure they have a positive effect on the environment and society as a whole. There exist certain regulatory requirements by law to ensure that organizations do not have an adverse effect on the society. Corporate social responsibility is the extra mile that companies go to ensure that they do not pursue financial profits at the expense of the society and environment. Companies carry out corporate social responsibility for two main reasons: financial sustainability and societal welfare. Companies believe that through social responsibility they will be able to build the brand name and retain customer loyalty. Social responsibility by organization is carried out in many forms. At times, this will depend on the type of business they carry out. Some companies will build facilities that can be used by the entire community. These facilities include schools, clinics and sports grounds. Those companies that engage in mass manufacture of items that utilize much of the local resources will take steps to ensure the environment does not deteriorate. Timber and paper manufacturing industries will ensure that they use the maximum amount of resources required by law. Corporate social responsibility on their part begins when they take further steps to sustain the environment by planting more trees than they cut down, for instance. B) Examine the influence that a range of stakeholders have on an organization of your choice, which operates in United Kingdom. Stakeholders of a company are individuals that are directly affected by the operations run by the company. The performance of a business will directly affect the stakeholders’ financial, social and psychological benefit. This will depend on the type of stakeholder. When the company performs poorly, the company’s internal and external stakeholders will lose financially, and vice versa. The stakeholders include company employees, business partners, customers and other members of the community. Therefore, large companies usually allow the stakeholders to be able to share and implement ideas that would be beneficial to them. Ipsos MORI is one of the largest market research companies based in the United Kingdom. The shareholders have influenced some of the company’s biggest decisions especially concerning leadership. Employees are able to discuss some of the issues they encounter at the workplace and are able to suggest solutions to overcome them. Some of the employees that have worked for a considerable period are able to negotiate their terms of remuneration. For such a company that is partly service-based, employees are able to come up with innovative ways in which they can improve on their services to customers and solve complex service-related problems. Such freedom to make decisions make employees feel valued and are therefore able to improve on their overall performance as well as make their experiences much more fulfilling in the workplace. Business partners are the parties that are financially involved in the business in terms of investments or other joint operations. Business partners therefore have the ability to affect the financial capability of the company significantly. They are therefore able to participate in some of the most important decision-making processes of the company. When the company makes decisions, they must ensure that their interests, that of the business partners and suppliers are at par and take measures to amend any areas that present a potential source of conflict. This will ensure that a business-oriented relationship is strengthened and sustainability of the company is achieved for future benefits. Customers and communities are increasingly becoming more involved in how they influence a company’s decisions. This is especially so when the company’s activities directly affect the local members of the community they operate in. Thus, issues such as environmental deterioration due to the business carried out will be taken seriously and the community will ensure they address the issue directly. In the case of Ipsos MORI, the customers will include other institutions that hire the company to evaluate the market conditions for their product. When the service is done in a less than satisfactory manner, the company has the liberty to address the issue directly to the managers and even make suggestions as to how the matter can be addressed. C) Give a detailed comparison of two recent examples of organizations, one, which was faced with criticism for having poor CSR, and one, which has been praised for having good CSR. It is agreed that the most successful companies regard corporate social responsibility that as a significant tool that serves both the interests of the community and organization. Most companies struggle to participate in this type of social responsibility due to the high competitions in the specific industries. However, some companies, particularly those involved in the manufacturing industry fail to reach the required level of environmental sustainability policies. Wal-Mart has recently been under scrutiny, with reports stating that their manufacturing plants have an adverse effect on the environment. Furthermore, the environmental activists have pointed fingers at the corporation for failing to produce high-quality goods. This is because of the usage of waste materials. The continued production has resulted in increased production of their goods has led to a steady increase in greenhouse gas emissions since the year 2005. This is despite their global responsibility report mandate that projected a decline in negative environmental impacts through increase in use of renewable energy. Overall, the environmental activists assert that the sustainability of the retail company is not realistic and is will result in negative effects on the environment. Pepsi Co. is one of the companies celebrated by the community as a corporation that serves the interests of the community. The main issue that the company focuses on is the scarcity of water worldwide. The first action they took is to ensure that most of the water they use is recycled in order to use the least amount possible. Many companies carry out the purification process through water. However, Pepsi uses air to purify their items such as Gatorade bottles. It was estimated that the water efficiency increased by 20 percent globally within a period of 6 years. The next step the company has taken it to form partnerships with other organizations to supply fresh water to the communities that are in need. The target set to provide and sustain three million people worldwide with clean water was achieved two years ahead of the stipulated date. Apart from provision of water, the company has set farming programs particularly in the local areas in which they operate in a bid to ensure the communities around them can benefit economically. In Canada, the company has undergone a revolutionary environmental change through innovative delivery trucks that operate on electricity and do not emit any gases. A) Explain how the communication process model can be used to improve communications within the business organizations Through communication, people have been able to exchange ideas, information, feelings and emotions from one person or group to another. In Shannon’s communication process model, the sender acts as the source of information and then encodes it into a channel of communication. The channels of communication will receive the message and pass it through a “decoder” which will then transmit the information to a receiver to understand the message. This process will be repeated in a continuous cycle, with the sender being the receiver. Thus, if the message is clearly understood by the receiver, the process of effective communication will be achieved. Organizations have used this model to achieve a higher quality of communication in the work environment. This model has proven to be indispensable especially during times of crisis in the company or when disputes arise. The sender can be any party that wishes to relay a certain message that he or she feels the other party needs to know. The medium or channel can be direct communication, through email or other electronic devices. The receiver is the party the message intends to reach. Thus, any successful communication follows the same process to ensure issues in the workplace are resolved. Companies ensure they inform their employees on their mode of communication. This will depend on the type of information that is relayed. Formal types of communication are mostly relayed through emails and in person. Informal communication involves mostly face-to-face interactions. Companies prefer to address a pressing issue immediately rather than wait for the issue to build and become more complex. Companies that have mastered this process of communication ensure that their employees are comfortable enough to approach the managers or other appropriate parties in order to address the matter. Barriers to communication are some of the challenges associated with the communication process within an organization. These are mostly within the process of encoding, decoding and channeling the message. Barriers may include cultural differences, emotional status of the sender or receiver, distractions, difference in attitude, lack of motivation to communicate and use of different language that is difficult to understand. These issues are resolved through examining the exact barrier and the causes. For instance, the issue of language barrier can be solved through use of an intermediary. Emotional status may include anger or frustration and this can be tackled through allowing the parties in dispute to take time and compose them enough to be able to communicate in a calm and precise manner. B) Highlight a range of communications skills, which could be used by senders of messages to improve their interpersonal skills. Communication is vital to the process of interaction between two individuals or groups. As a sender of the message, one must be able to relay the message in a way that the receiver understands. Many individuals are faulted for speaking but not communicating the message. Fortunately, individuals can learn to correct this through practice. One of the most important skills is speaking. Thus, is particularly used in a face-to-face situation. The sender must therefore learn to use the right tone of voice to communicate a message. This will be perfected through use of hand gestures to show emphasis. Eye contact is important because it signifies that the sender of the message is engaged and sincere. It is important for the sender of the message to be fluent in the language used in communication. This will enable him or her to use the correct words to relay information to avoid ambiguity and to ensure appropriateness depending on the environment. C) Highlight a range of communications skills, which could be used by receivers of message to improve their interpersonal communication skills. As a recipient of a message, one of the major confusions made is the act of hearing and listening. The receiver of the message should be able to have good listening skills as opposed to just hearing what the sender has said. Listening involves internalizing the message to get the point that the sender is attempting to put across. Thinking and reasoning is a key element to understanding the message in preparation for an appropriate response. Feedback involves the receiver’s reply to the sender’s message and this can only be achieved when the message is clearly understood. In written communication, the receiver should be proficient in reading and writing. D) Examine how both verbal and non-verbal communications can influence the effectiveness of message delivery. Interpersonal communication involves the use of both words and behavioral traits that enable one to convey a message. The non-verbal behaviour may be intentional or not, but is important in helping both parties to read more into the message being communicated. Types of verbal communication include speech-related gestures such as the tone of voice and diction and listening. Non-verbal communication includes hand gestures, eye contact, distance, written communication, facial expressions and other forms of body language. All of the aforementioned communication skills are important helping individuals to interact with one another in a meaningful manner. One must be able to adjust to the environment and type of people they relay the message. For instance, a casual environment and audience may not require the use of advanced and formal language. This is especially so when one is engaging with friends or colleagues in a non-work environment. However, when one is interacting with others in a formal setting such as a classroom or a work presentation, the language used must be formal. Type of words used is also important to ensure the receiver of the message understands what is being communicated. For instance, when one is speaking to a younger person such as a toddler, one must be able to use simple words to ensure they understand the basic concept of an idea. Non-verbal cues such as eye contact not only signify that the individual is confident, but also encourages intimate and honest interaction between two or more parties. Facial expressions will be a key indicator of the mood of the individual. This will be particularly important during the first moments of interaction and may set the tone for the entire conversation. Warm and sincere facial expressions such as smiles will encourage further communication. However, this will also depend on the type of environment. Cold facial expressions may cause an abrupt end to the interaction or lead a conversation to turn into an argument or conflict. The distance between two individuals will affect message delivery. The most appropriate distance to be maintained is that which enables audible communication and at the same time ensures that personal space is not invaded. Other gestures such as hand signals may be used to emphasize an important point. The receiver of the message is able to pick up these social cues and respond accordingly. Clothing has been seen as an important mode of non-verbal communication. Through the dressing, one may be able to tell the financial status, personality and cultural background of an individual, though this may not always be the case. Posture of the body will influence the effectiveness and involvement of an individual. A slouching stance may indicate that a person is not motivated to interact or may signify a lack of confidence. Upright positions will automatically encourage a positive interaction. Read More