Corporate Social Responsibility Ventures That Exxon Mobil Carries out in Nigeria - Research Proposal Example

Introduction Corporate social responsibility is a very imperative venture that each and every organisation strives to accomplish. It relates to so many aspects that an organisation comes into contact with. This includes the community, consumers, environment, employees and even the level that an organisation adheres to the rule of law in line with its operations. (Dale, 2001) Corporate social responsibility has a lot to do with ethics and to what extent an organisation adheres to such ethical issues. It is usually the responsibility of a manager to plan for corporate social responsibility issues and also to ensure that they are implemented and evaluated. Exxon Mobil is a corporation with its headquarters based in United States of America. It was formed as a result of a merger between Mobil and Exxon. This corporation basically deals with gas and oil products. It has various branches throughout the world. Background of study General objective of this study will be to find out more about Exxon Mobil as a corporation. This is in line with the corporate social responsibility ventures that it carries out in Africa. The specific country of analysis in this case will be Nigeria. This study is intended to be carried out in Nigeria as some analysis shows that the corporation has many branches in the nation. Exxon Mobil is highly re-known for its fast growth in Nigeria. (Thomson and Rampton 2003) Specific objective This study will therefore find out corporate social responsibility ventures that Exxon Mobil carries out in Nigeria. The research will basically go a notch higher of looking in-depth into how the corporation has carried out its activities without causing harm to the environment. The environment in this case means land, water bodies, air, plants and animals etc. (Garth and Jennifer 1998) This also relates to what initiatives have been put in place by the organisation either to preserve the environment or generally to adhere to law and regulations in the land relating to the environment. The study will also seek to find out what Exxon Mobil as an organisation does or gives back to the community. Important questions to consider in this case include; is the organisation helping the poor students access education? In this aspect, the study will seek to know whether the organisation supports the needy students within the society to access education. Is it helping people within the society to easily access basic needs such as food, water, shelter etc? (Maundy, 2001) This study also aims to find out what measures have been put in place by the corporation to help the consumers in any way. This could be in line with giving consumers trainings or even information on various issues that may help them lead better lives. Such trainings may not necessarily be related to Exxon Mobil itself or its products. The research also aims also to find out how the organisation is treating and helping its employees. This is also part and parcel of corporate social responsibility. (Sparrow and Hilltop 1994) Justification This research is justifiable since it is quite evident that Exxon Mobil has its branches in Africa, Nigeria. It is also quite evident that this corporation is concerned about its employees, the environment, community, adherence to the law and even consumers. There is empirical evidence from the organisation that all these areas have been dealt with by the management during planning. Planning for corporate social responsibility in the organisation is usually carried out at the beginning of each financial year. (Thomson and Rampton 2003) The management has the responsibility of ensuring that the plans are implemented. Practical evidence shows that Exxon Mobil carried out bold steps in order to take care of the environment. This was carried out late the year 2008 and also early 2009. This corporation has also played a great role to the community as concerns their health. This shows that this is a viable study that needs to be carried out in depth in order to ascertain the steps that Exxon Mobil has taken as related to corporate social responsibility. Significance of the study This study is very important as it will help in making clear various factors that relate to Exxon Mobil. First of all it will help in showing whether American based companies with branches in Africa are adhering to laws and regulations in these nations. Such information will help to strengthen the relationship between the two continents or show areas that need to be worked on so as to improve the relationship. (Sparrow and Hilltop 1994) Corporate social responsibility in one way or the other has effects on whether a society or community embraces the products or services of an organisation. Analysis of Exxon Mobil’s corporate social responsibilities in relation to the community will help the management in the organisation to know why its products are embraced or shunned away from compared to its competitors. This in general will serve as an eye opener as concerns the relationship between Exxon Mobil and the community in Nigeria. This will enable the management to consciously plan on corporate social responsibilities in Nigeria. Through this research, the management in the organisation will be in a position to know whether their CSR activities in the community have met the important needs in the community or not. This also concerns whether the corporation has diversified their corporate social responsibility ventures in the community or not. It is also quite evident that Exxon Mobil is a corporation that is still growing and more so in Africa. Carrying out research that concerns corporate social responsibility for this organisation will help it to find favour in the eyes of investors. Many investors normally look out for such issues like CSR that an organisation carries out. This will also enable the organisation to easily find support from the Nigerian government. This is because investors and even the government usually checks on the degree of transparency that an organisation has. This can be evaluated through analysis of an organisation’s CSR ventures. Therefore with all the facts clearly laid out from the research, the organisation will benefit a great deal. (Rex, 2009) Corporate social responsibility has a lot to do with how an organisation treats its employees. This research will also carry out analysis in this line. This information is very important. This is because, in case the organisation is treating its employees well, it will act as a selling point. In case it is not, it will be an avenue of re-examining where it has failed and working on it in order to enhance its competitive advantage in the job market. Evaluation and assessment of progress Various steps have been taken concerning this study. This includes identifying African nations where Exxon Mobil has its branches. Nigeria was then chosen to be the specific nation that this study would be carried out. The top leadership in Exxon Mobil were then identified. These are John Chaplin, who is the director and Rex Tillerson the chief executive in Nigeria. (Dale, 2001) Permission was sought from them as concerns carrying out the research. After explaining the reason for undertaking the study, they consented to the proposal. Through these two people in Exxon Mobil Nigeria, five branches of the corporation were identified in Nigeria. Staff in these branches will be used to give information that relates to the organisation’s corporate social responsibilities. Concerning this research, five research assistants have been identified that will help in collecting information relating to the study. They are already keeping an eye on the organisation so as to observe their activities related to corporate social responsibilities. Respondent groups have been identified and questionnaires prepared to help during data collection. With these steps in place, it is quite lucid that this study will succeed. Expected outcome and plan for completion It is expected that quite a lot of information will be accrued pertaining to this study. This is in relation to corporate social activities that Exxon Mobil Corporation has carried out for a span of five years. This is expected to be quite detailed in terms of specific areas that benefited. Respondent groups are expected to corporate and give the right information. After collecting the relevant information, the results will be summarised through a report. This is expected to take two weeks to put all the information in a report form. (Dale, 2001) Conclusion Corporate social responsibility is a venture that has been embraced globally in the business arena. Research on this issue is quite imperative and acts as an eye opener to the organisation in many areas. This research concerns Exxon Mobil’s corporate social responsibilities in Nigeria. This study is quite important as it helps an organisation have facts that can help it get investors. It will also help in showing areas of weaknesses that can be worked upon in order for the organisation to enhance its competitive advantage in relation to staff retention and recruitment. This can help reduce aspects of staff turnover among other aspects. Read More