Corporate Social Responsibility
Corporate Social Responsibility is the concept that an organization adapts for he overall welfare of the organization and the society (Schwartz 2017). It has become mandatory for a business in recent times to fulfil their corporate social responsibility (Ni and Van Wart 2015). A percentage of profit of the organization which is decided by the government has to be spent on the betterment of the society (Carroll 2015).
Corporate Social Responsibility can be blood donations, charity events or any action that spends money for the good of the people of the society. CSR is more of an ethical action than a legal issue (Tai and Chuang 2014). A sustainable business is one which creates a positive impact on the society and the environment by following its human rights and environmental policies (Pedersen 2015). Sustainable businesses are also known as green businesses as it aims to provide products and services which are environment friendly (Boons et al. 2013). Sustainability means that the individuals of the
present are able to meet the demands of the present without risking the capacity of the future generations to meet their needs (Dyllick and Muff 2016).This report will discuss about the various principles and practices of sustainability and corporate social responsibility. This report will further discuss about the case study of Nokia and assess their sustainability and corporate social responsibility practices. This examination will be followed by recommendations. They will be on how the company could enhance their ongoing practices and also suggestions regarding any future research that might be conducted. The report will finally contain a conclusion about the main areas of research and how it can be related to the original idea of the concepts.
Sustainability is a concept which ensures that there is an equal balance between the population and the capacity of the environment to endure the actions that are being taken through them(Pintéret al. 2018). There are mainly five core principles of sustainability which are related to five domains of the environment. The first domain is the material domain which consists the proper flow of energy and materials that are important for the existence of human beings (Cundy et al. 2013). The second domain is the economic domain which states a proper framework for the individuals to manage and create wealth (Silvius and van den Brink 2014). The third domain is the domain of life which shows the proper way to behave in the society. The fourth domain is the social domain which provides the base for interaction among people in the environment.
The fifth and last domain is the spiritual domain which defines the important code of ethics that should be followed universally. The emergence of these five domains have resulted in the construction of five principles of sustainability which is important for the survival of mankind for a long time. The first principle ensures that there is proper flow of resources in the environment and among the people. The implications of this policy are that there is more productivity of resources. The performance increases with each use of resources. Negative occurring such as leakages, diffusion of chemical elements and such things are controlled (Upward and Jones 2016).The second principle acquires a concrete system of accounting. This system is completely arranged with the ecological process of the planet and provides the correct biospheric pricing which can help to guide the economy.The implication of this principle is that the helps to measure the development of mankind and their well-being in an economic calculation. The third principle makes sure that all forms of life that is present in the biosphere is well maintained and balanced. The implications of this principle is that everyone should conserve the different intermixing of genes and the variety of life along with it. The shape of land is designed in such a way that human population does not possess any threat to the other forms of life and that the biological diversity is able to enhance itself even in places of human population.
Guiding Principles of Corporate Social Responsibility
The fourth principle increases the freedom that all humans are to get and increases their potential to realise themselves as well. This has to be kept in mind that no person harms one another. There are many implications to this principle. Sustainable literacy is promoted by providing education at all stages. War and trade is outlawed in technologies of weapon. Effective democracy and inclusion is provided in the governance of the mankind. The fifth principle recognizes the unlinked and permanent mystery of the existence of the nature which included the solar system, planet and the biosphere. The implications of this principle is that it is important to understand the function of humanity in the Universe. Mother Earth is to be credited for the complexity of the ecology of which humans are also an important part.Understand the mystery which goes high and above the existence of humans or any other form of life. These five principles are very important in understanding the concept of sustainability and to apply it indifferent contexts in the environment and in business. A business which follows these five core principles will be stated as a green business. This will fulfil every action that is needed to be done for the sustainability of the environment.
Corporate social responsibility is the ethical responsibility of an organization to carry out different events for the betterment of the society. This will ensure that their actions are in favour of the people of the society. This is not to increase or market their brand in the market. The activities of CSR that are to be carried out by an organization is incorporated in its values and goals. Every year a stipulated percentage of an organization’s profits is set aside for carrying out these events for the society and community. CSR was eventually started by some high profit making organizations. They wanted to contribute a good part of their profit to the people who have made them into what they are.However, in recent times almost every organization have taken this idea and have made sure to engage in these social activities. There aresix guiding principles of corporate social responsibility which ensure the proper success and cultivation of economic growth in a democratic society. The first principle states that the democratic society should also have a flourishing economy.
This will only depend upon three main factors which are a free enterprise, individual initiative and rule of law. Free enterprise ensures that there is political freedom in a country. It also ensures that there is healthy competition among the population and nothing hinders their progress and development. Individual initiative ever person should have individual virtues so that they are able to separately able to take initiatives for their betterment. The rule of law states that individuals must do everything in their power to uphold the law and should abide by it at all times. The second principle states that there are three kinds of organizations that would help in making a successful community. These three organizations are the government, the business and the non-profit organizations or NGOs. To maintain a balance in the society both for profit and non-profit organizations are important, as this would ensure the smooth flow of resources in the economy. The third principle is the retention and relocation of the community.
Sustainability
This principle ensures that there is proper engagement, social interaction and activities within the people of a community. Other than the activities of the three above mentioned organizations, these factors also play a vital role in the stating or moving of an individual from a community. If people are not able to engage with the other members of the society then they will choose to move away from that place. The fourth principle ensure proper rights for the individuals and responsibility towards the society. The people and organizations in the society should support each other. They must protect each other’s rights for the development of the society as a whole. The fifth principle states that while carrying out different CSR activities for maintaining the constituency of the community. This must be maintained for all the kinds of people that make the community.
The activities should be formed according to that constituency and only then can a successful CSR activity be possible. The sixth principle states that the CSR activities both benefits the community and the organization as well. Though the benefit on the community is instant, the benefit on the organization is realised in the long run while calculating the non-market returns.These principles are important to maintain a proper balance in the community. This also ensures that the activities that are carried out by the organization successfully. This will be helping the community and contribute in their growth.
The characteristics and circumstances of every organization is different from each other and this effects how each organization implements it CSR activities for the society. Nokia have been a major player in the telecommunication industry. The emergence of mobile communication has made the lives of people easier. The head office of Nokia is in Espoo in Finland, however, it functions in almost all parts of the world.
The company sales its products in more than 150 countries and a lot of people all over the world use Nokia phones. Due to its leading position in the market, Nokia maintains a responsible status for the sustainability and the social responsibility of improving the lives of the people. According to the issues of Corporate Social Responsibility, there are various sections that have been achieved by the company. Firstly, Nokia have always aimed at being the leading company in terms of environment protection. Four major issues are focused on by them which are energy efficiency, recycling and take-back, substance management and encouraging sustainability through their software and services. For example, they have been able to decrease the total consumption of energy across their facilities by 3% as compared to 2006. They have also been able to purchase 20% of their electricity from renewable sources(Nokia People and Planet Report, 2017). Secondly, the company have many programs for training andcampaign to increase awareness regarding the issues of health and safety(Nokia People and Planet Report, 2017).
The lost-time incidents of the employees of Nokia decreased by 2.8% between the years 2016-17 which shows a positive sign regarding the safety of the culture. Thirdly, Nokia as a company keepa constant process of developing the workplace for their employees and keeping them free from any discrimination(Nokia People and Planet Report, 2017). They have been assessing the conditions of labor every second year for all their production sites. Fourthly, one of the important aspects of the corporate social responsibility of Nokia is the volunteering of employees.
Core Principles of Sustainability
Annually, most of their employeesinvolve themselves and contribute their time and effort to do better for the community by arranging various activities and events(Nokia People and Planet Report, 2017). Fifthly, the company have always been focused on the well-being of their employees. In every survey that have been conducted in the company, employees have always confirmed that their managers have been a constant support in helping them to maintain a work and life balance and in achieving their goals(Nokia People and Planet Report, 2017).
Sixthly, the company have a set of defined expectations for their suppliers which are a major part of their business and hence they have developed specific set of global Nokia Supplier Requirements(Nokia People and Planet Report, 2017).Seventhly, they provide many training and development opportunities to their employees so that they are able to expose themselves to a larger skill set and also enhance their present range of skills in the workplace(Nokia People and Planet Report, 2017). They have spent a lot of their money into investing for the development their employees.
Eighthly, Nokia have always tried to respond to any destruction that have been faced by people due to natural disasters. They have responded to the earthquakes in Qinghai and Haiti regions of Western China. They have also provided disaster relief for the mudslide in Uganda(Nokia People and Planet Report, 2017).These are the basic corporate social responsibilities related to the sustainable goals that have been fulfilled by the company. However, there are many other CSR activities that the company focuses on.
The company supports reemployment both inside and outside the company. Inside the company, Nokia continuously helps their employees in realising the job opportunities that are present internally. Outside the company, Nokia will provide career counselling and help the employees to leave the organization and find job opportunities according to their needs. They also offer proper training, capital and help to those who are interested in starting a new business or company, which can create a great opportunity for growth in the community. Nokia also works with various partners to whom they fund for scholarships, research programs and employment in non-profit organizations. The technological development in Nokia have helped to form a powerful digital future which shows many possibilities for the growth and development of the future generation.
The president and CEO of Nokia, Rajeev Suri, have always understood the responsibility that he and the company have towards the community and society and that they should always find ways to benefit and develop the community and its people, who are also their consumers and the people who have helped in the growth of the company by accepting their products and services. They as a company have always strived to make the lives of people better with the improvement in technology and by providing the best technological aspects to the people. They have collaborations with non-profit organizations all over the world and invest in various community development programs. Energy efficiency, as mentioned above, is one of their most primary focus.
Assessment of Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility Practices at Nokia
They find new and different ways every year to save energy in all of their production units. Thus helps both is their own cost cutting and also to reduce the unnecessary use of energy. Nokia have as a rule always maintained transparency about their work conduct and the way their work affects the people all over the world and the efforts they put into maintain a social and ethical operation of the business. The Ethisphere Institute, which measures the ethical standards and performance of every business, have named them as one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies. They have always focused on providing technologies which respects human rights rather than violate it. Other than the activities that Nokia have undertaken to help the community and people, they have also concentrated on making the company a better workplace for their employees. They have one of the most talented group of employees in the world and have found ways to retain them at all times.
Discrimination is highly discouraged in the workplace. Equal opportunity is provided to every person irrespective of their gender or caste, purely based on their talents and skills. The CEO of Nokia have signed a letter of cooperation with UNESCO, which commits that the company would always promote gender equality, women leadership and women empowerment.Nokia as per their slogan have always believed in connecting people with their technology. This is the value with which they create their products and services. With the help of their technological innovations they strive to make the lives of people better. Thus, this will help them in any way possible and provide the time and freedom to connect with one another.
Even though Nokia have always been good at being consistent about their corporate social responsibilities, here are certain recommendations that could make them a better organization in terms of being sustainable. Firstly, they should always be transparent about their operations to the public, not just about the positive points, but also about the negative aspects of their organizations and their shortcomings. This will help the public to understand about their operations and gain trust on them. Secondly, they should be able to align their decision making to being more sustainable.
They will be able to achieve all their sustainable targets along with their social responsibilities.Thirdly, they should find better and more ways by which they can contribute to the environment and work for the betterment of the people. Lastly, innovation should be always encouraged within the community so that there is development within the company and also outside it. For future research, there could an in depth analysis on the main CSR activities that were conducted by the company, Nokia, and the results that have been derived by those activities and also the measurement of the success rates of those activities.
Conclusion
Nokia as a company will always be optimistic about the betterment of the future and seeing the progress that they have shared every year. It can be said that they could be one of the leading companies to fulfil their responsibility towards the community and society. Keeping in mind all the factors it can be deduced that sustainability and corporate social responsibility is one of the most important factors for the benefit and the growth of a company.Thus, it can be said that Nokia have in all aspects been able to fulfil their corporate social responsibility and can develop themselves more into being a better and more responsible organization.
References
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Carroll, A.B., 2015. Corporate social responsibility. Organizational dynamics, 44(2), pp.87-96.
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Schwartz, M.S., 2017. Corporate social responsibility. Routledge.
Silvius, A.G. and van den Brink, J., 2014. Taking responsibility: the integration of sustainability and project management. Advances in Project Management: Narrated Journeys in Unchartered Territory, p.137.
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