Reflections Writing

Running head: FIRST REFLECTION 1

FIRST REFLECTION 4

MADS 6645: Marketing Social Change

Professor: Rajesh Kumar

First Reflection: Corporate Social Responsibility

Aakanksha Karingula

(1874461)

Fairleigh Dickinson University

Topic: Corporate Social Responsibility

Objective.

For this topic on reflective writing I choose to write about the quote, “In response to pressures to be more socially responsible, corporations are becoming more active in global communities through direct involvement in social responsibilities (Hess & Warren, 2008).” This is defined as the concept, in which organizations integrate socially as well as environmental concerns in their business operations and stakeholder interactions (Kotler & Lee, 2005). What caught my attention to write about this is the desire to communicate and share ideas about the importance of corporate social responsibility for organizations towards society. Many organizations have grown due to the support they got from society as it plays a major role in the sustainability of these organizations. For instance, providing the resources that are needed to run organizations.

This, therefore, got me thinking that it would be also a good idea for the same organizations to consider doing something out of the goodwill for the community to give back at goodwill. According to this quote, many organizations have taken the initiative to work towards community wellness and this was as a result of pressure. However, some of these firms have been pushed to practice corporate social responsibility by the pressure from stakeholders. Organizations need to understand the need for them to involve in good deeds towards the society since it is the society that contributes largely to the wellness of them through promotions like buying and marketing their products to others (Wang, Tong, Takeuchi, & George, 2016).

Reflective.

This quote made me reflect on organizations like Deloitte, IBM, Apple, and LinkedIn just to mention but a few which were among the top 20 corporate socially responsible firms in 2017. I came to understand that many companies had adopted this initiative in the quest to give back to society in ways like helping the less fortunate, providing educational as well as health services. IBM, for instance, plays a major role in promoting as well as offering support on education, economic development, and global health among other many initiatives. I also realized that corporate social responsibility played a major role in boosting the reputation of these firms and that these grew even more from this initiative. Organizations taking part in corporate social responsibility have the advantage of selling themselves more to society. Society tends to appreciate and love such organizations more and this helped me understand how it affected their growth and development.

I also learned about Apple, one of the best technology companies in the world and how it takes its global responsibility seriously. I came to realize that one of its social initiatives is about the environment as it not only encourages its IT counterparts to take advantage of renewable energy but also has its packages having been manufactured with 99 percent paper products which have been recycled ( Jamali, & Karam, 2018). Additionally, nonprofit firms like LinkedIn have gone to the extent of working with other organizations to connect fewer fortune communities to economic opportunities. Such a platform has helped many people to find jobs, connect with others through volunteer programs as well as participate in mentorships that helped in nurturing others.

Interpretive.

The quote helped me understand the role of companies in society. We tend to buy so much from these companies and it turned out to me that they also have a part to play as far as society is concerned. I believe that it is important for organizations to help the needy in society as this will be of benefit to them as well since the same people will in the future consider promoting the same organizations as a way of appreciating them. However, corporate social responsibility should not be viewed as an initiative for firms. Individually or even in small groups, it is possible to play a role in embracing the same. I have participated in charity events while in school where we could visit children's homes and offer financial as well as social support. I realized how important such visits meant to this less advantaged as they felt valued by society (Kim et. al, 2017).

This kept me thinking how important it would be if everyone chose to give back to society, how productive our society would be and how we would be in a position to find vices like poverty and the feeling of being neglected. I believe that the issue of social responsibility should, therefore, be out of goodwill and not pressure from stakeholders. It should be our duty to care for others with the little or much that we have in our stores. I believe such an initiative help in encouraging others and building a socially caring society (Lins et. al, 2017).

Decisional

From this, I have decided as a way of supporting organizations that practice corporate social responsibility, I will encourage my peers to buy from them. With this, I believe that they will be in a position to continue helping society in various ways. As a youth, I also intend to mobilize a few of my friends and visit the elderly in the village as well as those in children's homes and offer the support they may need both mental and physical. I also intend to play a personal role in helping a few with necessities like face masks, hand sanitizers as well educating them on how to control themselves from contracting the virus for instance through advising them they need to keep good hygiene, keep social distance and staying at home as much as possible during the current COVID-19 crisis that is affecting the whole world (Rahman, Rodríguez-Serrano, & Lambkin, 2017).

I also look forward to working for an organization that plays a role in giving back to society and values corporate social responsibility and one that is ready to work and encourage its staff on the importance of offering support to the less advantaged in the larger society. I believe that if everyone decided to do something for the wellness of the society, we would be in a position to eradicate some of the major challenges that we face like poverty and illiteracy in our society and we would, therefore, be in a position to create a productive society out of this.

References

Rahman, M., Rodríguez-Serrano, M. Á., & Lambkin, M. (2017). Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Marketing Performance: Role of Commitment to the Customer Relationship. In Creating Marketing Magic and Innovative Future Marketing Trends (pp. 667-671). Springer, Cham.

Kim, H. L., Rhou, Y., Uysal, M., & Kwon, N. (2017). An examination of the links between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and its internal consequences. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 61, 26-34.

Lins, K. V., Servaes, H., & Tamayo, A. (2017). Social capital, trust, and firm performance: The value of corporate social responsibility during the financial crisis. The Journal of Finance, 72(4), 1785-1824.

Wang, H., Tong, L., Takeuchi, R., & George, G. (2016). Corporate social responsibility: An overview and new research directions: Thematic issue on corporate social responsibility.

Jamali, D., & Karam, C. (2018). Corporate social responsibility in developing countries as an emerging field of study. International Journal of Management Reviews, 20(1), 32-61.