Final Draft

xxxx

xxxxx

Cisco Corporation Community Partnerships

According to Lindgreen and Swaen, (2010) community partnership is defined as long-term relationships that take place between businesses and communities. They are cross alliances where the groups and organizations work together to undertake or fulfill specific tasks. They share the benefits and review their relationships from time to time. There are mutual benefits that go beyond what any single organization could realize on its own. Community partnerships are tied to the corporate social responsibility which is a common practice in today’s business world. It involves any practices and initiatives that benefit the society. There is a broad range of tactics that are used such as giving a portion of the company profits to charity. There are also environmental efforts that are aimed at the reduction of the carbon footprint that has already been made by society as a whole. Schneider and Schmidpeter, (2012) further explain that some companies have philanthropic practices such as donations to local community programs. There are also some that aim to establish ethical labor practice while others undertake volunteer work for the benefit of the community. The following look at community partnership will focus on Cisco cooperation and the community-based partnership practices they have put in place.

Cisco Historical Background

Located in San Jose California Cisco is an American technological company that has specialized in the manufacture of networking equipment globally. It is considered the largest networking company in the world. It was incorporated in the year 1984 with the primary objective of providing services and delivering integrated solutions in the networking field. The company corporate social responsibility is driven by the need to prioritize issues that are not only important to them but also to their stakeholders. Over the years it has built adamant relationships that have been vital in global advocacy which makes them credible with customers. In its CSR operations the company continues to work with innovators to multiply the impact of their local efforts. Cisco started the Cisco Foundation, which has continuously partnered with nongovernmental organizations and also community-based organizations in the dissemination of corporate social responsibility. They are in support of organizations that share their vision with expertise, funding, and technology. Cisco notes that CSR is becoming mainstream and companies that are forward thinking embed sustainability measures into their primary business operations so that they create and share value for society and business (Alicia, 2012).

Community partnership strategies

According to Gainer, (2010) practical community partnerships take place in the form of alliances with organizations so that there is the provision of services of products to society. There are practices, policies, and initiatives that the company has committed to so that it governs itself with honesty, transparency. Consumer awareness is ever growing, and they place importance on what companies are doing when choosing products (Heal, 012). It is why community becomes an important part of daily activities. Cisco has undertaken community partnerships in various aspects as will be discussed below.

Education

Cisco has always aimed to advance access and growth in the education sector and thus why it saw it important to partner with other organization for this cause. To improve student performance, there has especially in science and engineering there was a need to focus on the most underserved communities. The company partnered with the community in providing instructional coaching initiative that provides a streamlined and efficient approach to training and even hiring of coaches. Citizen Schools are also one of the methods in which Cisco is funding education. It partnered with this institution and provided financial contributions which expand learning for low-income communities in the United States. Ever since the year 2009, there have been apprenticeships carried out by Cisco employees aimed at empowering students from such schools to become better society members. On a global scale, Cisco supports the War Child initiative which is a professional program that aims to educate children in places that experienced war. It is a project that targets poor community members and empowers them as a means of giving back to society (Pless, Maak, and Stahl, 2012).

Economy

Cisco has always had the motive of promoting economic self-sufficiency by bringing their technology to those who are underserved. It is this access to technology that brings about access to skills, information, financial services and products. One of the community organizations that the company has partnered with is Digital Divide Data, which connects the disadvantaged youth to employment through equipping them with education and skills. It is this technology-based skills that enable them to get a sustainable career, develop and grow their lives through work. The firm provides grants that enable the partner to reach more beneficiaries in the current countries. It has been able to replicate these services in more countries over the course of the year since its launch. The company also provides funding to organizations such as freedom from hunger whose initiative is to improve the social and financial performance of microfinance industry. Women world banking is also a project that the organization is involved in and has been essential in assisting women to access financial services on a global scale (Melo and Galan, 2011).

Human Needs

Through its strategic investments, its networks continue to make a difference in the speed at which organizations can meet the critical human needs which include shelter, water, and even disaster relief. One of the most common collaborations that Cisco has made is with the American Red Cross whose main aim is to provide relief services to people who have been affected by natural disasters. Cisco provides funds to the organizations which are a strategic response partner that serves not only in America but also around the globe. Organizations such as Build change are also under the funding of Cisco cooperation, and their main objective is to provide earthquake resistant standard designs. Cisco has enabled this organization to reach a large number of people and benefit from the services provided such as in Haiti and China. There are also homeless outreach programs that are dedicated to getting people off the streets and into better homes (Babiak, 2010).

Benefits of community partnerships to Cisco

According to Butterfoss, (2007) the business world has its bottom line set in the maximization of shareholder returns, and it is mostly the driver for companies to succeed. With the advent of CSR companies are no longer just concerned about profits but also on the impacts of their decisions on the society as a whole. According to Melo and Galan, (2011) the term CSR does not apply only to the donation of money or environmental conservation. It is the contribution to the welfare and health of the society and ensuring that the company operates transparently and ethically. The way of operation is embedded into the business so that it can work in partnership with communities. Benefits that accrue to the company are that it becomes an employer of choice. The company will have the ability to attract and retain high caliber professionals. The only way to achieve this is through robust social responsibility frameworks. Employees nowadays are looking for workplaces that have socially responsible initiatives and policies (Burke et al., 2001). It is also evident that personal and professional development is encouraged, and staff can benefit from the skills acquired. There is also the fact that the client relationship is enhanced through CSR. Trust is built by maintaining strong ties that enable the firm to create alliance with its customers. Partnering with NGOs such as in the case of Cisco is one of the methods that clients can gain trust in the activities carried out by an organization. Companies that incorporate their staff welfare to boost community relationships benefit the most from CSR. They get customer loyalty as clients like it when they can contribute to a good cause. CSR has been termed as a cynical marketing ploy for the businesses, and some benefits can be seen clearly

Conclusion

Community partnerships end products are not buildings, new housing, and social services, but it is a process by which people are empowered to make changes socially and economically. The concept has to do with sustainability and also the growth of the community. Through partnerships, Cisco is one of the organizations that have provided opportunities for growth to their social standards. Some benefits can be attributed to CSR and community partnerships such as customer loyalty. As the firm puts it, they have found reputation increases customer loyalty and strengthens the robust and strategic relationships with communities and governments. It is therefore essential that more companies should embrace community partnerships because of the benefits discussed in this paper.

References

Alicia Mathew.(2012). Cisco Systems, Inc Success Story. Retrieved July 05, 2016, from http://successstory.com/companies/cisco-systems-inc

Babiak, K. (2010). The role and relevance of corporate social responsibility in sport: A view from the top. Journal of Management & Organization, 16(04), 528-549.

Burke, M. A., Picus, L., & Fenton Avenue Charter School (Lake View Terrace, Calif.). (2001). Developing community-empowered schools. Thousand Oaks, Calif: Corwin Press.

Butterfoss, F. D. (2007). Coalitions and partnerships in community health. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Gainer, B. (2010). Corporate social responsibility. In Third Sector Research (pp. 187-200). Springer New York.

Heal, G. (2012). When principles pay: corporate social responsibility and the bottom line. Columbia University Press.

Lindgreen, A., & Swaen, V. (2010). Corporate social responsibility. International Journal of Management Reviews, 12(1), 1-7.

Melo, T., & Galan, J. I. (2011). Effects of corporate social responsibility on brand value. Journal of Brand Management, 18(6), 423-437.

Pless, N., Maak, T., & Stahl, G. (2012). Promoting corporate social responsibility and sustainable development through management development: What can be learned from international service learning programs?. Human Resource Management, 51(6), 879-903.

Schneider, A., & Schmidpeter, R. (2012). Corporate social responsibility. Verantwortliche Unternehmensführung in der Praxis, Berlin ua.