Corporate Social Responsibility Its Success and Failure

Corporate Social Responsibility
Companies use Corporate Social Responsibility to assess their effect on the social and environmental wellbeing and take responsibility. CSR is primarily a mechanism for self-regulation. Firms track and make sure that they comply with the law, actively, including standards of ethics, international and national norms. Occasionally, the efforts by such companies may go beyond the regulatory requirements or the groups for the protection of the environment (Belfiore, 2016).
Apple Inc. has emerged as a leading global manufacturer, marketer and designer of media accessories, communications devices, portable audio players and computers. It was established in 1977 in the state of California. It is now ranked as the largest company dealing with IT; based on revenue and the total number of assets under its ownership and control. It is also ranked second in the mobile manufacturing niche. The CSR activities at Apple are spearheaded by its Vice President in charge of environmental matters, Lisa Jackson. She reports to Tim Cook, who is the CEO. Interestingly, Apple’s founder, Steve Jobs was not given to philanthropic activities. Tim Cook, however, changed the reputation by increasing CSR efforts at Apple significantly since he took charge (Dudovskiy, 2018).
Apple launched the Apple Global Volunteer Program in 2011. It aimed and encouraging employees to volunteer in the communities where they operated. So far, $78 has been given to charity since the inception of the volunteer program. In 2015, the program was revised to give workers the leeway to choose the type of programs they would like to channel their contributions to. Under the new volunteer program of Apple, Apple provides training opportunities for employees to assist them in publicizing the volunteer activities in an effort to improve their wellbeing. The program is underway in the US and Australia. The company also seeks to help the employees to identify the activities that they would like to participate in (Dudovskiy, 2018).
Apple facilitates programs for the recycling of materials in over 99% of the countries in which they operate. It has also managed to divert electronic waste weighing over 508 million pounds from the landfills approach from 2008. In one of its technological inventions, the company, in 2016, launched a line robotics named Liam. The robots could open up a used iPhone in under 11 seconds and separate its high value components for recycling. Over 99% of the product packaging at Apple in 2015 was derived for paper that had been recycled or the ones acquired from forests that were managed sustainably (Dudovskiy, 2018).
In collaboration with over 160 companies for recycling, Apple managed to recover over e-waste weighing over 90 million pounds. Apple has received lots of praise from the public and other environmental stakeholders for their efforts in environmental conservation. Some of the other key initiatives that have won the company the heart of the public includes the introduction of the Word’s most efficient computer (energy wise) named Mac mini and the general decrease of the power consumption by its products by 57%. It has exceeded the Energy Star recommendations. It has consequently gone on to become the only company to have received the 100% index for green energy named the Clean Energy – Greenpeace Clicking Clean Report. Apple Inc. Is producing or sourcing sufficient renewable energy to provide 96% of the energy that they need for their manufacturing processes across the globe. Apple now uses completely renewable energy by 100% in over 24 countries. Each data centre across the globe operates on such renewable energy. The company has also made a commitment to direct up to 4 gigawatts of power that is renewable to the online platform by the year 2020(Dudovskiy, 2018).
On the other hand, the case about Volkswagen is utterly a failure in CSR. The case is evidently, consciously manipulative and familiar to all the levels at the company. It was an intentional design to outwit competition. It sought to eb seen as an eco-friendly firm while the environment continued to receive a beating with poisons by Nox emissions of over 40% (Dans, 2015).
A void in engineering ethics, which triggered the resignation of the head of Porsche engines and the CEO and can spread to more brands and provides evidence that, is clear. It is unlikely that the department in charge of CSR did not know of the developments. The established chain of command from the software development that designed the conditions that placed the vehicle in the test mode emission amounts and reverted to circulation mode also referred to as the dirty mode after the end of the test are audited fully and also documented fully in the internal testing processes. It is possible to track every process, and the people responsible for them. It is now evident that the best software usage is to leave it open so that the code can be inspected. Indeed, software has turned into an uncontrollable weakness (Dans, 2015)
An engine that emits 40 times plus what was owed, and camouflage decided, consciously to disassemble when they were taken through tests. It is not possible for any management of CSR anywhere to claim that they did not know anything about it. The incident was simply meant to be a distraction n advertising. It is interpreted to have been meant to only decorate corporate memory (Dans, 2015).
Either way, irrespective of whatever comes out of the VW saga, it is clear that it is not a result of responsible business failure from the inside. It is a lesson for those responsible for assessing, planning and reporting on the non-financial performance of companies. It calls for every one of us to ask the manner that external stakeholders can verify corporate reports. Judging from the way investors are quitting, and the damage to the brand, it is evident that it is critical to run business responsibly for it to succeed (Hardyment, 2015).
According to Kotler and Lee, every company has a responsibility to take CSR into consideration when they are strategizing for business. CSR provides the goodwill, and also enhances the brands outlook to the wider public. Apple Company uses the Kotler and Lee concept to internal the essence of CSR. It has helped Apple to acquire knowledge relating to how to alter their CSR plans for development in future. The need to safeguard the welfare and safety of the wider society, and the environment, in general are important considerations to complement other aspects such as high performance and sales increases. Research shows that CSR attracts the majority of stakeholders (Hardyment, 2015).










References
Belfiore, L. (2016, December 21). CSR Scandals: Nike vs Volkswagen. Retrieved September 10, 2018, from https://themarketmogul.com/csr-scandals-nike-vs-volkswagen/
Dans, E. (2015, September 28). Volkswagen And the Failure of Corporate Social Responsibility. Retrieved September 10, 2018, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/enriquedans/2015/09/27/volkswagen-and-the-failure-of-corporate-social-responsibility/#12657fb64405
Dudovskiy, J. (2018, January 27). Apple Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Retrieved September 10, 2018, from https://research-methodology.net/apple-corporate-social-responsibility-csr/-social-responsibility-csr/.
Hardyment, R. (2015). CSR After the Volkswagen Scandal. [online] Triple Pundit: People, Planet, Profit. Available at: https://www.triplepundit.com/2015/10/csr-volkswagen-scandal/ [Accessed 10 Sep. 2018].