Corporate Social Responsibility and Principles of Management

1. What is required to implement an organization’s commitment to social responsibility? What are the main obstacles to implementing socially responsible policies? Name specifications that can be taken toward increased social responsibility.
In the implementation of corporate social responsibility (CSR), an organization ought to firstly determine initiative focus. In the absence of focus, one will witness dispersed interests which render operations management difficult and cause people to doubt the organization’s sincerity. A focused organization can effectively pay attention to key causes, with participants being given sufficient attention on the firm’s part. In CSR adoption, an organization needs to take financial aspects into account, which typically occurs on several organizational levels (Pedrini, & Ferri, 2011). Thus, in order to achieve successful CSR implementation, organizations must ascertain associated costs (for instance, expenses incurred for acquisition of program material, towards supporting personnel ready to perform additional tasks, or towards donation of funds to support some cause). Furthermore, organizations might require better-qualified specialists for supervising CSR implementation, which would imply additional organizational costs. Organizations thus require sound budget plans for ensuring CSR adoption doesn’t end in losses. To attain CSR program success, workforce involvement is important. A firm needs to urge its workforce to deploy their capabilities for furthering implementation. It can, for example, bank on its marketing department to support promotional tasks. Moreover, it may benefit from seeking workforce feedback and input with regard to causes they are interested in. Lastly, it may have to convey its efforts and anticipated advantages to stakeholders, by means of news releases, public relations avenues, social media websites, and networking events (Pedrini, & Ferri, 2011).
Certain organizational supervisors and executives display negative attitudes towards CSR adoption, which may prove to be a key barrier to CSR adoption. The heads of small-to-mid-sized firms, in particular, show disinterest in this idea and commonly believe it only applies to large firms. Another barrier is the widespread link of CSR to philanthropy and charity, further causing small firm-owners to display reluctance in implementing it. Still other barriers include insufficient financial resources and absence of information pertaining to benefits of CSR implementation. The following actions may enhance CSR: 1) Message determination: Companies can identify causes resonating with their respective corporate culture, study the sort of assistance required and finally choose and follow one cause. This suffices for small companies and they need not feel pressurized to divert more finances than they can. 2) Client involvement: For companies, yet to choose a cause, Facebook fans and website visitors’ views may be solicited before selecting the right cause. 3) Developing a scorecard: Ensure this scorecard includes measurable, feasible goals maintained at a visible spot on the company website and tracking company progress. Transparency is a must to appear authentic. 4) Use of social media: Rather than simply telling clients what the company is up to, asking for their input in the form of ideas, interests and experiences ensures their interest and involvement. A number of digital platforms may be relied on, including Twitter, Facebook, YouTube channels and blogs, for reaching out to audiences having varying media preferences. 5) Partnering with third-party not-for-profit entities: This makes the company’s program appear more credible besides providing greater scope for blending networks and clients. 6) Seeking publicity: This may be done through sending out press releases regarding contests, fundraisers or other events. Focusing on media outlets known to present on eco-friendly subjects will help develop positive company image. 7) Repurposing CSR reports: Charts, images and narratives may be utilized in company newsletters and yearly reports for appealing to both shareholders and other stakeholders (Pedrini, & Ferri, 2011).
2. What is departmentalization? Explain departmentalization based on work, products, geography, and customers. Provide an example of each.
Departmentalization represents the subdivision of a company into smaller entities on the basis of several aspects like work, geography, customer or product. Work or functional departmentalization is grounded in business functions or operations (e.g., a production firm may possess the following departments: sales/marketing, accounts, production, distribution, HR, etc.). Geographical departmentalization represents the segregation of a company based on geography; it is widely used by multinational corporations, with separate departments established for managing different regions’ activities (e.g., Asian division, European division, etc.). Product-based departmentalization implies division of a firm on the basis of product lines, with individual products having their own departments to control all relevant (e.g., in case of an apparel company, the departments could be based on kids wear, men’s wear, women’s wear, winter wear, etc.). Customer-based departmentalization groups activities based on clients, assuming customers of individual departments share a set of needs to be fulfilled or problems to be resolved (e.g., local customers, foreign customers, adult customers, children, female customers, male customers, etc.) (Strohl, Schmertzing, & Schmertzing, 2014).
3. What does the acronym SWOT stand for? Describe a SWOT analysis and explain its purpose.
SWOT implies Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. A SWOT analysis encapsulates an organization’s current state, facilitating the development of long-term plans. Such plans aim at exploiting the strengths and opportunities identified, attempting to eliminate weaknesses, and safeguarding itself against the threats identified.
1. Define the term six sigma.
Six sigma denotes a well-organized, data-focused technique which attempts to achieve perfection by eliminating defects.
2. How is the balance of trade related to exports, imports, trade surpluses, and deficits?
Balance of trade denotes the relative quantity of services and products exported and imported by a given economy, or in simple words, the difference between exports and imports of a nation. A nation’s exports may be greater in volume than imports (which implies trade surplus) or vice versa (which implies trade deficit).
3. In the context of communication, what is perception?
Perception constitutes a dynamic process of information evaluation within a given setting. It instils awareness of the setting and its association with the person; communication closely impacts it.
4. Define the term organizational decentralization.
Decentralization indicates a corporate structure wherein a majority of decision-making is left to lower or middle level managers rather than the corporate head.


5. Briefly summarize Simon’s principle of bounded rationality as it applies to satisficing.
According to this principle, people do not aspire towards maximizing personal advantage from a given strategy or plan adopted. The human brain, owing to its cognitive limitations, checks unnecessary information access.
6. The terms consideration and initiating structure emerged from the Ohio State studies. Explain what these terms mean in relationship to leadership.
Ohio State research adopted the following diverse behavioral leadership approaches: initiating structure (task-oriented) and consideration (people-oriented). Leadership, in this context, represents the group or individual capacity of guiding or leading other people or companies in goal attainment.
7. Explain the difference between positive and negative reinforcement.
The process of ‘reinforcement’ enhances chances of a particular behavior after delivering a particular item instantly following response. While positive reinforcement increases likelihood of a behavior occurring by presenting a motivator following exhibition of required behavior, negative reinforcement decreases likelihood of a behavior by removing an item following exhibition of undesired behavior.
8. Define the term system as it relates to management. What is the difference between an open and a closed system?
System represents a framework of procedures, policies, and processes for managing tasks and accomplishing goals. Open systems interact with the environment through the interchange of energy, data and content, attempting at system development and renewal, whereas closed systems are isolated from the external setting, with data and interchange only transmitted inside of the system.
9. In one sentence each, describe the five basic management tasks.
The five basic management tasks are: 1) Planning: This entails the identification of an objective and ascertaining the best strategy to adopt in order for accomplishing the objective. 2) Organizing: This entails duty and role designation to the workforce equipped with requisite skills sets for fulfilling the duties linked to each role. 3) Staffing: This function controls every workforce and recruitment need of a company, with its chief goal being hiring the right individuals to take on the right role and accomplish corporate goals. 4) Coordinating: This function controls every corporate planning, organizing, and activity, making sure every activity works in harmony. 5) Controlling: This task entails the establishment of performance benchmarks, followed by monitoring personnel output for making certain every worker meets the established benchmarks (Egan, 2013).
10. Describe how a manager would use the critical-incident appraisal method for assessing an employee.
Critical appraisal can assist managers in identifying and describing distinct incidents or events wherein personnel performed a task well or fell short. It is grounded in describing events and recording them precisely as they took place. Recording delays can result in imprecision and loss of important details.
11. What is the difference between group norms and group cohesiveness? Give a simple example of each concept.
Group norms represent a particular group’s established standards or held beliefs (e.g., internal group rules or policies which govern how it is run). On the other hand, group cohesiveness indicates the strength of the bond existing between group members (e.g., group pride, communication frequency, etc.).


References
Egan, G. (2013). The skilled helper: A problem-management and opportunity-development approach to helping. Cengage Learning.
Pedrini, M., & Ferri, L. M. (2011). Implementing corporate social responsibility. An Exploratory Study of Strategy Integration and CSR Officers’ Duty, 175-187.
Strohl, A., Schmertzing, L., & Schmertzing, R. (2014). Elementary teachers' experiences and perceptions of departmentalized instruction: A case study. Journal of Case Studies in Education, 6, 1.