Introduction
The concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become critical in the world of business today. Companies that embrace the model focus on the best approaches to transform stakeholders’ experiences while maximizing profitability. Entrepreneurs who ignore these ideas will find it hard to have successful businesses and eventually become obsolete. The cases of Google and TOMS Shoes reveal how CSR can become a powerful approach for driving organizational performance and profitability. This discussion describes the nature of CSR activities and how they guide businesses to achieve their potential.
Background
Ethics is a notion that compels investors to make decisions and promote business operations that are acceptable and capable of adding value to key stakeholders. TOMS Shoes is a good example since the owners offer a free shoe to a needy person for every shoe sold successfully (Ferszt, 2019). This CSR initiative is aimed at supporting the poor and making it easier for them to lead high-quality lives. Such a sustainable approach has led to additional gains and profits at the company.
Similarly, Google is a leading technological corporation that takes the issue of environmental conservation seriously. Its leaders stand up for issues that could affect the experiences and outcomes of the greatest majority. The company’s data center is currently contributing to energy use reduction by around 50 percent (“16 brands doing corporate,” n.d.). Within the past decade, Google has provided around 1 billion US dollars to support energy projects that are renewable in nature (“16 brands doing corporate,” n.d.). Its core products are also allowing existing and emerging businesses to minimize their impact on the natural environment, such as Gmail.
Corporate Social Responsibility
The CSR model is wide since it encompasses a wide range of actions and strategies that have the potential to promote organizational performance and acceptability. The actions by Google and TOMS shoes are not exhaustive since firms can pursue other initiatives to maximize stakeholder value. Several examples are worth presenting to describe the nature of CSR and how it can transform the outcomes of many people and communities.
First, companies can use vehicles that emit fewer greenhouse gases, therefore delivering additional environmental conservation gains. Coca-Cola provides the best example for this CSR initiative. Second, corporations in the automobile sector can design and deliver electric cars to minimize the record impact on the natural environment (“16 brands doing corporate,” n.d.). A good example is the Ford Motor Company.
Third, small and middle-sized companies can consider the importance of guiding and equipping members of society with additional resources for transforming their lives and experiences. This practice is capable of delivering new benefits to the environment. For instance, firms in the hotel or food processing industry can rely on recycling initiatives to reduce waste and take the idea of sustainability to the next level.
Emerging companies can also provide bursaries and educational opportunities to underserved members of the community. The best example is that of Starbucks (“16 brands doing corporate,” n.d.). Medical facilities and institutions can provide additional instructions and programs to make it easier for the beneficiaries to manage their body mass indexes (BMIs). Such actions will reduce the chances of lifestyle diseases, such as different cancer types, diabetes, and stroke.
From this analysis, it is notable that any firm or entity can take the idea of CSR and make it an integral part of its business model. This strategy will allow the investors to address most f the challenges affecting the targeted customers. The business will also consider some of the best approaches to protect the integrity of the natural environment. Such an exercise can be pursued in such a way that it resonates with the implemented business approach (Sroka & Szántó, 2018). Companies relying on this idea will not have to incur additional costs or expenses. Instead, they will be focusing on additional efforts to attract more customers and eventually record increased profits.
Successful Organizations
Planet Earth is becoming unsustainable due to human activities and ambitions. Over the past three centuries, many countries and states relied on the available resources to pursue their hegemonic and imperialistic goals. These pursuits led to increased levels of environmental destruction, such as pollution and deforestation. From the 1950s, the human population began to increase at an unprecedented rate (Sroka & Szántó, 2018). These developments have worked synergistically to affect the integrity and effectiveness of most of the biological and natural processes. Additionally, more people continue to suffer due to challenges of inequality and the absence of opportunities.
Consequently, communities have realized that companies that want to do business with their people should remain ethical and be interested in the problems affecting them. This stakeholder power has shifted the relationship between businesses and their clients. Many customers would only purchase goods and services from firms that are associated with CSR practices (Sroka & Szántó, 2018). Companies ignoring such ideas are finding it hard to attract more clients and record increased gains. These realities explain why it would be expected that successful organizations would be the ones that have CSR components in their business models and values.
The first case of a company that is relying on CSR to maximize its gains and profitability is that of Walt Disney Company. This corporation has implemented a powerful strategy to reduce waste, conserve water, and minimize greenhouse emissions. They have implemented and compelled all workers to focus on such policies. The organization is also engaged in initiatives that have the potential to guide and encourage both employees and members of the community to focus on positive outcomes (“16 brands doing corporate,” n.d.). These actions have led to healthy and sustainable habits that are linked to the recorded performance.
The second example of a successful company associated with effective CSR efforts is Lego. This corporation has decided to invest over 150 million US dollars to address the challenges of climate change (“16 brands doing corporate,” n.d.). The company intends to identify a team of professionals to ensure a recycling rate of over 90 percent (“16 brands doing corporate,” n.d.). These gains show conclusively that CSR is a powerful model that can make it possible for companies to achieve their goals and remain profitable. The concept of continuous experimentation can also guide more firms to achieve their potential.
Conclusion
The above discussion has identified CSR as a powerful model for guiding companies to achieve their business aims. Corporations that embrace the concept will meet the demands of more stakeholders and improve the integrity of the natural environment. Firms that ignore these initiatives will become less sustainable and lose some of their customers and partners. The cases of Lego, Coca-Cola, TOMS Shoes, and Ford are outstanding since they offer powerful models for businesses that want to reap the benefits of CSR.
References
16 brands doing corporate social responsibility successfully. (n.d.). Digital Marketing Institute. Web.
Ferszt, E. (2019). The TOMS effect. Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
Sroka, W., & Szántó, R. (2018). Corporate social responsibility and business ethics in controversial sectors: Analysis of research results. Journal of Entrepreneurship, Management and Innovation, 14(3), 111-126. Web.