Corporate Social Responsibility and Management Models

Theoretical Frameworks of CSR

Resource-based view of the firm: Every company has unique resources, competencies, skills, and CSR initiatives.

Theory of the firm: CSR can be analyzed using supply and demand analysis.

Institutional theory: Taking the company as an institution means accepting that:

• Stakeholders have a part to play.
• There are accepted institutional norms to be followed.
• These norms have internal as well as external aspects.

CSR Strategy and Competitive Advantage

Strategic CSR involves several key factors:

• Differentiation: Distinguishing a product with CSR versus one without.
• First mover status: Gaining advantages in design specifications, insurance, and capital.
• Competitive advantage 1: Monopolistic or oligopolistic positioning.
• Competitive advantage 2: Raised entry barriers for competitors.
• Competitive advantage 3: Leveraging core competencies and experience.

Supply Chain Management and Logistics

Current Supply Chains

Current supply chains are aimed at improving on-shelf availability, inventory control, reducing costs, and increasing ROI.

Future Supply Chains

Future supply chains focus on CO2 reduction, reduced energy consumption, better traceability, and reduced traffic congestion.

Logistics and Labeling

• Collaborative physical logistics: Examples include Carrefour, Bénédicta, and Nutrimaine.
• Reverse Logistics: Practiced by companies like HP, Braun, Gillette, and Sony.
• Identifying and labeling: Standardized by GS1.

CSR Organizational Structure and Management

Organizational Structure

• Individual: Focuses on training and ethical codes.
• Organizational: Includes structural elements (monetary vs. non-monetary rewards, behavior/evaluation/control, decision-making, responsibility, and decentralization) and cultural elements (profits, short-term emphasis, global spread of the company, and the behavior of those at the top).

CSR Management

Management aims to identify and control the environmental impact of activities, focusing on:

• Continuous improvement in environmental performance.
• Developing an international consensus on what Social Responsibility (SR) means.
• Supporting organizational learning, performance, and progress.
• An annual reporting process to spread best practices.
• Non-hierarchical learning networks.

Motivation and Management Theories

Motivation: Goal setting is extremely important to motivation and success. Interest is also an important motivator for students.

Hierarchy of Needs

Each individual is motivated by needs. We must satisfy each need in turn, starting with the most basic and ending with the less important. However, there are problems with this model:

• The same need may cause different behaviors.
• Difficulty in deciding when a level has been satisfied.
• Little empirical evidence to support the model.
• People place different values on the same need.
• Needs change over time.

Theory X, Theory Y, and Theory Z

• Theory X: Managers see this as authoritarian, repressive, tight control, and a depressed culture.
• Theory Y: Managers see this as self-controlling, achievement-driven, empowerment-seeking, and responsible.
• Theory Z (by Ouchi): Characterized by long-term job security, consensual decision-making, slow evaluation and promotion procedures, and individual responsibility within a group context.