FIRST COMPANY
What Company Did You Choose? In What Industry Do They Operate
Company: Starbucks, which operates in the Foods and Beverages Industry.
What are This Company’s CSR Practices?
Starbucks CSR practices focus on environmental sustainability as well as giving back to communities. On a daily basis, the company demonstrates its belief in doing business sustainably and in a manner that is socially responsible. The company promotes environmental conservation in coffee growing countries. It has well-established recycling programs and in-store “Green Teams” that champion its environmental sustainability agenda. Starbucks’ high environmental responsibility standards are widely motivated by its commitment to the environment. The company is committed to environmental protection and has a robust waste recycling and reduction production system that seeks to minimize the exploitation of natural resources (Corporate Social Responsibility).
Who Are The Stakeholders That Are Identified In The CSR Report? The company makes investments that are beneficial to producers of coffee, their communities, and their families as well as the environment (Thompson 1). Starbucks’s partners are the other stakeholders mentioned in the report. The company believes in treating people with dignity and respect. Ideally, it considers its employees to be its partners. The other stakeholders who are identified in the Starbucks include youths and farming communities. The company prioritizes its employees by creating an optimal working environment for them and treating them with dignity and respect (Corporate Social Responsibility).
Which Stakeholder Groups Are Not Identified in the CSR Report and/or Do Not Seem to Be a Focus of the Company’s CSR Strategy? Political leaders and government officials do not seem to be the focus of Starbucks CSR initiatives and policies. These groups play an important and crucial role in influencing policies that impact farming communities. It does not focus on consumers and women who are the marginalized group among the coffee farming communities.
What Are the Effects of This CSR Strategy on Various Stakeholder Groups?
Investment in youth leadership programs has led to the empowerment of youths because it addresses issues such as not being engaged in education, employment or training (Corporate Social Responsibility). Accordingly, the programs concentrate on providing the young people with the training and skills that can help them succeed in the ever-changing global community. Starbucks serves the community through its CSR programs that create a more cohesive and stronger community. Farming communities are beneficiaries of the CSR programs that Starbucks invests in to strengthen the local socioeconomic development. To achieve its objectives, Starbucks works with non-governmental groups with experience and expertise in working with farming societies.
What Are the Strengths and Weaknesses of This CSR Strategy?
The strength of Starbucks’s CSR strategy is that it succeeds in addressing its stakeholders’ interests. Specifically, it satisfies the interest of groups such as employees, customers, environment, suppliers, and investors. The weakness of the Starbucks’s CSR strategy is in its inability to address the governments’ concerns over its tax compliance.
Provide 3 Alternatives/Suggestions For Improving The Company’s CSR Practices
Starbucks should focus on improving its CSR initiatives to achieve a certified supply chain with an aim of maximizing environmental benefits.
The strategy should address the tax compliance concerns of governments.
The Company should work on addressing diversity issues among its employees.
SECOND COMPANY
What Company Did You Choose? In What Industry Do They Operate
The company that I choose is Nissan Motors Company, which operates in the Automobile Industry.
Nissan’s CSR practices include blue citizenship that focuses on contributing to sustainable development programs. The company works with a broad range of stakeholders in its objective to promote initiatives that meet the needs of the society (Corporate Social Responsibility).
Its programs that deal with environmental issues seek to ensure that cars, people, and the environment co-exist. Therefore, the company invests in producing environmentally friendly cars. The “Safety Shield” is a Nissan CSR concept that relies on the use of latest technologies to ensure passenger protection (Corporate Social Responsibility).
Who Are the Stakeholders That Are Identified in the CSR report?
The stakeholders identified in Nissan’s CSR report include business partners, employees, customers, shareholders, investors, the society, and the environment (Corporate Social Responsibility). The company works collaboratively with stakeholders to create opportunity, trust, and long-term sustainable value.
Which Stakeholder Groups Are Not Identified in the CSR Report and/or Do Not Seem to Be a Focus of the Company’s CSR Strategy?The company does not focus on immediate communities where its plants and offices are located across the globe.
What Are the Effects of This CSR Strategy on Various Stakeholder Groups?
The CSR strategy ensures the safety of passengers and drivers using Nissan cars, increased diversity at Nissan workplaces, and increased profit for the shareholders and investors.
What Are the Strengths and Weaknesses of This CSR Strategy?
Strengths: The strengths of Nissan’s CSR strategy include a strong corporate governance and ethical conduct characterized by a high degree of transparency (Corporate Social Responsibility). The strategy also attempts to balance the company’s need to maximize profits and promote sustainable development. Moreover, the company embraces diversity as an asset of management.
Weakness: Insufficient CSR initiatives in other parts of the world other than Europe, Japan, and North America are the main weakness of Nissan’s strategy.
Provide three Alternatives/Suggestions for Improving the Company’s CSR Practices?
The Company should scale up its CSR initiatives and activities to ensure that its overall contribution to social development is adequate. The society will benefit through the promotion of sustainable development.
Increase its CSR action in regions other than Europe, North America, and Japan.
The safety of Nissan cars should be ensured for the benefit of the drivers and passengers.
Compare and Contrast
Comparatively, the two companies, Starbucks and Nissan, are both committed to corporate social responsibility. They are keen on involving their respective stakeholders in their CSR initiatives and addressing the concerns of the different groups of stakeholders. Environmental sustainability is the main component of the two companies’ CSR strategies. Conversely, the two firms have different CSR practices that are widely influenced by their respective industries. For example, Nissan, which operates in the automobile industry, has CSR programs that are concerned with the safety of cars that it produces while Starbucks has CSR components that focus on addressing the needs of coffee farming communities. On the other hand, Nissan embraces diversity as a key management asset while Starbucks is dealing with the challenge of addressing diversity issues among its workforce.
Work Cited
Corporate Social Responsibility. Nissan Motor Company. Web. Feb 05, 2016.
Corporate Social Responsibility. Starbucks. Web. February 05, 2016.
Thompson, Andrew. Starbucks Coffee’s Stakeholders: A CSR Analysis. Panmore Institute. Sep 14, 2015. Web. February 05, 2016.
