Today, ethics gain more and more importance in our economy and the often-heard statement “Global capitalism, local values” underlines the trend to make money with the help of local values. From that aspect, capitalism does not seem to appear that ignoring and barbarous but shows us that in deed that human values and ethical standards are anchored in the acting of huge, successful multinational concerns.
The role of values in that case is crucial as they affect our everyday life. Everything we do and the way we think is guided by values which we got communicated from our families, people that seem to be important for us or from institutions that accompanied us for a period of our life. Values and behaviour are some kind of indicators that form generations and decades.When talking about values and ethics, the upcoming importance of corporate socially responsible behaviour in form of CSR projects can not be disregarded. It is definitively the buzzword of the early 21st business century. Nearly every huge company has to face corporate social responsibility activities in order to behave in a way its customers and society in general want them to. So the role of external pressure should not be underestimated. A good example is McDonald’s. The 40 billion US-dollar concern continuously implements CSR programs but does not behave in a socially responsible way when talking about the firm’s employees and working conditions. Work at Mc Donald’s is low-skilled, hard and most of the time unrelenting, as one of the company mottos suggests: “… if there is time to lean there is time to clean” (Royle, 2005, p.45). Bad working conditions like underpayment and endless night shifts make Mc Donald’s to appear in another light in the minds of its employees and customers, after the motto “We sold them a dream and paid them as little as possible”.
If participating companies mean these activities really serious is often doubtful. Also the question if these activities really fit to the corporate culture of the organization stays unanswered. So organizations implement projects like that in order to be legitimated by society, but when we take a look behind the organization’s curtain, it can be recognized that the CSR activity is only a facade of legitimating.
Table of Contents
1 Corporate Social Responsibility
1.1 Definition
1.2 History
1.3 Corporate Social Responsibility in Austria
1.4 “Implicit” and “Explicit” Corporate Social Responsibility
1.5 The Two Pillars of CSR
1.6 Prominence of CSR
1.7 Why to Behave in Socially Responsible Ways?
1.7.1 Motivation for CSR
1.7.2 Advantages of CSR
1.8 Limits of CSR
2 Organizations
2.1 What is an Organization?
2.2 Natural Adaptation: Herbert Spencer
3 Strategy
3.1 Mintzberg
3.2 Social Responsibility in Strategy
3.2.1 Drivers of Implementation
3.2.2 Intstrumental and Intrinsic CSR
3.2.3 Comparison Between the Instrumental and Intrinsic Form of CSR to Explicit and Implicit CSR
3.3 Image and Reputation
4 Theories Behind CSR
4.1 Theory of Contingency
4.2 Theory of Consistency
4.3 Congruency and Culture - 7-S Framework McKinsey
McKinsey’s 7-S Framework
4.3.1 Objective and Application
4.3.2 Hard S
4.3.3 Soft S
5 Values and Attitudes
5.1 The Role of Personal Values and their Impact on our Behaviour
5.1.1 Universal Values
5.1.2 Personal Values
5.2 Values and Organizational Behaviour
5.2.1 Value Systems
5.2.2 The Impact of Values on Organizations
5.2.3 Example of BDO Stoy Hayward
6 Change on Values and Consumer Behaviour
6.1 From Material to Post Material Values
6.2 Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
6.3 Herzberg’s Motivational Theory
6.4 Maslow, Herzberg and CSR today
7 Stakeholder Theory
7.1 Definition
7.2 Stakeholder-Perspectives
7.2.1 Inside-Out Perspective
7.2.2 Outside-In Perspective
7.3 Importance of Stakeholders
7.4 Three Approaches of Stakeholder Theory
7.5 Shareholder Value vs. Stakeholder Value
8 Institutionalized Organizations
8.1 Isomorphism
8.1.1 Does Isomorphism Legitimate?
8.1.2 Practical Examples: Shell and Nike
8.2 Importance of Ethics and Social Responsibility for Organizational Effectiveness
8.3 Institutionalism and Corporate Socially Responsible Behaviour
9 Corporate Culture
9.1 Definition
9.2 Applied Levels of Corporate Culture
9.3 Consequences of a Strong Corporate Culture
9.3.1 Strong and Weak Cultures
9.3.2 Corporate Identity
9.4 Benefits and Positive Effects
9.5 Corporate Culture – The Key to Success?
10 Discussion
11 Case Study Palfinger
11.1 Introduction to the Company
11.2 External Activities
11.3 Background
11.4 Palfinger’s Solidarity Network
11.4.1 Why to Act in a Socially Responsible Way?
11.4.2 Why Focusing on the Solidarity Network?
11.4.3 Intention
11.4.4 Palfinger’s Solidarity Network under the Aspect of Institutionalism
11.5 Corporate Culture of Palfinger
11.5.1 Palfinger’s Core Values
11.5.2 Palfinger’s Values Management
11.5.3 Explicit or Implicit CSR?
11.6 The Role of Stakeholders at Palfinger
11.7 Conclusion
Objectives and Research Themes
The main objective of this thesis is to provide an overview of the various theories that form the foundation of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and to investigate how these theories are applied within an organizational context through a case study of the Austrian company Palfinger.
- Exploration of the historical evolution and conceptual definition of CSR.
- Analysis of the relationship between corporate strategy, organizational structure, and ethical conduct.
- Investigation into the influence of personal and organizational values on employee behavior and corporate culture.
- Examination of the role of stakeholders and institutional pressures in shaping socially responsible corporate practices.
Excerpt from the Book
1.1 Definition
The concept of corporate social responsibility does not excel in clarity. There is plenty of cross-national evidence that Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) varies in terms of its underlying meanings and the issues to which it is addressed. From a growing body of literature, various meanings and interpretations of CSR emerge, making the definition not that easy. On the one hand side, the issue is a dynamic phenomenon (Caroll, 1999) which is internally highly complex and has open rules for application. (Matten & Moon, 2008). On the other hand side, it is an “umbrella term”, as the authors characterize it, which is overlapping with lots of synonymous (Matten & Moon, 2008, p.405) and is highly connected with terms such as corporate responsibility, corporate citizenship, accountability, transparency, triple bottom line management, sustainability and reputation management (Kokko, 2002).
Definitions range from improving relationships with stakeholders to a balance between people, planet and profit as well as being transparent or developing a clear policy on the basis of stakeholders’ requirements (Cramer, Jonker & van der Haijden, 2004). Additionally, various alternative terms and synonyms have appeared, such as corporate citizenship, sustainability, sustainable development or corporate responsiveness (Pater and Lierop, 2006).
Following Matten and Moon (2008), the main idea of CSR activities is the reflection of social imperatives and the social consequences of business success. So CSR and the synonymous behind it consist of clearly defined and articulated policies and practices of corporations that reflect business responsibility for some of the wider societal goods, whereas the precise manifestation and direction of responsibility lie at the discretion of the particular corporation.
Summary of Chapters
1 Corporate Social Responsibility: This chapter defines the complex, multifaceted concept of CSR, explores its history, and examines how it is applied in the Austrian business context.
2 Organizations: This section discusses the definition of an organization and draws parallels between natural adaptation processes, such as those described by Herbert Spencer, and organizational behavior.
3 Strategy: This chapter examines the integration of social responsibility into corporate strategy, utilizing Mintzberg’s theories and distinguishing between instrumental and intrinsic drivers of CSR.
4 Theories Behind CSR: This part investigates various theoretical frameworks, including contingency and consistency theory, and applies the McKinsey 7-S framework to understand organizational culture.
5 Values and Attitudes: This chapter explores the role of personal and organizational values, explaining how they influence human behavior and decision-making processes.
6 Change on Values and Consumer Behaviour: This section addresses the shift from material to post-material values and utilizes Maslow’s and Herzberg’s theories to explain changes in employee motivation.
7 Stakeholder Theory: This chapter analyzes the shift from a shareholder-centered to a stakeholder-centered approach and explores various perspectives on stakeholder management.
8 Institutionalized Organizations: This section uses institutional theory and the concept of isomorphism to explain why and how companies adopt standard social responsibility practices.
9 Corporate Culture: This chapter defines corporate culture and analyzes its consequences for firm performance, arguing that strong cultures drive success through shared values.
10 Discussion: This section synthesizes the theoretical findings and discusses the tension between marketing-driven CSR and CSR based on genuine organizational conviction.
11 Case Study Palfinger: This final section applies the theoretical findings to a practical case study, analyzing the CSR implementation and corporate culture of the Palfinger group.
Keywords
Corporate Social Responsibility, CSR, Stakeholder Theory, Corporate Culture, Institutionalism, Isomorphism, Organizational Strategy, Values Management, Instrumental CSR, Intrinsic CSR, Explicit CSR, Implicit CSR, Organizational Behavior, Palfinger, Sustainability
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this thesis?
The work focuses on understanding the theoretical foundations of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and how these theories manifest in modern business practices, with a specific practical case study of the Austrian company Palfinger.
What are the central themes discussed in the work?
Key themes include the relationship between corporate strategy and social responsibility, the influence of personal and organizational values on business outcomes, the role of institutional pressure, and the transition from shareholder to stakeholder-oriented management.
What is the primary objective of the research?
The primary goal is to determine whether CSR activities are genuinely embedded in a company’s culture or merely serve as a facade for marketing purposes, using both theoretical academic literature and empirical qualitative interviews.
Which scientific methodology does the author apply?
The author employs a two-part methodology: first, an extensive literature review to establish a theoretical framework (covering institutionalism, organizational culture, and stakeholder theory), followed by a qualitative case study involving interviews with managers and employees at Palfinger.
What is covered in the main section of the document?
The main section moves from broad theoretical concepts like "survival of the fittest" and the McKinsey 7-S framework to specific discussions on value systems, consumer behavior changes, and finally to the implementation of the "solidarity network" at Palfinger.
Which keywords best characterize this work?
The work is characterized by terms such as CSR, Corporate Culture, Stakeholder Theory, Institutionalism, Isomorphism, Value Systems, and Strategic Management.
How does the author interpret the difference between explicit and implicit CSR?
Explicit CSR is viewed as a deliberate, often strategy-driven response to external pressures to polish a company's image, whereas implicit CSR represents values and norms deeply ingrained in the internal corporate culture, practiced out of conviction.
What is the conclusion regarding Palfinger's CSR practices?
The author concludes that Palfinger’s "solidarity network" is not merely a facade for marketing, but a project whose underlying values are deeply anchored in a strong, effort-driven corporate culture, demonstrating a clear congruence between word and deed.
- Quote paper
- Katharina Ruschak (Author), 2008, Corporate Social Responsibility, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/188219