Corporate Social Responsibility : Marks & Spencer

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is something that affects all companies and should be an active factor in the company’s decision making. It is something all corporations need to care about. CSR is when business’ or corporations take part in an initiative or campaign for a cause that will benefit society and/or in some way make the world a better place (Taylor, 2015). Initially, Corporate Social Responsibility started to take shape around the 1950’s, but some say that it dates all the way back to the 1800s, the idea of CSR was seen (Carroll, 2007). One may think that because it is dated so long ago, it doesn’t have an important impact today nevertheless, it is proven that Corporate Social Responsibility is a pathway for entities to self benefit as they are in the process of benefitting society.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a term used to describe a company’s efforts to improve society in a certain way. These efforts range from donating money to an organization such as a nonprofit organization, to implementing environmentally friendly policies in the workplace. This idea is not required for companies; instead it is something that companies do to improve their communities. The way companies practice CSR is different from company to company, and some companies may not even practice it at all.

Analysis of Marks and Spencer of the turbulent background and market failings of the company in the 1990’s in comparison with today’s current successful marketing strategies, tactics and new direction of “Marks and Spencer”.

Marks & Spencer was once a top-of-the-line company in terms of its quality and selection. However, it is reported that the company has become" an out-of-date, uncompetitive blur on the UK stock market. The decline for Marks & Spencer began in the latter part of the 1990s and due to the pressure of a "changing economic demand causing Marks & Spencer to undergo continual business realignment"¦" (IBM, Ltd. 2005, p.1)

Marks and Spencer Plc. (M&S) is a major British multinational retailer. Located in London, the company has for a long time been specializing in selling of clothes, home products and luxurious food products (Thomson, 2013). On a weekly basis, there are more than 21 million people who are served by the entity. The principal sources of the company’s’ products have been for a long time stood at 2,000 suppliers in the entire world, which is a competitive rate when compared to other market players. In order to achieve its efficiencies in operations and information system management, the company’s’ core values have been based on the quality, value, service, innovation and trust

CSR is about how a business takes account of its economic, social and environmental impacts in the way it operates – maximizing the benefits and minimizing the downsides. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is the buzz phrase these days. Where previously formal CSR policies have been the domain of governments and multinationals, business people at all levels are becoming aware that they ignore their CSR responsibilities at their peril.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR, also called corporate responsibility, corporate citizenship, and responsible business) is an idea of considering the interests of society by corporations. Companies take responsibility for the impact of their actions on customers, suppliers, employees, shareholders, communities and other stakeholders, as well as the environment. This obligation is seen to extend beyond the statutory obligation to comply with legislation and sees organizations voluntarily taking further steps to improve the quality of life for employees and their families as well as for the local community and society at large1. Nowadays, CSR becomes more and more popular among big companies because it makes them able

There is a change in the expectation of employees, customers and shareholders which makes CSR more favorable in doing business today. It is a more sustainable way of doing business and those organization which are more involved in corporate social responsibility will most likely reap the rewards in the longrun.In today’s fast speed and digital world, each business despite its size need to have CSR program in place. Those without CSR programs must implement it as fast as possible otherwise they will lose valuable stakeholders in the long run.

CSR is the obligations of the business to pursue those policies, to make those decisions, or to follow those lines of action which are desirable in terms of the objectives and values of our society. According to (Carroll and Shabana, 2010), CSR has also become one of the most orthodox and widely accepted concepts in the business world during recent years. According to (Sweeney and Coughlan 2008) and (Maignan and Ralston 2002; Wanderley et al. 2008), Organizations increasingly use CSR activities to position their corporate brand in the eyes of consumers and other stakeholders, such as through their annual reporting . communicating about social activities does not always benefit the communicating organization, notably because CSR communication may trigger stakeholders' scepticism and cynicism (Mohr et al. 2001; Schlegelmilch and Pollach 2005).Many organizations engage in CSR because they believe that it is in the organization’s best

Marks and spencer is a very well established brand in the UK. With almost 120 years of heritage. In the previous years, the retailing market of UK has faced tough competition. Customers are more aware of where and how they want to shop. They also know what sort of shopping experience they require. This has made it much more difficult for retailers to survive.so in order to remain at the top of the people preferences M&S needs to make some changes in their overall organizational system.

Companies need to be mindful of the changing world. CSR programs need to change accordingly. This does not mean that a company cannot hold fast to the core beliefs of its owners or shareholders, but a company may risk alienating a large segment of consumers if their CSR practices are not in touch with the times or do not concentrate on the pressing societal issues presently occurring. Right now in America and around the world there is a big push from all segments of society to be more environmentally friendly. If a company is not acting in an environmentally responsible way it risks severe backlash from consumers that could lead to an economic downturn that it cannot recover from. A good example of this is BP. After the Deepwater Horizon incident in 2010, BP’s reputation

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is about how businesses align their values and behavior with the expectations and needs of stakeholders - not just customers and investors, but also employees, suppliers, communities, regulators, special interest groups and society as a whole. CSR describes a company's commitment to be accountable to its stakeholders.

Social responsibility or also called Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)- is the firm’s engagement (voluntarily initiated) in and its compliance (legally mandated) to environmental, social, and governance issues (The Foundation, 2014). Also, is based on stakeholder’s needs being financially sustainable, and CSR can come from both corporate or not-to-profit organizations. CSR has seven categories; Leadership, vision and values; Marketplace activities; Workforce activities; Supply chain activities; Stakeholder engagements; Community activities (Eurofound, 2017). CSR originated in the 1950’s, when people believed that the actions of corporations are closely related to society and the public, and should conform to and satisfy social values

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has become imperative on business convention nowadays. CSR can be defined as the way that firms manage the business processes to generate a positive influence on society (Baker, 2004). The term CSR was appeared in the 1950s, but until 1989, Ben and Jerry’s was the first company which truly publish a social responsibility report (Coles, 2012). In recent years, numerous organizations evaluate firms on their CSR performance since the society is concerned about the CSR ranking. Consequently, business managers in various countries may treat CSR as an inevitable priority (Porter & Kramer, 2006). Nevertheless, CSR is still a controversial issue in the world. Some businesses are struggling to balance corporate

Firstly, most of the companies giving free education to poor people, giving free medical check-up and donating money to charities. 5 decades ago, 500 companies were issued corporate responsibility report. But now more than 8000 around the world have signed in UN global compact pledging to show good global citizenship in the areas of human rights, labor, or standards and environmental protection. CSR has a number of stands like economic, ethical, and social. Many organizations have CSR. There is lot of companies doing a corporate social responsibility just like Pepsi, dell, airlines, chocolate companies etc. CSR have top brands. Some of companies doing a charity give a poor people some free brands like Nike brands, shoes, t-shirts etc. Every organization has a stakeholders (shareholders) interest group with direct or indirect stoke on the business. Basic list of stakeholders, investors, employees, customers, suppliers, local people. Corporate social responsibility is not going solve the world problems. That said CSR is a