CompanyIntroduction
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been regarded as a self-regulating business model that assists the company in being socially accountable not only to itself but also to the stakeholders and the public in general (Roy and et.al. 2015). Engaging oneself in CSR is all about the fact that the company carries out its normal course of business but operates in a manner that enhances society and the environment rather than contributing negatively to it (Clapp and Rowlands, 2014). The present report has thus attempted to discuss the Theoretical avenues and the diversity of theoretical concepts in CSR concerning Dell and also assess the CSR activities practiced by the company. Recommendations have then been given as to how a more sustainable CSR strategy can be developed for the company.
About Dell
Dell is an America-based multinational firm that deals in developing, selling, repairing as well as supporting computers and other products. The company has been named after its founder Michael Dell and has been regarded as the largest technology corporation in the globe (Dell, 2018). The mission statement of the company is to become one of the most successful computer firms in the world by delivering of best customer experience in the markets that are served by it (Remme, 2017). Based on the sad mission, it has been empowering nations, communities as well as consumers to utilize technology so that they can release their dreams. Technology solutions are further provided by the company so that the employees can achieve more whether at home, in school, or anywhere in the world (Parvez and et.al. 2018). The company has recently undergone a merger with EMC thereby making it a privately-controlled technology firm all over the world. From then on the company captured around 22 percent of the market share in the first quarter of 2018 and has also generated $2.8 billion in storage revenue (Haranas, 2018). Concerning CSR activities, the firm has been named as the World's Most Ethical Companies for the year 2018 as per a list released by Ethisphere Institute.
Explore Corporate Social Responsibility in Different Organizational and National Contexts Focusing On the Six Core Characteristics of CSR and the Future of
CSR.
Various CSR activities have been practiced by Dell since its inception and all of them adhere to the five core characteristics that have been described below;
Voluntary - it has been known that CSR activities in any firm are to be performed as per law but the definitions state these actions to be done voluntarily. This aspect of voluntary CSR activities has been practiced by employees of Dell. For example, Since the very inception of the CSR program, the employees were vigilant enough and contributed around 52,500 hours of volunteering work during 2012 (Dell to fund $2.4m for CSR activities, 2012). This number increased to a great extent during the financial year 2018wheree around 809,000 hours of volunteering time were logged by employees of Dell in around 66 nations (Hoyng, 2018). These have been the n the form of mentoring college students in their projects to solve social issues and taking part in disaster relief programs among others.
Managing Externalities - Pollution is one such example of Externality that has been faced by communities and has been dealt with by Dell. The company has started its Connected Workplace program which allows Dell to avoid the release of 35,000 metric tons of CO2 on an annual basis as the employees are given an option to work from home. Along the same lines, it has also allowed its US employees to telecommute which has saved 25 million kWh of energy and greenhouse gas emissions of 13000 metric tons since the year 2014 (Hardcastle, 2016).
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Multiple Stakeholders Orientation - Dell has a presence of many ways to engage with all the stakeholders. For example, it engages with the consumers by reasoning to their queries; and publicly discloses company progress. In the case of suppliers, it has a presence of IDH Electronics Program that focuses on addressing their work conditions. Workers are engaged through open communication, grievance mechanisms, etc. while dialogues, conferences, and joint projects are done with NGOs (Caplan, Dutt,, and Lawson, 2016).
Social and Economic Alignment - Dell has always ensured that it can manage its Social and Economic Alignment in the best possible manner. This is because the company has complied with all the social and environmental regulations, which has increased its overall reputation in the eyes of consumers and also enhanced its overall sales and revenue figures. Since the inception of its CSR program in 2012 it has seen a rapid revenue growth which was $61.6 billion for the year 2017 (Herrera and White, 2017). There has further been an increased efficiency of its manufacturing and supply chain processes due to CSR activities.
Practices and values - For Dell, sustainability management has been a part of its strategic goals. It thus integrates economic, social, and environmental responsibility into every operational activity that is carried out by it. It further takes responsibility for the impact its action has on consumers, suppliers, employees, the general public as well as the environment.
Beyond Philanthropy - The CSR activities at Dell have extended beyond philanthropic activities and the effects can be seen on the entire firm be it HR, marketing, profits, and operational activity of the firm (Qureshi and Jalbani, 2015). There has been a satisfied human resource as the turnover rate is quite low.
Theoretical Avenues and the Diversity of Theoretical Concepts in CSR in Dell
Economic Responsibility - The CSR activities at Dell have not only led to a positive impact on society but aided in fulfilling its economic responsibility by keeping it profitable as well. The revenue generated in 2017 amounted to 61.6 billion dollars which is in the form of a 21 percent increase in comparison to the results of the previous period (Baaken and et.al., 2018).
Legal Responsibility - as per its legal responsibilities, Dell has been adhering to the code of conduct and the related standards that are meant for the Electronic Industry but still it faces an issue with respected suppliers in China. Its factories in China have been accused of not adhering to the employment laws and providing poor work conditions to the employees. In comforting Dell about the same, its social strategist Deborah Albers mentioned corrective actions being in place (Sanghani, 2013).
Ethical Responsibility - Dell has been recognized as one of the World's Most Ethical Companies for the year 2018 based on a list released by Ethisphere Institute which is a leader in defining ethical business practices all over the globe. This showcases the commitment of the company to leading with integrity and keeping adherence to ethical business practices as a major priority.
Philanthropic Responsibility - Dell has been fulfilling its Philanthropic Responsibility for a long time. In recent times, the CEO and chairman of Dell committed 1 billion dollars to the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation to provide monetary support to social entrepreneurship in India. It further caters to the college needs of low-income students in South Africa and the US and provides data-driven education in many areas.
Examine Strategic Approaches Used Currently by the Chosen Corporation in Fulfilling Their Community Responsibilities.
Environment - Dell has always encouraged its team members to embrace sustainability hence asked its team members to select 5l locations where it can plant trees. The team members thus planted 44,000 trees to restore oxygen and Co2 balance and also provide natural habitat to animals. Dell reached the planting of 1 million trees in Jan 2017 (Gamchi and Torabi, 2018). The company has been focusing on recycling ocean plastics into new forms of packaging to keep the material out of oceans. It thus created the first packaging trays that are made from 25 percent recycled plastic. It has also taken steps towards energy efficiency and has reduced electricity usage by 40 percent and natural gas by 36 percent in one of its facilities in Ireland. The company has installed wastewater plants at its sites which use 80 percent of wastewater and repurpose it for landscapes and flush toilets. In this way, it has been saving around 1 million liters of freshwater on an annual basis. To reduce the generation of waste, the company employees have been bringing their coffee mugs to the office rather than utilizing paper mugs. This initiative has saved around 12 million cups on an annual basis which accounts for 1,100 trees per year.
Community e studies have suggested that 43 percent of kids in Buenos Aires do not have a book at home. Hence Dell is helping in achieving another vision of Argentina that every child should have access to books and should not be deprived of the pleasure to read. It has thus provided 1,200 new books to kindergartens and also funded training for 20 teachers. Dell is further trying to meet the rural-urban educational divide in China and is providing computer-assisted learning to rural schools in the areas of maths, English, and Chinese as these are sober in which real kids struggle the most and these can lift them out of poverty. Its team members are also involved in acting as mentors, tutors, and friends for Israeli youth. Dell team members have spent around 809,000 hours volunteering and working for causes they care for. These include hurricanes, floods, wildfires, and earthquakes. The team members also arranged for food, supplies, and technology aid as donations in Puerto Rico.
Workplace - Dell recently joined hands with EMC thereby leading to the formation of the largest privately controlled tech firm in the world in 2016. Dell management made this transition quite smooth for its employees 138,000 in number. This is clear from the survey carried out on team members which reported high satisfaction scores. Reviews were in the form of feeling inspired and some felt they were already a part of Dell's team. There is a presence of many employee resource groups in Dell which connects the team members in areas such as gender, nationality, and even sexual orientation. Professional development is also provided in these groups through monitoring and community involvement among others.
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Make Recommendations Identifying How a More Sustainable Csr Strategy Can Be Developed for Your Chosen Company.
- In the area of adopting a more sustainable CSR strategy, the management team at Dell is required to work a little more on its ecological responsibilities. This can be done by being more transparent about its commitment to reducing the eGovernment impact of its offerings. This ranges from ensuring that there is a usage of non-use of hazardous materials in its products followed by taking steps for decreasing the carbon footprint and ensuring less packaging of products, especially from non-renewable items. It should further work on cutting greenhouse gas emissions and also provide a report about the emissions of its company to add more transparency factor.
Next is the need to enhance social welfare by Dell which can be done by developing products for consumers in such a manner that they meet their demand. For example, Dell can provide options to consumers by which they can configure their PC as per their specific computing needs. They should also make a habit of re-examining processes used in their company to bring an improvement in overall efficiency of work. Market research activities should further be carried out by the company to reveal the emerging trends; changes in consumer attitude and underlying opportunities for the company. The need is to lay more focus on market research to respond to demands from consumers with greater responsibility. The company will only be able to attain success if it keeps the consumers in mind and links the goals in such a manner as to provide them with increased value.
- Along the same lines, the CSR strategy of Dell is also required to be enhanced in the area of recruitment and retention of employees. As per the employee reviews on websites such as Glass Door, there has been a report of verbal abuse in the sales department. Hence the need here is to evaluate management practices from time to time, especially in small offices. The management t should also attempt to motivate the employees from time to time by use of team building activities; personality development sessions; counseling, etc. Other than this, there were issues in its China-based factory where suppliers did not adhere to employment laws and provided poor work conditions to the employees. The need on the part of Dell is to carry out proper monitoring and supervision of work culture in different factories and take immediate steps in that area rather than delaying it for the future. There was further presence of allegations that gender pay discrimination was practiced on its campuses in California and North Carolina because of which it had to make pay adjustments and also take steps to make sure that payment met all the legal requirements. The recommendation in this regard is to ensure that such practice is not repeated and strict action should be taken against concerned officials.
Conclusion
From the above report, it can be concluded that Dell has maintained its commitment to corporate social responsibility and carried out activities in all the areas linked to it. It has been doing a lot for the environment and also for the community where employees are voluntarily involving themselves as well. CSR revolves around the overall operations undertaken by the company. Dell has been recognized as one of the World's Most Ethical Companies for the year 2018 based on a list released by Ethisphere Institute which is a leader in defining ethical business practices all over the globe. The company indulged itself in CSR which not only created a positive impact on society but also helped it to become strong in financial terms. The essay helps experts, however, recommended to the company that it should focus more on cutting greenhouse gas emissions and also focus on increased Market research activities to give what is being demanded by the consumers. It is further required to adhere to employment laws concerning providing good work conditions in its Chinese factories and not discriminating against employees for pay based on gender.
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