Corporate Social Responsibility

Corporate Social Responsibility: Definition

Corporate Social Responsibility is both critical and controversial for today's society. (Werther and Chandler, 2010) Every corporate business has a responsibility to look after both the internal environment of their business, employees and shareholders and also the external society from which it operates from. Corporate businesses need to keep an eye on the effect that its having on the local community and make sure that its presence is benefiting not just the people and environments inside the business, but also the surrounding communities; by conducting itself in an ethical manner. (Mullins, 2008)

Marks & Spencer

Marks & Spencer is a very large company that is well known for its attempts at corporate social responsibility and the work it puts back into the community from which it operates; not just for its staff and customers, but for whole communities.

One example of Corporate Social Responsibility used in Marks & Spencers is the launch of their new interactive learning website; www.school-of-fish.co.uk. This website can be used as an educational resource by both teachers and families and kids. The website has a vast amount of resources that help to educate children both inside and outside the classroom. (Marks & Spencer, n.d.)

The website is part of Marks & Spencers forever fish campaign. This campaign was started by M&S to protect beaches and sea life by:

• Encouraging people to eat lesser know, British species of fish to reduce the impact that it has on the environment.
• Bringing together volunteers to clean up our beaches
• Educating the public about fish

(Marks & Spencer, n.d.)

The forever fish campaign benefits the community that Marks & Spencer operates from because it offers a free resource for both parents and teachers to teach their children and increases awareness about the threat to Britain's beaches and sea life. (Marks & Spencer, n.d.)

This campaign also benefits Marks & Spencers because it persuades people to purchase their products instead of their competitors because of the sustainable sources of fish that M&S uses and the positive impact M&S is trying to have on Britain's beaches.

The learning resources also help market Marks & Spencers and encourages people to shop in their stores. The www.school-of-fish.co.uk is partnered with Marks & Spencers so it increases their brand awareness.

Another example of Marks & Spencer using corporate social responsibility is their 'Shwopping' scheme. Marks & Spencers have introduced a scheme aiming to increase the reusing, recycling or reselling of old, unwanted clothing. This new scheme fronted by Joanna Lumley aims to get people to bring their old unwanted clothes into an M&S store and drop it into the 'Shwop Drop'; with the aim of recycling as many clothes as M&S sell. Marks & Spencer will then hand all of the old clothes they've collected to Oxfam. (Marks & Spencer, 2012)
Shwopping, Marks & Spencers attempt to revolutionise clothes shopping and increase the sustainability of our lives, is running in all of their stores (except simply food) which means that customers can use any of 1200 shwop drops across the country. All of the 'dropped' clothing will be donated to Oxfam who will then either resell, re-use, or recycle the clothing. All of the money raised will go towards helping people who live in poverty and with Marks & Spencers help, not a single item of clothing will go to landfill. (Marks & Spencer, 2012)

One direct benefit to M&S for running the 'Shwopping' campaign along with Joanna Lumley, is increased publicity and getting more people into their stores. By offering a donation service that goes to charity along with the normal services offered by Marks & Spencers, M&S is getting a competitive edge over its competitors because it's getting potential customers to come into an M&S store to donate clothing along with purchasing new clothing from the store.

Another benefit to M&S running this campaign to donate unwanted clothes is that it increases their brand awareness and also increases their reputation for a ethical and charitable company. This would potentially benefit Marks & Spencers by encouraging more people to purchase from their stores instead of one of their competitors.

In July 2011 Marks & Spencer teamed up with UNICEF to raise money to help vulnerable children around the world by helping to fund health care, education and helping to provide essential services such as clean water and sanitation. Marks & Spencer will raise funds from retaining the hangers from cloths instead of throwing them away. M&S agreed that for every box of hangers recycled, they would donate 57p to the charity. (Marks & Spencer, 2011)

6 months on from the beginning of the scheme, M&S and its customers have donated 100 million hangers; a £370,000 donation to UNICEF. The donation from Marks & Spencers helps provide education for both children and mothers along with books and pencils. It will also help provide access to clean and safe water for people in less fortunate areas. (Marks & Spencer, 2012)

One benefit to Marks & Spencers for teaming up with UNICEF is that it helps to improve the reputation of M&S as a charitable retailer. This would help persuade potential customers to shop in Marks & Spencers instead of one of its competitors. This would help give M&S a competitive edge against its competitors.

Another benefit to Marks & Spencers to running this campaign with UNICEF is that it would increase spending in its clothing section of the store. Due to the charitable campaign being run by M&S by recycling hangers, customers would be less inclined to spend money on clothing in M&S stores. This increase in spend would increase Marks & Spencers revenue.


Conclusion

Corporate Social Responsibility is not compulsory for a business to do well, but if managed correctly, businesses such as Marks & Spencers can use it not only to other peoples benefit, but also to their own. The use of CSR can also have a positive impact on the business due to increased brand awareness and increased promotion which can increase sales and push the business forward.

The increase in brand awareness can improve how successful the business is and increase the number of customers purchasing your products/services. Similarly, the increase in promotion can also increase the amount of customers purchasing your products and services.


Bibliography

Marks & Spencer (n.d.) About Forever Fish [online]. Marks and Spencer. Available from: http://plana.marksandspencer.com/we-are-doing/sustainable-raw-materials/forever-fish/about [Accessed: 24th April 2012].

Marks & Spencer (n.d.) [online]. School Of Fish. Available from: www.school-of-fish.co.uk [Accessed: 24th April 2012].

Marks & Spencer (2012) 100 million hangers collected for UNICEF [online]. Marks & Spencer. Available from: http://social.marksandspencer.com/plan-a/100-million-hangers-collected-for-unicef/ [Accessed: 28th April 2012].

Marks & Spencer (2011) Hangers Please! [online]. Marks & Spencer. Available from: http://social.marksandspencer.com/fashion-2/hangers-please/ [Accessed: 28th April 2012].

Marks & Spencer (2012) Joanna Lumley and M&S Launch Shwopping [online]. M&S Stories. Available from: http://social.marksandspencer.com/latest/joanna-lumley-and-ms-launch-shwopping/ [Accessed: 28th April 2012].

Marks & Spencer (2012) M&S Shwopping Advert [online]. YouTube. Available from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLpao2f4eCk [Accessed: 28th April 2012].Mullins, L.J. (2008) Essentials of Organisational Behavior. 2nd ed.

Werther, W.B. and Chandler, D. (2010) Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility: Stakeholders in a Global Environment. 2nd ed.