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TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION..4

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY.5

SCOPE OF THE STUDY6

METHODOLOGY6

LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY6

FACTORS THAT ARE TO BE CONSIDERED BY STARTING CSR AS A

STRATEGY..

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I hereby convey my deep acknowledgement to all those who made it possible for me to

complete this project, by extending their support and continuous co-operation.

I would like to acknowledge the consistent encouragement extended by Dr. Kamal Ghosh

Ray, Director and Dr. Ch. S. Durga Prasad, Dean-Academic Planning of Vignana JyothiInstitute of Management.

My sincere gratitude to Col (Retd.) Saeed Ahmad, Associate Professor whose constant

guidance, efforts, heartfelt support, suggestions and consideration helped me in the

successful completion of this project.

Finally, I would like to thank all my friends, batch mates and staff members without

whom this dissertation work would not have been successfully completed

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

Business organizations have waked up to the need for being committed towards

Corporate Social Responsibility. But still majority have just been taking up some form of

philanthropic activities for its stakeholders. Nurturing a strong corporate culture which

emphasizes Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) values and competencies is required

to achieve the synergistic benefits. The employees of an organization occupy a central

place in developing such a culture which underlines CSR values and competencies. The

present study, therefore, is an attempt to explore the engagement of human resource

management professionals in undertaking Corporate Social Responsibility. It also

suggests Human Resource Management to take a leading role in encouraging CSR

activities at all levels. The combined impact of CSR and human resource activities,

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which reinforce desirable behavior, can make a major contribution in creating long term

success in organizations.

Successful programmes on social responsibility rely heavily on enlightened

people management practices. In this context HR department is assumed to be the

coordinator of CSR activities in getting the employment relationship right which is a

precondition for establishing effective relationships with external stakeholders and thus can

orient the employees and the organization towards a socially responsible character.. Armed

with a strong and committed organizational culture reinforced by responsible Human

Resource Management practices, the organizations can achieve heights of success by

improved profitability, employee morale, customer satisfaction, legal compliance and

societal approval for its existence. It is high time for all other organizations which have been

paying only lip service to CSR that they must capitalize upon the existing Human ResourceDepartment in framing such practices, procedures and policies that ensure the internalization

of quality, ethics and excellence in the whole system.

INTRODUCTION:

Corporate social responsibility is a powerful way of making sustainable competitive

profit and achieving lasting value for the share holder as well as for stake holders. CSR

and the reporting there of is a win-win opportunity ,not just for companies and for

financial investors but for society at large. Corporate social responsibility (CSR), also

known as corporate responsibility, corporate citizenship, responsible business,sustainable responsible business (SRB), or corporate social performance,[1] is a form of

corporate self-regulation integrated into a business model. Ideally, CSR policy would

function as a built-in, self-regulating mechanism whereby business would monitor and

ensure its support to law, ethical standards, and international norms. Consequently,

business would embrace responsibility for the impact of its activities on the environment,

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consumers, employees, communities, stakeholders and all other members of the public

sphere. Furthermore, CSR-focused businesses would proactively promote the public

interest by encouraging community growth and development, and voluntarily eliminating

practices that harm the public sphere, regardless of legality. Essentially, CSR is the

deliberate inclusion ofpublic interest into corporate decision-making, and the honoring

of a triple bottom line: people, planet, profit.

CSR is about how companies manage the business process to produce an over all

positive impact on society. Increasingly, corporations are motivated to become more

socially responsible because their most important stakeholders expect them to understand

and address the social and community issues that are relevant to them. Understanding

what causes are important to employees is usually the first priority because of the many

interrelated business benefits that can be derived from increased employee engagement

(i.e. more loyalty, improved recruitment, increased retention, higher productivity, and so

on). Key external stakeholders include customers, consumers, investors (particularly

institutional investors), communities in the areas where the corporation operates its

facilities, regulators, academics, and the media

CSR is a concept where by companies decide voluntarily to contribute to a better society

and a cleaner environment. Corporate social responsibility involves a commitment by acompany to manage its role I the society as producer, employer, marketer, customer

and citizen-in a responsible and sustainable manner Corporate responsibility integrates

these activities in to a single concept that can generate additional value by supporting

business objectives, promoting dialogue with key stake holders and responding to

customer needs. Now a days companys are paying more attention on CSR activities .

Reason can be , because now they start realizing that with out firm policies on CSR they

cannot survive in this competitive environment.

Every organization is trying to work on different aspects so that they can

differentiate themselves CSR activities with the other companies. CSR has now become

another publicity tool for various organization especially for the ones which works with

international clients. CSR implies that it is the duty of the corporate to ensure the safety

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of all the share holders. CSR is closely linked with the concept of sustainable

development where by not only financial concerns should drive the decisions of a firm

but also concerns of the society , environment etc.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY:

To understand HR Department role in promoting CSR.

To understand the role of CSR in gaining competitive advantage to the Organization.

To understand different CSR activities in Indian corporates.

SCOPE OF THE STUDY

Scope of the study is limited to study the role of HR department in building CSR and

mostly focusing on the different CSR activities carried out by Indian corporates.

METHODOLOGY:

The study was conducted using both primary and secondary data.

Secondary data

It was collected from various books, articles, journals and blogs on CSR

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.

LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY:

The study does not consider each and every company i.e. only few companys

are taken as examples.

The study deals more in terms of Indian corporates i.e. more focus is laid on how

CSR acitivities are carried out in Indian corporates..

Factors that are to be considered when starting a CSR strategy

CSR is defined as operating a business that needs or exceeds the ethical legal

commercial and public expectations that society has of business. Clarify organization

core values and principles. Company should be aware of who their internal and external

stake holders are and which issues affect comapnys relation ship with them. Get the top

team on board and know how to sell benefits of CSR to different stake holders. Under

stand how CSR strategy is aligned to your business and HR practices.

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Building strategic relationship with customers, suppliers, employees, stake holders and

particularly the community at large, has become central to the sustainability of an

organization. Organization must realize that government alone will not be able to get

success in its endeavour to uplift the down trodden of society.

Following principles play an active role in spreading the CSR movement:

Motivating companies to contribute to society by organizing seminars and

conferences on subjects of social concern and the role of corporate sector.

Intergrating and synergizing the work done by various organizations , NGOs,

corporate sector , government and international agencies.

Participating in the developmental programmes by conceiving, implementing or

monitoring various projects and programmes.

Encouraging individuals and institutions to participate in social developments by

bestowing awards and recognizing their contribution.

Empowering regional chapters of CSR to take up similar activities at the regional

level

A CSR strategy provides the opportunity to demonstrate the human face of

business. Such a strategy requires engagement in open dialogue and constructive

partnership with the government at various levels , IGOs, NGOs, other elements

of civil society and in particular local communities.

In implementing their CSR strategies ,companies should recognize and respect

local and cultural differences ,whilst maintaining high and consistent globalstandards and policies.

Finally,being responsive to local differences means taking specific initiatives.

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CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN RELATION TO

INDIAN CORPORATES

Indian companies are now expected to discharge their stakeholder responsibilities and

societal obligations, along with their shareholder-wealth maximisation goal.

Nearly all leading corporates in India are involved in corporate social responsibility

(CSR) programmes in areas like education, health, livelihood creation, skill development,

and empowerment of weaker sections of the society. Notable efforts have come from the

Tata Group, Infosys, Bharti Enterprises, ITC Welcome group, Indian Oil Corporation

among others.

The 2010 list of Forbes Asias 48 Heroes of Philanthropy contains four Indians. The

2009 list also featured four Indians. India has been named among the top ten Asian

countries paying increasing importance towards corporate social responsibility (CSR)

disclosure norms. India was ranked fourth in the list, according to social enterprise CSR

Asia's Asian Sustainability Ranking (ASR), released in October 2009.

According to a study undertaken by an industry body in June 2009, which studied the

CSR activities of 300 corporate houses, corporate India has spread its CSR activities

across 20 states and Union territories, with Maharashtra gaining the most from them.

About 36 per cent of the CSR activities are concentrated in the state, followed by about

12 per cent in Gujarat, 10 per cent in Delhi and 9 per cent in Tamil Nadu.

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The companies have on an aggregate, identified 26 different themes for their CSR

initiatives. Of these 26 schemes, community welfare tops the list, followed by education,

the environment, health, as well as rural development.

Further, according to a study by financial paper, The Economic Times, donations by

listed companies grew 8 per cent during the fiscal ended March 2009. The study of

disclosures made by companies showed that 760 companies donated US$ 170 million in

FY09, up from US$ 156 million in the year-ago period. As many as 108 companies

donated over US$ 216,199, up 20 per cent over the previous year.

Although corporate India is involved in CSR activities, the central government is

working on a framework for quantifying the CSR initiatives of companies to promote

them further. According to Minister for Corporate Affairs, Mr Salman Khurshid, one of

the ways to attract companies towards CSR work is to develop a system of CSR credits,

similar to the system of carbon credits which are given to companies for green initiatives.

Moreover, in 2009, the government made it mandatory for all public sector oil companies

to spend 2 per cent of their net profits on corporate social responsibility.

Besides the private sector, the government is also ensuring that the public sector

companies participate actively in CSR initiatives. The Department of Public Enterprises

(DPE) has prepared guidelines for central public sector enterprises to take up important

corporate social responsibility projects to be funded by 2-5 per cent of the company's net

profits.

As per the guidelines, companies with net profit of less than US$ 22.5 million will

earmark 3-5 per cent of profit for CSR, companies with net profit of between US$ 22.5

million - US$ 112.5 million, will utilise 2-3 per cent for CSR activities and companieswith net profit of over US$ 112.5 million will spend 0.5-2 per cent of net profits for CSR.

India Inc has joined hands to fine-tune all its activities falling under CSR. For

this, it has set up a global platform to showcase all the work done by Indian firms.

Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the TVS Group collaborated to form

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the CII-TVS Centre of Excellence for Responsive Corporate Citizenship in 2007.

It provides consultancy services and technical assistance on social development

and CSR.

According to a National Geographic survey which studied 17,000 consumers in

17 countries, Indians are the most eco-friendly consumers in the world. India

topped the Consumer Greendex, where consumers were asked about energy use

and conservation, transportation choices, food sources, the relative use of green

products versus traditional products, attitudes towards the environment and

sustainability and knowledge of environmental issues.

Reliance Industries and two Tata Group firmsTata Motors and Tata Steelare

the country's most admired companies for their corporate social responsibilityinitiatives, according to a Nielsen survey released in May 2009.

As part of its Corporate Service Corps (CSC) programme, IBM has joined hands

with the Tribal Development Department of Gujarat for a development project

aimed at of tribals in the Sasan area of Gir forest.

As part of CSR Wipro, for example, inculcates CSR values amongst its workforce

right at the beginning during the induction process Corporate presentations, keeping employees updated through mails, regular

newsletters are the instruments used to keep employees energized about the

organizations socially responsible initiatives.

The training of employees through CSR Living Our Values Learning Tool at

Cadbury Schweppes (Young, 2006), the major global beverage and confectionary

organization, has been a good example of partnership between HR and CSR. The

company has also included social responsibility in the latest management

development initiatives like the global Passion for People management skills

programme.

Best Buy, a fortune 100 company and the largest specialty retailer of consumer

electronics in the United States and Canada, has initiated ethics training for its

employees. Electronic Data Systems (EDS) has a global CSR strategy which is well

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supported by HR function and the employees (Redington, 2005). The HR

department of the company has also developed an e-learning course for its

employees built around the Department of Trade and Industry, CSR Competency

framework.

The financial services sector is going green in a steady manner. With an eye on

preserving energy, companies have started easing the carbon footprint in their

offices. The year 2009 witnessed initiatives including application of renewable

energy technologies, moving to paperless operations and recognition of

environmental standards. Efforts by companies such as HSBC India, Max New

York Life and Standard Chartered Bank have ensured that the green movement

has kept its momentum by asking their customers to shift to e-statements and e-

receipts.

State-owned Navratna company, Coal India Ltd (CIL) will invest US$ 67.5

million in 2010-11 on social and environmental causes.

Companies like Wipro, Infosys, Dabur, and ICICI have even framed whistle blowing

policy, providing protection to the employees who come to know about any unethical

practice going on within the organization, covering a whole gamut of subjects and

showing their positive approach towards unethical practices

Public sector aluminium company NALCO has contributed US$ 3.23 million for

development work in Orissa's Koraput district as part of its Corporate Social

Responsibility (CSR).

HRs Role in Promoting Corporate Social Responsibility

With the growing importance of CSR in companies , HR professionals play a key role in

initiating,developing and sustaining CSR activities in the organization. While some

companies have separate CSR executives who are responsible for coordinating and

managing events ,most companies expect HR personnel and other employees to invest

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their time and participate in such activities. In todays corporate scenario ,employees

typically work for more than 8-10 hours a day and are expected to multitask in their

sphere of work. Given this hectic pace of work,its a challenge for any organization to

sustain CSR initiatives. Therefore , HR professionals have an indispensable role to play

in the areas of creating strong organizational culture aligning with core company

values ,fostering relation ship that is sensitive to the community culture,engaging every

employee in active community activities,and assessing the environment inorder to

identify threats to the community.

The world is a smaller place thanks to the Internet, global trading and new

communication and technology advances. More U.S. companies are expanding overseas,

and now manage a global workforce that has unique benefits, rules/laws, and differentlanguages and currencies. With this global expansion comes a responsibility.

When companies are global, an important challenge in garnering success is to respect

other cultures and workforce environments and start forming a global profile or social

consciousness. Recognize these differences with a sound Corporate Social Responsibility

(CSR) plan that can simultaneously increase shareholder value, boost employee

engagement and increase employer brand recognition.

Hr professionals need to co-ordinate the CSR activities and demonstrate companys

commitment to CSR. Effective CSR depends on being seen as important through out an

organization. HR professional need to include CSR in an organizational culture to make a

change to actions and attitudes and ensure the support of the top team which is criticalfactor to success. HR should communicate ,implement ideas, policies, cultural and

behavioural change across organization. HR is also responsible for the key systems and

processes underpinning effective delivery .

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The way a company treats its employees contributes contributes directly to the company

being seen as willing to accept organizations wider responsibilities. Building credibility

and trusting their employer are being increasingly seen as important by employees when

they choose who they want to work for. HR manager should should instill individual

social responsibility in every employee in the organization . He should make employees

aware that every single person in the society have responsibility to the society they

belong irrespective of the job ,class ,caste or gender. HR should make employees think

that only when one fulfills or at least do the sincere attempts to do so, one can lead a

complacent life in the society. HR team can motivate the employees to contribute a

certain amount or few hours in a period of time to any organization worth. Even one can

start with helping the needy in their neighbourhood.

Human Resource Departments play a critical role in ensuring that the company adopts

Corporate Social Responsibility programs. Furthermore, HR can manage the CSR plan

implementation and monitor its adoption proactively, while documenting (and

celebrating) its success throughout the company. Human Resources technology can help

with a Corporate Social Responsibility program, including reducing the companys

carbon footprint to benefit the planet. Start with these areas:

Implement and encourage green practices.

Foster a culture of social responsibility.

Celebrate successes.

Share and communicate the value of corporate social responsibility to employees

and the community.

Implement and Encourage Green Practices for Corporate Social Responsibility

Implement green practices to assist in environmental waste reduction, while

promoting and encouraging stewardship growth, better corporate ethics and long-lasting

practices that promote both personal and corporate accountability. The value inherent in

embracing green aspects of corporate responsibility is clearly understood, given the

direct impact that rising energy and utility costs has on employees pocketbooks.

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Conservation has become an accepted means of making our planet healthier. Reducing

each employees carbon footprint is a great way of getting energy conservation and

recycling waste initiatives off the ground. Here are suggestions to start:

Recycle paper, cans and bottles in the office; recognize departmental efforts.

Collect food and donations for victims of floods, hurricanes and other natural

disasters around the globe.

Encourage reduced energy consumption; subsidize transit passes, make it easy

for employees to car pool, encourage staggered staffing to allow after rush hour

transit, and permit telecommuting to the degree possible.

Encourage shutting off lights, computers and printers after work hours and on

weekends for further energy reductions.

Work with IT to switch to laptops over desktop computers. (Laptops consume

up to 90% less power.)

Increase the use of teleconferencing, rather than on-site meetings and trips.

Promote brown-bagging in the office to help employees reduce fat and calories

to live healthier lives and reduce packaging waste, too.

Foster a Culture of Corporate Social Responsibility

Creating a culture of change and responsibility starts with HR. Getting the younger

employees, who are already environmentally conscious, excited about fresh Corporate

Social Responsibility initiatives is a great way to begin. A committed set of employees

who infuse enthusiasm for such programs would enable friendly competition and

recognition programs.

Over the past few years, major news organizations have reported on large, trusted

companies that have failed employees, shareholders and the public (i.e. Enron, Lehman,

WaMu). These failures created a culture of mistrust in the corporate world. All too often,

employees and employers at all levels, who competed for advancement and recognition

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in harsh workplaces, were forced to accept corporate misconduct and waste as business

as usual.

Employer brands are being eroded and the once sacred trust that employees had with

stable pensions, defined benefits and lifelong jobs, are being replaced with pay for

performance and adjustment to new learning goals. In this environment, Corporate Social

Responsibility can go a long way in rehabilitating the employer brand with potential new

hires and society at large. It can help defeat the image that corporate objectives are rooted

in single minded profit at the expense of society and the environment.

Social and community connections that are encouraged by employers give employees

permission to involve their companies in meaningful ways with the community.

Employers can connect with their employees and the community through:

Company matches to employee charitable contributions;

Community programs and volunteer days;

Corporate sponsorship of community events; and

Encouraging employees to participate in walkathons, food banks, and so forth.

Celebrate Corporate Social Responsibility Successes

Celebrating success is important to sustain the momentum of any CSR program.

Involving company leaders, and praising the success of these initiatives, gives the

program real meaning. In the rapidly expanding global workplace, the celebration of

these successes not only drives the implementation of Corporate Social Responsibility

initiatives, but also allows sound corporate HR practices to enable them.

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Additionally the publicity about these successes creates a mutual understanding of the

cultures within each region that the company serves. The local population knows that, in

addition to providing jobs, the company takes an active interest in, and participates in,

local issues.

Three Key Areas of Corporate Social Responsibility

Focusing on three key areas for Corporate Social Responsibility can help create a

cohesive map for the present and future:

Community Relations,

Training and Development, and

A Cohesive Global Corporate Social Responsibility Platform

Encouraging Community Relations through your HR team includes implementing reward

programs, charitable contributions and encouraging community involvement and

practices. Examples of these programs include sending emails and company newsletters

to staff members that highlight employees and managers involved in community relations

or creating monthly reward programs to recognize efforts by individuals within the

company.

Training and Development programs that explain the connection between the companys

core products or services and the society at large, their value to the local community and

ways in which employees can get involved in appropriate CSR projects would sustain

and direct these initiatives.

Global Corporate Social Responsibility policy, centrally managed, is important to

acknowledge successes and measurements according to accepted standards. Central to

measuring and communicating these results is the use of a Web-based Human Resources

Information System (HRIS) that is available globally to employees and managers with

any Web browser. In order to encourage and maintain a clear and cohesive global

workplace, it is critical for the entire global workforce of a company to be on a single,

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multi-functioning HR platform, which allows for distributing a sound corporate

responsibility plan.

Having a global HR solution that offers companies flexibility, ease of use and the right

mix of tools is essential to the success of both employees and employers alike, as they

manage and maintain work-life balance and thrive in a changing environment that

includes taking on social responsibility. The success of your Corporate Social

Responsibility plan is possible with an HRIS that provides the capability to effectively

plan, control and manage your goals, achieve efficiency and quality, and improve

employee and manager communications.

The flexibility of your HRIS system is critical to tracking and pursuing a sound

Corporate Social Responsibility plan and a Web-based system provides an unparalleled

level of both scalability and accessibility to implement your Corporate Social

Responsibility plan at a global level. This is an increasingly important endeavor, as

companies, societies and people coexist productively and in harmony, across the planet

we all inhabit.

HR strategic focus:

As a HR professional , the most important responsibility is to make the

employees aware of the companys commitment to CSR and the array of activities

that they could involve themselves in. The employee has to be clearly informed

about their roles and whether they are expected to involve in the activities during

the work hours or spend their personal time towards this.. such clarity anddirection is the first step towards institutionalizing and integrating CSR in the

fabric of organization.

To motivate the employees to participate in such activities ,HR professionals

could publish success stories of employees who have made a difference through

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their participation and come up with a periodic CSR newsletter. This would create

visibility and nudge others towards constructive action.

The management should constantly be committed to promote and motivate

employees towards CSR by walking the talk. The top management needs to

model this behaviour for other employees to emulate.

HR professionals can identify high impact projects ,orient employees and act as a

mediator between the organization and the NGO partner and hand hold the

relation ship until they mature to handle them on their own.

CSR initiatives can be integrated in the philosophy of the organization and

assimilating it in the core values and mission statement of the company .

HR practices should include CSR as one of the strategic imperative of the

companys annual goals and therefore make CSR every bodys business and not

relegate it to any specific group of employees.

HR professionals need to play a more proactive role in defining, implementing

,adding value to and monitoring CSR policies and practices, if they are to involve

and meet the expectations of the key stake holders is that employees.

Organizations need to create structure and policies to provide assistance ,financial

and in kind, as well as contribution of time and expertise ,emphasizing on

engaging employees in community program.

The performance appraisal process can also measure the contribution of an

employee towards the community development and adequate weightage can be

given for providing rewards and promotions.

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HR can help provide the needs and flavor of the local society to make CSR

initiatives relevant and meaningful.

A part from employees ,CSR activities should also involve business partners

,stake holders and customers to amalgamate their involvement and make it

inclusive and far reaching.

COMPANIES NEED to have better corporate social responsibility (CSR)

programs in place if they want to attract and engage quality staff, a global report

has found.

In addition to demonstrated high levels of corporate social responsibility,

Australian companies must also offer employees good career and development

opportunities to retain and engage staff.

Employee retention is most strongly influenced by the behaviour of the

organisation and its senior leaders as well as the learning and career development

opportunities available for .

This includes concern for employees wellbeing as well as a concern for the

environment.

Risks in HR involvement with CSR

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HR has to understand how CSR strategy is aligned to business and HR practices .

HR has to get endorsement for the CSR strategy from inside and outside the

organization and communicate consistently.

Hr needs to ensure that their organization CSR can stand up to the inevitable

scrutiny by stake holders and that training and communication mean its

embedded through out the culture of an organization

HR needs to be an active business partner working with other functions like

finance, public relations, marketing etc.

Hr has to implement CSR as a strategic opportunity which should be market-led

and I should be restrained by bureaucracy. Because trust build through successful

CSR is hard to regain if lost.

HR has to get the Top team on board and know how to sell benefits of CSR to

different stakeholders.

HR has to develop CSR code based laws and regulations of the country and also

ensure that reporting systems are accountable and transparent.

HR has to look for ways to leverage social responsibility initiatives internally.

Communicate the contributions company is making in the community and get

employees involved.

The separation of employees during mergers, acquisitions, downsizing etc. should be

strategically aligned with the business strategy as well as Corporate Social

responsibility. Retraining, retention, redeployment of people can be worked out with

aggressive communication, information campaigns and outplacement services in

place to assist the transition of people from the organization.

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The Human Resource department should effectively measure and evaluate CSR

activities. The value added by CSR in the form of direct results, such as, economic

savings and indirect results like increase in employee satisfaction, less employee

turnover, measured by staff attitude surveys, shall indicate contribution to improved

business performance. There is also a need to conduct periodic review of the CSR

activities

CSR as a key to retain

Corporate social responsibility programs are linked to how committed an employee is to

an employer. This finding holds true across all ages and job levels and is particularly

strong among women workers. The higher an employee rates an organization on its

commitment to good corporate citizenship, the more committed the employee is likely to

be to the organization

COMPANIES NEED to have better corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs in

place if they want to attract and engage quality staff. Employee perceptions about

corporate social responsibility remained constant during the depth of the economic

decline. Despite budget reductions and layoffs becoming commonplace, employees were

bullish about at least one thing. They believed their employers were committed to acting

responsibly in the community. Though a good social responsibility program wont reduce

turnover, it can impact how employees view your organization and the kind of

ambassadors they will be when they come in contact with your customers, shareholders

and community members. There are definitely positive benefits to be had

In addition to demonstrated high levels of corporate social responsibility, companiesmust also offer employees good career and development opportunities to retain and

engage staff. Employee retention is most strongly influenced by the behaviour of the

organization and its senior leaders as well as the learning and career development

opportunities available for employees,.This includes concern for employees wellbeing

as well as a concern for the environment.

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Corporate Social Performance As a Competitive Advantage in

Attracting a Quality Workforce

Several researchers have suggested that a talented, quality workforce will become a more

important source of competitive advantage for firms in the future. Drawing on socialidentity theory and signaling theory, the authors hypothesize that firms can use their

corporate social performance (CSP) activities to attract job applicants. Specifically,

signaling theory suggests that a firms CSP sends signals to prospective job applicants

about what it would be like to work for a firm. Social identity theory suggests that job

applicants have higher self-images when working for socially responsive firms over their

less responsive counterparts. It is found that prospective job applicants are more likely to

pursue jobs from socially responsible firms than from firms with poor social performance

reputations. A CSR programme can be an aid to recruitment andretention, particularly

within the competitivegraduate student market. Potential recruits often ask about a firm's

CSR policy during an interview, and having a comprehensive policy can give an

advantage. CSR can also help improve the perception of a company among its staff,

particularly when staff can become involved throughpayroll giving, fundraising

activities or community volunteering. See also Corporate Social Entrepreneurship,

whereby CSR can also be driven by employees' personal values, in addition to the more

obvious economic and governmental drivers.

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PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

The designing of Performance Management System should be done in such a manner that it

measures the socially responsible initiatives taken by employees. This becomes important as

the internalization of CSR in an organizational culture requires that appropriate behaviors get

appraised, appreciated as well as rewarded. Otherwise, the organization might fail to

inculcate it amongst all employees due to lack of positive reinforcement. The Human

Resource department should effectively measure and evaluate CSR activities. The value

added by CSR in the form of direct results, such as, economic savings and indirect results

like increase in employee satisfaction, less employee turnover, measured by staff attitude

surveys, shall indicate contribution to improved business performance. There is also a needto conduct periodic review of the CSR activities

CSR can survive Global economic recession:

In the present era of globalization ,the economy is changing because of recent economic

downturn, credit crisis and collapse of big financial institutions. Business confidence around

the world has diluted and pressures on company budgets are rising rapidly. In these tough

times ,business enterprises are most probably thinking about how to survive, rather than how

to concentrate and invest on CSR activities. More closely a social issue is tied to a

companys business , the greater the opportunity to leverage the firms resources and benefit

the society. Social and environmental benefits are seen as exciting opportunities for business

rather than as responsibilities. Further irrespective of the nature of the organization ,CSR is

considered to be widen the market and narrow the competition .

CSR ACTIVITIES UNDERTAKEN AT AVIVA INDIA

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AVIVA India has rolled out its CSR programme focused on supporting the Asharan

Hope Foundation, a children orphanage and St Josephs old age home. In February 2003,

It hosted a fund raising event for the Asharan Hope Foundation, the theme was where

there is a life there is a hope and the evening supported an orphanage that houses 15

children, including one family of five girls. Aviva staff and business partners took an

active part in raising funds. Donations and raffle ticket sales added to the total of $2382

raised during the evening . More than 20 raffle prizes were donated by Aviva business

partners. Donations were also received in the form of clothes and toys for children. The

last quarter of 2003 saw several innovative community initiatives being undertaken at

Aviva India . Diwali, the festival of lights , is one of the biggest festival in India and is

marker by celebrations across the country. Aviva teams spent time with young children

at an orphanage. A special Diwali Mela was organized at the corporate head quarters

where each department had a minimum of one stall: the activities included food

items,decorations, gifts and games. The employees of the designate function contributed

all necessary items required for the activity at their stall. What started off as a small idea

snow balled into a delightful , participative activity that had the entire office involved.

The money collected by selling the products , along with an equal contribution from the

company was donated to Asaran hope Foundation.

Employees were encouraged to actively participate in various activities for social cause

at several locations across the country: each of these activities is assigned a team leader.

Majority of the CSR activity at Aviva Life Insurance, head office at Gurgoan is run on

Voluntary basis by the employees, who normally visit slums on Sundays. They meet

children from underprivileged back grounds living in the near by slum and talk to then

about the need to go and study in a school and educate them about basic hygiene. The

level of involvement was from all levels . every one brought some thing or the other for

the children, whether it was clothes , first aid boxes , sweets, food, books, pencils, pens,

erasers. The children were informed about the importance of first aid and advantages of

living in a hygienic environment. The most critical part of course was on talking to them

about the need for education and how they had to start looking beyond earning only a

daily living.

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At Asansol Aviva India has tied up with Cheshire Home of Burnpur, amissionary

organization working for spastic and mentally challenged girls. The Home has been

facing financial difficulties and is unable to sustain itself . The Aviva India team decided

to help them by working out on a model which would ensure that they would be able to

sustain themselves over a longer period of time, with out any outside help.The first step

was initiated by providing them with a sewing machine from the contribution of

employees. The machine will help the inmates generate income from the sale of

handicraft items manufactured by them with the help of the machine.

At Vadodara ,Aviva Life Insurance associated with two NGOs- senior citizen

Association and Baroda citizen council. Senior Citizen association ,which works with

nearly one-third of the people living in the slums of vadodara and Baroda Citizen

Council has 300 members registered under charity commissioners office . Aviva team

has started spending time with the elderly on a weekly basis. The team is also planning

to associate with All India Development(AID), a non-profit organization established in

1996having the specific aim of promoting safe environmental practices and sustainable

development. AID promotes economical, efficient environmentally friendly practices and

sustainable development . AID promotes economical , efficient environmentally friendly

practices, through research ,seminars, publications and awareness drives.

At Banglore, aviva Life Insurance associated with NGOs like New Horizan Trust for

disabled which works with disabled children and Old age Home, Banglore which is

patronized by the Red Cross Society. The Aviva Life Insurance team then contacted the

Rotary Club also for providing day meals to underprivileged school children. Moreover

attempts to raise funds clothes and toys for children have also been activated with in

branch.

At Patna , The Aviva Life Insurance CSR team decided to start a night school for

working children, so that they can work during the day and study at night. Each sales

manager would work for one week in a month and his team will teach on a rotation basis

during that week. This way, each employee would be spending just a couple of hours in

a month , with members giving more time as per their inclination , willingness and

ability.

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At Kolkata, Aviva Life Insurance is working for the benefit of te elderly ladies, homeless

children and in association with an NGO called as CINI-Child In Need Institute. At

several other places, the Aviva Life Insurance CSR team has donated books and clothes

to families and children. They are also planning on giving them groceries, medicines and

stationery. The team would also be coaching and tutoring them on their basic education.

Analysis:

CSR is about how companies manage the business process to produce an over all positive

impact on society. CSR is a concept where by companies decide voluntarily to contribute

to a better society and a cleaner environment. It is also an obligation of a company or an

organization to fulfill their responsibilities towards society and conducting their activities

with in the scope of ethical standards. CSR speaking purely in technical terms, is still in

its infancy in India, but the concept as such and its core thinking is not new to the

country. Companies like Tata and Birla for the last many decades , have been promoting

similar causes at their own initiative . They have made approaches of CSR an integral

part of their business model. Long before the concept of CSR gained prominence in

corporate circles, these companies have been intensely involved in social developmentactivities and movement in places where they have their presence. CSR started to

become an important part of the universal strategy of the Indian Corporates wanting to

take their business to new heights at global level. HR professionals have an indispensable

role to play in the areas of creating strong organizational culture aligning with core

company values, fostering relationship that is sensitive to the community

culture,engaging every employee in active community and assessing the environment in

order to identify threats to the community.

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In HR perspective CSR acts a key factor for the company to retain employees, attract

quality work force which directly influences organizational development and also

motivation levels of the employees. All these factors indirectly increases the efficiency of

the organization by producing Quality work.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

The HR department should take the responsibility to develop a formal policy on

sustainable practices involving employees.

The orientation programme of newly recruited candidates should be designed in a

manner that corporate philosophy about CSR gets highlighted. The commitment of

top management towards CSR is very important which should be expressed in

tangible terms to reinforce the right kind of behavior in the organization.

The Training facilities may also be made available to instill the CSR culture among

employees. This becomes necessary to make employees learn and practice CSRactivities.

Responsible Human Resource Management practices on equal opportunities,

diversity management, whistle blowing, redundancy, human rights, harrasment shall

give credibility to the CSR initiatives of the organization. It is beyond doubt that

protecting human rights such as denial or prevention of legal or social rights of

workers is a very important issue under CSR

The separation of employees during mergers, acquisitions, downsizing etc. should

be strategically aligned with the business strategy as well as Corporate Social

responsibility. Retraining, retention, redeployment of people can be worked out with

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aggressive communication, information campaigns and outplacement services in

place to assist the transition of people from the organization.

The Human Resource department should effectively measure and evaluate CSR

activities. The value added by CSR in the form of direct results, such as, economic

savings and indirect results like increase in employee satisfaction, less employee

turnover, measured by staff attitude surveys, shall indicate contribution to improved

business performance. There is also a need to conduct periodic review of the CSR

activities.

CSR activities are generally designed by top management . The HR role is only the

execution of those plans .It is known that HR role in every organization is vital,soHR role cannot be isolated from any other in organization. So HR should take the job

of CSR activities. Through HR CSR can be given credibility and aligned with how

business run.

CSR can be integrated in to processes such as employer brand, recruitment, appraisal,

retention, motivation, rewards, internal communication ,diversity ,coaching and

training.

CSR is a strategic opportunity which is market led and is restrained by

bureaucracy. It needs dynamism ,creativity, imagination and even oppurtunitism.

Indian companies has to be sensitized to CSR in the right perpective inorder to

facilitate and create an enabling environment for equitable partnership between

civil society and business.

HR should make employees aware that every single person in the society have

responsibility to the society they belong irrespective of the job ,class ,caste or

gender.

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A part from individual efforts , companies as part of the strategy are coordinating

with social organizations to take up projects like specialized medical care , blood

banks,labs,slum development programs,education endeavors, environment

friendly projects etc.

CONCLUSION:

CSR activities undoubtedly enhance the reputation , respect and the brand image of the

company in the place they operate. This would inevitably improve their profitability ,

attract, and retain talent , increase savings, institute diversity and establish their strong

foothold in their sphere of operation. In a larger sense , they ensure a better world for the

generations to come. Moreover , an individual can significantly grow and learn by

participating and connecting with the society. Individuals gain self- confidence and self-

esteem by helping others. The insights , knowledge and tremendous satisfaction one

derives can be more enriching than monetary awards . It is the HR Professionals who can

instill, nourish and stress the importance of CSR activities to the employees and

management of the organization and make it a reality. Other wise, like in most

companies, CSR, unfortunately would only remain in the annals of discussions and

presentations.

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BIBILOGRAPHY

HRs Role in Promoting Corporate Social Responsibility

BY,Shafiq Lokhandwala

Buiding CSR By S Riasudeen

CSR An Elixir for Business or a compulsive concept By Nidhi Sharma

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: THE KEY ROLE OF HUMAN

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Suparn Sharma (PhD),Joity Sharma (PhD), Arti Devi

http://www.chrmglobal.com/Topics/46/1/Corporate-Social-Responsibility.html

http://www.ibef.org/india/CSR.aspx
http://humanresources.about.com/od/resourcesreferenceshumor/a/Lokhandwala.htmhttp://humanresources.about.com/od/resourcesreferenceshumor/a/Lokhandwala.htm

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