A Case Study On Retail Food Industry

Introduction

Corporate social responsibility is a business strategic planning that contributes in a sustainability management of the firms in developing and expanding the business operational activities ethically where ethical and social responsibilities are managed by the corporate firms so that they can secure future sustainable development (Crowther, and Seifi, 2018). The aim of the study is to analyse the theories and concept or strategies of managing corporate social responsibility as well as discuss the food industry in respect to maintain their corporate social responsibility in running their organisational activities across the globe. Through this study, it is also possible to analyse the strategic planning of Tesco in managing their corporate social responsibility as Tesco is a famous retailer in the food industry who is efficient in maximising their sales and profitability volume in operating in the global food industry across the international borders. This study is going to provide insights for those who are seeking business dissertation help, especially in understanding how major corporations integrate CSR into their strategic planning.

The company is proficient in running their supply chain and operational activities in the food industry to gain highly competitive advantage where Tesco is the market leader in the UK holding more than 28% market share followed by Sainsbury’s with 16%, Asda and Walmart with 15% and Morrison’s with only 11%. It is hereby beneficial to identify the issues faced by the organisation about managing its corporate social responsibility for running their organisational operational activities ethically in the food industry as well as to identify the strategic planning of the firm in maintaining their corporate social responsibility so that the company can secure future sustainable development. Moreover, proper recommendations will be suggested for the organisation in running their operational activities ethically and managing tis Corporate social responsibility so that Tesco can improve their brand positioning and gain high market share as compared to other competitive firms operating in the international food industry such as Asda, Sainsbury, Walmart and Morrisons.

Corporate social responsibility

In order to understand the Corporate social responsibility, the theory of Carol’s pyramid of Corporate social responsibility is effective through which it is possible to identify the strategic planning of the corporate firms in managing their Corporate social responsibility in near future is that they can run their business ethically as well as sustainably (Crane, Matten, and Spence, 2019). As per the pyramid, there are four steps in managing Corporate social responsibility which are economic responsibility, legal responsibility, ethical responsibility and he philanthropic responsibility through which the firms can maintain their Corporate social responsibility and secure future sustainable development. The economic responsibility provides the investors with adequate and attractive returns on their investment by making the business profitable. Making the business profitable and through maximising their sales volume and minimising cost of the major economic responsibility of the firm so that the leader and the managers of the corporate firm can provide high return on investment to the stakeholders of the business, where the stakeholders are such as employees, shareholders, suppliers, distributors, government, customers and social communities. In addition to thee, it is important to manner consistently and maximise the earning per share as well as the companies need to be committed to being as profitable as possible so that the investors and shareholders as well as other stakeholders can gain high return on investment (Jamali, and Karam, 2018).

Moreover, it is important to ensure high level of operational efficiency to maintain the competitive position of the firm as well as constancy in achieving profitable outcome will provide a scope to the corporate firms to maintain the economic responsibility of the firm successfully. Legal responsibility is another crucial perspective through which the corporate firms can run their business activities legally by implementing the environmental laws, employment rules and legislations, consumer law and laws of protecting the employees as well as fulfilling the obligations and honouring the warranties and the guarantees. Consistent business activities as well as fulfilling the expectations of the government and the law are also important as well as managing various national and international law is also necessary so that the companies can run their business activities across the international borders without any ethical barriers. It is important to become law abiding corporate firm and provide goods and services that meet the needs and preferences of the customers with minimal legal requirement (Albuquerque, Koskinen, and Zhang, 2018).

On the other hand, be ethical is necessary for all the multinational corporate firms where the leader need to ensure that the activities of the business is ethical and right to the law and justice. Fair treatment and minimise harm for the stakeholders is necessary to be ethical in the business perspective. Moreover, ethical leadership need to be followed ad obeying the rules and business legislations for empowering the stakeholders is also important for making the business ethical. For being ethical, it is the responsibility of the business leader to meet the expectations of the social mores and the ethical norms so that they can run the business activities ethically. Recognising corporate integrity and ethical behaviour of the firm will be effective for securing future sustainable development (Aguinis, and Glavas, 2019). Philanthropic responsibility is another responsibility to contribute financial and human resources to the community and to improve the quality of life. Providing different program for the benefits of the society as well as supporting the social communities with education, health and social care service and other human services are the responsibility if the organisations in promoting the wellbeing of the individuals in different social communities as well as improving engagement with the people world-wide. For maintaining the philanthropic responsibility, it is important to improve charitable expectations in the society as well as assist the fine and performing arts int he society for making the business ethically and manage social responsibilities of the business. It is also important to provide assistance to public and private educational institutions to the social communities as well as assist voluntarily those projects which enhance the quality of life of the social communities as a whole (Cui, Jo, and Na, 2018).

Challenges of managing corporate social responsibility

There are several challenges in managing the corporate social responsibility of the firm such as lack of involvement with the social communities where the firms fail to invest in social development projects for improving the wellbeing and enhancing the quality of life of the individuals. Lack of well organised organisational structure and culture is another issue where the inefficiency of the leadership skill deteriorate the quality of management which in turn lacks in developing effective corporate social responsibility strategy for maintaining the corporate social responsibility of the business (tran, 2019). In addition to these, lack of proper communication and collaboration is another issue for which the businesses fail to develop an effective team for managing their stakeholders including the employees, customers, shareholders, suppliers and distributors. Marrow perception of the corporate social responsibility initiates is another issue where the leader does not concern about the corporate social responsibility and this leads to inappropriate business activities. Internal conflicts and cultural diversity will raise difficulties in managing the corporate social responsibility strategic planning for the business in which the leaders and the managers fail to manage their employees and stakeholders of the business (pope et al., 2018). In addition to these, in the food industry, the major threats is lack of safety and security of the food where the expiry date of the storage food items, safety of the food and delivering with security cannot be managed properly which raises the issues in managing their corporate social responsibility where the firms cannot provide safety and security to their customers where it so the responsibility of the organisations operating in the food industry to enforce the safety and security law for the customers in the business and deliver high quality food products as per the market demand and the needs and preferences of the customers.

Moreover, the production of the food items and the distribution raises the issue of greenhouse gas emission which is also another challenge for the corporate firms operating int he global food industry in managing their corporate social responsibility. Additionally, lack of use of renewable energy resources for the production and manufacture of the food items as well as lack of initiatives in waste management in the food industry is another issue in maintaining proper corporate social responsibility in near future. Moreover, it is the responsibility to the firms operating in the food industry to reduce the non-biodegradable material which is not possible for finishing it to the landfills (sethi, shah, and jan, 2018). Whereas, many food companies use plastic bags for packaging of the food items and using plastic for packaging is not ethical by the food industry where plastic is non-biodegradable material and it cannot be abolished to the landfills and it is a serious issue for the organisations to maintain non-biodegradable material. In addition to these, lack of transparency and accountability as well as discrimination at the workplace due to cultural diversity and differences of age, gender and ethnicity is also another challenging factor in managing the non-biodegradable material of the firms. Lack of consistency of the business as well as lack of responsibility for the stakeholders including the employee, customers, suppliers, distributors, managers, government and social communities as a whole re serious challenges in managing the non-biodegradable material of the businesses in the retail food industry.

Strategies of the firms in managing corporate social responsibility

Tesco is one of the famous British Multinational groceries and general merchandise operating in the retail food industry across the globe, where the company focuses at delivering quality food products and services to the customers according to the market trend sand the neds and preferences of the customers so that they can meet the expectations of the customers. Total revenue of the firm in the last year 2018 is approximately ₤57.491 million and the operating income is more than ₤1644 million and net income is ₤1208 million in 2018 which ensures that the business is consistent and Tesco is successful in fulfilling the return on investment for all the stakeholders including the customers, employees, suppliers, shareholders, government and the distributors (Tesco, 2019a). Total number of employees is more than 460000, who are satisfied with the operational activities and strategic planning of the firm in running their business in the global food industry and retaining the long-term employees for enhancing the organisational performnace as a whole (Tesco, 2019a). In addition to these, economic contribution is approximately ₤37.3 billion where overall economic contribution the UK is beneficial for the government and the social communities of the UK. Hereby, Tesco is efficient in managing the expectations of the government and the social communities across the country. In addition to these 743k jobs are supported by the firm in the UK where string supply chain and efficiency of the suppliers will raise the quality standard for the firm and it further helps to maintain consistency of the business and make the business profitable and sustainable. On the other hand, 1.2 billion tax are paid by the firm which is also another source of contribution on the UK economy. Hereby, Tesco is efficient in managing their ethical responsibility towards the UK government and follow the business rules and legislations for running the business operational activities strategically to maintain the corporate social responsibility of the business which in turn helps to make the business sustainable (Tesco, 2019b).

The core purpose of the business is to serve the shoppers a little better every day where the major aim for the firm is to deliver quality product and services at affordable price so that the price will be competitive and they can retain more buyers in the economy for maximising their sales volume and profitability, this is an effective strategy for the firm to create values for the customers by delivering quality products at competitive price where the customers can afford the products and enjoy the quality products successfully. Focusing on understanding the customers, being the first to meet the needs and preferences of the customers and acting responsibly for our customers are effective for maintaining the customers in long run and strengthen their customers base by satisfying all the individual (Tesco, 2019b). On the other hand, managing the employees is also necessary for the organisation in which enforcing the employment laws such as Minimum Wage Payment, Employment Laws and the Health and Safety at workplace, Employment legislations and rules are effective for managing the employees where Tesco is efficient to manage health and safety of the employee by providing health insurance, allowance for any accidental incidents at the workplace another benefits for medication and treatment of the employees.

In addition to these, providing structure salary, performnace related pay to the employees create values for all the employees which is also effective for maintaining the business consistency and fulfil the requirements of the employees which in turn helps the firm to retain the efficient employees for long run who are able to manage the business activities and enhance the performnace of the organisation. Managing great quality of food and beverages, affordable price and sustainable supply chain are also effective contribution for making the business ethical and managing corporate social responsibility in long run for sustainable business growth. It is the responsibility of the firms like Tesco to meet the requirements of the customers and the employees for making the business ethical and running the business operational activities ethically. Community care is another important factor which need to develop and Tesco as a famous retail firm in the UK’s food industry is also efficient in creating values for the social communities by charitable investment, investing on education and social development program which in turn helps to create values for the social communities across the UK (Tesco, 2019c).

Recommendations for managing future responsibility and sustainability

It is important for suggesting effective strategic planning so that the organisation Tesco can improve their planning for managing corporate social responsibility which in turn helps the business to be sustainable. It is necessary for the organisation to maintain the environmental rules and legislations for making the business operational ethically. It is important for the organisation to stop using plastic use for packaging the food products for safety and security of the products. Reducing the use of plastic use and starting using the paper bags for packaging is necessary through which the organisation can make the business sustainable where reducing plastic use and starting the paper bags for delivering the products is effective for the firm to reduce negative environmental footprint. Additionally, it is necessary for the organisation Tesco to reduce negative footprint on the environment by reducing greenhouse gas emission by using renewable resources such as solar power. On the other hand, the company needs to transfer the wastage to the landfills for waste management and apart from the company needs to manage the wastage of foods. It is posisbel through delivering the extra foods to the people who need food and through this technique, the company can manage food wastage globally and ensure that it will transfer the surplus food to the needy people in the society.

Apart from that, the company needs to manage transparency and accountability for making the business ethical and treat all the people fairly so that it can create values for all the stakeholders in long run. Moreover, the company needs to provide good return on investment to the shareholders and the investors for making them satisfied and training them for long run. Additionally, in the workplace, it is necessary to manage the internal conflicts and cultural diversity for managing the employees who are the main stakeholders of the company in delivering quality products and services to the customers. Providing the quality products to the customers depends on the organisational operational cavities and in this regard, it is the responsibility of the company to maintain the safety and security of the final food products as well as the raw materials and ingredients required for producing the food items. Additionally, it is necessary for the firm to imporve the social program for social development and make the charitable investment for the children across the social communities as they are the future of the country. It is vital for the firm to improve trust and respect all the stakeholders for long run for making the business successful and managing their corporate social responsibility. In addition to these, the suppliers and distributors are also crucial part of the business of Tesco in managing the operational activities in the food retail industry pf the UK and in this regard, the company needs to motivate he suppliers and distributors for developing green supply chain and strong distribution network through providing performnace related pay so that it is posisbel to retain them for long run and deliver the quality product to the customers at right place and within right time.

Conclusion

It can be concluded that, managing the corporate social responsibility is necessary for the firm operating int he food industry in the UK so that it is posisbel for the firms to run their operational activities ethically and secure future sustainable development by ensuring efficient performnace and high market share. Through managing the corporate social responsibility, it is posisbel or the for Tesco to make the business profitable and increase charitable investment in the UK economy which creates values for the government and the social communities as a whole. Proper contribution in the society, making the business profitable and improving consistency of the business will be helpful for the fir to secure future sustainable development. Additionally, it is the responsibility of the firm Tesco to make the business legal and ethical by maintain employment and environmental laws and legislations for running the operational activities sustainably. Managing the wastage of food, reducing the use of plastic bags and increasing the use of paper bags for packaging the products, managing green supply chain by ensuring the greenhouse gas emission as well as managing the employees and the customers by creating values for them will be effective strategic planning for the firm to enhance their performnace and manage tits corporate social responsibility.

Reference List

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