Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) can be defined as the obligations of
businessmen to pursue those policies, make those decisions, or follow those lines of action
that are desirable in terms of the objectives and values of our society (Howard Bowen,
1953). In other words, it is the firm's recognition of how its decisions can affect society. The
aim of this essay is to evaluate a particular company’s responsibility to the community.
Firstly, it will analyze a piece of news relevant to the topic. Moreover, it explains how being
responsible is beneficial for the company. And finally, it also discusses the costs that the
business will encounter because of the adoption of said responsibility.
HCL Technologies is a multinational information technology services and consulting
company headquartered in Noida, India (Wikipedia, 2022). In 2018, it started operating in
the city of Nagpur, and since then it has created the HCL Foundation, a part of the company
focused on CSR, and more specifically being responsible to the community. For instance, HCL
works with various schools all over Nagpur and has set up science labs so children can start
since they are little to work with technology, which is closely related to the firm’s activity.
Furthermore, it has started an initiative that consists of a bus to bring technological
knowledge on wheels. Additionally, it has also contributed to a large-scale plantation at the
Indian Institute of Information Technology campus and has donated a 150 metric tonnes
oxygen plant to the city. Finally, and although this is more related to responsibility to
employees, it is also relevant to mention that 30% of their employees are women, in a
country where men are commonly seen as superior, and they offer many courses to improve
their formation (Romita Majumdar, 2022).
There are many benefits linked to being socially responsible, especially to the
community. The most obvious one is that it will improve greatly the company’s image.
Consequently, it is easier to get access to finance, as investors are more likely to back up a
reputable business. On top of that, it will attract positive media attention and coverage,
making the company more popular and well-known, and therefore attracting more and new
customers, and increasing their sales and loyalty. In addition, it can also help the business
build a good reputation based on it being a responsible company, which can lead to a
competitive advantage, as good relationships with local authorities, distributors and
suppliers can make doing business easier (Northern Ireland Business Info).
Nonetheless, there is always a flip side. The primary aim of most businesses (except
for NGOs) is to generate revenue and profits, and CSR is all about giving to society, not
taking, so how does this affect businesses negatively? The main problem is the rising cost of
operations. Companies may have to reorganize their finances to create a budget to dedicate
to CSR. For example, in the case of HCL, the training offered to employees and the donations
they have made cost money, money that they could instead be using to maximize their
profits. Moreover, even though CSR attracts positive attention from the media, once the
business is in the public eye every single movement they make is going to be analyzed, even
businessmen to pursue those policies, make those decisions, or follow those lines of action
that are desirable in terms of the objectives and values of our society (Howard Bowen,
1953). In other words, it is the firm's recognition of how its decisions can affect society. The
aim of this essay is to evaluate a particular company’s responsibility to the community.
Firstly, it will analyze a piece of news relevant to the topic. Moreover, it explains how being
responsible is beneficial for the company. And finally, it also discusses the costs that the
business will encounter because of the adoption of said responsibility.
HCL Technologies is a multinational information technology services and consulting
company headquartered in Noida, India (Wikipedia, 2022). In 2018, it started operating in
the city of Nagpur, and since then it has created the HCL Foundation, a part of the company
focused on CSR, and more specifically being responsible to the community. For instance, HCL
works with various schools all over Nagpur and has set up science labs so children can start
since they are little to work with technology, which is closely related to the firm’s activity.
Furthermore, it has started an initiative that consists of a bus to bring technological
knowledge on wheels. Additionally, it has also contributed to a large-scale plantation at the
Indian Institute of Information Technology campus and has donated a 150 metric tonnes
oxygen plant to the city. Finally, and although this is more related to responsibility to
employees, it is also relevant to mention that 30% of their employees are women, in a
country where men are commonly seen as superior, and they offer many courses to improve
their formation (Romita Majumdar, 2022).
There are many benefits linked to being socially responsible, especially to the
community. The most obvious one is that it will improve greatly the company’s image.
Consequently, it is easier to get access to finance, as investors are more likely to back up a
reputable business. On top of that, it will attract positive media attention and coverage,
making the company more popular and well-known, and therefore attracting more and new
customers, and increasing their sales and loyalty. In addition, it can also help the business
build a good reputation based on it being a responsible company, which can lead to a
competitive advantage, as good relationships with local authorities, distributors and
suppliers can make doing business easier (Northern Ireland Business Info).
Nonetheless, there is always a flip side. The primary aim of most businesses (except
for NGOs) is to generate revenue and profits, and CSR is all about giving to society, not
taking, so how does this affect businesses negatively? The main problem is the rising cost of
operations. Companies may have to reorganize their finances to create a budget to dedicate
to CSR. For example, in the case of HCL, the training offered to employees and the donations
they have made cost money, money that they could instead be using to maximize their
profits. Moreover, even though CSR attracts positive attention from the media, once the
business is in the public eye every single movement they make is going to be analyzed, even
