Assignment-1 Please go through the Caselet and answer the questions that follows.(Length of each answer should not be less then 200 words)

CorporateSocialResponsibility

Corporate social responsibility rests at the top of a pyramid of a corporations obligations, right up there with economic, legal, and ethical obligations.Corporate social Responsibilityand environmental awareness has become an essentialrequirementfororganizations.Organizations have realised that they must listen to all stakeholders if they are to achieve theirgoals, short term as well as long term.

With the rising awareness about Sustainable Development,Corporations around the world areunder enormous pressure &struggling with a new role regarding the Sustainable Developmentwhich is to meet the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of thefuture generations to meet their own needs. Organizations are being called upon to take responsibility for the ways their operations impact societies and the natural environment. They are also being asked to apply sustainability principles to the ways in which they conduct their business.

In considering the triple bottom line(3Ps), an organization has a responsibility to its employees and to the wider community (people); is committed to sustainable development (planet); and includes the costs of pollution, worker displacement; has a responsibility to other factors in its financial calculations (profit), matters high in the minds of many of todays consumers.

The combination of environmental responsibility, ethics and profits is one that is attracting increasing attention. Many chief executive officers of leading companies now disagree with the idea that the interests of shareholders and those of other stakeholders (employees, community, customers and so on) must always conflict. Increasingly, corporations seek to weld these two seemingly opposite forces so that doing good and doing good business become the same thing.

Social and environmental responsibility has moved from a nice to do to a need to do. Theimportance ofthe employee has been highlighted by the so-called war for talent. Recruiting the brightest and best has becomea key concern, says a human resources manager atPrice Water House Coopers:There is such a limited number of the right type of graduates, and they are choosy about the type of company they will work for. The cost of recruiting and retaining staff is likely to be higher if you are not seen to be an ethical employer and organisation. A companys reputation also has significant implications for its financial performance. Analysts believe it is one of the key factors in the valuation of companies. One company could have a higher stock market valuation than another one solely due to its good social and environmental reputation.

Multinational CorporationShell,is having the worst reputations among environmental and social pressure groups, has made enormous efforts to reinvent itself asa socially responsible business. It has stated its aims as nothing less than to become the leading multinational in economic, environmental and social responsibility. Shells chairman has said that the reason for Shells conversion to environmental protection is: We wont achieve our business goals unless we are listening to and learning from the full range of our stakeholders in society.

Questions

Part A

1. Define Ethics.Explain how an organization can protect Whistle-Blowers. (2)

2. Explain Socially Responsible Business. Critically examine the opposing and supporting viewpoints of Corporate Social Responsibility. (2)

3. Discuss the likely cost and benefits for Shells working towards being seen as theleading multinationalcorporationin economic, environmentaland social responsibility. (2)

4. Critically evaluate whether businesses should change their strategies of corporate responsibility over time. (2)

Part B

5.How do you feel about having a managers responsibility in todays world characterized by uncertainty, ambiguity, and sudden changes or threats from the environment? Describe some skills and qualities that are important to managers under these conditions.