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The
concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become an integral
part of an organisation’s reputation strategy. The fact that
the organisation is socially responsible makes a great deal of difference
to its credibility. It attracts investors, clients and the best
of employees. As companies get more sophisticated about corporate
social responsibility, they are forging new ground in their effort
to establish effective CSR structures. It has become necessary for
a company to set up an internal management system aimed at integrating
CSR into the entire company’s organisation and culture. Apart
from determining which CSR process is right for the organisation,
the management and staff are also looking at specific issues like
outside expertise, alliances, staffing and resource allocation.
Socially
responsible investments by companies have been growing exponentially.
IBM, which has been ranked as Top Corporate Citizen of the Year
by Business Ethics Corporate Social Responsibility Report in 2002
for two consecutive years, has a proud heritage as a socially responsible
organisation. Says Abraham Thomas, managing director, IBM India,
“While corporate citizenship has become a hot topic lately,
the notion of operating with integrity and humanity is not new to
IBM. It’s built in from the day an employee walks into IBM
until the day he leaves—and of course beyond. The leadership
makes it clear from the top all the way down that we are to make
ethically and morally correct business decisions.” Pointing
out that both leadership and employee-drive and participation are
necessary to take forward the goal of CSR in any organisation, Thomas
adds that any IBM’er in any part of the world can contribute
their efforts to take forward the organisation’s focus on CSR.
“However, we do have dedicated resources who also co-ordinate
the overall activities of the organisation,” says he.
Outside
expertise is engaged depending on the skill of competency required
for different programmes that are run for communities. Over the
last 10 years IBM has been one of the largest contributors of cash,
equipment and people to non-profit organisations and education institutions
worldwide. “In all our efforts we help people use IT to improve
the quality of life for themselves and others. IBM’s contributions
target a few key areas and leverage our expertise in technology.
In our efforts we strive to underscore the role of technology as
a tool to address societal issues; demonstrate IBM’s reputation
as a solutions provider, and focus on the company’s philanthropic
programmes and enhance relationships with customers and employees,”
asserts Thomas.
Benefiting
communities
The
policy of strategic investments has benefited communities by bringing
IBM experts from all over the world to address their concerns and
has engaged the company’s employees more fully in the important
mission of corporate citizenship. “Our employees hold IBM’s
tradition of social responsibility as a sacred trust and contribute
to help us keep our commitments to the communities we operate in,”
adds Thomas.
An
organisation which believes that no company can succeed in an unsuccessful
community and no community can be successful without an educated
population, IBM has a strong history of commitment to improving
schools throughout the world. The company’s award winning Reinventing
Education initiative is helping millions of children around the
world meet higher standards in their classroom. In India, one of
IBM’s major initiatives in the area of Corporate Community
Relations (CCR) has been in the setting up of the Gandhi Institute
of Computer Education and Information Technology, in partnership
with the Bharatiya Vidya Bhawan. Set up in Mumbai, Delhi, Gopalganj
and Hazirabagh, it provides free computer education to students
from the economically weaker sections of the society. The company
has also partnered with the Victoria Memorial School for the Blind
in Mumbai and donated PCs and other equipment to open a computer
centre for imparting training to visually-impaired students from
the disadvantaged sections. Kidsmart is another CCR programme being
rolled out in India. It aims to use IT to give pre-school children,
from the age of three to seven, from economically weaker sections,
a jump start in their education through the use of age-appropriate
software developed by the company. While IBM’s team of volunteers
and experts from Global Crisis Management Team helped during the
Gujarat quake, there are other continuous efforts like EXITE (Exploring
Interest in Technology and Engineering) camps to generate interest
in maths and science among young women; and donation of refurbished
computers, etc.
Like
IBM, training major Aptech has also been focusing on literacy initiatives
as a part of its CSR initiatives. “CSR is an integral part
of the organisation’s responsibility towards the society and
through various measures it can build it such that it reflects the
company’s activities, making it a part of its very ethos,”
says Roma Balwani, associate vice president and head, corporate
communications, Aptech. Elaborating on how CSR can be integrated
in the work culture of an organisation, Balwani states that the
first step is a written policy statement on CSR, which should be
tracked through the year and the progress noted in the company’s
annual report. The CSR activities may also be included in both internal
and external newsletters, press releases notes, etc, to make the
employees and public aware of the initiatives. “The company
must also entrust specific CSR tasks to certain members in the organisation.
The learning experiences should also be documented while going through
the CSR activities to make others learn from it,” adds Balwani.
While
the top management provides the required thrust and focus to a company’s
CSR activities, special staffing has also become a norm. At Aptech
a team of five people are responsible for co-ordinating the company’s
CSR activities. The Global IT Division team members, both at the
corporate office and regional heads, are committed to ensure the
literacy programmes.
Low-priced
IT courses.
Apart
from contributing to associations involved in humanitarian causes,
the company also comes up with special low-priced IT courses. The
company has recently launched ‘My Vidya’, a basic computer
literacy course priced at only Rs 450. ‘Project Saraswati’
is yet another endeavour towards complete IT literacy to underprivileged
students. It has teamed up with leading NGOs in this programme Some
of the other efforts include—donation of a computer lab in
a village near Pune; support to NGO Pratham’s ‘balwadis’;
computer literacy projects with the Rotary International, etc. In
the future, the company plans to take Project Saraswati to the global
level. It has already initiated literacy programmes for underprivileged
women in Bangladesh and is now extending the same to Nigeria.
Balwani
points out that Aptech students throughout the country are actively
involved in various social endeavours. For example, Kolkata Aptechites
recently organised a rally to create awareness and extend support
to the Cancer Centre Welfare Home and Research Institute in the
city.
Resource
allocation
At
Aptech it is the Strategic Business Council team that decides the
resource allocation, which is done in sync with the business strategy
of the organisation. In Infosys it is the Management Council, which
decides on the resource allocation. One percent of Infosys’
profits is, in fact, given to the Infosys Foundation.
While
the Foundation employs staff to take care of the projects, involvement
from the company’s employees is voluntary. The Foundation of
course networks with other NGOs and peers in this field. “Infosys
and its founders firmly believe that the company has a responsibility
to contribute to the society, which has supported them and the company.
Their personal involvement arises from this strong belief,”
says an Infosys spokesperson. He adds, “A core value of Infosys
is a strong sense of social responsibility. This translates into
a commitment to help people and communities to enhance the living
condition of the rural population and to improve education.”
The
company executes its corporate social activities in three areas—The
Infosys Foundation, a non-profit organisation set up to undertake
projects for the underprivileged. Infosys on its own also conducts
training programmes and computer education programmes for rural
schools. Employees of the company also donate their money and time
to various causes. They undertake projects in rural schools and
reach out to communities around them. On a third level, the senior
management at Infosys is voluntarily involved in a lot of activities.
A few initiatives of the Infosys Foundation are: providing Rs 38
lakh financial assistance to war widows in various parts of India;
ongoing construction of Super Speciality Hospital in Pune (at a
cost of Rs 3.5 crore); reconstruction of schools in AP and Karnataka,
etc.
All
big and small IT companies in the country are involved in CSR activities,
only the percentage of investments vary. In a world where brand
value and reputation are increasingly seen as a company’s most
valuable assets, CSR can build the loyalty and trust that ensures
a bright sustainable future.
CORPORATE
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
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An integral part of business philosophy
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Growing investments on CSR initiatives
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Initiatives are driven by top management
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Employee involvement is voluntary
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Literacy for underprivileged is the key focus
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