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Structured Assignment Reference No. CSR0061-2 This structured assignment was written by Raghava Krishna Neti under the direction of Saradhi K. Gonela, Icfai Business School Case Development Centre. Copyright 2009, Icfai Business School Case Development Centre No part of this publication may be copied, reproduced or distributed, stored in a retrieval system, used in a spreadsheet, or transmitted in any form or medium electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the permission of Icfai Business School Case Development Centre.
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For Use by the Student Name of the Student Enrolment Number Programme Course Name of the Instructor To be Submitted on Signature of the Student Date : : : : : : : : For Use by the Instructor Grade Awarded/Marks Awarded Remarks Signature Date : : : :
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In 1971, ethical consumer groups in California have targeted Adidas (page 2, para 3 of the case study). Why did they targeted Adidas? Do you feel ethical consumers role is authenticated in campaigning against a companys policies and practices?
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Governments of North East sea nations banned on future dumping of steel-built oil installations (page 4, para 1 of the case study). Analyse the circumstances that lead to this decision by the governments. Who has influenced the governments for this decision?
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Ethical consumerism forced organisations to rethink their business policies (page 5, para 3 of the case study). Sketch the affects of ethical consumerism over the practices of companies. How are companies reacting to the ethical consumers demands?
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Levi-Strauss started an ambitious project Eureka in 1999 (page 7, para 3 of the case study). What is Eureka? Did Levi-Strauss initiate Eureka for the benefit of the society? If yes, what kind of CSR activity is that? If not, what were the perceived benefits of project Eureka?
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Microsofts initiative has solved the problem of shortage of IT manpower and created a talented pool for recruiters (page 14, para 2 of the case study). Did Microsoft initiate this only for society benefit? If the company has also got benefited, explain how? If not, how would you justify the expenses of Microsoft on this initiative?
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Bhopal incident has proved how a critical incident can change the destiny of a company (page 6, para 1 of the case study). Briefly sketch the incident and its consequences, both on the society and the company.
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In all the above examples the companies involved have merely reciprocated to a companys problem and painted it with CSR or the initiatives were adopted as a part of their brand building activities. Can you cite some companies that have taken CSR initiatives as novel policies and tried to stand benefited by fulfilling responsibilities towards the society?
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Wal-Mart Initiatives
10. Lee Scott, president and CEO unveiled the vision and commitment in his 21st Century Leadership Speech (page 8, para 4 of the case study). Explain in brief the vision and commitment. What has made the company to take up that commitment?
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Wal-Mart has formulated sustainability criteria for its suppliers on packaging (page 9, para 1 of the case study). What did this initiative mean for suppliers? Did this initiative fetch any results for Wal-Mart? If yes, how? If no, why not?
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Wal-Mart launched an action plan spending $500 million a year to improve the efficiency of its fleet (page 9, para 2 of the case study). Has this initiative resulted in savings for Wal-Mart?
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Has Wal-Mart achieved the expected objectives by implementing such policies and practices? Were these policies restricted to just fulfilling the initial objectives? Has the company been able to extract other benefits also? If yes what were they? If no what do you suggest the company to get better results with same financial commitments?
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Under project Shakti Rural women will be taking HUL stocks on Cash and Carry model and the required finance will be provided by local self help groups and micro finance institutions (page 10, para 2 of the case study). How will you categorise this as a social initiative? Can you term Project Shakti as a social marketing? Analyse how rural women would be benefited by this initiative.
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Project Shakti reached a break-even point on operational expenses in 2004 (page 10, para 3 of the case study). Did Project Shakti deliver any results for HUL apart from financial yields?
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Nestles initiative resulted in sustainable supply of high commodity sources (page 12, para 5 of the case study). How did Nestles success help local farmers? Also analyse the indirect benefits that the company has enjoyed in Moga district.
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How Moga experience would be beneficial to global company like Nestle? Do you think the company could leverage these learning for higher revenue and better margins?
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Companies understood CSR can minimize negative effects of the ethical consumerism and contribute in a positive manner to the development of its workforce and community and ensures long-term sustainability (page 5, para 2 of the case study). Analyse the relationship between CSR and sustainability. Explain how incorporation of CSR in business policy helps the company in long-term sustainability.
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What information do Exhibit I, Exhibit II and Exhibit III convey? Do they have any relationship with the initiatives taken by the companies? Examine how implementation of CSR improves the bottom-line, innovation process, creation of new business models and ensuring competitive advantage for the companies.
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