Exploring Social Responsibility In Mining Industry

Identify and define the ‘social responsibility’ concept as it applies to an industry context of your choice (e.g. mining, finance, government etc.). Using examples, describe factors that can undermine social responsibility performance in your chosen industry context. Using examples, describe the tactics a manager can use to avoid the factors you have identified

Main points of the argument

The purpose of the report is to explore generally how mining industry practise and carry out its social responsibility. The report also explores the social responsibility in the mining industry and the association between environment and CSR, quality management system and safety. Mining industry has been focusing and adopting these measures in the last decade. The report also reveals that social responsibility is associated with every business sector (Epstein, 2018).

The mining sector is more concerned because the extraction process leads to threatening of the species. Historically, the mining sector has been considered as a ruining attitude as the impact of its operation without the social legitimacy can cause devastation and leave the areas when they use it and exhaust all the economically valuable resources completely for their benefit. Nevertheless, cost benefit language has become a common excuse the damage caused in a particular place because ultimately it is ignored in the blind visions of overall financial profits (Asmeri, Alvionita, and Gunardi, 2017).   

Social responsibility is a framework that suggests an organisation or industry to perform the business activities under the obligation to act in such a way, which would benefit the society. Social responsibility is an obligation that every individual performs to maintain a balance between the environment and the economy (Asmeri, Alvionita, and Gunardi, 2017). It is to be noted that several species are threatened from the fear of extinction. The entire ecosystem is being affected by the mining due to constant exploitation of resources. It is often seen that there is a lack of practising CSR because of gap between actual implementation and stated intentions. The practical response and commitment to general policies are not very frequently executed on the workplace. Mining industry utilises the natural resources to operate the extraction process (Sharma, and Bhatnagar, 2016).

Mining industry is more inclined to conduct and act according to the formal code of ethics and social responsibility. The CSR (corporate social responsibility) programmes of the mining sector focuses on initiatives that can have positive impact on social, environmental, and economic level (Welker, 2016).

It is admitted that extractive industries usually are in the forefront in practising CSR. Social responsibility is important in the mining sector. The new business approach of focusing on social responsibility has great importance for the economy of the country. Several group of activities related to extraction of minerals and exploration under the earth`s surface disturbs the ecosystem. A chain of environmental problems is found to occur that affect the mineral resources such as water and life (Narula, Magray, and Desore, 2017).

Applies to mining industry

The impact of the mining extraction that leads to generation of metal minerals varies as per the type of material used and which metal is being extracted. The negative impact on environment can be irrevocable because once non-renewable resources are exploited. It can cause destruction and pollution, regardless of identifying the metal mineral. Minerals are generally found in amalgams with various chemical elements in it. It is necessary to use some important chemicals such as mercury, sodium, cyanide. These elements are polluting to both environment and water (Hussainey, Elsayed, and Razik, 2011).

Moreover, mining sectors transport precious metals such as gold and silver, which leads to contamination of ground water due to use of cadmium for extraction. Even if legal authorities undertake the responsibility to lessen the impact, it will still affect the environment. It is important to take an sustainable approach to develop and associate three dimensions such as the environment, social component, and economic component. Moreover, it is important to apply ethical, community, and financial principles that includes the concept of CSR as an instrument to create value among the stakeholders, achieve viability and sustainability in mining areas (Buchanan and Marques, 2018).

Business executives has been facing complex strategic allocation of resources that cannot achieved only by achieving the financial outcome. Nevertheless, it is important to measure societal and stakeholder expectations. Social and environmental factors has increasing influence on corporate strategy. A commitment to execute social responsibility will contribute to sustainable economic development towards working with the employees, local communities and families. The factors depend on various work conditions such as job satisfaction, variables of remuneration, and security issues (Yakovleva, 2017). Several factors depend on the available project such project team relationship, material resources, project size and project duration. More factors are considered when the variables is concerned for the company size, project size, project duration, project team relationship, and level of authority and types of clients that the company have. There are number of barriers when CSR is to be implemented. These barriers can be either firm specific or sector-specific. Company specific factors are the micro factors that are heterogeneous. The impact of CSR implementation differs from organisation to organisation (Epstein, 2018).

Moreover, when the company is unable to perform its CSR activities. There are ways to resolve its CSR implementation by influencing, controlling, and managing the fund and affect the employee`s behaviour by change management or transforming the firm`s culture and leadership. The mining sector as a whole faces the problem of implementing of CSR at macro level. This industry do not show their willingness to pay for the CSR activities. CSR can help as a qualifier when price and logistics performance are well performed. To transport the metal minerals, the sector requires efficient transport system, service quality, which focuses the CSR as the secondary concern. Moreover, maritime transportation sector has been facing problem from the manufacturer at cost effective manner as it is interpreted as cheapest mode of transport. Nevertheless, it is not at all healthy for the marine species. In order to reduce the cost, the sector uses the heavy marine transport system that hampers the marine life.   There is a direct relationship between quality of metal mineral and the transportation it uses (Faircheallaigh, 2017).

Factors that can undermine social responsibility performance

High- regulatory standards- In the recent decade, the mining sector is being highly keep into observation whether it is exploiting the resources all around without taking any preservation methods or taking some preventive measures especially regarding human safety that is hampered during the extraction process. The smoke exposed through mining and extraction processes can be dangerous for the human eye as well as it can causer respiration problems. In addition to this, the role of environmental and safety performances have been constantly raising. This lead to formation of new regulation, to force the sector to cope with CSR standards (Kiessling, Isaksson, and Yasar, 2016).        

The tactics developed can be influencing only if the manager keep associating the CSR successful impressions of certain examples. Canadian tire and royal Bank revealed that how these rating is managed. The score is based on six criteria  such as community and society, customers, employees, human rights, corporate governance, and natural environment. As far as Australian mining sector is concerned, a manager should focus on the area in which they are operating, as the indigenous or non-indigenous people of Australia should not be in danger. It should not have negative impact on local communities, aboriginal losses, and public concern over the operation of extraction process (Ross, 2016). Regarding corporate governance, a manager should have thorough knowledge of corporate governance, which is to be followed in his industry. If these regulations are not fulfilled, a  manager have to acknowledge the excessive compensation. To form any strategies to serve the customer well, it includes such product that do not contain any of the substance like cadmium, sulphate. Moreover, as these mineral metals are extracted from amalgams, it should be clean when served if as a sample to a customer (Yuen and Lim, 2016).  

Conclusion 

From the above discussion, it can be concluded that mining sector in Australia was no longer applying any form CSR activities in its operations. Nevertheless, in recent times, mining sector has realised the importance of different dangerous procedures and their implication on environmental and social factors. In addition to this, it has contributed the awareness and importance of CSR implementation as a corporate strategy. Policy makers make the policies to provide help to mining sector in implementing CSR. The procedure of how mining has affected the environment is elaborated efficiently. The turmoil that have affected the environment severely. The act of using the resources in such a way that using them abruptly can exhaust the wildlife. The manager forms the tactics and strategies to increase the awareness of CSR implementation in the organisation.   

References

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Buchanan, S. and Marques, J.C., (2018) How home country industry associations influence MNE international CSR practices: Evidence from the Canadian mining industry. Journal of World Business, 53(1), pp. 63-74.

Epstein, M. J., (2018) Making sustainability work: Best practices in managing and measuring corporate social, environmental and economic impacts. US: Routledge.

Hussainey, K., Elsayed, M., and Razik, M. A. (2011) Factors affecting corporate social responsibility disclosure in Egypt. Corporate Ownership & Control, 8(4-4), pp. 432-443.

Kiessling, T., Isaksson, L. and Yasar, B., (2016) Market orientation and CSR: Performance implications. Journal of Business Ethics, 137(2), pp. 269-284.

Narula, S.A., Magray, M.A. and Desore, A., (2017) A sustainable livelihood framework to implement CSR project in coal mining sector. Journal of Sustainable Mining, 16(3), pp.83-93.

Faircheallaigh, C. (2017) CSR, the mining industry and Indigenous peoples in Australia and Canada: From cost and risk minimisation to value creation and sustainable development. In Innovative CSR, US: Routledge.

Ross, D., (2016) Corporate social responsibility initiatives in Australia is mining industry: An applied stakeholder approach. In Key Initiatives in Corporate Social Responsibility. UK: Springer.

Sharma, D. and Bhatnagar, P. (2016) Corporate Social Responsibility of Mining Industries. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2407014 [Accessed on 19/09/18]

Welker, M. (2016) No Ethnographic Playground: Mining Projects and Anthropological Politics. A Review Essay. Comparative Studies in Society and History, 58(2), pp.577-586.

Yakovleva, N. (2017) Corporate social responsibility in the mining industries. US: Routledge.

Yuen, K. F., and Lim, J. M. (2016) Barriers to the Implementation of Strategic. Corporate Social Responsibility in Shipping. 32(1), pp. 49-57.