Essay: CSR Integration In Supply Chain Management - Issues & Action Plan.

1. Does the study clearly articulate its aim and contribution?
2. Is the proposed methodology consistent with the research aim?
3. Does  the  study  clearly  foreshadow  its  practical  ramifications  for  the  key  research  areas  identified above? 
4. Is the proposed timeline both feasible and realistic? 

Problem Statement

Corporate social responsibility is one of the most important part of business management for an organization (Hsueh 2015). If corporate social responsibility is taken into account, the organization will gain good name in the external market and it will be easier for them in engaging stakeholders. Supply chain is one of the vital parts for an organization (Turker and Altuntas 2014). The better will be the supply chain of an organization, the better will be the business of the organization

However, it has been seen that many organizations do not keep a check on the corporate social responsibility while managing the supply chain (Fernie and Sparks 2014).  To get good price from the business, they do not look after the facts that the nature or people might get affected because of their actions (Pagell and Shevchenko 2014

At times, certain sector of the society nature is affected while an organization is operating in the competitive market. Corporate social responsibility is an important part of the business and the organizations need to keep a check on the corporate social responsibility while they are managing the supply chain. The organizations outsourcing their services and products from under-developed countries are not coping with CSR. Even some organizations in under-developed countries are not tend to check on CSR while trading internationally.

The main aim of the research is to evaluate the integration of corporate social responsibility while managing the supply chain of the organizations.

• To understand the steps that could be taken by an organization to manage the supply chain in an ethical manner
• To evaluate whether corporate social responsibility in supply chain has helped in enhancing the business
• To evaluate the shortcomings that a company might face if corporate social responsibility is not being taken into account while managing the supply chain
• To understand the role of under-developed countries towards CSR in supply chain
• To evaluate Big Data role to achieve successful integration of CSR in supply chain

• What are the steps that could be taken by an organization to manage the supply chain in an ethical manner?
• Has corporate social responsibility in supply chain helped in enhancing the business?
• What are the shortcomings that a company might face if corporate social responsibility is not being taken into account while managing the supply chain?
• What are the challenges of under-developed countries to integrate CSR?
• What type of business strategies require to integrate CSR in developed and under-developed countries?
• How can we use Big Data to achieve CSR integration in supply chain?

Literature review is an essential part of the research as it helps in making the initial interaction of the readers with the research paper. The literature review will evaluate the works of other authors who have carried out studies in similar fields and the issues faced by various organizations while handling the supply chain. The issues will be highlighted along with the solutions that could be used by the organizations while they are managing the supply chain.

Many organizations tie up with the suppliers from the developing or the under-developed countries to get the supply of the products at a cheaper rate (Lund-Thomsen and Lindgreen 2014). Many such suppliers are present in Bangladesh where the workers are poorly treated and they are paid scantily so that the supply of the products can be done at a cheaper rate. As opined by Ahi and Searcy (2013), while carrying out the business, the business owners forget to look after the working condition of the workers from where the products are being supplied. One such incident happened in Bangladesh when around 1200 under-paid workers were killed when a factory in Bangladesh called Rana Plaza collapsed (Williams 2013). It has been reported that the workers worked for Marks & Spencer, Inditex that owns Zara, Primark and H&M. When on one hand, the high street fashion brands have been where being able to provide the latest fashion to the people all around the world, the workers of those organizations suffered an ill fate. Similar type of incident has been reported when the workers of Nike have been working in a supplier factory in Vietnam, where they have been exposed to toxic fumes (Williams 2013). In addition, last year sports direct minimum wage scandal came up. Mike Ashley the director of sports direct admits that sports direct staff were not paid minimum wage (Goodley, 2017). Furthermore, BP oil spill in Gulf of Mexico (2010) caused 11 causalities and environmental damage, health and economic consequences. The above-mentioned incidents show that the organizations are not been able to keep a check on the corporate social responsibility while dealing with the supply chains. According to Chkanikova and Mont (2015), at times, the distance of the organizations with the supplier results in issues in the supply chain management.

Research Aim

According to Schaltegger and Burritt (2014), whenever an organization will do any kind of dealing with a supplier, the ethical consideration should be the priority for the transactions. In this way, they would not have to make any extra expenditure or take any extra time to look after thecorporate social responsibility while managing their supply chain (Cruz 2013).

As per Chkanikova and Mont (2015), the organization should pay surprise visits to the place where the suppliers are packaging manufacturing the products. At times, the organizations are unable to keep a check on the activities of the suppliers who are located at a distant (Lund-Thomsen and Lindgreen 2014). Ahi and Searcy (2013) feel that surprise visits will keep a check on the fact regarding whether the suppliers are abiding by the rules that have been agreed upon. Many organization keep a check on the materials that are being used to manufacture the products (Schaltegger and Burritt 2014). The surprise visits will also help in keeping a check on the condition in which the workers are working (Cruz 2013).  

Two types of data will be involved while carrying out the research work (Smith 2015). They are:

• Primary data
• Secondary data

The primary data will be collected from the managers of twenty-five organizations who are directly involved in the supply chain management of the organization. As the managers will be directly involved in supply chain management, they will be able to talk about the corporate social responsibility. The steps taken by the managers to enhance the corporate social responsibility while supplying raw materials or exporting finished products be assessed while getting the primary data.

The secondary data will be in the form the online sources, journals, books and other sources (Taylor, Bogdan and DeVault 2015). The works of the previous authors who have carried out research on similar topics will be taken into consideration (Bryman and Bell 2015). The examples of various organizations will enhance the research papers before carrying out the primary data collections. The secondary data will help in forming a base and the readers will also get an understanding about the various aspects of supply chain management and the involvement of the corporate social responsibility in that (Cohen, Manion and Morrison 2013). 

A researcher can take into consideration three types of data collection methods while carrying out a study (Zikmund et al. 2013). They are:

• Quantitative data collection method
• Qualitative data collection method
• Mixed data collection method

When the researchers takes into consideration a huge number of participants, then it is not possible to take into consideration the feedback of the participants in detail (Fowler Jr 2013). In such a situation, the participants are being asked to give the feedback to close-ended questions (Smith 2015).

Qualitative data collection method helps the researcher to go into deep about the feedback of the participants who are taking part in the research work (Taylor, Bogdan and DeVault 2015). The participants are being asked to talks about their issues in detail (Cohen, Manion and Morrison 2013).

Mixed data collection method is done when the research takes into consideration the feedback of the participants in detail as well as the feedback of another group of participants who are more in number and need to get their feedback in brief (Bryman and Bell 2015).

Research Objectives

For the present research, the qualitative data collection method will be taken into consideration. The managers will talk about the corporate social responsibility that has been integrated while managing the supply chain.  

Data analysis will be done with the help of narrative and comparative method (Zikmund et al. 2013). The feedback of the managers of different organizations will be compared. In addition to this, the works of various authors will also be compared. The information from various online sources will also be helpful in enriching the literature review (Fowler Jr 2013).

Ethics will be taken into account while carrying out the research work. Proper appointment will be taken from the managers while carrying out the work. If any of the managers is not ready to take part in the research work, the manager would not be forced to take part (Smith 2015). The manager might not be ready to reveal their name. The name of the managers will not be published if they are not ready to reveal their names (Bryman and Bell 2015).

The secondary data will also be retrieved ethically; many websites do not let the users to task the information without paying any amount of money (Taylor, Bogdan and DeVault 2015). The websites will not be hacked to get the information (Cohen, Manion and Morrison 2013).

The research methodology will help in answering the questions, as the feedback of the managers will be taken into account.  The secondary data will throw light on the issues that the company might face if they do not consider CSR while managing the supply chain. On the other hand, the feedback of the managers will be able to throw light on the steps taken by the organization to implement the CSR in the supply chain. The feedback the managers need to be descriptive to give an idea about the way CSR has helped enhancing the business. Qualitative data collection is necessary to get a descriptive answer from the managers.

After going through the issues, that many organizations have faced issues while managing the supply chain. It has been expected that the organization will keep in mind the corporate social responsibility while doing the transactions. Corporate social responsibility helps an organization to perform ethically in the external market and in future will help in gaining a good name in the competitive market. Managing supply chain ethically will give rise to sustainable business and in turn help in gaining more profit from the market. It is also expected that the manager will keep a check on the suppliers as far as ethics are concerned.

The research will help in strengthening the supply chain of an organization. Many workers are exploited while working for an organization. In addition to this, it has been seen that the nature is being exploited once the organization is exporting or importing the raw materials. The research will help the organizations to understand the importance of a sustainable and effective business transaction while working in the supply chain management. The research will provide a steps of development and implementation of CSR in supply chain globally.

References

Ahi, P. and Searcy, C., 2013. A comparative literature analysis of definitions for green and sustainable supply chain management. Journal of Cleaner Production, 52, pp.329-341.

Bryman, A. and Bell, E., 2015. Business research methods. Oxford University Press, USA.

Chkanikova, O. and Mont, O., 2015. Corporate supply chain responsibility: drivers and barriers for sustainable food retailing. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 22(2), pp.65-82.

Cohen, L., Manion, L. and Morrison, K., 2013. Research methods in education. Routledge.

Cruz, J.M., 2013. Mitigating global supply chain risks through corporate social responsibility. International Journal of Production Research, 51(13), pp.3995-4010.

Fernie, J. and Sparks, L., 2014. Logistics and retail management: emerging issues and new challenges in the retail supply chain. Kogan Page Publishers.

Fowler Jr, F.J., 2013. Survey research methods. Sage publications.

Goodley, S. (2017). Mike Ashley admits Sports Direct staff were not paid minimum wage. [online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/jun/07/mike-ashley-admits-sports-direct-staff-were-not-paid-minimum-wage [Accessed 20 Apr. 2017].

Hsueh, C.F., 2015. A bilevel programming model for corporate social responsibility collaboration in sustainable supply chain management. Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, 73, pp.84-95.

Lund-Thomsen, P. and Lindgreen, A., 2014. Corporate social responsibility in global value chains: Where are we now and where are we going?. Journal of Business Ethics, 123(1), pp.11-22.

Pagell, M. and Shevchenko, A., 2014. Why research in sustainable supply chain management should have no future. Journal of supply chain management, 50(1), pp.44-55.

Schaltegger, S. and Burritt, R., 2014. Measuring and managing sustainability performance of supply chains: Review and sustainability supply chain management framework. Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, 19(3), pp.232-241.

Smith, J.A. ed., 2015. Qualitative psychology: A practical guide to research methods. Sage.

Taylor, S.J., Bogdan, R. and DeVault, M., 2015. Introduction to qualitative research methods: A guidebook and resource. John Wiley & Sons.

Turker, D. and Altuntas, C., 2014. Sustainable supply chain management in the fast fashion industry: An analysis of corporate reports. European Management Journal, 32(5), pp.837-849.

Williams, R. 2013. How to ... build a socially-responsible global supply chain. [online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2013/jul/29/responsible-business-retail-supply-chains [Accessed 18 Apr. 2017].

Zikmund, W.G., Babin, B.J., Carr, J.C. and Griffin, M., 2013. Business research methods. Cengage Learning.