The varying initiatives used by the banking sector in advancing employee-focused corporate social responsibility is explored in the article through a research study conducted in New Zealand and Australia alongside other European based banks. Different banks are analyzed on the basis of their present stated corporate social responsibility that has been focused on employees. In addition, some o the policies used by the very banks based on reports obtained from the annual financial records, corporate social responsibility reports as well as information gathered from the web. These reports are then critically compared with up to date academic literature in addition to internationally recognized standards of regulation.
This detailed research method is aimed at obtaining a more balanced and justified report finding. According to the inferences deduced from the research study, the European bank are generally perceived and assumed to be more thorough and superb in their banking and reporting practices as far as employee-focused corporate social responsibility is concerned. Nonetheless, the Northern Hemisphere banks are also found to be less versatile in certain areas of corporate social responsibility that are focused on employees especially after the findings obtained from New Zealand/Australian banks were concluded. Finally, the research article recaps with the possible limitations of the study conducted and the other research areas which should be conducted in future.
The performance of employees and their general commitment to the well being of a organisation is paramount (Backhuas, et al., 2002). The research study conducted on the European banks focusing on the importance of social corporate responsibility on employees can be used to make business decisions in all levels of management. For instance, the research study is relevant in the sense that it is an eye opener to the management in regard to how employees behave with respect to corporate social responsibility. In addition, the commitment of employees in organizations in relation to corporate social responsibility is very important if any positive growth is to be realized. Organizations which optimize on the potential of employees in their different areas of skills, competence and talent are more likely to reap huge benefits alongside meeting the needs of consumers in the dynamic market (Bentley, 2006).
Moreover, there is a close link between organizational commitment and the general social corporate responsibility (CSR). Through well coordinated CSR, employees and above all, the target market will be able to build long terms relationship. This will in turn create a healthy ground for customer loyalty towards consuming products and services from a particular organisation.
The third most important link is that between organizational commitment and performance. The research study is also relevant to researchers in all business enterprises (Horrigan, 2010).
One significant attribute of employee-focused CSR is that organizations can boost the performance of their employees by engaging then in social exercises. One way through which this can be achieved is through involving the employees in the process of identification of the community needs as well as charting the way forward on how to meet the very needs (Idowu & Filho, 2009). Further, organizations ought to involve the welfare and overall well being of employees in the course of discharging corporate duties. Consumers complete the channel of production and as a result, their needs should also be met. The success of the benefits derived from employee-focused can only be met if the respective organizations comply with the government requirements.
All these initiatives works positively towards affecting the commitment of employees in organizations and at the same time boosting the performance of an organisation. Policies that are related to employees can also be designed with the help of the findings obtained from this research study. Well defined policies that favor rather than hamper the working morale of employees are necessary. Moreover, if employees feel that certain organizational policies are unfavorable and punitive to them, they will lose both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation to deliver their services. The level of loyalty will also be affected significantly leading to a lower degree of commitment to the organisation.
The employee-focused CSR research study is also an important point of reference for research studies that may be carried on the subject in future. The main motivating factor that led the researchers to conduct this study is the need to identify why some banks are more successful and profitable than others in the financial market and why customers will be drifted closer to certain organizations than others. From the findings obtained in the research, it is concluded that when the needs of employees and indeed those of consumers are given priority, an organisation will by no doubt be in the right path towards success.
One of the strongest points in the article is that the subject matter is indeed appropriate and applicable to the issue under discussion. The topic “A Research Note: Employee-focused corporate social responsibility reporting in the banking industry” (Raubenheimer, 2008) has been intensively and extensively researched based on the empirical study of European banks and their initiatives towards employee-focussed corporate social responsibility. The research study has also been backed up with pertinent citations form a variety of sources. Besides, each of the sub domains of the topic has been vividly discussed and as a result, it is quite easy for the reader to follow through.
The organisation of the research method used is also brilliant bearing in mind that the researchers began by collecting secondary data, expounded on their source of data as well as the method used to collect the data. For instance, secondary data was obtained from recent academic literature, reputable websites as well as regulatory bodies such as Charted Institute of Personnel and Development which is based in UK. In addition, the researchers made use of illustrations in form of diagrams. While reading through the content of the article, the reader is left with a feeling of being talked to and not talked down (Crane, 2008).
Another important strength of the article is the relevance of the content matter in relation to purpose of the research. The European/International banks are being compared with their counterparts in New Zealand and Australia. Indeed, the research methodology, results and inferences all abide by the initial purpose of the research.
The researchers also made some background study on the field of employee-focussed corporate social responsibility before embarking in the process of collecting basic data. Such a procedure is indeed necessary for a quality research process whereby background information is used to shed light on the type and nature of data required.
The tallying system used to rank performance indicators in terms of the scores obtained is a useful analytical point in the research. The table is comprehensive and the reader can glance over the key indicators easily. For instance, the research study found out that for banks which have their CSR reporting kept well, diversity is an important ingredient since its number of comprehensive scores was 8. The international reporting standards used as part of data sources for the research is welcome since such standards are have been reviewed objectively and recommended for use (Rettab, et al., 2009).
However, the article presents on major weakness in terms of the methodology used to gather research evidence. The main limitation of the article is that the researchers made use of secondary data in analysing the corporate social responsibility reporting of these banks. The study would have been profound and self supportive if primary data gathered directly from the target audience were incorporated in the research analysis (Hond et al., 2007).
In addition, the researchers analysed a very limited number of banks. The New Zealand/Australian banks that were researched on included the Australian and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ), ASB, BNZ and Westpac. The European/international banks that were subjected to research were The Co-operative Bank of England, HSBC Bank of England, Deutsche Bank of Germany, Barclays Bank of England and Danske Bank of Denmark (Raubenheimer, 2008. This was a relatively narrow array of institutions to analyze. In order to reduce the possible error margin, the researchers should have included wider pool of banks, with more variety in terms of geographical location. For instance, most of the banks analysed in Europe mainly came from England.
Another evident weakness in the research is that the banks that the researchers studied banks that are superior in the financial market and ignored the upcoming banks.
The assumption that sources of data used may have been adequate might be wrong. A critical look at corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports will often reveal that institutions may only keep and provide certain data that they think are relevant to them (Mallin, 2009).. Moreover, the use of websites may also prove to be unreliable owing to the extensive use of such sites in advertising. Consequently, some information obtained from websites can be skewed and lack objectivity.
This research study could have been made better by first of all gathering primary data to be used for analysis (Banerjee, 2007). Secondary data should be used sparingly since tan independent and customised study is necessary in order to draw comparative conclusions with previous findings.
After data collection, better analysis tool should be used. For example, the use of SPSS to analyse raw data. Thereafter, the data should be transformed into variables that can be understood. Using the structural equation technique, the data is then analysed and the right hypothesis is drawn. The structural equation assists in the process of identifying variables which are then used to develop the theory into practice. Although this method may be complicated and requires specialised skills, the outcome of any research study is expected to have a negligible error margin (Keinert, 2008).
Finally, it is imperative to note that in spite of the observed weaknesses in the research study carried out on the New Zealand/Australia and European/international banks, the finding were valid. According to other research studies carried out on the influence of employees on social corporate responsibility, it has been found that employee-focussed CSR has a positive effect on the performance of organisations (Albinger &Freeman, 2000). In addition, the research study was keen to include international banks in Europe thereby strengthening the overall outcome.
However, future research on the subject should attempt to explore an in-depth relationship between CSR and human resource issues and establish how the two components can be integrated for optimum organizational performance (Brammer, Millington & Rayton, 2007).
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