What are the key elements of IBM’s strategy for developing its resources toward social change?
Introduction
When IBM started undergoing global integration, their were doubts on whether that was indeed the right move in the first place and if so the necessary changes that were to take place and their effects on the company. Since its foundation the company had been positively recognized as being strongly committed to social responsibility. This social responsibility by the company had been maintained by a set of principles set up by the companies founder Thomas Watson. These principles were mainly geared towards the development and maintenance of strong corporate citizenship.
The fundamental tenets of achieving any form of any form of corporate governance is to ensure that corporate build bridges that link them with the communities that surround them. This enables the community to be able to look up to the corporate with respect and admiration and enables it to look less like a profit making machine and more like an organization that cares about the community. In essence these activities give the corporation a more humane aspect in the eyes of the community.
Corporate citizenship
Good corporate citizenship can be summed up in a number of ways. It basically boils down to the fact that good corporate citizenship encompasses companies exhibiting practices that not only benefit the employees of the company but also the company owners as well as the general public. Each company that has received an award for being good corporate citizens has its own way of enhancing its policies. Corporate citizenship has however, over the years been found to have four specific faces that comprise it. These faces include the economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic faces. The key question then would be how a company can incorporate this faces into there corporate citizenship.
Ethical face
IBM is known to have some of the best company values in the corporate circle. What the company decided to do when it went global is to refresh its values. This was achieved by introducing a mechanism that allowed for all stakeholders in the company to be able to discuss the company values freely. This allowed for especially the employees to be able to freely air their grievances without them feeling as if they were being victimized by the company. This ultimately helped improve on the production of the employees of the company since they felt like someone was listening to them. This method helped improve the work ethics of all employees of the company.
Legal face
For any good company to be successful in business it has to try its level best to avoid legal entanglements. This can only be achieved by striving for the highest standards at the place of work. By setting up clear business guideline conducts, IBM ensured that all stakeholders were clearly made aware of what to expect from the company as well as what was necessary in the company. This in turn minimizes the risks the company may face that may be brought about from mistakes that would have otherwise been avoided. A case example is sexual harassment suits that usually cost companies millions of dollars can clearly be avoided if a company clearly laid down the rules such as IBM did. This ensures that the stakeholders in the company are kept in check at all times. The company also ensures that it provides what it has promised to its customer for doing anything less would constitute a breach of trust which would eventually lead to legal problem.
Economic face
For a company such as IBM to continue its successful growth over the years it had to maintains its level of innovation. This is due to the fact that more and more companies are coming up with better ideas and if the company does not keep up then the competitors would take over. The company in this case decided to engage the community by interactions with them. These interactions ensured that the company was able to better understand these communities where their employees and customers came from and where the company operated from. IBM also selected experts from its company portfolio who were enjoined in community projects. This enabled the company save money that traditionally used to be donated by the company for such projects. The company also ensured that it entered many partnerships at its human resource level that ensured the success of the company while still giving back to the community.
Philanthropic face
Most companies participate in community based projects. This is what is usually termed as philanthropy and is usually very significant in the establishment of good corporate citizenship. IBM not only offers contribution to the community through corporate and employee gifts, the company ensures that it volunteers its time to these projects. This is achieved through its allowing of the companies employees and retirees to engage in community service. This not only assists the community but allows the participant employees the satisfaction of being of service to the community.
Conclusion
For any corporate citizenship to be successful, a company has to put in a lot of time and resources. Over the years, IBM has been successful in achieving this goal all thanks to strategic planning and a set of values set forth by its founder that the company has endeavored to adhere to and improve on. This ultimately has earned them not only employee trust, but trust from their customers as well as the larger global community in which they operate.
References
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Carroll, Archie B. "The four faces of corporate citizenship." Business and society review 100.1 (1998): 1-7.
Lindgreen, Adam, and Valerie Swaen. "Corporate citizenship: Let not relationship marketing escape the management toolbox." Corporate Reputation Review 7.4 (2005): 346-363.
Rubenstein, Doris. The Good Corporate Citizen: A Practical Guide. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, 2004. Internet resource.
Vidaver‐Cohen, Deborah, and Barbara W. Altman. "Corporate citizenship in the new millennium: Foundation for an architecture of excellence." Business and Society Review 105.1 (2000): 145-168.
