Balancing Profitability & Corporate Social Responsibility in International Business

Topic  2: Balancing Profitability & Corporate Social Responsibility in International Business

WORD COUNT 500 – 700 The companies are Pepsi and Apple

Directions

1. Complete the required readings and view the posted videos.

2. Select two multinational corporations where the MNCs are different industries (e.g., manufacturing/Ford and pharmaceutical/Merck). The choice of MNCs is yours. It is first-come, first-served. “Reserve” your two MNCs quickly. Post a response in Discussions to Topic 2. In the “Subject” box/line state the MNCs you selected. You must pick different MNCs.

3. Go to the two MNCs’ websites and locate their most recent CSR reports, also often called corporate citizenship, sustainability, or corporate responsibility reports. To locate the reports: Go to the Global Reporting Initiative’s superb database http://database.globalreporting.org/ (38,761 reports from 10,334 organizations), enter organizations name in search box. You may also try http://www.csrwire.com/reports or http://globaledge.msu.edu/industries/.

4. Compare and contrast the information provided by the two companies’ reports.

• Are there differences between the two reports in terms of the range of issues dealt with and the depth of coverage on specific issues, risk areas (labor, environment, human rights, supplier relationships, bribery, corruption, health, animal testing, etc.)? Do you think these differences can be explained by industry differences or the national origins of the MNCs or by the location of their foreign operations?
• Emerging markets present both opportunities (generate profits, create societal value) and risks (pose challenging operating environments) for MNCs. Are there examples in the two reports you chose of the companies going beyond their legal responsibilities to creating shared value, of how they are achieving the perception of being socially responsible by the local communities in the foreign countries where they operate? Be sure to apply Porter’s framework in your analysis.