TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background
to the Study
1.2 Statement of the Problem
1.3 Objectives of the Study
1.4
Research Questions
1.5 Research Hypotheses
1.6 Research Methods
1.7 Scope and Limitation of the Study
1.8 Significance of the Study
1.9 Organisation of the Study
1.10 Definition of Terms
REFERENCES
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Theoretical Framework
2.3 Corporate Social Responsibility and Corporate Image/Reputation
2.4 Impact
of CSR in Community Development
2.5 Corporate Social Responsibility and Community
Development
2.6 Economical, Social and
Environmental Factors Influencing Corporate Social Responsibility (Corporate Social
Responsibility) Adoption in Nigeria
2.7 Problems of Corporate
Social Responsibility
2.8 Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) In Nigeria
References
CHAPTER
THREE
RESEARCH
METHODOLOGY
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Research
Design
3.3 Population of the Study
3.4 Sample Size and Sampling
Technique
3.5 Data Collection Method
3.6 Data Analysis Method
3.7 Limitations
REFERENCES
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA PRESENTATION,
ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Presentation and Analysis
of Questionnaire
4.3 Test of Hypotheses
4.4 Discussion of
Findings
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, IMPLICATIONS OF
FINDING, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Summary
5.3 Implication of the Study
5.4 Conclusion
5.5 Recommendations
5.6 Suggestions
for Further Studies
Bibliography
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
Academics and
practitioners have been striving to establish and agreed upon definitions of the
concept of corporate social responsibility for over 30 years. Davis (1960)
suggested that social responsibility refers to businesses’ “decisions and
actions taken for reasons at least partially beyond the firm’s direct economic
or technical interest.”
Eells and
Walton (1961) also argued that corporate social responsibility refers to the
“problems that arise when corporate enterprise casts its shadow on the social
scene, and the ethical principles that ought to govern the relationship between
the corporation and the society” (p.5).
Corporate Social Responsibility
(CSR), a concept that has been around for well over 50 years, has become
prominent again recently. Peter Utting (2005) notes that an increasing number
of transactional corporations (TNCs) and large domestic companies, supported by
business and community associations, are adopting a variety of so-called
voluntary CSR initiatives that incorporate, for example, ‘codes of conduct;
measures to improve environmental management systems and occupational health
and safety; company ‘triple bottom line’ reporting on financial, social, and environmental
aspects; participation in certification and labelling schemes; dialogue with
stakeholders and partnerships with NGOs and UN agencies; and increased support
for community development projects and programmes’.
Corporate social and environmental performance
have recently been placed under scrutiny by firm stakeholders; thus, CSR has
become a widely-applied concept and is an increasingly central concern in
business decision-making. CSR can be defined as “situations where the firm goes
beyond compliance and engages in actions that appear to further some social
good, beyond the interests of the firm and that which is required by law”. The
academic construct of CSR was first developed in the 1950s, but came to
prominence in the 1970s and 1980s in conjunction with increased public scrutiny
and focus upon the image of the corporation. Increased scrutiny has also
resulted in rapid growth of the number of instruments used to manage, measure,
communicate, and reward corporate social responsibility.
The scope of activities included in
CSR programmes is wide and subject to debate; however, most definitions include
three key pillars of economic growth, ecological balance, and social progress.
Elements within the framework of CSR include the adaptation of products and
public sector processes to address social values (such as eliminating excess
packaging), valuing human resources (such as personal development training and
Occupational Health & Safety programmes), improving environmental
performance through recycling and pollution abatement (such as emission
reductions), and supporting community organisations (such as by sponsoring a
local sporting club).
The impact and validity of CSR has
been the subject of ongoing discourse and development. While most theories
focus upon economics, politics, social integration, or ethics, the perspectives
within these areas vary widely. These perspectives include:
Ø solely focusing on profit-making,
because “few trends could so thoroughly undermine the very foundations of our
free society as the acceptance by corporate officials of social responsibility
other than to make as much money for their stockholders as possible”
Ø going beyond profit making by
examining the impact of business activities upon the social system
Ø going beyond economic and legal
requirements, resulting in an early conceptualisation of business ethics and
corporate citizenship
Ø voluntary activities, where the
marginal return on business expenditure on CSR is less than the returns
available from alternative expenditure
Ø economic, legal, and voluntary
activities
Ø concern for the broader social system
and
Ø giving
way to social responsiveness, the adaptation of corporate behaviour to social
needs, and corporate behaviour in congruence with prevailing social norms,
values, and expectations of performance.
Some
critics according to Carpenter, et al.
(2010) have argued that corporate social responsibility as implemented by some organisations
is mere facade. It is widely believed by many that corporate social
responsibility efforts are mere campaigns by organisations to promote corporate
brands. Many Nigerians are ignorant of corporate social responsibility; hence, whenever
an organisation does something ‘supposedly big’ for the society, such a company
and its management are eulogized for being caring and philanthropic. Public
sector in Nigeria are expected to manage the impacts of their operations by
adopting corporate social responsibility (corporate social responsibility)
programme. Onwuegbuchi (2009) in his
studies on corporate social responsibility among public sector firms reported
that most public sector in Nigeria embarked on corporate social responsibility
programme for the purpose philanthropic gesture and for government and public
appraisal. He further stated that some public sector applied environmental and
labour standards that suit them to satisfy basic requirements of the laws of
the country.
The
Nigerian government should ensure that public sector’ corporate social responsibility
policy entails self-regulation, adherence to rules and regulations, ethical
standards, environmental responsibility and sustainability, consumers’
satisfaction, employee welfare, communities and stakeholders benefits.
The
problems of the environment in which an organisation operates cannot be
ignored. Therefore, there is a need to examine the problems and prospects of
corporate social responsibility in Nigeria. In its stronger form, the concept
of Corporate Social Responsibility (corporate social responsibility) asserts
that corporations have an obligation to consider the interests of customers,
employees, shareholders, communities, as well as the ecological ”footprint” in
all aspects of their operations.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Despite
the huge attention recently given to corporate social responsibility (CSR) in
Nigeria, an area of concern still remain organisations in the public sector.
Most public sector organisations still do not see any reason for corporate
social responsibility policy acceptability. Companies that reluctantly accepted
and adopted the corporate social responsibility policy, do so for profit-making
purpose.
Another
lacking area on corporate social responsibility is that most of the studies on corporate
social responsibility were conducted on nations with developed economies and
their findings were found out not to be applicable to some developing nation’s
economy like the Nigeria. Therefore, this study will examine the problems and
prospects of corporate social responsibilities in Nigeria using the public
sector as a case study. It is ironic that these organisations take resources
from the external environment and it is only natural to give back what has been
exploited. Unfortunately, this anomaly is a norm in this part of the globe and
this cankerworm can only be ameliorated through research thesis such as this,
publication, media publicity, campaigns and awareness emphasising the
importance of corporate social responsibility in our society.
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The broad objective of this study is to examine the problems and
prospects of corporate social responsibility in Local Government area. Specifically,
the study is designed to:
1.
Investigate
how corporate social responsibility (corporate social responsibility)
influences community reputation in the Nigerian public sector.
2.
Cross-examine
the difference between level of perceived staffs patronage and brand loyalty among
companies that practices corporate social responsibility and organisations that
do not practice corporate social responsibility in the Nigerian public sector.
3.
Analyse how corporate social
responsibility adoption influences community development and profitability.
4.
Assess the economic, social and
environmental factors influencing corporate social responsibility (corporate
social responsibility) adoption among public sector in Nigeria.
1.5
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The public sector plays a significant role
in the growth and development of the Nigerian economy, and corporate social
responsibility ought to be a voluntary act by the public sector. It should not
have to be forced on organisations by the law, government, and civil rights
groups or by the communities. Social responsibility should be a deliberate
inclusion of public interest into corporate decision-making and the honouring
of a triple bottom line of people and profit making.
In this dissertation there are four specific
research questions coined after the statement of the problem and they are
listed below.
1.
Are there differences
between level of perceived staffs patronage and loyalty among companies that
practices corporate social responsibility and those that do not practice
corporate social responsibility in the Nigerian public sector
2.
What extent would corporate
social responsibility adoption influence community development?
3.
What are the economic, social
and environmental factors responsible for the poor performance of corporate
social responsibility (corporate social responsibility) adoption among public
sector in Nigeria?
1.5 RESEARCH
HYPOTHESES
To provide
empirical answers to the research questions above, the following research
hypothesis were developed. They are as stated below;
Hypothesis
I
H0: Corporate
social responsibility (corporate social responsibility) does not influence community
reputation in the Nigerian public sector.
H1: Corporate
social responsibility (corporate social responsibility) influences community
reputation in the Nigerian public sector.
Hypothesis
II
H0: There is
no significant difference between level
of perceived staffs patronage and loyalty among companies that practices corporate
social responsibility and those that doesn’t in the Nigerian public sector.
H1: There is a
significant difference between
level of perceived staffs patronage and loyalty among companies that practices corporate
social responsibility and those that doesn’t in the Nigerian public sector.
Hypothesis
III
H0: Corporate social
responsibility adoption does not influence community development.
H1: Corporate social
responsibility adoption influences community development.
Hypothesis
IV
H0: Economical,
social and environmental factors do not influence the performance of corporate
social responsibility.
H1: Economical,
social and environmental factors influence the performance of corporate social
responsibility.
1.6 RESEARCH METHODS
This study adopts descriptive survey method. Therefore, a
cross-sectional research design is used to design the methodology. The premise
for this research method is because data are collected from the population for
intensive study and analysis.
More often than not, the research cannot possibly study all subjects
or items in the population. Hence, a selective random sample from or a subset
of, the population was taken.
The reasons for random sampling are;
·
Among the elements (public
sector in Lagos state) that make up the population of study there are
similarities and therefore a study of few of these elements will give the
researcher sufficient knowledge of what is obtainable in the entire population
study.
·
It is cheaper to engage in the
random study
·
It allowed for quicker results
and more thorough research conduct.
·
It is practically impossible to
consider all elements in this research considering the limited time frame.
The
target population for this study arethe public sector
in Lagos State, but
due to large number of public sector
located in the State, some selected organisations will
be considered for this study. Primary data will
be gathered through questionnaire administered among randomly selected employees
of the selected companies. The data will be analysed using frequency and
percentage tables and a descriptive analysis will be carried out using a software
package for statistical analysistool.
1.7 SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY
The focus of this research would encompass the problems and problems
of corporate social responsibility and its impacts. The impacts of social
services by corporation shall be examined in relations to financial
performance, employee commitment, and community development. The study shall
focus on the Nigerian public sector. The perceptions of some key players of the
community shall be sought for the purpose of this research work.
Due to limited time of the study and the choice of using
questionnaire method, this research does not include an extensive benchmark of corporate
social responsibility practices in the Nigerian public sector, but is
restricted to a few organisations situated in Lagos, Nigeria. Though the study
uses vital insider information from these organisations, confidentiality of
names, data, facts and figures were treated with utmost secrecy and with a
caveat.
The reliability and validity of the data can also be verified and
contested, but of course that will not be necessary.
1.8 SIGNIFICANCE
OF THE STUDY
The importance of this dissertation is not just to analyse the
practice of corporate social responsibility but to understand the current
practice, the level of understanding of corporate social responsibility by public
sector organisations in Lagos state in relation to how it should be. It will explain
how corporate social responsibilities affect the performance of these firms.
The research would also help to explore the impact of corporate
social responsibility on employees’ commitment to the organisation.What part
does the employee play in corporate social responsibility? Can he influence the
decision making process? What is their
level of understanding of the concept?
1.9 ORGANISATION OF THE STUDY
Chapter one of the study provides background of the study, stating
the problem of the study and the research questions and hypotheses to be tested
in the study. It also highlights the significance of the study and scope of the
study.
Chapter two reviews related literature on problems and prospects of corporate
social responsibility of Nigerian public sector. It looks at different authors’
definitions of corporate social responsibility and its activities affects
organizations’ reputation, staffs patronage and brand loyalty. Chapter two examines
corporate social responsibility adoption influences community development and
profitability. How economic, social and environmental factors are responsible
for the poor performance of corporate social responsibility (corporate social
responsibility) adoption will also be extensively reviewed.
Chapter three discussed the research methods to be used in designing
the study which will include research design, population, sample size and
sampling technique, data collection and data analysis methods.
Chapter four presents the data gathered in frequency and percentage
tables. The data will also be analysed and research hypotheses will be tested
with chi-square statistical test.
Chapter five summarises the outcome of the study, draw conclusions
based on the findings of the study and make necessary recommendations.
1.10 DEFINITION
OF TERMS
Commitment:
Commitment as defined in this study means when an employee pledges his loyalty
to an organisation. It is an application, dedication or pledge to an engagement
or obligation that restricts freedom of action.
Community: Community
as used in this study means a group of people who
live in an area where an organisation operates. They are a group of people
having a religion, race, profession, or other particular characteristic in
common.
Social Responsibility: Social
responsibility as described in this study is a
demonstration of certain responsible behaviour on the part of public and the
private (government and business) sectors toward society and the environment.
Performance:
Performance is the manner in which an organisation
functions, operates, or behaves in the society.
Stakeholder: This study
describes a stakeholder as a person or group with a
direct interest, involvement, or investment in a business organisation e.g. the
employees, stockholders, and customers of a business organisation.
Hypothesis:A hypothesis
is a tentative statement about relationships that exist between two or among
many variables. It is a conjectural statement about relationships and need to
be tested and subsequently accepted or rejected.
Theories and laws: A
hypothesis, if it is true, state a law. Therefore, the hypothesis is a law like
statement. Law is defined as a statement of invariant relationship among
observable or measurable properties.
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