DBA Research Proposal

DBA Research Proposal

 

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DBA Research Proposal

Corporate Ethics, Compliance and Social Responsibility Management at Hewlett Packard Company

The Research Problem

Background

No one wants to be associated with a corporate body that is unconscious of the values and needs of the people surrounding its premises. Social responsibility is the term that can be used to refer to this consciousness to the immediate society (May, Cheney and Roper, 2007). This is perhaps the easiest way of attaining corporate identity and ensuring participation and acceptance by the immediate community in support of the business activities of the company. However, this concept has been reduced to an economic argument of business practice. In evaluating corporate ethics, compliance and social responsibility management, it is shown that the current trends, definitions, and the approaches adopted favor the economic argument of the business entity but ignores the ethical argument of the business practice. The real need is in how compliance and social responsibility management identifies the social needs in the business environment so that the strategies and tools selected to handle the social needs reflect sustainability of corporate ethics.

Problem Statement

Many companies engage in Corporate Social Responsibilities to reap financial gain (Andersen, 2010). Financial benefits become the basis for carrying out Corporate Social Responsibility. At least four out of five companies receive popularity and a boost in sales through CSR (Weather and Chandler, 2011).

 

 

The purpose statement

The purpose of this qualitative design is to examine corporate ethics, compliance, and social responsibility of Hewlett Packard Company during times of economic uncertainty. Data will be obtained from interviews carried out among the employees of the company. The scope of the study will be in New York City. The data from this study might influence social change by dissecting CSR and corporate ethics compliance based on ethical, economic and environmental factors surrounding Hewlett Packard and the community benefiting directly from HP. This study will be an important resource to corporate management in giving guidelines in the process of leadership selection for the management of CSR strategies of the company. This includes knowledge on how to identify leaders and the center of excellence and expertise in managing corporate ethics, compliance and social responsibilities. It will also suggest strategies and tools for integrating CSR in social responsibility management.

Nature of Study

The qualitative research focuses on exploring the natural ethical setting of Hewlett Packard Company. The research will expound on the perspective of the employees on the issue of ethics. Interviews will be carried out to establish the factors that affect management of ethics in the company (Patton and Patton, 2010). The choice of the qualitative method of research was influenced by its ability to capture concise details. Both verbal and non-verbal communication can be embraced. The quantitative method would not be able to record the nonverbal cues of the participants in the research (Creswell, 2010).

 

 

Research Question

How does Hewlett Packard respond to situations that challenge its ethical, compliance and social responsibility management?

Survey Question

1)      Does the company carry out its obligations to society?

2)      What are some of these obligations?

3)      Do you feel that the company carries out these activities to maintain a social image?

4)      What role has the management of the company played to ensure that the social activities of the company have an ethical basis?

5)      Are there ways you feel that the company can improve its ethical management?

6)      Does the company reflect the needs of the society in its strategies to maintain sustainable ethical values?

Theoretical Frame Work

The basis of the research is based on Aristotle’s theory of naturalism and virtue. The theory argues that the essence of pleasure is derived from doing that which not only satisfies an individual but the society (Graham, 2011). The theory provides a basis for the investigation of ethics in Hewlett Packard. This is because the theory creates a moral obligation to compliance and social management. This obligation is that every individual’s actions must be of benefit to the society (Balot, 2009).

 

 

 

Operational Definitions

Corporate social responsibility- the continuing commitment by businesses to behaving ethically and contributing to economic development while improving the quality of life of the work force and their families as well as of the community and society at large(Sims, 2009).

Ethics- the standards applied in the judgment of right and wrong behavior (Paliwal, 2008).

Assumptions, Limitations and Delimitations

While it is true that leadership and partnering are important in formulation of meaningful CSR programs the question that these researches fail to answer is the reason why CSR programs fail the test of time. Little is done on how these leaders can be selected to match the needs of the target groups. By failing to address this, the various aspects of CSR including corporate ethics, compliance, and management are put in an endless tussle. It is needful that approaching CSR program formulation begins with proper selection of the management team that is acceptable to the target group and keen about the interests of the corporation (Rowe, 2008).  

Significance of the Study

This study will be an important resource to corporate management in giving guidelines in the process of leadership selection for the management of CSR strategies of the company. This includes knowledge on how to identify leaders and the center of excellence and expertise in managing corporate ethics, compliance and social responsibilities. It will also suggest strategies and tools for integrating CSR in social responsibility management. The study also opens up the public to points of entry they need to look out for in determining an effective CSR program. In particular, by dissecting the quality of leadership, the stakeholders would find it easy to keep to the cultural, ethical and organizational traditions that would facilitate integrative programs (Sri, 2010).

Literature Review

A research carried out by Ruf, Muralidhar Brown, Janney and Paul indicates that there is a positive correlation between CSR and the financial performance of a company (Andersen, 2010). The research showed that companies that engaged in Corporate Social Responsibilities registered a high financial performance in their fiscal year. During this period of carrying out the research, Hewlett Packard was one of the most admired companies and registered both good financial returns and high social activities (Andersen, 2010). The subject matter would be establishing the moral grounds that exist in the social responsibility that was carried out by the company. A hypothesis is that the financial benefits could have been a driving force for the corporate social responsibility.

The ethical management of a company is dependent on its leadership (Cox, 2009). Integration of ethical values that are society sensitive is dependent on the leaders of a company. According to Cox, a leader must show concern for others and concern for the future. Ethical insight is a requirement for any leader seeking to succeed in the corporate world. Success is viewed in the aspect of meeting the needs of the society and achieving the corporate goals of the company. Internally, the management of a company must be able to foster trust, respect and diversity. These attributes must be placed in the context of future orientation. This is to imply that healthy relations must be built among the employees with the aim of seeking to achieve the company’s overall objectives. Firm leadership in laying the foundation for ethical values will ensure that employees work in tandem with these values (Cox, 2009).

The idea of corporate citizenship introduces an aspect of rights and duties of companies (Schwartz, 2011). Hewlett Packard expresses its value for corporate citizenship in its website. The company expresses that corporate citizenship is its main driving force towards pursuing success. Schwartz argues that corporate citizenship and corporate social responsibility are synonymous. However, he acknowledges the various arguments that express that corporate citizenship bestows more responsibility on companies. This is because of the loyalty that is brought out by the term citizen (Dayal-Gulati and Kellogg, 2008). Schwartz infers that the actions of Hewlett Packard are therefore driven by a sense of loyalty to its society.

Many approaches exist in incorporating ethical thinking in the members of a company. These approaches find their genesis in societal expectations (Brooks and Dunn, 2010). Brooks and Dunn analyze the various ways that ethics can be incorporated not only in the activities of a company but also in its accountability structures. The authors explain that the general effect of such efforts is that the stakeholders receive satisfaction and the company avoids cases of poor governance. The process of accountability will require the use of professional accountants. The accountants give the company credibility. This shows the corporation’s compliance and social management (Ruggiero and Ruggiero, 2010).

 

Reference List

Andersen, B. (2010). Bringing business ethics to life: Achieving corporate social responsibility. Milwaukee, Wisc: ASQ Quality Press.

Balot, R. K. (2009). A companion to Greek and Roman political thought. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.

Brooks, L. J., & Dunn, P. (2010). Business & professional ethics for directors, executives, & accountants. Mason, OH: South Western Cengage Learning.

Cox, R. W. (2009). Ethics and integrity in public administration: Concepts and cases. Armonk, N.Y: M.E. Sharpe.

Creswell, J. W. (2010). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed method approaches. Thousand Oaks, Calif: Sage Publications.

Dayal-Gulati, A., Finn, M. W., & KelloggSchool of Management. (2008). Global corporate citizenship. Evanston, Ill: Northwestern University Press.

Graham, G. (2011). Theories of ethics: An introduction to moral philosophy with a selection of classic readings. New York: Routledge.

May, S., Cheney, G., & Roper, J. (2007). The debate over corporate social responsibility. Oxford: OxfordUniversity Press.

Paliwal, M. (2008). Business ethics. New Delhi: New Age International.

Patton, M. Q., & Patton, M. Q. (2010). Qualitative research and evaluation methods. Thousand Oaks, Calif: Sage Publications.

Rowe, W. G. (2008). Cases in leadership. Los Angeles: SAGE Publications.

Ruggiero, V. R., & Ruggiero, V. R. (2010). Thinking critically about ethical issues. Mountain View, Calif: Mayfield.

Schwartz, M. S. (2011). Corporate social responsibility: An ethical approach. Peterborough, Ont: Broadview Press.

Sims, R. R. (2009). Ethics and corporate social responsibility: Why giants fall. Westport, Conn: Praeger.

Sri, U. (2010). CSR strategies: Corporate social responsibility for a competitive edge in emerging markets. Singapore: Wiley.

Werther, W. B., & Chandler, D. (2011). Strategic corporate social responsibility: Stakeholders in a global environment. Los Angeles: SAGE.

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