BUSN11097 Procurement Systems Assignment Sample 2024
1. Abstract
1.1 Overall purpose
The overall purpose of this study is to give a brief discussion of corporate social responsibility in a country of UK and considerations in the procurement environment. The main aim of this topic is to identify and describe the concept and solution of the situation in the research topic area. The main purpose of this research context is to resolve the issues of the procurement environment process of CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) which can enhance business goodwill.
1.2 Basic design
The basic design of this study has presented the corporate social responsibility consideration in the procurement process of the environment of a company. This section includes the basic design such as literature review, numerous frameworks and methods which can help to evaluate the topic area. In addition, collect and use data for the data collection section to provide important and relevant information about this topic.
The research study also discusses and designs the basic limitations and advantages of this topic.
1.3 Major findings
This study has sought to explore the major findings in which researchers state their research process and policies in which they understand their policies and motivation. The major findings are discussed about the procurement process of CSR in a firm and their considerations. In addition, this essay suggested a brief description of CSR responsibilities consideration in the procurement process of a company.
1.4 Summary of conclusion
This section is intended to help and understand the importance of CSR consideration in the procurement process in the environment and discuss its importance in the CSR process. In this context, this section discusses major issues of CSR in ethics of procurement of a firm and also has been discussed the responsibilities of CSR in supply chain management.
Additionally, this aspect also identifies all conflicts, which are related to the procurement process of CSR environmentally in a company.
2. Introduction
This research topic is going to discuss corporate social responsibility in which is considered in the procurement environment. In addition, this research study also presents learning strategies that can help to enhance business activities and help to boost business productivity. CSR is a business model, which helps a firm for their betterment in future on all aspects like social, economic and including environmental.
It is defined as an integration of business and this section mainly discusses the main topic of CSR, which is an integration of business that operates on the value of a business in a company. CSR is important, in which it retains employees and attracts employees. This essay, this section is discussed and going to discuss the focus of CSR responsibility in the procurement environment.
Additionally, CSR gives effort and it also helps to foster more help to create a productive and positive work environment for firm employees. This section is focused on the main question and gives a brief discussion and information about the background of this topic. This topic presents detailed discussion and effective information in which it discusses the relevant information of this topic.
3. Literature Review
3.1 Importance of CSR in the procurement process
A firm is focused more on CSR responsibilities with a customer experience, which now drives brand loyalty, organizations and focuses on corporate social responsibility within the procurement of a company. As opined by Loosemore, (2016) an ethics of procurement process depends and becomes critical differentiates in a global market and a firm is more focused on strengthening their social, economical value in which they can develop their future practices.
In order to integrate the CSR responsibility in a procurement process and its importance is needed to clear the outline in which CSR can match their future policies and philosophies which can help a firm to set its aim. In addition, there is a global revolution in the procurement process in which sustainability is CSR.
3.2 Discuss the major issues of CSR ethics in procurement
Ethical procurement is not new in a business, it has been around for some time and many business activities support this process in their working environment. In addition, as global sourcing becomes the norm and it is important and becomes essential in a business that their CSR suppliers must be compliant (Packer et al. 2019). The social conscience helps a procurement process in a business to allow the best talent to drag the development of a business.
Attracts the right people: It is gaining importance and workers are working for companies that emphasize and enhance brand equity and boost up the quality of services. In addition, many procurement professionals are unable to identify all issues in the supply chain of a company. According to Crane et al. (2019), it is not a major financial implication but it also affects the firm integrity and brand image, which can decrease the organization goodwill. In which attracting the right people helps to set the main aim and helps to set an effective way for development.
Ethical procurement and recruitment: It is entered as a foregone conclusion and to hire only those who are well versed in policies regarding ethical matters in an organization (Zhang and Ahmad, 2021). This looks for supply chain and procurement, which can help a firm for their betterment in future and that is where companies with CSR are looking for potential employees in a company.
3.3 Relationship of CSR procurement and supply chain management
Social and environmental practices in procurement and purchasing
Social responsibility defines the performing of all purchasing activities following the CSR principles and considering those principles with the decision-making process (Van den Brink et al. 2019). In addition, if an organization complies with some environmental issues which include the application of procurement and process this can be an important activity in which companies can set their future and better future.
Besides that from a holistic perspective, in which choosing all the right suppliers in the CSR concept of supply chain process is to comply with some relevant rules and regulations in which they can adopt some CSR practices in their perspectives of a company.
3.4 Identify and resolve conflicts of procurement
A conflict occurs in a procurement process in which a person’s interests, affiliations or relationship prejudices affect the impartiality of a company. This includes a situation in which a person has been offered a gift and the organization is involved in bidding for procurement.
3.5 Triple bottom line theory
This research topic is contained in this section for sustainability economic development and which can help an organization for their wealth creation. It is a business concept that can measure social and environmental impact and in addition, it includes the financial performance of an organization. It can be broken down into “three Ps’ ‘: profit, people, and the planet Ozanne et al. (2016).
Profit: In a capitalist economy, an organization’s performance is based on financial performance and profit mainly generates shareholders. Strategic business planning and initiative ideas help to develop CSR responsibilities in the procurement environment process of an organization and set the main profitability of a firm.
People: It is important to make decisions of procurements in which CSR can set their responsibilities and traditionally businesses focused on their success. As firms are increasing their sustainability, they shifted their main focus on sustainability of creating value, which can set and remove issues of the procurement process (Hammer and Pivo, 2017). Firms should make some strategic planning which can help to remove those issues and which can affect change on a huge scale.
Planet: The final and main component of this theory is suggested and makes a positive impact on the planet. In addition, firms must have great responsibility for climate change and must take some initiative in resolving all issues of procurement proofs of CSR Ozanne et al. (2016).
3.6 Literature gap
This section aims to shed light on issues of procurement process in CSR. In this context, several literal sources have been taken to consider this research topic. The research topic discusses the gap of the literature section which states that the procurement issues of CSR (Corporate social responsibility), which is not recognized and found fully.
3.7 Challenges of CSR
In spite of the many positives of Corporate Social Responsibility, several challenges make it difficult to maintain CSR in the procurement environment. One of the major challenges that are present is that of the maintenance of transparency while conducting it. As opined by Edi (2020), on several occasions companies do not disclose the full information on how CSR is working towards achieving the goal of procurement environment.
As a result, questions start arising regarding the authenticity of the process making people question whether the company is working towards benefiting the environment. Another challenge that CSR faces is connecting it towards the profitability of the company and value chain. Often it has been seen that companies face issues in maintaining both the profitability aspect of the firm and also working towards developing a positive procurement environment.
It becomes further difficult when the value chain followed by the firm is not suitable for the procurement management strategy. Hence, aligning the strategies together to ensure profitability is one of the biggest challenges faced by CSR.
3.8 Conclusion
This research topic has the entire discussion on CSR considerations in the procurement process environmentally. In addition, the research topic is used as a theory to discuss its importance and also analyze how the issues should be solved through the help of this theory.
Apart from this, several studies have been concluded to support this research topic and factors are related to this procurement process of CSR, which are discussed through this entire section.
Analysis of several methods, have been concluded in this section and also illustrated to provide important information about the CSR of a firm. From entire discussion, it can be summarized and concluded with some successful implementation some changes in which it discusses CSR importance and try to resolve issues of procurement.
4. Methodology
4.1 Research Philosophy
The research philosophy that has been undertaken for the given paper is positivism research philosophy. The use of this philosophy has helped in providing a brief and concise idea about the given topic and has helped derive factual conclusions. One definite advantage of using this method is that it helps in identifying the patterns present in the data and analyzing it with respect to the given topic (Park et al. 2020).
Its reliance on quantitative datasets makes it reliable and authentic, along with following a well-defined structure. Thus, the use of this approach has helped in establishing conclusions that are based on facts.
4.2 Research Design
There are several types of research design present, each having a definite role to play when it comes to analyzing a research question. In the given study a descriptive research design has been considered. The use of a descriptive research design has helped in effectively analyzing the topic through the use of secondary research methods.
The use of this design is easy and quick to conduct and has been instrumental in finishing the paper on time. One of the many advantages provided is a detailed analysis of CSR and how it influences procurement environments within organizations.
4.3 Research Approach
There are three kinds of research approaches present namely, inductive, deductive, and abductive. The research approach that has been undertaken for the given paper was a deductive research approach. One of the major reasons for using the deductive approach in this paper was to outline the causes; a relationship that is present between CSR and procurement environment (Pearse, 2019).
The use of the deductive approach makes it easier to interpret the given data and align it with the topic. It is a time-saving approach as it only explains the given point and makes it concise. Thus, the use of this approach has helped it carry out an investigation effectively and thus outline relevant findings.
4.4 Research Strategy
Two major research strategies are present namely, quantitative research strategy and qualitative research strategy. The research strategy that has been outlined for the given project is by undertaking a qualitative research strategy. The use of qualitative research strategy has helped in providing an in-depth analysis regarding the topic and thus makes it easier to understand the procurement environment and how it relates to CSR (Mohajan, 2018).
The use of this procedure has helped in answering the questions of ‘why’ and ‘how’ and thus better explaining the topic.
4.5 Data Collection
The collection of data is an important part of the project as it helps outline the datasets based upon which the analysis has been conducted. In the following paper, a secondary data collection method has been used to better understand the relationship present between CSR and Procurement environment. The use of secondary data has helped make the procedure more cost-effective and also save a lot of time.
The use of data-sets that have already been developed has made it easier to have a better understanding of the topic and work towards establishing relevant results (Martins et al. 2018). Thematic analysis has also been conducted along with secondary data analysis as it has helped in highlighting the specific areas of CSR which need to be analyzed.
The use of this method helps in identifying a definite pattern present within the topic and analyzing accordingly. One of the major advantages of using this procedure is that it helps in properly describing the given dataset and is also quick to complete. Furthermore, the themes are adequately supported with president datasets and thus highlight the authenticity of the procedure.
5. Findings/Results and Discussions
5.1 The need for CSR
There lies an urgent need for organizations to be responsible to all their stakeholders when it comes to managing the operations of an organization. The use of CSR helps in making the organizations accountable for their actions to the company as well as the society. The role of CSR is significant in the case of environment procurement as it helps in providing a guideline for the organizations on how to approach the matter.
The role of CSR is that it works towards integrating policies with the objectives of organizations that work towards keeping the environment safe and making it less polluted.
It has been found that organizations that have a strong procurement policy tend to be more effective when it comes to managing the environmental aspect of their CSR policy. This step also worked in favor of the organizations and thus helped enhance its brand name (Pang et al. 2018). Studies have shown that consumers feel more secure when using brands that have a strong CSR policy.
The reason is that consumers feel more strongly towards organizations that work towards securing an environment with products that do not harm the ecosystem. Hence, the procurement policies are also effectively implemented by these organizations. Thus, it can be stated that there lies a strong relationship between the CSR of an organization and the implementation of its procurement policies.
5.2 Issues associated with CSR when considering procurement
The major components that create problems in managing CSR effectively considering procurement are that of ethical and economic issues. The ethical issues, which arose when dealing with procurement is: bribery and conflict of interest thereby making the entire procurement policy ineffective. There are several organizations that despite having a strong CSR policy fail to effectively implement the same due to inefficiencies and incompetence on their parts.
As a result, it is often bribery that gets them to falsely achieve their objectives without even actually working for them. As critiqued by Wolska (2017), the case of conflict of interest arises in areas where the interest of the organization fails to align itself with that of the society and as a result, a situation of conflict arises. In such cases, the organizations fail to maintain the CSR procurement policies and thus raise ethical issues.
The major economic issue that arises when dealing with CSR procurement is not having enough funds to maintain the CSR policies that would help in fulfilling the social objectives of organizations. The maintenance of CSR procurement policies is costly as it involves using sustainable methods in the entire supply chain and making the system sustainable.
Often organizations come short on funds causing them to let go of sustainable procurement. The use of CSR procurement also raises questions when it comes to earning profits making the entire process a costly affair (Bikefe et al. 2020). It should also be noted that there are no financial measurements present when it comes to measuring the financial benefits organizations can receive when implementing CSR procurement. It is because of these reasons that many organizations feel unsure and demotivated when implementing CSR procurement in their policies.
5.3 Analysis of CSR procurement and Supply chain management
There lies an urgent need for organizations to work towards the development of a supply chain that is sustainable and thus will work towards not polluting the environment. However, it has been found that there needs to be a structured system present in the supply chain to make CSR procurement policies a success. In the last two years, because of the pandemic, the supply chain of the organizations has been heavily affected with many suppliers going out of business and rendering the supply chain unstable (Schonherr et al. 2017).
Thus, many researchers are of the opinion that the best way for organizations to make CSR procurement effective is to start from scratch and work towards implementing policies that will make it sustainable.
The role of supply chain management in any organization is indispensable as it outlines the entire system of procuring goods and services. The supply chain consists of all the steps from the development of a product right to its delivery to the consumers. The use of sustainable practices in the supply chain not only makes the procurement environment friendly but also works towards making it efficient.
According to Ashrafi et al. (2020), the importance of sustainability has increased further owing to the recent developments in climate change and the impact it has on the future. It is high time for organizations to come together and work towards developing policies that would work towards keeping the environment clean and raising awareness in the community.
In order to do so, organizations need to take the first step towards developing sustainable supply chains. The role of CSR procurement is important in this juncture as it helps in intermixing the goals of the organizations sustainably to achieve the CSR objective.
5.4 The conflicts present in procurement
The major conflicts that arise when dealing with CSR procurement are mainly through the process of implementation. There are lots of issues when it comes to implementing sustainable practices within an organization. The first issue that arises is the implementation of change.
No organization is adequately prepared when it comes to starting using sustainable practices. The employees are not skilled enough, nor does the current system make it easy for the implementation of sustainable practices. This causes conflicts to arise as many employees find it difficult to manage and go through the change process.
There also lies the fear amongst the employees that any kind of change would mean laying off old employees and hiring skilled employees who are adept at working with sustainable practices (Burritt et al. 2020). Another issue that raises conflicts in organizations when it comes to implementing CSR procurement is that there needs to be proper training and development of the employees required which organizations fail to provide.
The lack of skills makes it difficult for the organizations to effectively implement CSR policies and as a result, conflicts arise and the organizations fail to achieve their CSR objectives.
5.5 The hurdles present in managing CSR
There are several hurdles present when it comes to the implementation of CSR procurement policies in organizations. It should be noted that the approach of implementing CSR has a significant role to play when it comes to making a CSR procurement policy effective.
The consensus regarding how an organization should work towards implementing CSR policies is different for different organizations. Some organizations believe in restructuring the policies and structure of the organization to make it more sustainable, while other organizations are more interested in fulfilling their CSR objectives outside the organization. The approach taken by the organization is often the measure of success of the CSR policies, implemented by these organizations.
The employees also pose hurdles when it comes to implementing CSR procurement policies. The implementation of sustainable practices is costly and thus, this forces the organization to restructure its budget to meet sustainable demands. However, it is the costs of the employees that are cut and they have to suffer a lot as a consequence (Kumar, 2018).
Thus, instead of spending more on implementing sustainable CSR policies, the money went to creating strong working conditions for the employees. Another major struggle that companies have to face when implementing CSR procurement is the interference by the investors into the proceedings of the company.
The investors felt that since they had a significant share in contributing towards the budget of the company, they had a right to demand the organizations to develop policies benefiting the inventors. This not only raised questions on business ethics but also made it difficult for organizations to implement CSR policies. Hence, it can be stated that there lies a lot of hurdles when it comes to the implementation of CSR procurement and developing a sustainable supply chain in organizations.
6. Recommendations and Conclusions
6.1 Conclusion
After a thorough analysis of the paper, it can be stated that Corporate Social Responsibility has a significant role to play when it comes to the implementation of environmental procurement. The role of CSR is very important as it helps in outlining the social as well as the environmental responsibilities of an organization.
Organizations need to have strong CSR policies as it helps in showing the commitment of the organization towards social causes and contributing to the welfare of the community. As it has been observed from the review of literature, the need for CSR is embedded in committing the organizations known to the public when it comes to maintaining the environment.
It also works towards highlighting the important role organizations have to play when it comes to showing their accountability towards preserving the environment. It also talked about the challenges present which make it difficult to implement CSR procurement effectively.
However, it should also be noted that there are several gaps present when it comes to implementing CSR procurement within the organizations. Using a combination of positivism, deductive approach, and descriptive research design, the paper has adequately outlined and analyzed the importance of CSR procurement and how it can contribute positively towards the growth of organizations.
6.2 Recommendations
There are several issues present when it comes to the proper implementation of CSR procurement in organizations. As opined by Jose (2017), it can be stated that it is because of these challenges that organizations find it difficult to implement CSR policies effectively. The following recommendations have been provided which may help solve these issues and make the implementation more efficient.
- One of the major issues that have been identified is insufficient training provided to the employees to manage sustainability in the supply chain. Hence, the organization when implementing CSR procurement in its organizations needs to adequately prepare the employees by training them on how to manage sustainable practices.
- The second issue that has been identified is the interference by the investors which caused issues for organizations when it came to managing their systems. The best way to mitigate this issue is by sending out monthly or bi-annual reports which outline the improvements made in terms of sustainability through the implementation of CSR procurement.
- The management of the supply chain is another issue that caused the implementation of CSR difficult. Hence, the best way to rectify this issue is by conducting a change management procedure that will work towards changing the systems within the organization gradually and slowly infusing it with sustainable practices.
References
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