Goodbye CSRGOVE

"All Great Things End"

It's sad to say, but it's true. Nothing lasts forever. As the term is nearing it's inevitable end, it's time for me to bid farewell to this course that has helped me a lot not only in business but in myself, as well.

Corporate Social Responsibility and Corporate Governance thought me so much. Despite the fact that some lessons were similar to those that I have learned in other courses, I could say that it is still quite unique compared to those others in a way that those courses taught me to help others as a Lasallian achiever while CSRGOVE taught me to help as a Lasallian business leader. I gave emphasis on business because I'm a business student and I am being trained on being a business leader in the future as well.

There are a lot of things I have learned in this course but the ones that I loved the most would have to be the business model canvas, and the 3Es and 3Ps. These two are actually related. These two would always remind me that doing business isn't only about the money but also about giving back to society and to the world. With these, I could tell if our key activities would be efficient, effective and equitable for every stakeholder.

CSRGOVE has been a great experience for me and the things that I have learned in this class shall always be cherished.This may be the end of this class but I know that this isn't the end of my learning. I know that I will encounter these things again in the future and it'll be like saying hi to an old friend.

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Business Case - Fashionforward!

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For our final paper for the term in CSRGOVE, we were tasked to analyze an article and formulate a solution to the problem given, while at the same time, integrating what we have learned throughout the past sessions, namely the business model canvas and the 3Ps and 3Es.

The article, entitled Easy on the Wallet or Easy on the Earth: A Business Case on Sustainability, focuses on Carly LeBlanc, a student intern who was hired by Fashionforward!, an online auction site, to look for individuals who may be interested to be a member of the said bargain site by paying the $30 registration fee. Now, LeBlanc was able to register 300 new members after promoting the company in her campus. She was able to attract more people by telling them that they would receive free shirts after registering. The dilemma here is that Carly now needs to choose on which company to buy the shirts she would be giving. The first one would be a low-cost company in China that would sell the shirts to Carly for $1,100 ($5.50 per shirt) with the delivery free of charge. However, the disadvantages of this sale would be that the workers of this company are suffering from low wages, harsh working conditions,and poor safety regulations. On the other hand, the fair-trade company located in San Francisco produces shirts that are organic, eco-friendly, and are of high quality. The workers here are well-paid and are working in conditions that are suitable for them. The shirts produced however, would cost $28.65 per piece and $8,595 in total. So, which company should our heroine pick?

Our group's stand in this is that Carly should choose the fair-trade company to supply the shirts since we believe that it is the most ethical thing to do. By choosing this supplier, the business model canvas would be aligned with the principles we have formulated, which means that it would yield an eco-friendly, socially responsible and sustainable output.

Another benefit from this decision would be that it satisfies the triple bottom line. Choosing the Fair Trade suppliers is beneficial to the first P, which is Planet, since the utilization of eco-friendly materials, along with eco-friendly based operations will lessen wastes and eventually help restore the environment. It also benefits the second P, People since the employees who are producing these Fair Trade shirts are treated well, they are provided with safe working environments, and are compensated sufficiently; this ensures that their physical as well as mental well-being is kept optimal. The employees are not the only ones benefitting from this, the customers are as well, since they will be provided with high quality, well-made shirts that are eco-friendly. Lastly, this decision also satisfies the third P, Profit since our brand’s eco-friendly or ‘green’ reputation will contribute to Fashionforward!’s brand equity. Once consumers are aware of that reputation, we believe that this will help in making our operations profitable in the short-term, as well as the long-term. 

Business Model Canvas

The Objective

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A lot of people go into business for the sole purpose of earning profit. However, is this supposed to be the main purpose of businesses? Numerous businessmen think of it this way but I believe that there is something more to business instead of profit.

Actually, we discussed this topic in one of our class sessions. We compared business to one's life. In analogy with the person, profit is like food, water, and air which supplies our body with nutrients but, a person's goal in life isn't to eat, drink, or breathe. There's something more to a person's life and that's the same when it comes to business.

The income obtained isn't the main objective of companies. It shouldn't be. There are different goals for every company but I believe that the main objective should be to help give back to the community and to the environment which would in turn, help make the world a better place to live in.

The 3Ps and the 3Es

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The triple bottom line is a framework in business which considers the social and environmental stakeholders in making decisions while taking into account the financial aspect as well.

As a business student, I have encountered the three terms which make up the triple bottom line a lot - People, Planet, and Profit or in short, the 3Ps. These were mentioned numerous times in my classes and I could really see their significance in the business world.

In one of our sessions in CSRGOVE, our professor further discussed on this topic and he even told us about his thesis which is related to this. His team proposed a new framework that go hand-in-hand with the triple bottom line. They called it the 3Es which consists of efficiency, effectiveness, and equity.

Efficiency could be accomplished when activities done by businesses reduce/eliminate harm in the environment, follow ethical and social responsibility, and are cost-efficient.

Effectiveness gives emphasis more on the restoration on the environment, solution to the root problems of society, and the development of activities into investments for the 3Ps.

Equity, on the other hand, focuses on how operations today could still yield enough resources and benefits to the future stakeholders, and ensure that the costs to be incurred will not be a hindrance to the business's growth.

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I believe that this framework would be a great aid when it comes to analyzing problems and making decisions in the business industry when it comes to sustainability because of its relevance to the triple bottom line.