microsoft corporate social responsibility essay

Microsoft Corporate Social Responsibility Analysis

What exactly is corporate social responsibility? Why Microsoft has been ranking consistently at the top for CSR? We shall take a look at these questions to understand how Microsoft Corporate social responsibility is a great case in CSR. 

The need for Corporate social responsibility   

The world has improved a lot since the 19th century, primarily due to the industrial revolution. However, this growth came at the cost of the rapidly depleting environment. The second change that happened was that companies realized over a period of time that it was not just the shareholders who were important. Companies are increasingly becoming more responsible towards external stakeholders. Industries realized that their sole purpose was not to make money.  

Here comes the CSR part. The corporate social responsibility of a firm is all about integrating external stakeholders like the environment and society into the business decision-making process. Therefore, the goal of corporate social responsibility is to reduce the negative impact of any company’s actions along with these directions. The ultimate goal of CSR is to create positive action for society as well as the environment. It should be noted that these benefits are not coming at the cost of the profit of the organization. 

Initially, there were only manufacturing-related companies that took part in CSR activities. However, over a period of time, even software companies like Microsoft got into it. Let us find out why. 

An overview of Microsoft’s approach towards CSR  

Microsoft is one of the top companies in the world. Microsoft has taken a proactive approach to corporate social responsibility. One of the ways of knowing whether the firms are serious about CSR is through their annual reports. Annual reports are documents that are primarily targeted towards investors. A company may talk about its responsibilities towards society and its environment. This shows their attitude towards these issues. Microsoft releases its corporate sustainability report based on the Global Reporting Initiative guidelines. 

Microsoft has defined some of the broader CSR goals as: 

• Empowering people 
• Strengthening the communities
• Protecting our planet 

In order to fulfill these broader goals, they have formulated a CSR team. This team is called the Microsoft Technology and Corporate Responsibility or the TCR team. Apart from the TSR team within Microsoft, they are also active through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Microsoft founder Bill Gates has donated a major part of his wealth for philanthropic purposes. This foundation looks at operationalizing some of these philanthropic goals. 

“We are grounded in creating local economic opportunity in every community, helping to unlock the power of technology to address our customers’ most pressing challenges.” – Satya Nadella 

Microsoft CSR case study  

Now we shall look at some of the live examples of how they have  executed the CSR . They have been working broadly on the aspects of empowering people. Additionally, they have also looked at ways in which Microsoft as a technology enabler, can help communities across the world. Thirdly, Microsoft is also committed to reduce the carbon footprints of its product in order to protect the environment. 

• It should be noted here that some of the actions are driven by philanthropic motives while some may be simply following an overall industrial trend. However, the attitude and effectiveness in these aspects are a testament to a company’s CSR activities. 

Microsoft launched a solar project in Nigeria to help the local community. Through this project, they have established a center with solar panels to charge the batteries. They have also used Microsoft Azure, their cloud technology to optimize the inverters. This has resulted in a self-sustaining and environmentally friendly solution for the people. 

Empowering  people  

Microsoft is using cloud technology to empower office workers. They have reported that their use of Microsoft software helps the team in building a more powerful workplace. Firstly, they have changed the format of the delivery of the Microsoft Office. Microsoft Office now also comes as a cloud subscription under the name of Office 365. Using this technology, they’re trying to make the workplace more sophisticated. They also attempt to make the applications more secure for the end-users. 

Secondly, some of their software offerings are also free of cost. It is interesting to note that their best-selling office applications can be used for free. Office 365 comes with Microsoft Word, Powerpoint, and Excel. This free package could be quite helpful for people working in smaller teams who cannot afford expensive software. Microsoft also attempts to provide higher accessibility in its software. These features are quite helpful for people who are differentially abled. 

Strengthening the communities  

They have attempted to strengthen the community through the Microsoft Corporate social responsibility team. One of the ways in which they are trying to strengthen the community is through inclusive hiring. In closing, hiring is a process in which a company attempts to have equal opportunity for everyone. It can also mean affirmative actions to provide better opportunities for underprivileged classes. 

Secondly, they also attempt to provide some of the toolkits for development. These toolkits could be helpful for startups. They are also used by non-government organizations. 

Thirdly, Microsoft has organized skill development and educational courses. Some of the students find these courses particularly useful. Microsoft also collaborated with the Markle Foundation to train around 50,000 workers. 

Protecting our planet  

It is easier to visualize automotive as environmental pollutants. However. IT products and services can also have an environmental impact . Microsoft has said that it is working on three broader environmental areas. 

Firstly, they’re trying to reduce the impact through lower carbon footprint and energy usage. Microsoft was one of the first companies to achieve 100% carbon neutrality in 2012. Furthermore, a lower carbon footprint means that using more eco-friendly materials in their products. A life cycle assessment of the materials helps in lowering carbon footprint.

Secondly, they attempt. To preserve the water and natural ecosystems. Microsoft has laid down certain rules to increase water efficiency. There is also scope to help the affected counties in overcoming the shortage of potable water. Microsoft is also working towards net-zero water certification for its establishment. 

Thirdly, Microsoft attempts to reduce the impact of its operations on the environment. Microsoft has taken steps to increase the usage of renewable energy. They have achieved this through. Using solar energy for some of their energy needs. Additionally, they have also looked at ways to minimize waste. In their products, they have achieved this through smaller and lighter packaging. Microsoft has also partnered with other enterprises too. They have created an extensive recycling program for their products. 

The way forward for Microsoft’s corporate social responsibility   

Microsoft’s corporate social responsibility team has already laid out some of the goals for the future. Some of these goals are: 

• Using AI for ecological conservation. They use AI to analyze geo-spatial data faster and more precisely. This can help build models to conserve and environmentally sensitive areas. 
• One of the contributors to the environmental impact of a product is transportation. We can reduce this impact primarily by reducing the weight of the products. Microsoft plans to reduce the weight of its product by 20%. They have projected that this would reduce greenhouse emissions by around 29%. 
• A simple optimization of the CPU can lead to lower energy consumption. Microsoft plans to use this approach to help people get better battery life as well as reduce the energy consumption of their products. 
• Microsoft also plans to poise and mobilize people for natural disasters and humanitarian work. They said that they are collaborating with other organizations to help achieve these goals. 

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Microsoft Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): a brief overview

The technology giant won a number of awards and achievements for its responsible behaviour. These include ranking #1 on Corporate Responsibility Magazine’s 100 Best Corporate Citizens 2018, ranking #1 for both, Environment and Social Score which measures corporate performance using more than 200 factors. Moreover, Microsoft’s behavior as a socially responsible company has earned number 2 spot on JUST Capital’s Top 10 Tech Companies.

Microsoft CSR Programs and Initiatives

Microsoft Supporting Local Communities

• Microsoft employees donated USD158 million to non-profits serving its local communities and the world
• The Lagos Solar project in Nigeria uses batteries that are charged by solar panels, along with intelligent inverters connected to Microsoft Azure Internet of Things technology
• International software provider Temenos relies on Microsoft Cloud services to reach people across Myanmar who lack access to banking, giving them opportunities for more financial stability and access to microcredit and other financial services.
• Microsoft’s 4Afrika Initiative provides a set of programs to empower African youth, entrepreneurs, developers and business and civic leaders
• YouthSpark initiative aims to empower 300 million young people around the world with opportunities for education, employment, and entrepreneurship

Microsoft Educating and Empowering Workers

• Microsoft collects employee feedbacks through multiple channels and acts on them. As part of this initiative nearly 85 percent of our more than 117,000 employees responded employee survey
• 92% of surveyed stated they feel proud to work at Microsoft and 87% of employees would recommend Microsoft as a great place to work
• 90% of Microsoft’s employees are eligible for various bonuses

Labour and Human Rights at Microsoft  

• Since 2016, Microsoft has had a formal commitment to respect human rights as a signatory of the United Nations Global Compact
• The technology company adheres to its Global Human Rights Statement
• Microsoft provides health and wellness programs for families, paid vacation, paid sick leave and paid time off for new parents

Employee Health and Safety at Microsoft

• The Microsoft CARES employee assistance program, offers free access to services including personal and family counselling, stress management, and referrals for child/elder care.
• The Microsoft Ergonomics Program offers the workforce ergonomic assessment and training programs and special furniture, equipment, and software for medical needs.
• The company conducts Voice of the Supplier Surveys in an anonymous manner to monitor the adherence to health and safety and other important CSR-related principles.

Microsoft and Gender Equality and Minorities

• The company is one of the first Fortune 500 companies in the world to offer domestic partner benefits for Microsoft LGBT employees
• Since 2016 the company has nearly doubled the number of women corporate vice presidents – both overall and in technical roles
• African American/Black and Hispanic/Latino representation among the workforce reached increased by 33% in 2017
• Microsoft spent USD3 billion with minority, disabled, veteran, and woman owned businesses in FY18

Energy Consumption by Microsoft

• 44% of the electricity used by Microsoft data centres comes from wind, solar, and hydro power electricity
• Air cooling techniques used at Microsoft data centres result in 20-30 percent lower energy consumption
• Microsoft leveraged its corporate campus to help create an analytical software solution that prioritizes maintenance and repairs our 125 Puget Sound buildings based on energy and cost savings potential
• All new data centres of Microsoft have an average 1.125 Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE), which is one-third less than the industry average data centre PUE of 1.7.

Water Consumption by Microsoft

• Air cooling techniques used at Microsoft data centres result in 90% lower water consumption
• In India, the company captures rainwater for irrigation, and on its Hyderabad campus, it treats sewage for use in landscaping, resulting in zero sewer discharge.
• Paris office also uses captured rainwater for irrigation and flushes fixtures.

Waste Reduction and Recycling by Microsoft

• Microsoft Real Estate and Facilities teams around the world implement waste minimization programs, including office supply reuse, recycling, and in many cases, composting
• Company’s Redmond, Washington dining facilities divert 99 percent of the waste from the landfill by recycling, using compostable tableware, and adapting our menu to minimize food waste.

Carbon Emissions by Microsoft

• Since July 1, 2012, Microsoft’s global operations have been carbon neutral.
• The company has purchased more than 14 million megawatt-hours (MWh) of green power and reduced company-wide emissions by more than 9 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (mtCO2e).
• Microsoft has supported the lives of more than 7 million people in emerging nations through carbon offset community projects.
• Company’s carbon offset project portfolio represents more than 600,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions

Microsoft and Sustainable Sourcing 

• The company evaluates the operations of its suppliers against 23 different ethical, social, and environmental risks
• Microsoft’s Device Supply Chain group (DSC) and indirect purchasing group oversee dedicated programs to ensure that its standards are met and to build partnerships with suppliers that advance social and environmental goals
• Company’s Global Procurement Group created a formal responsible sourcing function in 2013 to consolidate and enhance its responsible sourcing activities with our indirect suppliers
• More than 100,000 device and packaging components provided by suppliers have been evaluated for compliance by Microsoft

Microsoft’s other CSR Initiatives and Charitable Donations

• The International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) has recognized Microsoft for having the ‘second largest number of certified privacy professionals (CIPP) of any company.
• Microsoft employs more than 50 people whose primary role is investigating potential breaches of company policy, and an additional 120 people whose primary role is compliance
• Microsoft has launched Office 365 for Nonprofits in 92 countries around the world, providing USD55 million worth of Office 365 subscriptions to nearly 11,500 nonprofits globally
• Microsoft completed the Global Network Initiative (GNI) Phase III Assessment, conducted by an independent assessor, and the GNI Board determined that Microsoft is compliant with the GNI Principles on Freedom of Expression and Privacy
• The company began the audit of its non-hardware suppliers against 23 different ethical, social, and environmental risks by country and by commodity category

Microsoft Corporation Report contains a full analysis of Microsoft corporate social responsibility including Microsoft CSR issues. The report illustrates the application of the major analytical strategic frameworks in business studies such as SWOT, PESTEL, Porter’s Five Forces, Value Chain analysis, Ansoff Matrix and McKinsey 7S Model on Microsoft. Moreover, the report contains analyses of Microsoft leadership, business strategy, organizational structure and organizational culture. The report also comprises discussions of Microsoft marketing strategy and its ecosystem.

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Microsoft Stakeholders & Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy

Microsoft Corporation’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy is founded on a number of international concerns regarding the information technology, software, and online service business. Archie Carroll developed the corporate social responsibility model to highlight the mutual influence among stakeholders and businesses. In Microsoft’s case, stakeholders include persons and groups with significant interest in how the company performs and interest in the impact of its computing products. As a major player in the global market, the firm must maintain an evolving corporate responsibility strategy to ensure that corresponding programs satisfy stakeholders’ interests and enhance corporate and brand image, which is a strength identified in the SWOT analysis of Microsoft . Corporate citizenship and corporate social responsibility programs strengthen the IT company’s competitiveness.

Using a continuously improving corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy, Microsoft Corporation addresses stakeholders’ interests that significantly impact the business. The company satisfies such interests through appropriate corporate citizenship programs based on international standards and guidelines. Microsoft’s mission statement and vision statement determine the design of these CSR programs for sustainability, green technology, and business ethics.

Microsoft’s Stakeholder Groups & CSR Initiatives

A variety of stakeholders and their interests impose a wide scope of issues on Microsoft Corporation. However, the company focuses on the most significant interests through its corporate social responsibility initiatives, which emphasize human rights, environmental sustainability, and business transparency. The following are the major stakeholder groups significant in Microsoft’s business, arranged according to the company’s prioritization in its CSR strategy:

• Customers (highest priority)
• Communities
• Governments

Customers (Top-Priority Stakeholders) . Considering Microsoft’s business growth needs, customers are the top-priority stakeholder group in the company’s corporate social responsibility strategy. These stakeholders are mainly interested in reasonably priced effective products, along with high quality customer service. These interests significantly influence the company in terms of customer retention and related sales revenues. Microsoft’s corporate responsibility approach satisfies these interests through innovation to provide advanced computer hardware and software products to customers. In addition, feedback systems enable the company to address customers’ complaints and issues encountered in using the products. To further satisfy the interests of this stakeholder group, Microsoft offers discounts to some customers. For example, students and veterans can purchase the company’s computing products at discounted prices. These discounts are also implemented as a part of Microsoft’s marketing mix (4P) . Thus, Microsoft’s corporate social responsibility strategy effectively satisfies the concerns and interests of customers as the most significant stakeholder group.

Employees . Human rights are among the main thrusts in Microsoft’s corporate social responsibility programs. As such, employees are the second-priority stakeholder group in the company’s CSR approach. The interests of employees are competitive compensation, as well as fair labor and employment practices. These stakeholders are significant because of their direct effect on Microsoft Corporation’s organizational performance through human resource competence and productivity. To satisfy employees’ interests, the company’s corporate responsibility strategy involves highly competitive compensation along with continuous improvement in employment practices to protect workers’ rights. For example, Microsoft offers high salaries for qualified workers, in order to compete with technology firms, like Apple , Google (Alphabet) , and Amazon . Also, Microsoft maintains training and leadership development programs to address workers’ interests in the computer technology business. These CSR programs support human resource improvement while increasing morale and competence among employees. Based on these initiatives, Microsoft’s corporate social responsibility strategy satisfies the interests of employees as a major stakeholder group.

Communities . Communities are among the major stakeholder groups in Microsoft’s corporate responsibility strategy, considering that the company includes environmental sustainability as one of its CSR thrusts. Communities are interested in corporate support for development, such as through livelihood programs and environmental protection. These stakeholders are significant because they affect Microsoft’s corporate and brand image. For example, customers use community impact as a criterion in evaluating brands. In its corporate social responsibility strategy, Microsoft uses a number of programs, including discounts for students, military personnel and veterans, as well as donations and assistance through Microsoft grants and charity programs. Such discounts increase the accessibility of the company’s products for students, military personnel and veterans. On the other hand, Microsoft Philanthropies provides grants and donations for deserving nonprofit organizations with programs that support community development, such as education and youth support programs. Moreover, the emphasis on environmental sustainability in its corporate social responsibility strategy represents Microsoft’s commitment to minimize the environmental impact of its business. For example, the company maintains its carbon neutral status through the use of smart packaging and renewable energy, as well as renewable materials for its computer technology products. Thus, Microsoft’s corporate social responsibility strategy satisfies this stakeholder group’s interests and fulfills the company’s aims as a corporate citizen.

Investors . Microsoft identifies transparency as one of its main thrusts in its corporate social responsibility strategy. In this regard, investors are among the main stakeholder groups in the computer hardware and software business. Investors affect Microsoft through the availability of capital. The interests of these stakeholders are business growth and accurate financial reporting. Microsoft’s corporate responsibility efforts satisfy these interests through a variety of disclosures about the business, which benefit investors. For example, these CSR initiatives enable investors to make better decisions about the company. The firm’s business stability also addresses investors’ interest regarding business growth. These initiatives show that Microsoft’s corporate social responsibility strategy satisfies the interests of investors as a significant stakeholder group.

Governments . Microsoft’s corporate social responsibility approach considers governments as stakeholders in the business. This stakeholder group is significant because they directly influence the company’s limits in doing business. Governments are interested in Microsoft’s legal and regulatory compliance, as well as contributions to economic growth. The company satisfies these interests through stringent measures in the organization. For example, Microsoft’s corporate guidelines require human resource managers to comply with labor regulations. These guidelines also require compliance with regulations on environmental impact, product safety, and consumer security. These corporate social responsibility efforts indicate that Microsoft satisfies the interests of governments as stakeholders in the business.

Microsoft’s Corporate Social Responsibility Performance in Addressing Stakeholders’ Interests

As a global computer technology business, Microsoft Corporation has taken the necessary steps for a corporate social responsibility strategy that satisfies the interests of its major stakeholders. The company has high performance in addressing its stakeholders. Microsoft’s emphasis on human rights, environmental sustainability and transparency ensure that this corporate responsibility strategy remains relevant to current market conditions. However, an issue typical in large global organizations like Microsoft is the lack of immediate responses to individual customer complaints and inquiries. In this regard, a recommendation is that the company must invest in a larger support community to harness knowledge sharing that can enhance the corporate social responsibility strategy.

• Homer, S. T., Yee, K. V., & Khor, K. S. (2023). Developing a measurement instrument for perceived corporate citizenship using multi-stakeholder, multi-industry and cross-country validations. Quality & Quantity, 57 (1), 277-300.
• Microsoft Corporation – Form 10-K .
• Microsoft Corporation – Our Sustainability Journey .
• Microsoft Education Store – Student Discount & Deals .
• Microsoft Military Discount .
• Paruzel, A., Schmidt, L., & Maier, G. W. (2023). Corporate social responsibility and employee innovative behaviors: A meta-analysis. Journal of Cleaner Production , 136189.
• U.S. Department of Commerce – International Trade Administration – Software and Information Technology Industry .
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Corporate Social Responsibility. Microsoft

Introduction, partnership between microsoft and unhcr, rationale for partnership, lunchtime initiative, corporate citizenship initiatives.

With global changes regarding business trends, corporations are facing challenges every day. However, CSR arena has become the ground through which corporations are battling it out in terms of capturing the consumer’s attention. Large corporations like Microsoft have used CSR effectively and reached out to the needy. However, some critics believe that there is more to corporations incorporating CSR. Is it true that there is a bigger catch to CSR than there is in helping the community and if there is how has Microsoft benefited from its engagements in community participation and which can be generalized to the rest of the corporations? The paper therefore is a review of Corporate Social Responsibility, the rationale behind corporations in social responsibility and the reasons as to why corporations engage in social responsibilities together with a conclusion.

Questions range as to why large corporations would feel philanthropic and engage in social responsibilities. It is commonly argued that corporations have a social responsibility to society through the corporation itself as the moral agent through whom social responsibilities are practiced. Though morals are practiced by human beings, the corporation has social responsibility to the community via its employees. Social responsibility to the company is placed at the mandate of the employees who are to make the corporation moral (Danley, 1991). Corporations that do not practice social responsibilities fail to serve the same society it expects to sell their products to. However, this does not answer the questions as to why corporations would engage in community activities in a bid to reach out to the disadvantaged in the society and still stay within the rules of the game of many corporations that is of making profits. Why then do corporations operate corporation’s social responsibilities departments?

The partnership between Microsoft and UHNCR is justifiable and a good opportunity for the giant corporation to give back to the society although one would wonder why a giant corporation the likes Microsoft would not want to give back in times of need to the same society it takes from. I agree that the partnership helped smooth negative perceptions of the public towards the corporation. In addition, how would Microsoft think of diversifying to other countries especially third world countries if it cannot help the same countries it is diversifying to cope with difficult times. We ought to reflect that corporations exist to improve the lives of the people it serves not only in the products it manufactures but also in engaging in community activities (Nicolas, & Suder, 2008). With regard to operating in different environments and cultures, then we cannot expect a corporation to be oblivious to its surroundings not necessarily in terms of the products it produces but to the people its serves. With this said and done, CSR is evaluated regarding Microsoft Corporation. If an individual can make a difference and a humanitarian organization that is totally reliable on donor funds, it would be lame to say that the partnership between Microsoft and UNHCR should not exist. In the world of business, corporations are thought to be separate entities and even DeGeorge argues that they are the moral agents through which employees of the corporations are able to give back to the society and therefore the partnership was the right approach for Microsoft to adopt.

However, I do not think that a company should leverage all its assets in order to contribute to pro bono. We have got to get the difference between Microsoft and UNHCR. The former is a business enterprise in search of selling its products and making a profit but with an ethical side of wanting to help society while the latter is a humanitarian organization with a totally different mission from the former. To conclude it all, I would say that corporations the likes Microsoft have to balance between their social responsibilities and their sole reason for existence that is of making profits. Thus am for the idea that corporations cannot leverage all their assets to participate in pro bono activities.

Microsoft Corporation is no exception in helping out disadvantaged communities in its partnerships with UNHCR in the efforts of reaching out to refugees (Nicolas, & Suder, 2008). Corporations are realizing that with each passing day, they cannot turn a blind eye to the needy people on top of their quests for making profits. We all live in diverse cultures and perhaps the answer to corporate social responsibilities lies in the context in which the corporations operate. However one thing is very clear to all corporations of the 21 century, that they cannot escape social responsibilities.

Microsoft is entering into the right partnerships to complement its market opening and raising opportunities. Corporations are realizing that in the business world, the customer stands out to be the number one priority all other factors of the company held constant for instance other company’s missions and objectives (Deresky, 1997). The customer is the most vital instrument that a company should possess and what better way than to rub his or her ego and do them good through CSR? Without the customer, corporations including the large ones would cease to exist. Corporations’ relations with the customer are therefore enhanced through CSR. In addition, CSR helps corporations in achieving their mission for instance; Microsoft helps the needy in Kosovo by providing computers that help record the refugee’s data and therefore give them identity. Through this Microsoft engaged in an activity that is in line with its line of operations (Nicolas, & Suder, 2008).

I would further add to the point by highlighting that at the time Microsoft was forming the partnership and launched its Project PROFILE, it only had 31, 575 employees and a revenue of only 19.75 billion. However, through the humanitarian initiatives by Microsoft, the corporation employed more people to a total of 71, 172 and had a net income of 44.28 billion. With these statistics, we cannot discredit Microsoft for forming such partnerships (Nicolas, & Suder, 2008).

The consumer is the number one priority and therefore has shifted from their proverbial advertising, branding of the corporation’s products and packaging to engaging in corporate social responsibilities. More and more corporations are taking part in community activities and in turn sensitizing people of their products. Critics have always argued that even though corporations are getting in touch with their moral side, they stand a greater chance of benefitting in the long run.

There have been critics as to the whole issue of corporations engaging in social responsibility with the argument leaning on the fact that the corporations which engage in CSR benefit more than the ones which only operate for the sole reason of making profits. Can this be said to be true in view of Microsoft Corporation? Well, we cannot deny the fact that morally sensitive corporations like Microsoft are benefiting in more than one way. For instance, Microsoft has always been accused of stepping on other smaller companies in the computing business because they are the giants and therefore perceived negatively by the public. Corporate social responsibility provides an avenue through which corporations can soothe the public in its image. CSR allows the corporation to convince the public that it’s not only interested in making profits but also in improving their welfare. Thus, through CSR, negative and commonly held beliefs of the company are smoothed out (Nicolas, & Suder, 2008).

CSR allows employees to engage in activities that are geared towards helping the needy and therefore helps in improving the lives of the employees in addition to improving the image of the company. For instance, in the case study, it is reported that Microsoft employees were having lunch while watching the 1999 Kosovo crisis and they immediately started to think of ways through which they could help make the lives of the disadvantaged better. Fortunately the Jean-Phillippe Courtois was also reading from the same script and also thinking of ways to help the needy in the society (Nicolas, & Suder, 2008). Therefore, through CSR, we get in touch with our sensitive side as employees and the corporations provide the grounds or the base point in which we are able to offer our help to those we need it and we ultimately feel satisfied with ourselves.

According to Helen Deresky, the world is changing at a first pace for all corporations whether small or large like Microsoft. Helen talks about the competitive strategies that corporations are employing to capture the attention of the consumer and thus CSR is one of them. Corporations are winning the hearts of the consumers by giving back to the society (Deresky, 1997). Aligning to Helen’s view of thought, another critic of immoral companies (companies without ethics) De George, argues that companies have to be socially responsible through defining their roles to the employees and the employees should carry the moral responsibility of the company through treating the customer well (Danley, 1991). In addition to these views, the current trends in the corporate world have shifted from organizations feeling philanthropic in charitable events to the organizations identifying the really needy communities and helping them out through the projects like the partnership of Microsoft with UNHCR. It is therefore a means through which corporations show that there are aware of the employee’s specific needs and are aware of the surroundings rather than the proverbial philanthropy whereby corporations would donate for the sake of donations.

In accordance with Helen’s thought, corporations need to change their strategies to reflect the different cultures that they operate in (Deresky, 1997). We may ask questions as to how this is relevant in large corporations like Microsoft. The answer lies in the long-term strategies of the company by simply running over the short-term strategies. For instance, through Microsoft providing the technology needed to register the Kosovo refugees in camps, the company marketed its products to the people in such a way that later on in future people would prefer Microsoft products to its competitor’s products. To Helen, these are the strategies that corporations need to survive and excel in different environments and who can then blame these corporations for becoming giant corporations when such tactics have been used?

The lunchtime initiative can be regarded as an initiative that showed Microsoft as a corporation with the ability to serve the diverse community with challenging needs both internal and external. To support my point employees felt that they could do something to alleviate the suffering of the refugees and so did one of the CEOs. It is no coincidence that the employees and Jean-Phillippe Courtois thought of the same thing but because they knew Microsoft had the capability and the manpower to make a difference.

It is also not a coincidence that the company’s share value fell at the time that the corporate citizenship initiatives were being formed. Microsoft was always accused of stepping on the smaller corporations in the same computing fields and therefore the anti-trust cases multiplied tainting the image of the corporation and making the company’s share fall. In addition, not so many people trusted that Microsoft did not have a hidden agenda in engaging in citizenship initiatives. Therefore, this shows that a company cannot make corporate citizenship initiatives as investments in the future the reason being that the corporation being a profit-making organization cannot rely on citizenships initiatives for its drive for profits but can only rather use citizenship initiatives as a tool to reach out to the consumer and to give back to the community. In addition, giant corporations the likes of Microsoft are where they are today not because they are humanitarian organizations but because they are able to balance between their quests for making profits and their ability to do good and that includes reaching out to the needy people like the case of Kosovo (Nicolas, & Suder, 2008).

I would conclude by saying that CSR is important in all corporations. The paradigm has shifted to more consumer-friendly level of marketing rather than traditional methods of marketing a company’s products through methods like branding, giving free samples among others. Corporations are getting to the ground and involving their employees in helping the communities and in turn customers are getting to know about their products and also becoming loyal customers to such corporations in future. Through CSR, we as consumers see the other side of corporations especially the large ones in a different light. It is therefore important that all corporations engage in CSR to help communities not forgetting that the communities that they help may be where some of the corporation’s employees have come from (Deresky, 1997). Such an employee would also feel the need to work and give the best to his or her employers. Therefore, I conclude by saying the corporations who practice CSR are in a give and take situation.

Danley, J. (1991): Ethics and the Organizational Person: Revisiting DeGeorge: Journal of Business Ethics: Vol. 10: No. 12: pp. 935 – 950.

Deresky, H. (1997): International Management: Managing Across Borders & Cultures: New York: Addison Wesley Publishing Company: 2 nd Ed.

Nicolas, N. & Suder, G. (2008): Microsoft Partnership with UNHCR: France: CERAM Business School.

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MicrosoftCorporation, universally known as Microsoft, is an American globalcompany, with its headquarters in Redmond, Washington. The Companywas established by Paul Allen and Bill Gates back in 1975, April 4 th (Dudovskiy, 2015). Microsoft develops, produces, licences and sellsall types of computer software, electronics, personal computers suchas laptops, mobile phones to name but a few. The company is famousfor its quality software products such as Microsoft Windows,operating systems, Microsoft Office and Internet Explorer thatdominate the global markets. Over the years, Microsoft has grown tobe one of the top performers in the technology industry. Currently,the company has established its operation centres in over 120 nationsincluding African countries such as Congo, Chad and Kenya. As of 31 st Dec 2015, Microsoft’s employee headcount stood at 112, 689worldwide with 62, 437 working in the USA alone.

Microsoft’ssocial responsibility strategies

Accordingto Smith (2013), Microsoft is among the top four companies with themost reputable CSR perceptions in the world. Microsoft is globallyknown for its efforts to give back to the community, ensure itsemployees’ welfare, and promote good corporate citizenship.According to Chan (2014), Microsoft releases its information aboutCSR activities through an annual report. The company’s socialresponsibility mission is to serve the needs of the global communityeither directly or indirectly and maintaining a safe environment forpeople to live in. For instance, in the year 2014, Microsoft spentover $ 1 billion on philanthropic activities to help the poor and theneedy. In addition, the Bill &amp Gates Foundation founded by BillGates, is involved in charitable activities such as supporting theneedy students and promoting health among disadvantaged communities.

Microsoftis a company that seems to focus on promoting the safety of theenvironment through pollution prevention and control (Chan, 2014).For instance, the company willingly releases its information onpollution through the Carbon Disclosure Project. For some years now,the company relies on renewable energy for most of its operations toavoid unsustainable exploitation of the natural sources of energy.Moreover, in the year 2012, Microsoft reduced its carbon emissions by30% having switched to clean green sources of energy. It is alsoimportant to point out that the company has set a calendar of CSRactivities whereby its thousands of employees are involved incharitable activities in their respective locations. Some of theactivities that the Microsoft employees are involved include, but notlimited to the following: helping the elderly and the sick, cleaningthe dirty environs, campaigns on healthy lifestyle and charitablewalks.

Accordingto Chan (2014), Microsoft is a good place to work. A survey carriedout in the year 2013 revealed that over 85% of the employees agreedthat Microsoft offers the best environment to work. Moreover,Microsoft is committed in promoting the welfare of its employees byoffering them good salaries and other benefits such as paid annualleaves, medical insurance among others. According to Smith, Microsofthas been successful in building a global perception of a caringcompany (2013). Under the influence of the major stakeholders,Microsoft is committed in educating and training its employees toremain updated and informed. Microsoft spends a lot of its moneyannually on employee training programs to ensure they are innovativeenough to keep the company at the top of its rivals in the highlycompetitive global market.

Thereare several forces behind Microsoft’s social responsibilityactivities. The United Nations has set various standards thatmultinational businesses such as Microsoft should adhere to regardingenvironment safety. Additionally, the United Nations ensures thatbusiness activities promote Human Rights. Microsoft stakeholders havealso influenced the co-operation to invest in employee welfare toattract and retain the best talents for continued good performance(Chan, 2014). Also, Microsoft’s employees especially businessadvisers and Human Resources personnel have influenced the company toembrace various philanthropic activities to enhance the corporateimage at the local, national and international levels.

Personalviews on Microsoft’s CSR

Ithink that Microsoft is doing a great job in terms of socialresponsibility and hence deserves all the credit. Microsoft has beensuccessful in building a good reputation through its CSR and genuineactions. Microsoft has attracted a pool of proficient and talentedworkers all over the world and retained then making it maintain goodperformance for several decades. Moreover, the company has realizedhuge profits through its philanthropic activities that have attractedmillions of customers all over the world. I believe that Microsoftsuccessfully utilizes CSR activities to restore its lostprofitability. For instance, the negative impacts that Microsoft hason the environment have been countered by the company’s efforts toreduce natural energy consumption and maintain a clean environment. It is also important to note that Microsoft’s CSR policy has helpedin enhancing customers’ loyalty to their various brands hencepromoting the growth of sales and revenue. However, Microsoft’s CSRactivities have come at a cost. The company spends billions ofdollars to finance its CSR activities. To conclude, I will point outthat the benefits of Microsoft’s social responsibility far outweighthe costs and hence the company should maintain and even strive toimprove it.

Chan,L. Y. (2014). CorporateSocial Responsibility of Multinational Corporations .Global Honors Theses Paper 18.

Dudovskiy,J. (2015). MicrosoftCorporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Retrieved from: http://research-methodology.net/microsoft-corporate-social-responsibility-csr/

SmithJ. (2015). TheCompanies with the Best CSR Reputations .Retrieved from: http://www.forbes.com/sites/jacquelynsmith/2013/10/02/the-companies-with-the-best- csr-reputations-2/#29e3170a22bc

Advance sustainability

Climate change requires swift, collective action and technological innovation. We are committed to meeting our own goals while enabling others to do the same.

Our commitments

We work to ensure that technology is inclusive, trusted, and increases sustainability. In 2020, we announced our sustainability commitments and detailed plans for working towards a more sustainable future.

Carbon negative

By 2030, we’ll be carbon negative, and by 2050, we’ll remove our historical emissions since our founding in 1975.

Water positive

By 2030, we’ll be water positive across our direct operations.

By 2030, we’ll be zero waste across our direct waste footprint.

Protect and preserve ecosystems

We’ll protect more land than we use by 2025 and build a Planetary Computer.

Accelerating sustainability with AI

Organizations worldwide are working toward meeting their own sustainability objectives aligned with global targets, but progress is slow. We’re sharing a 5-point playbook on what is needed to help ensure that AI can be used to accelerate the deployment of existing sustainability solutions and the development of new ones.

Our progress

When we announced our climate commitments in January 2020, we also committed to transparency in sharing our learnings. We aspire to build a world better than the one we found.

Investment in carbon removal

We have invested in acquiring 1.4 million tons of carbon removal from various sources in fiscal year 2022 and recycling it into marketable products.

Creating a circular approach

We're adopting a more circular strategy for materials management by diverting over 12,000 metric tons of waste from landfills and incinerators in fiscal year 2022.

Increasing water access

We reached just under one million people with clean water and sanitation solutions by the end of the calendar year 2022.

Protecting more land than we use

We protected 12,270 acres of land in Belize—we now protect more than the 11,206 acres of land that we use.

Feature stories

Take a deeper look at the stories behind our work to move towards a net zero, environmentally sustainable future.

Navigating the challenges of water replenishment

Water replenishment will play an important role in protecting watersheds across the globe. In a new white paper, we’ve outlined learnings from our replenishment program, hoping that it will help others navigate the challenges of this nascent market.

Laying the foundation for buildings of tomorrow

Embodied carbon is responsible for 8% of global GHG, yet reducing or eliminating embodied carbon from concrete and steel is difficult. Microsoft is piloting new concrete mixes at our Quincy, WA datacenter, with a goal to lower embodied carbon in concrete by more than 50%.

Closing the sustainability skills gap

Over 3,500 companies globally have issued climate pledges—however, many lack a workforce with the skills to turn these pledges to progress. Our report shows the need to develop a new level of sustainability skills—and how we aim to help support the transformation. 

“While the world will need to reach net zero, those of us who can afford to move faster and go further should do so.”

Brad Smith, Vice Chair and President

Our contributions

In addition to embedding science and sustainability into the way we do business, we also believe our greatest contributions to a sustainable future come from enabling our customers, partners, and suppliers on their own journeys.

Planetary Computer

The Planetary Computer combines a multi-petabyte collection of global environmental data with user-friendly APIs, a flexible scientific environment that enables users to respond to global queries about that data, and applications that provide conservation stakeholders access to those answers.

Supply chain integrity

Microsoft has relationships with hundreds of suppliers around the globe, and we work to ensure transparency and ethical standards across our supply chain. We collaborate with our suppliers to protect the fundamental rights of people at every step of the process—from responsible sourcing to production and distribution.

Microsoft Climate Research Initiative

Accelerating cutting-edge research in climate science and technology is a priority for this multidisciplinary community of researchers.

Sustainability science and innovation

At Microsoft, we have a dedicated Sustainability Science and Innovation team whose mission is to ensure that our sustainability work is grounded in the best available science. This drives our work in sustainability, from our climate commitments to partnering with our customers and partners on co-designing new solutions.

Microsoft sustainability programs

As part of our commitment to building a sustainable future, we partner with organizations to provide grants and funding that help drive innovation and impact in the areas of carbon removal, carbon reduction, and new climate technologies.

Carbon removal

We are dedicated to finding solutions that have the greatest potential for positive impact, are transparent, and use market intelligence as one of the first businesses to source carbon removal to meet our goal of eliminating carbon emissions by 2050.

Carbon reduction

As we work to reduce the carbon intensity of our operations, we prioritize solutions that align with our sustainability goals.

Water replenishment

Water replenishment is a key pillar of our 2030 water positive goal. We see replenishment as a way for our company to help restore and protect the water basins where we operate.

Climate Innovation Fund

We're pledging $1 billion in funding over four years to invest in cutting-edge climate technologies and hasten the implementation of already-existing climate solutions. Climate impact, underfunded markets, climate equality, and shared alignment are the four themes that guide our investments.

Sustainability products & solutions

Building a more sustainable future, harnessing the power of technology.

Your sustainability journey

Microsoft is using our experience to build solutions to accelerate your sustainability journey. No matter where you are, we can help you move forward.

Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability

Through environmental, social, and governance (ESG) capabilities, the Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability enables you to accelerate development and transform your company.

Emissions Impact Dashboard

Make better data-driven decisions about your cloud usage by estimating your carbon emissions using Microsoft cloud services, such as Azure and Microsoft 365.

Latest news

Read recent news and perspectives on today's pressing societal and tech issues from Microsoft.

Sustainable by design

Alongside the benefits of AI, we recognize the resource intensity and the need to address the environmental impact from every angle. We’re determined to tackle this challenge so the world can harness the full benefits of AI and we're sharing the three areas where we’re deeply invested and increasing our focus.

The journey to water positive

In 2020, we set an ambitious commitment to be water positive and co-founded the Water Resilience Coalition (WRC), a CEO-led initiative to reduce water stress by 2050. We're building on this foundation with the WRC and signing an Open Call for Water Action to accelerate the collective impact businesses can have in building greater water resilience.

Xbox offers first carbon aware console

Xbox is now the first gaming console to offer carbon aware game downloads and updates. By being carbon aware, Xbox consoles are reducing their carbon footprints by optimizing updates and downloads to run at a time when each console can use the most renewable energy.

New Chief Sustainability Officer

We recently announced our new Chief Sustainability Officer, Melanie Nakagawa. Melanie joins Microsoft on the third anniversary of our ambitious climate goals to be carbon negative by 2030 and remove our historical carbon emissions by 2050.

View more of our commitments

Expand opportunity

Protect fundamental rights

Pursuant to California Assembly Bill No. 1305 (the “law” or “1305”), which was signed into law October 7, 2023, Microsoft may be required to make certain disclosures regarding its involvement in the voluntary carbon offsets markets, use of voluntary carbon offsets, and/or certain claims or goals regarding greenhouse gas emissions reductions.  While the law itself does not specify a deadline for initial disclosures, the bill’s author has indicated that his intent was that the deadline for companies’ first annual disclosure under the law should be considered to be January 1, 2025.  Microsoft is in the process of determining the scope of our potential reporting obligations under this law.  We take our sustainability commitments and disclosure obligations seriously, and should we determine that we have reporting obligations under 1305, we will promptly determine the scope of those obligations and comply with those obligations no later than January 1, 2025.

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Corporate Social Responsibility: A Case Study of Microsoft Corporation

BL Media. (2016). Microsoft Releases 2016 Corporate Social Responsibility Report. Retrieved October 3, 2019, From https://www.3blmedia.com/News/Microsoft-Releases2016-Corporate-Social-Responsibility-Report-0. Ayong Le Kama, L 2001, ‘Sustainable growth renewable resources and pollution’, Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, pp. 25:1911–1918. Computers for the needy and students. (2011). Retrieved October 1, 2019, from https://www.thestar.com.my/news/community/2011/03/22/computers-for-the-needyand-students/ Dr Rakesh Kumar& Ramesh Kumar. (2014) “Corporate Social Responsibility -A case study of Microsoft Corporation” pp. 37-51. Dyllick, T & Hockerts, K (2002) ‘Beyond the business case for corporate sustainability’, Business Strategy and the Environment, vol. 11 no. 2, pp. 130-141. Endress, L, Roumasset, J & Zhou, T (2005) ‘Sustainable Growth with Environmental Spillovers’, Journal of Economic Behaviour and Organization, vol. 58 no. 4, pp. 527547. Florida, R (2011) ‘Lean and green: the move to environmentally conscious manufacturing’, California Management Review, vol. 54, no. 1, pp. 80-5. Mallen Baker. (2004). Definitions of corporate social responsibility - What is CSR. Retrieved October 3, 2019, From http://mallenbaker.net/article/clearreflection/definitions-of-corporate-social-responsibility-what-is-csr. Manning, S, Boons, F, Von Hagen, O, & Reinecke, J. (2011). National contexts matter: the co-evolution of sustainability standards in global value chains, Ecological Economics. 4, 12-45. Pearce, A, Markandya, L & Barbier, R (1989). Blueprint for a green economy, London: Great Britain. Presas, T (2001) ‘Interdependence and partnerships: building blocks to sustainable development’, Corporate Environmental Strategy, vol. 18 no. 3, pp. 203-8. Skye Schooley. (2019). What Is Corporate Social Responsibility. Retrieved October 3, 2019, From https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/4679-corporate-socialresponsibility.html

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Creating a Corporate Social Responsibility Program with Real Impact

• Emilio Marti,
• David Risi,
• Eva Schlindwein,
• Andromachi Athanasopoulou

Lessons from multinational companies that adapted their CSR practices based on local feedback and knowledge.

Exploring the critical role of experimentation in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), research on four multinational companies reveals a stark difference in CSR effectiveness. Successful companies integrate an experimental approach, constantly adapting their CSR practices based on local feedback and knowledge. This strategy fosters genuine community engagement and responsive initiatives, as seen in a mining company’s impactful HIV/AIDS program. Conversely, companies that rely on standardized, inflexible CSR methods often fail to achieve their goals, demonstrated by a failed partnership due to local corruption in another mining company. The study recommends encouraging broad employee participation in CSR and fostering a culture that values CSR’s long-term business benefits. It also suggests that sustainable investors and ESG rating agencies should focus on assessing companies’ experimental approaches to CSR, going beyond current practices to examine the involvement of diverse employees in both developing and adapting CSR initiatives. Overall, embracing a dynamic, data-driven approach to CSR is essential for meaningful social and environmental impact.

By now, almost all large companies are engaged in corporate social responsibility (CSR): they have CSR policies, employ CSR staff, engage in activities that aim to have a positive impact on the environment and society, and write CSR reports. However, the evolution of CSR has brought forth new challenges. A stark contrast to two decades ago, when the primary concern was the sheer neglect of CSR, the current issue lies in the ineffective execution of these practices. Why do some companies implement CSR in ways that create a positive impact on the environment and society, while others fail to do so? Our research reveals that experimentation is critical for impactful CSR, which has implications for both companies that implement CSR and companies that externally monitor these CSR activities, such as sustainable investors and ESG rating agencies.

• EM Emilio Marti is an associate professor at the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University. His research focuses on corporate sustainability with a specific focus on sustainable investing.
• DR David Risi is a professor at the Bern University of Applied Sciences and a habilitated lecturer at the University of St. Gallen. His research focuses on how companies organize CSR and sustainability.
• ES Eva Schlindwein is a professor at the Bern University of Applied Sciences and a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Oxford. Her research focuses on how organizations navigate tensions between business and society.
• AA Andromachi Athanasopoulou is an associate professor at Queen Mary University of London and an associate fellow at the University of Oxford. Her research focuses on how individuals manage their leadership careers and make ethically charged decisions.

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Corporate Social Responsibility of Microsoft

Posted by Matthew Harvey on Jul-19-2022

At EssayPandas , we help MBA and EMBA students finish their corporate-level case study projects. For example, Corporate Social Responsibility or CSR Analysis of Microsoft mainly relates to the subject of Business, further touching upon sub-topics like organizational development, value proposition, corporate governance, economic development, ethics, leadership, and social responsibility.

Corporate Social Responsibility or CSR Analysis of Microsoft helps ascertain the company's responsibility towards the three P's, i.e., Profit, People, and Planet. This CSR Analysis will help the managers at Microsoft figure out their social responsibilities and run their business operations following the global business norms. Here below is a quick rundown of the CSR case solution. Contact us for further help in custom CSR Analysis.

1. What is Cooperative Social Responsibility 

Carroll’s CSR pyramid explains why and how business organizations should realize their responsibility towards society. The model was introduced by Archie B. Carroll in 1979, who highlighted four key corporate social responsibility (CSR) dimensions into the framework- economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropic responsibility. The economic responsibility lies at the bottom of the pyramid because without achieving the economic objectives, a company cannot fulfil its legal, ethical, and philanthropic responsibilities.

According to Carroll, CSR refers to the business behavior that is economically profitable, compliant with the law, is ethical and socially supportive. The primary business responsibility is to make profits and comply with the law, and then go beyond these obligations by taking discretionary initiatives.

In 1991, Carroll categorized the CSR model into four dimensions by using a pyramid, which illustrated how businesses could build their character along the four tiered pyramid. Since its introduction, the model holds strong relevance to the contemporary business environment. Although, the pyramid design is still under discussion and at often criticized for not considering the contextual factors, the model can be practically applied to understand the corporate social responsibility efforts of any business organization. As the model is easily understandable, it makes practical application for organizations easier, as they understand how they can build their character to reach at the top of pyramid.

Overall, the model provides a conceptual framework for organizations, and encourages them to think holistically while formulating CSR strategies. If any of the level is missing, the organization cannot reach the highest CSR level.

In this report, the CSR strategies of Microsoft are analyzed by applying the Carroll’s pyramid model.

2. Model application on Microsoft

2.1 corporate social responsibility (csr) objectives of microsoft.

Microsoft aims to reach the carbon neutrality, reduce environmental externalities, promote voluntarism among employees and donate to the charity. Company is committed to the highest social responsibility standards across the whole supply chain. Microsoft ensures that all its suppliers comply with the environmental standards, take care of workers’ safety, treat them with respect and dignity and adopt environment-friendly manufacturing processes. To achieve these CSR objectives, Microsoft is taking various economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropic initiatives, which are explained in the next section.

2.2 Dimensions of corporate social responsibility

2.2.1 economic responsibility, 2.2.1.1 economic responsibility of microsoft.

Microsoft fulfills its economic responsibility by focusing on the practices that support long-term business growth, while accomplishing the set philanthropic, environmental, and ethical standards. Company balances its economic decisions with the overall impact on society. It offers products and services that society needs, and makes a profit from them to continue business operations.

The economic expectation is considered basic social responsibility, because society expects Microsoft to become profitable so that it could incentivize the investors to invest for business continuity. In its origin, society considers Microsoft as an institution that produces and sells goods/services to make a profit in a way that benefits all stakeholders.

2.2.1.2 How Microsoft fulfils its economic responsibility?

Microsoft fulfills its economic responsibility by taking the following initiatives:

• Generate high and consistent level profitability- Microsoft strives to generate high profitability on a consistent level by leveraging the opportunities that help business in targeting new products and customer markets. Through effective and efficient business management, the company is able to reduce the costs, which further increases the profit margin.
• Minimize costs- Cost minimization is another key economic objective. Microsoft reduces its costs by actively managing the variable costs. Company also invests on automated technologies to reduce the labor costs. Cost reduction objective is also achieved by diligently tracking the expenses, and making the most out of available resources.
• Reduce waste- Another important initiative taken to reduce the costs is the introduction of the new manufacturing process that is helping Microsoft in minimizing the waste. Waste minimization is not only helping Microsoft in fulfilling its environmental responsibility, but it also enables the business to cut costs and maximize profitability. Microsoft is also aiming to increase the use of recycled products that could lower the material cost and benefit the society by consuming lesser resources.
• Increase operational efficiency- Microsoft strives to operate a business at high-efficiency level. To do this, the company arranges regular training sessions to reduce the error rate and streamline communication between all supply chain partners. The company encourages continual improvement culture and arranges mechanisms to measure the performance. Data is collected to review and refine processes, and information required to fix the operational inefficiencies is made easily accessible. By doing so, Microsoft has been successful in maximizing its operational efficiency, which reflects into reduced errors, improved accuracy and enhanced customer satisfaction.
• Increase product and service quality- Customer retention is another important economic objective of Microsoft, which is achieved by increasing the product/service quality. The company has infused the quality into work culture, and employees are trained to deliver superior customer service. Periodic surveys are arranged to take the opinions of customers, and collected data is then used further enhance the product/service quality according to customers’ expectations.
• Maximize sales- Sales maximization is another economic objective of Microsoft. Company adopts various strategies to maximize the sales. Through successful cost reduction, the company offers discounts to customers to drive sales. Other key measures taken to achieve the sales increase target include- expansion to new markets, introducing new products, and adopting effective marketing and communication strategies.
• Maintain strong competitive positioning- To strengthen the competitive positioning, Microsoft invests on emerging innovative technologies. Company invests on market research to know its customers, and strengthens collaboration with its strategic partners to proactively respond to the external environmental changes.

These all economic initiatives are helping Microsoft in fulfilling its economic responsibility so that it could remain sustainable and continue its business operations for benefit of all involved stakeholders.

2.2.1.3 Relevant stakeholders

By taking economic initiatives, Microsoft fulfils its responsibility towards- shareholders and investors who expect the company to generate an attractive return on investment, customers who expect high product quality at reasonable prices, and employees who expect a fair and safe work environment. Fulfilling these all economic responsibilities provides the foundation of CSR pyramid.

2.2.2 Legal responsibility

2.2.2.1 legal responsibility of microsoft.

Legal responsibility of businesses involves compliance with the set rules and regulations. Microsoft is expected to ensure compliance while functioning within society. These basic rules reflect society’s viewpoints of codified ethics, and determine how Microsoft could conduct its business practices in a transparent and fair manner. Local, regional, and national level legislators define these laws and regulations, which ensure that the business makes a profit without compromising over the greater good of society. In order to avoid the lawsuits that may result from the non-compliance, Microsoft has appointed a compliance officer on a high-level position in the organizational chart to ensure the business meets all basic legal responsibilities.

2.2.2.2 How Microsoft fulfils its legal responsibility?

• Products/services complying legal standards- Microsoft produces products/services that meet legal standards. Product safety standards are met, and only those products/services are produced that are legally allowed. While advertising products, Microsoft avoids vetting misleading claims about products and business practices to defraud consumers.
• Labor law- Labor law encompasses various laws related to employment, remuneration, work conditions and industrial relations. Microsoft complies with labor law by complying with the minimum wage law for workers. Workplace safety is ensured by complying with the occupational health and safety standards. Company complies with the industrial relations act to manage the relationship with workmen and settle industrial disputes. Company also ensures the effective implementation of anti-discrimination laws to provide an open, inclusive and equitable work environment.
• Contract fulfillment- Microsoft fulfils all its contracts with internal and external stakeholders to protect their rights as per each agreement. It fulfills general employment contracts, partnership agreements, indemnity agreement and contracts related to property and equipment lease. Company also fulfills its legal duties towards suppliers by remaining fair in its dealings with vendor organizations. It also helps suppliers in maintaining the approved quality and expected delivery standards.
• Intellectual property- Microsoft takes care of all intellectual property laws to enforce and protect the rights of owners and creators of inventions. The intellectual property areas include trade secrets, patents, trademarks and copyright laws.
• Privacy and information protection- Microsoft has clearly stated its privacy policy, and takes all relevant measures to protect the customer information. Management has appointed data security and compliance incharge who take appropriate measures to prevent the identity theft.
• Environmental law- Microsoft strictly complies with the environmental legislations to reduce the hazardous waste, and takes care of the biopersity and conservation issues to prevent pollution incidents.
• Paying taxes and other duties- Microsoft pays all taxes and other duties to the government as a responsible corporate citizen. Company keeps all its accounts clean and transparent to facilitate the government in tracking business’s economic state.

2.2.2.3 Relevant stakeholders

Overall, Microsoft is a law abiding, a social responsible enterprise that operates within the regulatory boundaries, and complies with various laws like environmental, criminal and labor laws. All major stakeholders including customers, suppliers, employees, regulators and general society have expectations from Microsoft to behave like a responsible legal entity, and Microsoft fulfills all its legal obligations towards societal stakeholders. Inability to take care of the legal rights of any stakeholder group could damage the Microsoft’s reputation, and company may also face expensive lawsuit.

2.2.3 Ethical responsibility

2.2.3.1 ethical responsibility of microsoft.

Microsoft has an ethical responsibility towards all key stakeholders. Fulfillment of ethical responsibility requires Microsoft to operate in ethical and fair manner. To embrace ethical responsibility, Microsoft treats all concerned stakeholders including customers, suppliers, employees, investors, and leadership fairly. The ethical responsibility extends beyond normative expectations. By taking the ethical responsibility, Microsoft embraces activities, practices and standards that are not necessarily written down but are expected by the society. It could be difficult to differentiate between ethical and legal expectations as legal regulations are based on ethical premises but the ethical expectations go beyond basic laws.

2.2.3.2 How Microsoft fulfils its ethical responsibility?

Microsoft fulfills its ethical responsibility by taking following initiatives:

• Microsoft sets higher minimum wage to its employees, and makes sure that all workers get competitive pay that justifies the efforts they exert to accomplish the assigned tasks and responsibilities.
• Besides complying with the laws dictating workers’ rights, Microsoft takes a step ahead by taking employee welfare initiatives. Company trains its employees to take better care of mental and physical health, and adopt a more environmentally responsible attitude. Company also helps its employees in their professional development, and develops work environment that makes work life balance easier for employees.
• The company guarantees that all raw material is ethically sourced from the suppliers take care of environment. All products and services across whole supply chain are sourced in an ethical manner. Company further ensures that the products obtained from the suppliers are sourced through sustainable methods.
• All stakeholders including suppliers, employees and distributors are treated with respect and in fair manner.
• The company adopts ethical labor practices for supply chain partners that include using products that are certified as meeting the fair-trade standards.
• Microsoft realizes its responsibility towards environment, and beyond complying with the basic environmental laws, company is actively taking initiatives to reduce the carbon footprint, and invests heavily in environment-conscious businesses.

2.2.3.3 Relevant stakeholders

Microsoft recognizes and respects the evolving moral and ethical standards that are adopted by the society. Management prevents infringement of ethical standards while pursuing business objectives, and acknowledges that the ethical behavior and integrity goes beyond compliance with basic laws and regulations.

2.2.4 Philanthropic responsibility

2.2.4.1 philanthropic responsibility of microsoft.

Philanthropic responsibility denotes the Microsoft’s aim to make world a better place to live. Other than fulfilling the legal and ethical expectations of society, Microsoft also fulfills its philanthropic responsibility by getting actively engaged in the volunteer work. The company dedicates a specific portion of earnings on charity.

2.2.4.2 How Microsoft fulfils its philanthropic responsibility?

In order to fulfil the philanthropic responsibility, Microsoft takes the following initiatives:

• Company trains its employees to spend specific hours every month in doing volunteer work for the society.
• Every year, company dedicates a specific portion of earnings for various societal causes.
• Microsoft also raises funding for the educational programs, and supports health initiatives for the betterment of society
• Company offers free products/services to the people who cannot afford them.
• Company supports the volunteer projects that are executed for broader social welfare
• Microsoft provides voluntary assistance to the public and private educational institutions to educate the society and make education affordable for all.
• Company also voluntarily assists the fine and performing arts, and arranges the cultural events for society.

2.2.4.3 Relevant stakeholders

The fulfilment of philanthropic responsibility enables Microsoft to meet the expectations of society and the general public. It strengthens the company’s brand image, and effective communication of the charitable work increases the stakeholders’ trust over business operations.

Multiple stakeholders indirectly benefit from the company’s philanthropic work. Like investors benefit from improved brand image, customers prefer brands with a socially responsible image, and employees take pride in getting associated with an organization that takes care of society. The society and general public for which the philanthropic actions are taken are the stakeholder group that derives direct benefit from the company’s philanthropic work.

2.3 Critical success factors of Microsoft’s corporate social responsibility

Microsoft has been successful in implementing economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic CSR initiatives. This section outlines some factors that are considered critical for CSR success.

2.3.1 Human resource

Microsoft has knowledgeable, skilled and competent employees who are responsible to implement CSR initiatives. Workforce owns the company’s CSR objectives, and is skilled to accomplish them.

2.3.2 Integration of CSR in strategic decision making

Microsoft has not only integrated the CSR into routine activities through a well-planned change process, but also considers CSR objectives while taking important strategic decisions. Such integration is vital for achieving the CSR objectives across all four dimensions.

2.3.3 Stakeholder relationships

Microsoft understands that successful implementation of CSR initiatives requires the company to manage close relationships with all key stakeholders, including customers, employees, supply chain partners, and general society. To do this, the company tailors its communication and relationship management strategies according to the relevance, importance and impact of each stakeholder group. Microsoft also ensures that all CSR initiatives are effectively communicated to relevant stakeholders through appropriate channels.

2.3.4 Benefits evaluation

Microsoft has identified CSR performance measurement metrics that are used to evaluate the return on investment. Through benefits evaluation, the company convinces the investors about how investment on various CSR initiatives is benefitting the business in either direct, or indirect manner.

2.3.5 Long-term view

Finally, it is very important to hold the long-term view. Top management of Microsoft understands that investment on CSR initiatives cannot give a tangible economic return in the short run. Therefore, management adopts a holistic view while evaluating the CSR benefits for the organization.

After understanding the critical success factors for successful CSR implementation, next section now discusses the drivers that motivated the Microsoft to actively engage in CSR activities.

2.4 Drivers for Microsoft’s CSR efforts

2.4.1 brand image.

Strong brand image is a powerful driver behind Microsoft’s CSR efforts. Company uses CSR as a tool to differentiate itself from competitors. The CSR initiatives have helped Microsoft in positioning itself as a socially responsible entity, due to which it is trusted by existing customers. CSR initiatives have also generated a positive brand image in potential customers’ minds.

2.4.2 Regulatory pressure

Although, adoption of certain CSR initiatives (like ethical and philanthropic) remains voluntary, but the regularly pressure to ensure active engagement in CSR activities is gradually making CSR inevitable. For instance, the government’s rising pressure to reduce the carbon footprints is pressurizing company to engage in environment protection initiatives.

2.4.3 Customer pressure

Customers are becoming increasingly vigilant of business’s social and environmental performance, and prefer brands with positive CSR image. Microsoft responds to this pressure by taking CSR initiatives that meet customers’ expectations.

2.4.4 Competitor pressure

Considering the impact of CSR on tangible and intangible business performance, competitors are widely adopting CSR as a tool to achieve business objectives. It has created an environment in which investment on CSR efforts has become almost inevitable. Microsoft has to invest on CSR to remain relevant in the intensively competitive market.

3. Conclusion

To conclude, business organizations must understand the importance of corporate social responsibility to ensure long-term survival. Microsoft considers CSR a mandatory practices that can no longer be ignored. By investing on economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropic CSR activities, Microsoft has successfully improved its brand image in stakeholders’ mind. By taking initiatives for the environment, social welfare, and benefit of broader stakeholders, Microsoft has gained positive media coverage, which has strengthened its positioning in a competitive marketplace.

Customers feel satisfied when they purchase product from a company that helps the community. Employees also take pride in getting associated with a socially responsible organization, and winning the investors and shareholders’ trust over business operations also becomes easier when business demonstrates its ability to meet the expectations of all stakeholders without compromising over economic objectives.

By wisely investing on the CSR initiatives, Microsoft has been successful in boosting its long-term growth and profitability. While living in a globally interconnected world, it is important for businesses to collaborate with all stakeholders and take care of each other’s’ needs that could eventually benefit themselves.

Although, Carroll’s CSR pyramid model provides valuable guidance about how companies can ensure their long-term survival, but model does not provide guidance about how businesses could avoid the clash between CSR and business objectives. Model also focuses on only four CSR dimensions and does not identify the contextual variables that may positively or negatively influence the firm’s ability to implement CSR strategies.

4. References

Anyalebechi, S. M., & Owugah, L. (2022). Contradictions between Carroll’s Pyramid of Corporate Social Performance Model: A Case of Shell Nigeria. International Journal of Development and Public Policy, 2(5), 183-201.

Baden, D. (2016). A reconstruction of Carroll’s pyramid of corporate social responsibility for the 21st century. International journal of corporate social responsibility, 1(1), 1-15.

Carroll, A. B. (2016). Carroll’s pyramid of CSR: taking another look. International journal of corporate social responsibility, 1(1), 1-8.

Claydon, J. (2011). A new direction for CSR: the shortcomings of previous CSR models and the rationale for a new model. Social Responsibility Journal.

Ehie, I. C. (2016). Examining the corporate social responsibility orientation in developing countries: an empirical investigation of the Carroll's CSR pyramid. International Journal of Business Governance and Ethics, 11(1), 42755.

Gholami, S. (2011). Value creation model through corporate social responsibility (CSR). International Journal of Business and Management, 6(9), 148.

Lu, J., Ren, L., Zhang, C., Rong, D., Ahmed, R. R., & Streimikis, J. (2020). Modified Carroll’s pyramid of corporate social responsibility to enhance organizational performance of SMEs industry. Journal of Cleaner Production, 271, 122456.

Masoud, N. (2017). How to win the battle of ideas in corporate social responsibility: the International Pyramid Model of CSR. International Journal of Corporate Social Responsibility, 2(1), 1-22.

Nalband, N. A., & Kelabi, S. A. (2014). Redesigning Carroll’s CSR pyramid model. Journal of Advanced Management Science, 2(3).

Paul, E., Gibson, J., & Smith, P. (2019). Influential Article Review-The Global Pyramid Model of CSR-What is the Best Way to Perform Corporate Social Responsibility. Journal of Leadership, Accountability and Ethics, 16(6), 1-27.

Schwartz, M. S., & Carroll, A. B. (2003). Corporate social responsibility: A three-domain approach. Business ethics quarterly, 13(4), 503-530.

Štreimikienė, D., & Ahmed, R. R. (2021). Corporate social responsibility and brand management: evidence from Carroll’s pyramid and triple bottom line approaches. Technological and Economic Development of Economy, 27(4), 852-875.

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Microsoft’s Corporate Social Responsibility Essay

Filed Under: Essays Tagged With: Responsibility , rights

When we are talking about software, technology, computers involving manufacturers, licenses and supports, what is the company that’s the most popular and operates efficiently? Of course it is the Microsoft Company. Microsoft thought that technology can create occasions and opportunities for many people and organizatiobs around the world. So, they developed new technology that releases creativity, productivity, and opportunity for more and more people around the world.

Nowadays, because the world is changing and there are new challenges about the environment, they want to solve these challenges and create new opportunities for people everywhere. They strive to use corporate social responsibility using three approaches. that’s the customers, their employees and human rights.

When talking about corporate social Responsibility in Microsoft Thailand Company. First, they must look after the customer at the beginning service and after service, because Thai people prefer service more than the quality of products. They sometimes consider than the product maybe doesn’t work so they want the insurance of products or the guarantee from the company that they’ll received a new product if they have problems with the product. And they need to do some activity that’s shed light to care of environment by Promote the activity of conservation though some location such as the mall or market because when their product was produced, it’ll affect to the nature and make much pollution.

The Research paper on General Electric Medical Systems – Global Product Company Concept

The Global Product Company concept means ”to concentrate manufacturing – and ultimately other activities – wherever in the world it could be carried out to GE’s exacting standards most cost-effectively”. That means that the production is moving to countries where people are mostly underutilized (the example given in the case study tells about engineers from Eastern Europe, who cost only $1,5/h). ...

Second, their employees and organization. Because their employees are innovators from every corners of the world, they have to pay attention to compensation and benefits. If Microsoft pays them high, it will be motivation. Because of their diverse life experiences, ambition, skill, ability and commitment makes Microsoft working efficiently and help understand customer needs.

Not only the compensation but Microsoft must look after employees healthy and safety too. Finally, this is the one important factor of Corporate Social Responsibility , that is the human rights. Human Rights are the rights you have simply because you’re human.

Millions of Thai people consisting of workers or students prefer Microsoft products more others, so what does it mean? Because Thai people believe that the first technology product come from foreigner’s country will make whole them life better than before whether they are at home or anywhere in the world. So, Microsoft company in Thailand must interested about Thai customers and take care of them. First is about Insurance or guarantee of products. When Thai people buy a product they areafraid that the product might not work.

Microsoft must check carefully about the product before the customers purchase it. If the product really doesn’t work, they must give a new product to the customer concerning the agreement. Next topic about Microsoft Corporate Social Responsibility to customer is Promote the activity of conservation, that’s will make Thai people believe that’s Microsoft is helping to save the world. Why Microsoft company should to do that? Because when their are producing something, it’ll affect to the nature and make much polution. The pollution will effect people’s health, So conservation is the important activity that’s the company must do.

The Essay on Microsoft Certifications Certification Mcse Products

Course #: CIS 240-W 1 Assignment #: Microsoft Certifications Email: Technology is changing at an unprecedented pace and organizations struggle to stay abreast of it all. Organizations need to find and hire people that understand technology well and can put it to use for the organization's benefit. However, the problem most organizations face is to find the right people for this job. To alleviate ...

According to Lisa Brummel, Chief People Officer (2012), “Life at Microsoft is about more than just the work. it’s about who we are as people. We have a passion for life, for creating outstanding products, and for helping othersrealize their full potential”. She want to mean the important factor that’s will make products useful and efficiently are the people consist of employee, officer and organization. Microsoft must to take care this factor in three way. First is Compensation and benefits. Microsoft offers good pay, performance awards and attractive benefits packages for their employees.

They also shift a portion of stock-award targets into employee base salaries. They also increased funding to deliver 100 percent of target bonus and stock awards for approximately 85 percent of eligible employees. Second, training and development. Microsoft makes their employees never stop seeking new opportunities to grow up. They continually evaluate and evolve their training opportunities to meet their specific needs. They do this by adapting programs to meet a variety of learning styles, in the classroom, online, through video, and in other forms.

(Training magazine’s Top 10 Hall of Fame, 2012).

Finally is about Health and safety of the employees. Microsoft has prepared a robust Employee Safety and Health Manual. “We also enhanced the ability of employees working in labs or in research and development to get quick and easy access to information about chemicals used at Microsoft by making nearly 1600 material safety data sheets available to them in the cloud. (Susan Lucas-Conwell, CEO) In conclusion, Microsoft indicated that they have perfect human resource management. So, Microsoft has been well-known as one of the top companies for corporate social responsibility relating to human resource management.

If you asked Thai people, “What are human rights?” you would get many different answers. They would tell you the rights they know about, but very few people know all their rights. So, The United for Human Rights explained about this, “Human Rights”, means “The rights you have simply because you’re human”. According to Jean-Philippe Courtois, President Microsoft International (2012), ”People all over the world exercise fundamental human rights when they use our technology. Respecting these rights is one way we help people and businesses throughout the world realize their full potential.”

The Dissertation on Human Rights and World Wide Web

These findings lend support to research showing a negative correlation between corporate social responsibility and profitability. Introduction We are witness to the metamorphosis of late capitalism, the interpenetration of postindustrialism with postmodern culture. Spectators (consumers and investors) are given only narrative fragments to construct worker and ecological stories from the vantage ...

So, Microsoft significance about the human rights and applied in the organization. Privacy and data security is the first topic of the human rights in the Microsoft company. As people spend more time online, the risk of privacy and data security attacks continue to rise. So they launched a companywide response with the Trustworthy Computing initiative, which made privacy and data security our highest priorities in product development. They continue to find innovative ways to protect theircustomer’s privacy and keep their information secure.

Next is the Freedom of expression. Internet freedom may seem like a given to some, but for many people around the world, it’s not that simple. They adopted a freedom of expression policy to guide their decision making when approached by governments that want to filter or censor Internet content. After that, they continued to support the free exchange of ideas and information online through their membership in the Global Network Initiative. In conclusion, after Microsoft has success in the field of human rights that’s make the trust to the world and reputation is continue enhancing until today.

For the aforementioned reasons, Microsoft won’t stop develop their operations because the above functions are important to them. And they are committed to responsible practices in their own operations, with policies and programs that ensure they act as a good corporate citizen everywhere they do business. Because of their good basic aspects of business character consist of integrity, values, and transparency made the public trust their corporations.

Thai people also trust their operations and products but Microsoft have to notice what are Thai people also Additional need something? And continue survey what are they want. The survey can do by many ways its up to the company decided such as face-to-face interview, telephone survey, written questionnaire and focus group.

In closing, Microsoft is a successful company with many products. Their products make the company well-known and famous so much such as B-Ing, the famous search engine. X-Box, Gaming console that many people enjoy. Microsoft Office, the useful tool with many applications that is helpful to students and teachers in education. And Microsoft Windows, the most famous software in the world. Until today no company can produce the products that’s better than Microsoft and I believe that the Microsoft will be the top of mind of people around the world forever.

The Term Paper on Feel That Microsoft Software Company

... able to take them over, my company needs to be able to continue what Microsoft started. My company does not have the type ... the company has grown to be the world's number one software developer and manufacturer. The company offers a very diverse line of products ... life. The goal was to integrate computers into people's everyday lives. The company started out in Gates' garage with primitive technology ...

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