Conductors and managers of business nowadays are required to achieve a set of corporate social responsibility (CSR) goals in order to make their company profitable and successful. In this essay, we will discuss how BMW Group achieves their CSR goals and its main theory of operating.
According to Investopedia (2018), corporate social responsibility is a set of actions requires a company not only obey the law or legal common sense, but also be responsible for the social community, environmental and economic factors that the business may having connect to. A good company should be ethical and moral in social, natural and economic environments. BMW, stands for Bavarian Motor Works, is an automobile manufacturer founded in 1916, Munich, Bavarian, German. According to BMW Key Figures 2017 (BMW Group, 2018), it has already become a multinational company with 129,932 employees and 2,463,526 BMW Group Cars (including Royce-Rolls and Mini) are delivered to BMW costumers all around the world. This identified its important position in motor industry. For keeping a good image of being a leader ship in automobile manufacturing industry, BMW achieves their corporate social responsibility goals by several approaches.
People nowadays are much more care about how a business or industry could making effect on nature environment than several years before with global warming issues has been raised up as an emergent challenge that we are facing in recent years. BMW Group Sustainable Value Report 2017 (BMW Group, 2018) points out that BMW Group is using new and high technological equipment to reduce the emission of carbon dioxide as low as possible when driving BMW motors. Also, to reduce pollution of exhaust gas, BMW is urea injection with Ad-Blue depending on different models of cars. Furthermore, electric power model cars are also considered as a part of plan for further development in BMW due to its feature of low or no carbon dioxide emission. They have estimated to having 25 electric models, 12 of them are purely electrically powered, by the end of 2025. By three approaches, BMW decreases the potential air pollution may cause by its cars as low as possible. In addition, BMW Corporate Social Responsibility (Mike Lee, 2017) also pointed out that BMW is using high technologic producing machines that can reduce 30% of energy needed per vehicle production compares to traditional industry. The power needed for all “i” model cars are produced by wind power. These approaches illustrated that the BWM is also try to be economic friendly in their producing process. These approaches are how BWM Group contributes and be responsible for nature environment.
BMW Group also doing well in maintaining a good public image. According to a ranking called 2018 Global RepTrak® Top 100 – Rankings & Pulse Scores (Reputation Institute, 2018), BMW Group scored 76.1 and ranked in the ninth place of most reputable companies, even better than Microsoft. The main reason why BMW Group could get a such high ranking is BMW Group is not only focusing on natural environmental sustainability but also social responsibility. BMW Group Sustainable Value Report 2017 (BMW Group, 2018) shows that BMW Group has continuously investing in its employees in order to improving their working efficiency while finding their potential abilities. With a series of investments, BMW Group could always offer a long-term employment to its employee which helps society to decrease unemployment rate. Stress in mental health, ageing society and changing lifestyles are always challenging factory workers’ production index. To make sure every employee in BMW Group keep a healthy condition, BMW Group provides a better environment of working, a system of working fit for ageing people and healthy nutritious food in canteens. This approach helps employees to improve their health while improving BMW Group’s firm image which could attract more employees. Other fact provided by BMW Corporate Social Responsibility (Mike Lee, 2017) is BMW Group also provide a series of traffic safety education for 350,000 youngers all around the world. Which does really help the society to educate youngers and prevent several potential traffic accidents. These approaches are how BMW Group contributed to social sustainability.
BMW Group also has huge impact on global economic sustainability. According to BMW Group Sustainable Value Report 2017 (BMW Group, 2018), BMW Group estimated to reduce the resource that needed for manufacturing to 55% by 2025. BWM Group also signed “United Nations Environment Programme’s International Declaration on Cleaner Production” in order to make sure keep resources as much as possible for our new generations in the future to use and develop. BMW created 98,678,000,000 euros of revenue by 2017 (BMW Key Figures 2017, BMW Group, 2018) and created 129,932 working opportunities all around the world. According to Sustainability Economic Responsibility (BWM Group, 2018), with creating one working place in BMW’s factory, there are three more will be created somewhere else. These approaches identified an essential position of BWM Group in both world economy and employment issue.
Researchers in business always divide companies into two groups, stakeholders’ and shareholders’ theory. The main differences between two theories are; stakeholders’ theory is more focusing on what a company could contribute to the big environment at all other than only benefit the shareholders who are closely related to the company; shareholders’ theory only focus on how companies may benefit the people who are involved or own the company without breaking laws (Investopedia,2018). Because BMW Group is a firm which is not only making profits and earning money for the managers and directors of it, but also focusing on natural, social and economic environments; besides, BMW Group does really doing a good job on contributing to world’s economy, society and environment. Therefore, BMW Group should belong to stakeholders’ theory.
To conclude, BMW Group keeps doing hard work on improving natural, social and economic environment. With a well-planned long-term goals and far-viewed vision, BMW Group also make their companies better than before. BMW Group does really care about stakeholders of its which means it is a stakeholders’ theory company.
Reference List:
BMW Group (2018), BMW Group Sustainable Value Report 2017, available at: https://www.bmwgroup.com/en/responsibility/sustainable-value-report.html
BMW Group (2018), BMW Group Key Figures 2017, available at: https://www.bmwgroup.com/en/company.html
Investopedia (2018), Definition of Corporate Social Responsibility, available at:
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/corp-social-responsibility.asp
Mike Lee (31, Mar, 2017), BMW Corporate Social Responsibility, available at: https://prezi.com/kvt-xefga4tw/bmw-corporate-social-responsibility/
Reputation Institute (2018), 2018 Global RepTrak® Top 100, available at:
https://www.reputationinstitute.com/global-reptrak-100
BMW Group (2018), Sustainability Economic Responsibility, available at: https://www.bmwusfactory.com/sustainability/economic-responsibility/economic-impact/
John Dudovskiy (28, Apr, 2016), BMW CSR Overview, available at:
BusinessDictionary (2018), Stakeholder, available at: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/stakeholder.html