Corporate Social Responsibility According to Employee Perception…
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expectations, ethical commitment, transparency, citizenship and sustainable development.
The norm is based on Elkington’s (2001) three dimensions of sustainability
(economic, environmental and social) as well as the management methodology
known as PDCA, or Plan-Do-Check-Act (Associação Brasileira de Normas Técnicas
2010). The objectives required for a good CSR management system should consider:
(a) good governance practices; (b) fighting piracy, tax evasion, and corruption; (c)
fair competition; (d) rights of children and adolescents (including fighting against
child labor); (e) workers’ rights (including freedom of association, fair remuneration,
basic benefits and being against forced labor); (f) promoting diversity and fighting
discrimination; (g) commitment to professional development; (h) health and safety
promotion; (i) promotion of sustainable patterns of development, production, distribution and consumption; (j) protection of the environment and the rights of future
generations; and (k) social actions of public interest.
Throughout the history of CSR, the notion of corporative responsibilities toward
stakeholders considering for example social issues within its scope of responsibilities
is not fully agreed upon.
The works of Freeman (2010) were important to develop and popularize the theory
of stakeholders, emphasizing the importance of taking such matters into account
during management topics raised by groups affecting or affected by the company’s
operations. That is, it is necessary for management to be guided by a “principle of
who or what really counts” (Freeman 2010, p. 413) for the organization, and that is
beyond the interests of the owners or shareholders. By acknowledging that there are
other stakeholders in the organization who have some legitimate right or objective
with respect to the organization, modern corporations can use management tools to
address them (Freeman 2010).
These issues are addressed in this study, as it engages with the theory of stakeholders and investigates perceptions, behaviors and responses of workers of a given
company. Similarly to consumer and investor surveys, surveys with an organization’s workforce should consider the particularities of this type of stakeholder,
allowing to investigate not a purchase or an investment, but whether workers show a
stronger commitment to the organization when they perceive the company as socially
responsible.
4 Methodology
The main objective of this study is to map the perceptions of workers regarding the
CSR of a large company in the energy sector in Brazil and identify the actions of
the company that contribute to this perception. Thus, the research method can be
classified as descriptive and exploratory. A questionnaire was applied to 50 workers
of an energy company, working in an operations unit located in Manaus (AM), with
data collection occurring throughout 2017. The addressed operations unit is part of a
large company in the Brazilian energy sector that states its social responsibility policy
197
expectations, ethical commitment, transparency, citizenship and sustainable development.
The norm is based on Elkington’s (2001) three dimensions of sustainability
(economic, environmental and social) as well as the management methodology
known as PDCA, or Plan-Do-Check-Act (Associação Brasileira de Normas Técnicas
2010). The objectives required for a good CSR management system should consider:
(a) good governance practices; (b) fighting piracy, tax evasion, and corruption; (c)
fair competition; (d) rights of children and adolescents (including fighting against
child labor); (e) workers’ rights (including freedom of association, fair remuneration,
basic benefits and being against forced labor); (f) promoting diversity and fighting
discrimination; (g) commitment to professional development; (h) health and safety
promotion; (i) promotion of sustainable patterns of development, production, distribution and consumption; (j) protection of the environment and the rights of future
generations; and (k) social actions of public interest.
Throughout the history of CSR, the notion of corporative responsibilities toward
stakeholders considering for example social issues within its scope of responsibilities
is not fully agreed upon.
The works of Freeman (2010) were important to develop and popularize the theory
of stakeholders, emphasizing the importance of taking such matters into account
during management topics raised by groups affecting or affected by the company’s
operations. That is, it is necessary for management to be guided by a “principle of
who or what really counts” (Freeman 2010, p. 413) for the organization, and that is
beyond the interests of the owners or shareholders. By acknowledging that there are
other stakeholders in the organization who have some legitimate right or objective
with respect to the organization, modern corporations can use management tools to
address them (Freeman 2010).
These issues are addressed in this study, as it engages with the theory of stakeholders and investigates perceptions, behaviors and responses of workers of a given
company. Similarly to consumer and investor surveys, surveys with an organization’s workforce should consider the particularities of this type of stakeholder,
allowing to investigate not a purchase or an investment, but whether workers show a
stronger commitment to the organization when they perceive the company as socially
responsible.
4 Methodology
The main objective of this study is to map the perceptions of workers regarding the
CSR of a large company in the energy sector in Brazil and identify the actions of
the company that contribute to this perception. Thus, the research method can be
classified as descriptive and exploratory. A questionnaire was applied to 50 workers
of an energy company, working in an operations unit located in Manaus (AM), with
data collection occurring throughout 2017. The addressed operations unit is part of a
large company in the Brazilian energy sector that states its social responsibility policy