According to Staheli (2018), Corporate social responsibility can be defined as the company's responsibility toward society and the surrounding environment while making a profit. This includes many types of charitable and volunteer work. It also benefits the company by strengthening its brand and building a great deal of trust between it and the stakeholders inside and outside.
In this discussion, I will define its branches and their advantages and apply this to the case of (Bechtel company) involved in the study.
Corporate Social Responsibility Branches:
According to (Carroll, 1991), It can be divided as follows:
Economic Responsibility: Companies must work to make a profit to ensure their continuity and ability to survive.
Legal Responsibility: Companies must abide by the laws and not violate them to make profits or even perform charitable deeds.
Ethical ResResponsibility: Companies do what is beneficial and necessary for society and the environment, even without laws.
Charitable Responsibility: It involves spending on charitable causes, contributing to society's development, spreading awareness, and projecting a good image of which the company is proud (Carroll, 2016).
Applying the CSR to Bechtel Corporation:
Economic Dimension: According to Forbes (2022), Bechtel is considered the largest construction company in the world in terms of profits. Its net profit for 2021 was 17.6 billion USD.
Legal Dimension: Bechtel respects the laws of each country in which it operates; even the internal regulations for work change with the change of the country and its applicable rules; for example, in Saudi Arabia, it works by Saudi law completely, even with different weekly working days (Smith, 1991).
Ethical Dimension: In 1931, when building the Hoover Dam, Bechtel, like other companies, was harsh with the workers. The work was done in very harsh conditions. However, Bechtel's new vision (Sustainability 2030) concerns eliminating modern slavery in business and its operations in all countries.
Charitable Dimension: Bechtel contributes to many charitable projects around the world, especially in Africa. It has undertaken road paving projects in remote villages in Ethiopia to link villages and cities so that students can easily transport to schools and contribute to major charitable projects within the United States (Bechtel, 2017).
Suggestions for CSR Initiatives for Bechtel:
The company can expand its charitable work in poor regions of Africa and Asia; for example, the Bechtel Corporation operates in many countries where workers under the legal working age work; this is legally allowed in these countries, and this is happening in some countries in Africa and Asia, the communities there depend on getting their children to work, to provide the lowest standard of living for themselves and their children just to survive (Smith, 1991). Thus, Bechtel must provide care of a particular kind to such workers, the example of creating unique educational, training, and health programs; these programs benefit not only the community but also the company itself, which should invest in the development of its employees and maintain its global reputation.
Conclusion
Although the first and superficial look at the principles of corporate social responsibility it just spending money without making profits from it, the companies that follow this approach are the companies that know the strength of these principles in achieving complete sustainability; companies need to understand that this affects their internal growth (employee engagement, productivity, turnover), it also affects its external growth (increased sales, customer loyalty, and brand awareness).
References
Bechtel. (2017). The Bechtel Sustainability Report 2017.
https://www.bechtel.com/getmedia/fba1f2be-0869-4ce8-97ca-bc9fc90b0ee1/2017-Bechtel-Sustainability-Report-ns.pdf?ext=.pdf
Bechtel. (2022). Committed to creating a sustainable future
https://www.bechtel.com/sustainability/
Carroll, A. B. (1991). The pyramid of corporate social resResponsibilityoward the moral management of organizational stakeholders. Business Horizons, 34(4), 39-48.
Carroll, A. B. (2016). Carroll's pyramid of CSR: taking another look. International journal of corporate social responsibility (1), 1-8.
Forbes. (2022). Bechtel revenue, https://www.forbes.com/companies/bechtel/?sh=121a3a46b1d9
Staheli, J. (2018). Corporate social responsibility's at stake for business leaders today. Secured Lender, 74(2), 30–33. Retrieved from EBSCO multi-search at TUW library.
Smith, J. C. (1991). Mega-project construction management--the Corps of Engineers and Bechtel Group in Saudi Arabia (Doctoral dissertation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology).