A level business AQA - 25 marker help please

Hi all,
I've realised recently that in my 2 years of a levels I've only ever had one person marking my work and test papers and with A levels next month I thought it would be a good idea to post one of my answers to a 25 mark question and see if anyone could give me any feedback/ rate it out of 25. I would greatly appreciate it and would be happy to do the same if you're in year 13 as well.

Below is the question and answer:

To what extent does a commitment to
Corporate Social Responsibility
decrease profit for ALL BUSINESSES?
[25 marks]

These days, many businesses are recognising the importance of corporate social responsibility, and are choosing to pay greater attention as to how they're interacting with society and the overall impact that the business is having. This is because it has a huge influence on how the business is perceived to everyone and its public relations. And also, a business may feel it is their responsibility to act for the good of society, and so due to this its difficult to say whether it will categorically hinder a business financially.
On the one hand, it is true that in a lot of cases, capitol is expended to ensure for sustainable practices, for example, as a business may recognise that, climate change is an important issue in society. In the short term this would definitely decrease profits as often the most financially favourable option is not always the best for the environment, in this instance. In that regard, businesses would see a decrease in profits as they would be expending more resources on ensuring that their business has an overall positive impact, rather than going for the cheapest option. For example, only using sustainably sources raw materials. Another reason a business is likely to see a decrease in profits is due to Caroll's CSR pyramid. As part of the top bracket, philanthropy is regarded as one of the best ways to improve your social impact. This will probably never see a return on investment as you're effectively giving away funds and expecting nothing in return financially, which will eat into your profits.
However on the other hand, just because a business values their corporate social responsibility, doesn't inherently mean it will lose out on profit. If anything, it could draw a wider range of customers to their product or service. Carrying on with the same example, a customer with a greater ecological conscience could take a greater interest in a good, knowing it was made or transported sustainably, like locally grown fruit or vegetables. In this case, not only does implementing some corporate social responsibility strategies aid with public relations, but it could introduce different customer profiles to shop at the business, therefore with time increasing profits. Another way, having a strategy that's more socially responsible could aid a business is by improving it's brand image. Often customers try to be aware of where it is their money is going, and if a business has publicly given money to charity for example, it could be another reason as to why to shop at that particular business.
As I hinted in my introduction, my overall view is that, a business having corporate social responsibility, doesn't mean it will lose out on profits. I justify this view because of the complexity of reasons why having corporate social responsibility could improve public image, drawing more customers to the business. However I also understand that in the short term, spending a businesses funds in areas that will benefit more people, would bring about a loss. This doesn't mean a business shouldn't do this though, as the goal is not to help the business but to help society. According to Elkington's triple bottom line, a businesses objectives shouldn't primarily be focused on profits, but on the planet and people as well. And so whilst being corporately socially responsible, doesn't mean it will help a business financially, it is definitely something a business should consider.

Reply 1

Profy

5

Pretty good. Though I would not know the score out of 25.
I liked how you mentioned that CSR can attract more customers. You should form a chain of analysis here: More customers = more revenue = more profit than evaluation. I would have said ...
The use of CSR could potentially attract new customers to the business, thus increasing revenue, therefore, profit. This however depends on the cost, if the increase in cost from committing to CSR was greater than the increase in revenue this would result in a net loss, not a gain.

Also, mention that some governments provide benefits to companies that are socially responsible. Like tax breaks or grants.

Take this with a pinch of salt, I did my exam a year ago so my technique may be a bit off. I hope this helps.

Reply 2

danhas20

OP

13

Original post by Profy

Pretty good. Though I would not know the score out of 25.
I liked how you mentioned that CSR can attract more customers. You should form a chain of analysis here: More customers = more revenue = more profit than evaluation. I would have said ...
The use of CSR could potentially attract new customers to the business, thus increasing revenue, therefore, profit. This however depends on the cost, if the increase in cost from committing to CSR was greater than the increase in revenue this would result in a net loss, not a gain.

Also, mention that some governments provide benefits to companies that are socially responsible. Like tax breaks or grants.

Take this with a pinch of salt, I did my exam a year ago so my technique may be a bit off. I hope this helps.

thank you so much

A level business AQA - 25 marker help please

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