Indian Journal of Social Research Vol.58 (5) (Set. - Oct.

, 2017) (591-604)
ISSN : 0019-5626
Academic and Law Serials
e-ISSN : 2454-3624

EFFECTIVENESS OF CSR PROGRAMMES

(EMPLOYEES VS. BENEFICIARIES PERSPECTIVES) –
AN IT SECTOR UNDERTAKING

Clayton Michael Fonceca

Asst. Professor
P G & Research Department of Social Work
Sacred Heart College, Tirupattur – 635601

A. Umesh Samuel Jebaseelan

Associate Professor
P G & Research Department of Social Work
Bishop Heber College, Trichy – 620017

Abstract
An organization is a part of the society and thus it cannot function in isolation.
So there is an obligation and responsibility from the part of the corporate to take
action that protects and improves the welfare of society as a whole along with
their own interest (Keith Davis, 1975). Literature review reveals that corporates
are expected to operate in the interest of society and have a sense of obligation.
The growth in the service sector in India has been led by the IT–ITES sector,
contributing substantially to increase in GDP, employment, and exports.
Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives play an important role in the outcome
of the project reflecting the development of the community.
The study was conducted to analyze the effectiveness of CSR Programmes carried
out by the organization with regard to the perspectives of the Employees and
the Beneficiaries (Community). The study was conducted in one of the top IT
Sectors in Tamil Nadu, India. The census method was applied and all the 137
employees responsible for the CSR practices of the organization were taken for the
study. The researcher also adopted the two phase sampling technique to collect
valuable responses from the beneficiaries of the community which constituted of
107 respondents respectively. The descriptive research design was adopted and
standardized instruments were used to facilitate responses from both employees
and beneficiaries.
The present study clearly highlights how employees view the CSR Programmes
administered by the organization. It also reveals the extent to which the
beneficiaries of the community view these programmes. The findings presented
denote a difference of opinions with regard to the employees and the beneficiary’s
perspective with regard to the CSR Activities of the organization
592   Clayton Michael Fonceca and A. Umesh Samuel Jebaseelan

Key words: Corporate Social Responsibility, CSR Programmes, Employees

& Beneficiaries etc.,
Introduction

P rogrammes under CSR flows from the ‘factor’ that drives the
company to perform activities either through good will or for just
tax exception. However, the philanthropic mode of CSR dominates
and therefore firms prefer to contribute to welfare programmes under
health, education and relief. It would rather, critical stating, that the
philanthropic activities are even non- strategic as companies have
failed to achieve human development goals even in their spheres of
their influence. The multi-stakeholders model of CSR, overarches
workplace issues, human right issues, customer’s expectation,
aspirations, supplier’s issues, environment etc, this has a far way to
go in our country India. The meaning and scope of CSR initiatives in
our country is limited to the engagement with the community, which
is voluntary action driven mostly by business needs. Programmes
dealing with stakeholders are limited to compliance and there have
been hardly companies seen taking voluntary and proactive actions on
those counts.
Corporates interact with the society in many ways. They invest in
facilities, produce and sell products, employ people and subcontract or
in-source many activities. They also have an impact on the environment
by the nature of their activities, by using valuable resources, or
creating by-products, which influence the physical environment. Their
interaction with society is through their employees and the many
facets of society around them. Further, corporates may act explicitly as
responsible, for either emotional reasons or business purposes. As the
organization is a part of the society, it cannot function in isolation. So
there is an obligation and responsibility from the part of the corporate to
take action that protects and improves the welfare of society as a whole
along with their own interest (Keith Davis, 1975). The society plays a
pivotal role in the success of any organization. Hence, no organization
can achieve long-term success without fulfilling the responsibility
towards the society.

Review of Literature
An article by Stuart E. Levy (2011), on “An Analysis of CSR Activities in
the Lodging Industry”, investigated, identified and analyzed current
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practices and benefits gained
Effectiveness of CSR Programmes (Employees vs. Beneficiaries... 593

from implementing these activities in the United States (US) lodging

industry. A survey of the US-based hotel executives showed that
the most important and highest performing initiatives tended to be
popular environmental practices focused on energy, waste and water
management. Hotel executives reported that cost savings and branding-
related outcomes were the greatest benefits from CSR implementation.
Paramata Satyanarayana (2013), in her thesis on “Corporate Social
Responsibilities: A Study of Selected Organizations”, inferred
that: - a vast majority 73 percent of respondents were satisfied with
organizations overall involvement in CSR Activities at Visakhapatnam
while 75 percent of the respondents expressed a great attitude with
regard to the organization CSR Practices. It has also been observed, there
is an inherent uncertainty in the parameters that are being considered
for CSR. Although the term corporate social responsibility (CSR) may
provide a general framework to describe the responsible behavior of a
business and its social involvement it is what makes companies CSR
Activities novel and need based.
According to Yogita Sharma (2013), there are three characteristics that
denote the effectiveness of CSR Programmes and they are categorized
based their functionality with regard their economic aspects, social
aspects and environmental aspects.
• Economic Aspect - The economic dimension of the sustainability
agenda should rather consider the direct and indirect economic
impacts that the organization operation has on the surrounding
community and on the company’s stakeholders.
• Social Aspect - Many organizations are becoming increasingly
active in addressing social concerns thorough their act of social
responsibility by being accountable for the social effects the
company on the people at large.
• Environmental Aspect - Corporate activity may have many types
of effect s on the environment. Usually environmental impact
refers to the negative effects occurring in the surrounding natural
environmental due to business operations.
Sankara Narayanan (2014), in a research paper on “A Study on Role of
CSR Initiatives towards Community Development through Women
Empowerment Programmes”, revealed that Corporate in India have
moved a long way from mere philanthropy to offering deliberately
594   Clayton Michael Fonceca and A. Umesh Samuel Jebaseelan

planned, comprehensive programmes with far reaching impact on

the target Communities. Nowadays most of the Multinationals in
India, are involving in sectors like Education, Health, Environment,
Infrastructure and Women Empowerment. Majority (67.9%) of the
respondents preferred programmes on Education and Development.
The study highlighted that these programmes have helped women
to obtain better education, provide better medical facilities to their
children and participation in common action towards obtaining
Community Services.
Ignatius (2014), conducted a study on “Perception of Beneficiaries on
the Corporate Social Responsibility Programmes Sponsored by DCBL
Dalmiapuram, Tiruchirappalli District, Tamil Nadu”. The quantitative
data revealed that the community perception towards Corporate Social
Responsibility programme and company CSR programme was very
high. The study revealed that the beneficiaries were very happy with
the programmes conducted by the organization. However, via case
studies, the researcher reveled that there was a mismatch between their
expectation and in reality what they received and further emphasized
that need based analysis was necessary.
Madhu Bala (2015), conducted “A Comparative Study of methods
of CSR Implementation in Indian Context”, and inferred that CSR
integration into business operations is one of the great challenge
facing Indian organizations today. The companies facing with CSR
problems and challenges are required to manage effective ways
of implementation of CSR projects. CSR integration with business
operations involves planning and implementation of CSR activities.
Depending on the availability of these resources, companies opt for
different modes of executing CSR. The results of adopting a particular
method, consequences of disturbance in business operations and long
term performance of company must outweigh the cost of adoption of a
particular method of implementation of CSR.

Significance of the Study

Organization do not function in isolation in the society around them.
The literature review reveals that corporates are expected to operate in
the interest of society and have a sense of obligation. The growth in the
service sector in India has been led by the IT–ITES sector, contributing
substantially to increase in GDP, employment, and exports. The IT/
ITES sector in India aggregated revenues of US$143 billion for 2015-16.
Effectiveness of CSR Programmes (Employees vs. Beneficiaries... 595

If corporates could create such a huge difference in the GDP of our

country, how much would it take for an organization to contribute
towards CSR? (Only 2% as per Companies Bill 2013). Then why there
is no significant difference in the outcome of CSR activities. The key
stakeholders for IT companies is its employees (Griffiths. J, 2007) and
therefore a strong focus of their attitude and involvement towards
Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives, plays an important role in
the outcome of the project reflecting the development of the community.
To what extent these services are received and perceived by the
employees & beneficiaries, needs to be addressed and studied. This
would bridge the gap between what is expected by the beneficiaries
and what is being introduced by the corporates.

Material & Methods

Aim of the Study
The study was conducted to analyze the effectiveness of CSR
Programmes carried out by the organization with regard to the
perspectives of the Employees and the Beneficiaries (Community).

Objectives
• To study the employees outlook on the CSR Programmes
administered.
• To understand how beneficiaries of the community view these
programmes as directed by the organization.
• To match the employees perspective with that of the beneficiaries
with regard to the CSR programmes carried out.
Universe and Sampling Frame Work
The name of the organization was asked not to be disclosed for the
want of confidentiality and the conventional applicability of adhering
to the research ethics and norms. The study was conducted in one of
the top IT Sectors in Tamil Nadu, India. The organization has a separate
division for its CSR Initiatives and employees from various departments
and designations are pooled in to implement CSR Programmes. The
organizations CSR Programme consist of 137 employees who carry out
the CSR activities of the organization for the community. The census
method was applied and all the 137 employees responsible for the CSR
practices of the organization were taken for the study.
596   Clayton Michael Fonceca and A. Umesh Samuel Jebaseelan

The organization as part of its CSR drive reaches out to Government

Higher Secondary Schools, Middle Schools, Rehabilitation Schools and
Schools for the Differently abled. This constitutes of 16 schools in the
local community of Coimbatore in which the organization administers
it Effective Programmes on CSR. The researcher adopted the two phase
sampling technique. It is a procedure by which information is collected
at different degrees of detail for samples that are subsamples of the
original population. The sample & subsamples are divided into two
distinct phases (Wayne Fuller, 1998).
• Phase I
Simple random sampling technique was adopted using the lottery
method and out of 16 schools in which the organization administers
its CSR practices, 50 percent of the population was chosen for the
study which resulted in 8 schools being selected for the study.
• Phase II
There were 107 respondents in the aforesaid 8 schools involved in
CSR activities as promoted by the organization. The census method
was applied and all the 107 respondents were selected for the study.

Research Design
Descriptive research studies are those studies which are concerned
with describing the characteristics of a particular individual or group.
The descriptive research design was adopted to comprehend the
effectiveness of CSR Programmes as perceived by the employees and
the beneficiaries of the community at large.
Tools of Data Collection

Employees vs. Beneficiaries Perspectives on the Effectiveness of CSR Programmes

Name of the Reliability Rating Scale Data Collection
Instrument Method
Effectiveness of CSR .940 Cronbach’s Likert 5 Point Questionnaire Method
Programmes - Self Alpha Rating Scale was adopted
Structured

The same instrument was used to collect and validate data to match the
perspectives of the employees carrying out the programme as part of
the organizations CSR Activity with regard to how the beneficiaries of
the community perceive and rate the same.
Effectiveness of CSR Programmes (Employees vs. Beneficiaries... 597

Analysis of Data
• Employees Rating the CSR Programmes
Table 1: Employees Rating theEffectiveness of CSR Programme Administered

No. of respondents
S.No. Variable Percentage
(n:137)
Programmes on Creating Awareness
1 Environmental Protection
Low level 65 47.4
High level 72 52.6
2 Career Counselling
Low Level 53 38.7
High level 84 61.3
3 Water Management and Sanitation
Low level 67 48.9
High level 70 51.1
4 Computer Literacy
Low level 41 29.9
High level 96 70.1
Promoting Extra Curricular Activities
5 Talent Hunt
Low level 52 38.0
High level 85 62.0
Programmes on Promoting Learning
6 Computer Science and ICT
Low level 49 35.8
High level 88 64.2
7 Library Facilities
Low level 58 42.3
High level 79 57.7
8 Scholarships/Sponsor College Education
Low level 53 38.7
High level 84 61.3
9 Contributions of Computers and Projectors
Low level 46 33.6
High level 91 66.4

From the presented table 1 with reference to the programmes on

Creating Environmental Protection, it was found that a little more than
half (52.6%) of the respondents had a high rating with regard to the
effectiveness of the aforesaid programme, while 47.4 percent of the
598   Clayton Michael Fonceca and A. Umesh Samuel Jebaseelan

respondents revealed a low rating pertaining to the same. This did not
correlate with a study made by Stuart E. Levy (2011), on “An Analysis of
CSR Activities in the Lodging Industry”, stated that the most important
and highest performing initiatives tended to be environmental practices
which focused on energy, waste and water management.
According to the presented table reflecting the programmes on Career
Counselling, it was found that a majority (61.3%) revealed a high
rating, while 38.7 percent denoted a low rating with reference to the
same. The programmes on Water Management and Sanitation inferred
that 51.1 percent of the respondent revealed a high rating while 48.9
percent denoted a low rating.
With regard to the effectiveness of the programmes carried out by the
organization in promoting Computer Literacy, it was found that a vast
majority (70.1%) found these programmes to be highly beneficial, while
29.9 percent revealed a low rating based on the same.
Table 1, further denotes that, majority (62%) of the respondents found
‘Talent Hunt’ to be of great influence and regard in the promotion of
Extracurricular Activities, while 38 percent revealed a low rating based
on the same. Programmes such as Promoting Learning, which included
teaching Computer Science and the use of ICT was found to be of high
value with majority (64.2%) of the respondents stating the same while,
35.8 revealed a low rating in accordance with the aforesaid programme.
Sankara Narayanan (2014), in his research paper on “A Study on Role
of CSR Initiatives towards Community Development”, emphasized
that majority (67.9%) of the respondents preferred programmes on
Education and Development. This highlighted that better education,
provide better participation in obtaining Community Services.
The organization also takes great heed in the promotion of Library
Facilities; the above table reveals that, 57.7 percent of the respondents
found this to be of high regard while 42.3 percent of the respondents
revealed a low rating. With reference to the award of scholarships’
and the sponsoring of college education for the beneficiaries, majority
(61.3%) of the employees/associates inferred this act of promoting
learning undertaken by the organization to be of high regard, while
38.7 percent revealed a low rating with reference to the same. Majority
(66.4%) of the respondents revealed a high rating with regard to the
Contribution of Computers and Projectors in the promotion of learning
while, one third (33.6%) of the respondents revealed a low rating with
regard to the same.
Effectiveness of CSR Programmes (Employees vs. Beneficiaries... 599

• Beneficiaries Rating the CSR Programmes

Table 2: Beneficiaries Rating theEffectiveness of CSR Programme Administered

No of respondents
S.No. Variable Percentage
(n:107)
Programmes on Creating Awareness
1 Environmental Protection
Low level 48 44.9
High level 59 55.1
2 Career Counselling
Low Level 40 37.4
High level 67 62.6
3 Water Management and Sanitation
Low level 51 47.7
High level 56 52.3
4 Computer Literacy
Low level 35 32.7
High level 72 67.3
Promoting Extra C72urricular Activities
5 Talent Hunt
Low level 41 38.3
High level 66 61.7
Programmes on Promoting Learning
6 Computer Science and ICT
Low level 39 36.4
High level 68 63.3
7 Library Facilities
Low level 53 49.5
High level 54 50.5
8 Scholarships/Sponsor College Education
Low level 39 36.4
High level 68 63.6
9 Contributions of Computers and Projectors
Low level 30 28.0
High level 77 72.0
600   Clayton Michael Fonceca and A. Umesh Samuel Jebaseelan

From the presented table 2 with reference to the programmes on

Creating Environmental Protection, it was found that a more than
half (55.1%) of the respondents had a high rating with regard to the
effectiveness of the aforesaid programme, while 44.9 percent of the
respondents revealed a low rating pertaining to the same. With regard
to the programmes on Career Counselling, it was found that a majority
(62.6%) of the respondents revealed a high rating, while 37.4 percent
denoted a low rating with reference to the same.
The programmes on Water Management and Sanitation inferred that
52.3 percent of the respondent revealed a high rating while 47.7 percent
denoted a low rating. Based on the effectiveness of the programmes
carried out by the organization in promoting Computer Literacy,
it was found that a majority (67.3%) of the beneficiaries found these
programmes to be highly beneficial, while 32.7 percent revealed a
low rating based on the same. The table further denotes that, majority
(61.7%) of the respondents found ‘Talent Hunt’ to be of great influence
and regard in the promotion of Extracurricular Activities, while 38.3
percent revealed a low rating based on the same. Programmes such as
Promoting Learning, which included teaching Computer Science and
the use of ICT was found to be of high value with majority (63.3%) of
the beneficiaries stating the same while, 38.3 revealed a low rating in
accordance with the aforesaid programme.
The beneficiaries perception with regard to the organization taking
heed in the promotion of Library Facilities; revealed that a little more
than half (50.5%) of the beneficiaries found this to be of high regard
while 49.5 percent of the respondents revealed a low rating. This may be
due to the already established library and that there might be a regular
supply of books from the government. With reference to the award of
scholarships’ and the sponsoring of college education, majority (63.6%)
of the beneficiaries inferred this act of promoting learning undertaken
by the organization to be of high regard, while 36.4 percent revealed a
low rating with reference to the same. Majority (72%) of the beneficiaries
revealed a high rating with regard to the Contribution of Computers
and Projectors in the promotion of learning while, 28 percent of the
respondents revealed a low rating with regard to the same.
Effectiveness of CSR Programme Administered (Employees vs.
Beneficiaries)
From the presented figure 1, it is evident that there is a close affiliation
with regard to how Employees and Beneficiaries view certain
Effectiveness of CSR Programmes (Employees vs. Beneficiaries... 601

Figure 1: Effectiveness of the CSR Programmes as denoted by Employees

& Beneficiaries
programmes on the promotion of Library Facilities, Environmental
Protection, Water-Management & Sanitation. This reveals that both
employees and beneficiaries see eye to eye with regard to these
programmes. The figure also clearly states that with regard to CSR
Activities carried out there is a miss match onhow Employees and
Beneficiaries view programmes on career counselling, computer
literacy, extra-curricular activities, use of ICT, scholarship promotion
and the contributions of computers & projectors. Though tables (1 &
2) denoted high level of significance with regarding to how employees
and beneficiaries perceive the CSR Programmes, only while cross
tabulating as presented in figure 1, it is evident that there is a significant
difference in how they perceive the same. The analysis also correlates
with the findings made by Ignatius (2014), which revealed that though
the beneficiaries were very happy with the programmes conducted by
the organization there was a mismatch between their expectation and
in reality what they received.
Conclusion
The present study clearly highlights how employees view the CSR
Programmes administered by the organization. These employees
though carry out the programmes denote the extent to which they
perceive the functionality of the programmes carried out. The study
also reveals the extent to which the beneficiaries of the community
view these programmes. The findings presented denote a difference of
opinions with regard to the employees and the beneficiary’s perspective
602   Clayton Michael Fonceca and A. Umesh Samuel Jebaseelan

with regard to the CSR Activities of the organization. It is suggested

that common meetings between the community and the various
stakeholders to be conducted. This should consist of representatives
of self-help groups, government officials, youth club leaders and
prominent people from the local villages. This would enable the
organization and the community to have a common platform to identify
the felt needs of the community before the actually implementation the
CSR Schemes.
There should be a steering committee comprising of equal representations
from the organization and the community. This committee should
have periodic meetings to discuss the progress of the programmes
in various phases for the successful implementation of the same. The
committee can also monitor, review and evaluate the effective outcome
of CSR Activities. Follow-ups can also be conducted to identify the
setbacks and reformat the same. Exclusive workshops on CSR may also
be organized for the key functionaries at the community level. This
would enable them to understand the objectives of CSR Activities, the
programme content, the working modalities and whereby ascertain
successful implementations of the CSR Programmes.
Social Work Intervention
Respondents having low perceptions towards CSR Activities due to
psychosocial problems can be addressed through social case work. If the
same problem is manifested with many employees social group work
techniques may be intervened. Community Organizations techniques
may be applied to reach and cover all the schemes addressing effective
CSR Practices amoung the vast community whereby ensuring that the
community members are aware of the various schemes available and
make an optimum utilization of the same. Employees may be given
awareness with regard to the salient features of the ‘Companies Bill
2013’ (Section 135) to ensure effective implementation of CSR Practices.
An effective scientific enquiry may be undertaken (research) in order to
identify the strengths and short comings of the scheme.
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***

Received on 21.2.2017 and accepted on 4.3.2017