Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Objective: Throughout the Term, we have discussed the importance of the purchasing function and the impact purchasing has on a company's ability to achieve ongoing strategic objectives

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Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
Objective:
Throughout the Term, we have discussed the importance of the purchasing function and the
impact purchasing has on a company's ability to achieve ongoing strategic objectives.
Increasingly these strategic objectives include plans to implement and sustain broad-based
CSR initiatives, not only within the supply chain but throughout the entire company. This
project aims to allow students to apply the purchasing tools and knowledge learned in the
course to a real-world business environment.

Project Scope:
You and your fellow group members are purchasing employees at ABC Company, a mid-size
product manufacturer located in Kitchener, Ontario, with customers across Canada and
worldwide. You have recently returned from a three (3) day business conference on
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), where the theme centered on global customers'
interest in the CSR policies and practices of the companies they purchase products from (i.e.,
their suppliers). The conference focus was on how the purchasing function needs to be a key
contributor and supporter of CSR.
You are aware that your employer, ABC Company, is in the process of developing new CSR
policies, but none of you are involved in the project to date. In your weekly meeting with the
Chief Operating Officer (COO), you discuss the various concepts recently introduced to you
at the conference and ask for the purchasing team to become actively involved in the
development of ABC Company's CSR initiatives from now on.
The COO is tremendously impressed with your enthusiasm and asks you to prepare a report
summarizing your ideas, including a benchmarking analysis and comparison with a well-
known, publicly held manufacturer (i.e., the company your professor has assigned to your
group - see below). Your Report will substantiate why the purchasing function should
always be a part of the CSR planning process (this should be included in your
Executive Summary).
Key areas of your benchmarking research and analysis should include (but are not limited
to). This is the Analysis section of  Report.
• Research & identify the published CSR values of your assigned organization and
identify the role you believe the purchasing team plays in each of those values of tom company. 
• Research & identify any known contradictions to those published values. 
• Do the organization's overall vision and published mission statement correlate
to the CSR values? Why or why not.
• Discuss if the organization has an ethical statement or mandate for their
employees and their suppliers. If so, how well does it correlate with the published
ethical purchasing guidelines from well-known purchasing associations?
• Discuss BOTH the benefits and drawbacks that the assigned organization's CSR
initiatives may have on their purchasing department regarding supplier screening,
strategic sourcing, and maintaining ethical standards.
• Describe all the elements of the "Three Pillars of Social Responsibility" (People,
Profit, and Planet) and explain how they impact the purchasing department's
sourcing activities related to your assigned company's CSR values of
assigned company below).
• Based on your benchmarking findings, discuss why you believe the purchasing
department should always be a part of developing a company's CSR values and
policies. 
Report Structure and Additional Grading Information
Your final Report should be structured as follows:
• Cover page (see formatting instructions above) 
• Executive summary (up to one page in length, summarizing your key findings)
• Table of Contents listing topics and page numbers 
• Analysis
• Reference page including a minimum of six (6) secondary research references 
• Exhibits

Excellent business management candidates do not just share facts and data; they deliver
critical analysis and insight to their audience. Your task is to persuade the reader to your
point of view. Suppose you describe what the assigned firm is doing with respect to the
stated criteria, without substantiating your request for the purchasing team to become
actively involved in the development of ABC Company's CSR initiatives from now on. In that
case, you are wasting your time and the COO's time.
Group Assignments for Project #2:
Tom's https://www.toms.com/ca