Introduction Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) means businesses and organizations working responsibly and contributing positively to the communities they operate in. It involves working with employees, their families, the local community and society at large to improve their quality of life. Companies that operate in a socially so cially responsible way strengthen their reputations. In business, reputation is everything. It determines the extent to which customers want to buy from you, partners are willing to work with you and your standing in the co mmunity.
The company Amway is one of the wo rld¶s largest direct sales organizations with over 3 million Independent Business Owners (IBOs) in over 80 markets and territories worldwide. It is a family-owned business with a strong emphasis on family values. It s IBOs are often couples. Many of these are raising families. They therefore have a strong bond with children. These families are more than happy to partner with Amway, who, who , as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility strategy, works with UNICEF, the United Nations Children¶s Fund. As a family company, Amway is committed to playing a part in improving the lives of children in need across the globe. In this way, the company is able to show its commitment to the support suppo rt of global causes. Amway defines a global cause as µa social issue affecting many people around aro und the world engaged in a struggle or plight plight that warrants a charitable response¶. This case study shows how Amway is a business that does more than provide pro vide customers with good quality products. It shows the practical pract ical realities realities of o f Amway¶s global commitment and how it plays a key role in the communities in which it operates.
Growth and responsibility An understanding of how Amway operates o perates as an organisation gives a clearer c learer picture of the contribution it can make to help children in need across the globe. g lobe. Amway¶s vision vision is to help people live better lives. lives. It does do es this every day by providing a low-cost low-risk low-risk business opportunity based on selling quality products. prod ucts.
What does Amway do? Amway distributes a range of branded pro ducts. These products are sold to IBOs worldwide. The IBOs are Amway¶s links with consumers and the co mmunities in which they operate. The IBOs are self-employed and are highly motivated. mot ivated. They work within the guidelines gu idelines of Amway¶s Rules of Conduct and Code of Ethics, which are about being honest and responsible in trading. IBOs sell to people that they t hey know or meet. They can introduce others to the Amway business. Typical products that IBOs sell include: y
personal care ± fragrances, body care
y
skin care and cosmetics
y
durables such as cookware and water treatment systems
y
nutrition and wellness products such as food supplements, food and drinks.
IBOs play a key part in helping Amway to deliver its Global Cause Programme.
Amway programmes In order to give many of the world¶s children a chance to live a better life, Amway launched the global One by One campaign for children in 2003. The One by One programme: y
helps Amway to bring its vision to life
y
declares what the company stands for
y
y
builds trust and respect in Amway brands establishes Corporate Social Responsibility at a high level.
Amway encourages staff and IBOs to support its One by One campaign for children. Since 2001, Amway Europe has been an official partner of UNICEF and has been able to contribute over ¼2 million (about £1.4 million). The focus is on supporting the worldwide µImmunisation Plus¶ programme. This involves, for example, providing measles vaccines to children across the globe. The µPlus¶ is about using the vehicle of immunisation to deliver other life-saving services for children. It is about making health systems stronger and pro moting activities that help communities and families to improve child-care practices. For example the µPlus¶ co uld include providing vitamin A supplements in countries where there is vitamin A deficiency. Since 2001, Amway and its IBOs across Europe have been support ing UNICEF¶s child survival programme. The need is great. One out of ten children in Kenya does not live to see its fifth birthday, largely through preventable diseases. Malaria is the biggest killer with 93 deaths per day. Only 58% of children under two are fully immunised. The work of the One by One programme is illustrated by a field trip undertaken by Amway IBOs to Kenya. The IBOs travelled to Kilifi in 2006 to meet children and t o find out what the problems are in various communities. They act as champions spreading the message throughout their groups. In Kilifi, the focus is on trying to reach the most vulnerable children and pregnant mothers. The aim is to increase immunisation from 40% to 70%. Other elements of the programme involve seeking to prevent the transmission of HIV/AIDS to infants. As the Amway organisation grows and prospers, it is able through CSR actions to help communities to grow and prosper too.
Developing
a strategy
A strategy is an organisational plan. Implementing a strategy involves putting that plan into action. In other words a strategy shows how a business will achieve its goa ls. The strategy thus enables an organisation to turn its values into action. Values are what a company stands for. An important value for Amway is being a car ing company. Amway believes in demonstrating this caring approach and this is why it has partnered with UNICEF. All Directors design strategies for the whole of an o rganisation. Effective strategies involve discussion and communication with others. The views of IBOs are influential in creating strategies for Amway. Amway¶s strategies for corporate social responsibility are cascaded through the organisation as shown below. Amway¶s Global Cause strategy involves creating responsible plans that make a difference. However, the strategy is flexible. In shaping t he strategy, research was carried out to find out which global causes IBOs support. The results showed that many favoured a cause that helped children. There was a clear fit between Amway¶s aims to help children and UNICEF¶s µImmunisation Plus¶ programme for children.
Objectives From the outset, Amway set out some clear objectives for its strategy. These were to: y
build loyalty and pride among IBOs and employees
y
enhance Amway¶s reputation as a caring organisation
y
make a real difference to human lives.
Child mortality is particularly high in developing co untries because of infectious diseases. Many children could still be alive if they had been vaccinated. For under £12 a child can be vaccinated against these diseases and has a fighting chance to reach adulthood. UNICEF¶s world child µImmunisation Plus¶ programme is a fitting focus for t he activities of Amway UK and its IBOs. The UK initiative is part of a European-wide fundraising campaign for children. It recognises the importance of building good working relationships with UNICEF in each market in o rder to launch fundraising programmes through Amway¶s IBOs and their customers. The objective is to raise ¼500,000 (about £350,000) every year until 2010 across Amway Europe. In 2005 Amway UK¶s partnership was deepened through becoming an official Corporate Partner of UNICEF UK. The Corporate Partnership is a closer longer-term relationship which benefits both partners. Working together the two parties raise money for UNICEF.
Identifying stakeholders Amway¶s Corporate Social Responsibility strategy has been developed w ith the interests of the following stakeholders in mind:
Communicating the strategy
Good, clear communication is essential in making sure that the CSR strategy relates directly to the company business objectives. Communication also helps in putting the strategy into practice. A number of communications media are used: 1. Face-to-face communication: Regular meetings take place between UNICEF, Amwa y and its IBOs. Through meetings with UNICEF staff, Amway is able to discuss the vision and objectives. It then passes the message on by meeting with IBOs. In 2005 the t wo organisations arranged a joint briefing day for IBO Leaders. They were able to hear firsthand experiences from UNICEF staff about their roles and UNICEF¶s work as well as where the money goes. 2. Printed material : Amway produces a monthly magazine for all IBOs called Amagram. 3. Public relations materials are also important, particularly at launch events for the initiative (e.g. in Milton Keynes in 2006). 4. Email communication: Email is very important in the company ± it plays a significant part in keeping IBOs up-to-date. 5. Online activities: There is a micro-site dedicated to the Amway UK/UNICEF partnership on the UNICEF UK website.
Fundraising Amway Europe provides support for fundraising to the extent of ¼500,000 (about £350,000) per year through selling items such as: y
greetings cards
y
multi-cultural gifts and cards
y
stationery and wrapping paper
y
toys for children.
However, Amway UK¶s support goes well beyond these activities. In addition, it involves staff fundraising events and raffles organised by the IBOs. UNICEF attends IBO major events (usually supported by 1,000 or more IBOs) where requested. A UNICEF stand outlines the work with speakers, literature and merchandise.
Conclusion Amway is a family business with family values. Its IBOs are peop le who want to make a difference to the communities in which they op erate and to the wider world co mmunity. This is Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in action. The clue to Amway¶s success is the care ful planning of its strategy and its involvement with many stakeholders in getting the strategy right. Of course, it is early days in the latest chapter of a strong relationship between Amway and UNICEF. Evaluation is taking place to measure the success of the initiative in terms of meeting fundraising goals. Customer research is carried out
to test customersµ views on the relationship and to f ind out how aware the general public is about what Amway is doing in the field of CSR.
