CSR Seminar Paper PresentationJessica Willis | 14859531

The Warehouse Group (TWG) was founded with a soul vision to create a business that helps New Zealanders Flourish (TWG Limited, 2016).

TWG are a major distributor in the retail scene, encompassing market-leading retailers including,

WTG implement several CSR activities as they believe “healthy business leads to healthy societies, just as healthy societies thrive off healthy business” (TWG Limited, 2016).

TWG and their CSR ActivitiesTWG help meet the needs of everyday Kiwis by putting these people and the environment at the centre of everything they do (TWG Limited, 2016).

The Warehouse Group foundation was founded in 2013 to help New Zealand be a better place to live, the foundation manages and provides governance for community support partnerships (TWG Limited, 2016).

Brands under TWG umbrella all operate their own community partnership programmes and undergo different activities that contribute to the development of Kiwi communities (TWG Limited, 2016).

TWG are committed to operating in a sustainable way and encourage their customers to practice these operations too. They focus on four key areas including,

● Waste & Recycling● Product Stewardship● Energy Management● Helping customers live sustainably

BRIDGER

CSR & its Impact on ReputationOrganisations become invested in being socially responsible because it creates a strong reputation.

TWG contribute to the community and environment and share these achievements via their websites, annual and interim reports and through a range of media releases which makers their publics aware of their CSR actions; leading to forming of positive opinion.

Publics base reputation on past behaviour and hold a vision for future expectations of the company (Paetzold, 2010).

Confirmation of TWG’s efforts as a company who endorse CSR practices include the range of various awards they have received that applaud their efforts. These include,

● Wares Award: Retail Store of the Year in 2016● HR Awards, Social Responsibility Category: Their ‘Family Violence is not OK’

policy● HR Awards, Inaugural Diversity and Inclusion Category: Noel Leemings ‘Aspire

Women’s Leadership’ programme

PUBLIC INFORMATION

MODEL (Grunig & Hunt, 1984)

Recommendations for TWGThrough implementing corporate social responsibility practices, TWG have built up a strong public rapport and created a strong reputation and image among their publics, through implementation of a range of communication strategies.

TWG regularly communicate their efforts through their websites, media releases and annual reports but less so news articles and news media. This is because journalists often do not see CSR stories as ‘newsworthy’ where other stories often take priority.

If TWG wish to reach larger audiences, and get their CSR activities further known, TWG can implement several new strategies including,

● Change the way in which they are currently pitching their stories● Alter their news angle approach● Build up relations with journalists and news agencies

Impression management theory (Tata & Prasad, 2015)

ReferencesFryzel, B. (2015). The true value of CSR : corporate identity and stakeholder perceptions. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire ; New York, NY : Palgrave Macmillan, 2015.

https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.ezproxy.aut.ac.nz/lib/aut/detail.action?docID=1952982 Grunig, J. E., & Hunt, T. (1984). Managing public relations. New York : Holt, Rinehart and Winston, [1984].

Mak, A. Y., Pang, A., & Hart, E. (2015). Communicating corporate social responsibility: Media agenda building in Australia. Australian Journalism Review, 37(1), 149.http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.aut.ac.nz/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=e9b4f201-588f-4025-a845-55b3ba12df68%40sessionmgr104&vid=1&hid=108

Ovaitt, F. (2006). Are you a Bridge or a Buffer. Institute for Public Relations. Retrieved from, http://www.instituteforpr.org/are-you-a-bridge-or-a-buffer/ Paetzold, K. (2010). Corporate social responsibility (CSR) : an international marketing approach. Hamburg : Diplomica-Verlag, 2010.https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.ezproxy.aut.ac.nz/lib/aut/reader.action?docID=595333 Pearson, R. (1990). Ethical Values or Strategic Values? The Two Faces of Systems Theory in Public Relations. Public Relations Research Annual, 2219. Tata, J., & Prasad, S. (2015). CSR Communication: An Impression Management Perspective. Journal of Business Ethics, 132(4), 765-778. doi:10.1007/s10551-014-2328

TWG Annual Report, (2016). Annual Report for The Warehouse Group 2016. Retrieved from, www.thewarehousegroup.co.nz/download_file/force/914/174 TWG Limited, (2016). Official Website. Retrieved from,

http://www.thewarehousegroup.co.nz