University of Vaasa - Vaasan yliopisto

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One other problem faced in India by many manufacturing units situated in rural areas
is that of high turnover of workers due to migration to the city. The company devised
a solution to minimize both turnover and migration both as a CSR activity as well as
a business strategy. The management identified many school -going children of the
workers some of whom were on the verge of retirement and sponsored their technical
education in the areas required by the company like electrical engineering or paper
technology. The deal with the trade union was that those children would work for
the company after their completion of training or when their parent retired. This not
only ensured the workers’ family of a regular job and income but their higher
education would enhance the organizational culture.
The ultimate benefit resulting from these beliefs and actions of the company was a
strong employer-employee stakeholder model and the care exerted by the company
resulted in a greater bonding between them which has ensured a cushioning effect
even during adverse situations. The case of SIPM is not an exception. The Indian
tobacco giant ITC is only different in its methods. For long, it has had to live with a
tag of being a cigarette company and being looked down by people. Liberalization in
the form of the Structural Adjustment Program gave it ample opportunity to diversify
into agri-business of edible oil and other food products. With the assistance of
Information & Communication Technology, ITC set up a platform called ‘e-Choupal’
to provide the farmers with the essential information about the crops to be grown, the
seed money, and assured a market for their products at a better price. The existence
of middlemen in the market chain was eliminated. ITC by sourcing their supply
straight from the farmers also assured themselves about the quality and quantity of
raw materials. This has been live example of CSR in the country and a model for
many others.
Yet another model of CSR found in India is TVS Motors in the two wheeler
manufacturing sector, which is a family controlled business unlike ITC. The unit in
the southern State of Karnataka which manufactures scooters employs labor from
outside the state in order to avoid any trade-union related problems. But in order to
provide gainful employment to families of the workers, the company trains and
employs the family members in the preparation of food in the office cafeteria. This
is to ensure that the workers’ family members get a decent living while ensuring the
employees get wholesome food at workplace.
India still being still attached with a ‘developing nation’ tag has to achieve a lot in
the economic scene before it can pat itself on its back to compare itself globally with
many other competitors. Till such time, sustainable development agenda being in the
forefront, it has to ask for and accept help given to it from every quarter. The Non
Governmental Organizations with a proven history in the developed countries have a
potential for growth in the developing nations too. India or any developing economy
would benefit from a mutual Government-Industry-NGO partnership where the
government approved schemes could be funded by the industry partially and
coordinated by the NGOs but the best would still be hands-on experience by the
corporations in terms of monitoring, strategizing or scaling the program.
With India competing globally, we find a welcome change in the concept of a
stakeholder after liberalization where leadership quality appears to be a decisive