(a) Briefly explain the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) with industry illustrations. Critically evaluate major…

(a) Corporate Social Responsibility and its measurement

CSR is a firm's commitment to operate ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of workers, communities and society, going beyond legal compliance. In India, Section 135 of the Companies Act 2013 requires companies with net worth of ₹500 crore or more, turnover of ₹1,000 crore or more, or net profit of ₹5 crore or more to spend at least 2% of average net profit of the preceding three years on activities in Schedule VII, through a CSR committee. Illustrations: Tata group's work in health, education and rural development; Infosys Foundation in education and healthcare; ITC's e-Choupal, which improved farmers' incomes and its own sourcing.

Multilateral initiatives to measure CSR:

The UN Global Compact asks firms to follow ten principles on human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption and to report annually. It is wide-reaching but voluntary, with weak enforcement.

The Global Reporting Initiative provides widely used standards for sustainability reporting on economic, environmental and social performance. It allows comparison, but reporting is not the same as impact and can be selective.

ISO 26000 gives guidance on social responsibility in seven core subjects, but it cannot be certified. SA 8000 is auditable and certifies labour standards. The OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights set expectations on conduct and due diligence.

Overall these frameworks raise transparency and common standards, but being voluntary and focused on inputs and disclosure, they need independent verification and impact measures such as social return on investment.

(b) Money as a motivator

The statement, from Dunn and Norton's Happy Money, suggests money gives happiness only when spent well. It touches the role of money as a motivational tool.

Money matters because it meets basic and security needs (Maslow), and in expectancy theory, it motivates when people believe effort leads to performance and performance to a valued reward. Herzberg, however, regarded pay as mainly a hygiene factor, preventing dissatisfaction but not producing lasting motivation, and research shows that beyond a basic level, extra pay adds little satisfaction.

How money is used matters: spending on experiences, on other people and on buying time brings more happiness than on material goods. For managers, pay works best when linked fairly and visibly to performance, combined with recognition, growth and meaningful work. I partly agree: money is a real but incomplete motivator.

(c) International HRM and the use of HCNs, PCNs and TCNs

IHRM differs from domestic HRM in having more activities, such as international relocation, taxation, orientation and language training, a wider perspective across many countries and workforce types, greater involvement in employees' personal lives, more risk exposure, and wider external influences from differences in law, culture and politics.

Host country nationals: lower cost, local knowledge, language, goodwill and continuity, with less relocation problem; but limited ties with headquarters, and weaker control and promotion prospects.

Parent country nationals: knowledge of company culture, control and trust, and good for transferring skills; but high cost, adjustment problems, blocked local promotion and possible local resentment.

Third country nationals: often cheaper than PCNs, with international experience and language skills; but possible host-country sensitivity, and weak loyalty to the headquarters, and visa constraints.

A balanced mix, shaped by strategy and local conditions, is usually used.