Embracing Corporate Social Responsibility, Essay Example

Corporate social responsibility, also known as CSR, is a business approach that looks at the relationship between a business and the community and society around it, rather than a business approach that is solely focused on the numbers and the end profits. In the current growing economy, a wide variety of social and environmental forces have caused corporations to take a second look at the way they run their organizations. Although many companies properly apply corporate social responsibility, a majority of corporations fail to see a profitable reward from the change to their business strategies. CVS however, is a great example of a company that is implementing CSR in a beneficial way for both the company and the community the company serves.

CVS has been paying attention to the changes in the healthcare industry and the needs of the patients that visit their store, particularly their pharmacy. “CVS Caremark understands that patients are concerned about the future of healthcare in the U.S., and they are increasingly turning to their pharmacists for guidance on a range of health care issues, beyond just advice on their medications” (Press Release, The Wall Street Journal, 2013). CVS boasts a diverse workforce of over 200,000 employees, some of whom are certified pharmacists, others have even higher credentials. This is just one way CVS is seeing the demands in the community and meeting them by expanding the clinical affiliations of their staff.

CVS’s high quality corporate social responsibility is probably the reason why CVS Pharmacy serves more than 60 million plan members at over 7,400 pharmacies across the United States. Relating to their customers and finding an approach that connecting with the customers on a personal level has helped CVS become the leading pharmacy in the country.

Resources

Press Release. “CVS Caremark Publishes New Corporate Social Responsibility Report.” Wall Street Journal Market Watch. The Wall Street Journal, n.d. Web. 11 May 2013. <http://www.marketwatch.com/story/cvs-caremark-publishes-new-corporate-social-responsibility-report-2013-05-09>.

Porter, Michael E. “Strategy and Society: The Link Between Competitive Advantage and Corporate Social Responsibility.” Harvard Business Review (n.d.): n. pag. Web. 11 May 2013.