Game of Words: View vs Counter View 3.05

Corporate Social Responsibility

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is defined as a company’s initiative to assess and take responsibility for its effects on the environment and impact on social welfare and also to promote positive social and environmental change. It is only fair and right that part of the profits earned from business activities is given back to the underprivileged and deprived sections of the society. CSR is beneficial to companies because it portrays to the customers of the company that it is socially conscious, provides a competitive advantage and also boosts employee morale.

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Under Companies Act, 2013 as per legal mandate, any company with a net worth of the Rs 500 crore or more or turnover Rs 1000 crore or more or net profit of Rs 5 crore or more has to spend at least 2% of last 3 years average net profits on CSR activities as specified in Schedule VII . The rules came into effect from 1 April 2014 with amendment to the law in August 2019 to ensure stricter compliance.
To find out more about CSR activities of companies, I had an informative conversation with Mrs. Anupama Shetty who is head of CSR at Narayana Health (NH). NH is a chain of multi-speciality hospitals, heart centres and primary care facilities with its headquarters in Bengaluru. Many companies use CSR as a license to operate in that particular region in order to engage with local stakeholders but NH surpasses that description because they also conduct activities in regions where they don’t operate to address critical problems in high priority districts. NH mainly focuses on health and education programmes in connection to CSR and aims at impacting policies. The primary objectives of these programmes are to address issues of accessibility, affordability and equity of the weaker sections of the society.

At Narayana Health, Dr Devi Shetty, Founder and Chairman, introduced a community-based health insurance programme before the Company’s Act 2013 came into existence. This programme was conceptualized for farmers to enable them to have access to surgeries by paying a very small amount as premium. In terms of education, Dr Devi Shetty introduced a programme called ‘Udayer
Pathey’, which gave scholarships to rural students to help them become doctors. Another education programme called ‘Udaan’, was introduced in Bidar and Gulbarga, which helped some underprivileged students get through NEET last year. In terms of health, NH conduct operations to address the 3 most common types of cancers- oral, breast and cervical. They introduced a mobile mammography programme where they conducted awareness sessions and screenings for rural women. They also partnered with Britannia Nutrition Foundation to address the prevalent problem of anaemia in India. Britannia made biscuits with special forms of iron added to them which was given to adolescent girls in rural regions. It was later observed that there was a huge change in the haemoglobin levels of these girls after a survey was conducted.


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Corporate Social Responsibility, made mandatory in India by the Companies Act, 2013 upholds the above sentiment. It mandates the corporate giants in India to use 2% of their net profit for philanthropic and charitable purposes. However, it is not mandatory for small businesses to engage in CSR activities but small companies usually prefer to engage in CSR activities or smaller acts of charity because such activities are helpful in bringing goodwill to their business. It is an effective marketing and publicity strategy without actually being one. Some companies earmark a portion of advertising/marketing budget for CSR. CSR activities conducted by small businesses are usually localised and tend to bring in a lot of customers and enquiries by word of mouth & networking in the local context. It is also used as an effective tool in customer retention and generating repeat customers. It often results in great PR with local community leaders and government agencies. This in turn results in a positive public opinion and sentiment for all stakeholders. Spending on CSR activities, typically generates higher returns on lower investment especially for small businesses.
They might be losing on economies of scale in terms of business operations but they will definitely benefit via CSR.

Sometimes, small businesses partner with bigger businesses to conduct such activities. Mrs. Anupama Shetty recalled an instance where a small construction company in Jakkur, Bangalore wanted to conduct some activities in terms of CSR and reached out to her in the regard. She gave them the idea to introduce a health programme for the construction workers. However a programme qualifies as CSR only when they get the community to participate in the programme. Therefore, this construction company along with a team from NH conducted a health camp for this community of construction workers and their families.

To Summarise, CSR is a philanthropic activity, supported by thorough research in order to address pressing issues of the society. This is why is has become very important for companies to generate a lot of data through research and give a feedback to the government in real time for improvements and to identify new focus areas. For example NH and Britannia could inform the government that they had given an iron and folic acid tablet in the form of a biscuit which is a creative way of providing appropriate nutrition to children. The ability of the government to provide a good framework for monitoring and regulating CSR activities encourage large and small companies to improve their performance. There is a National CSR portal under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs which constantly tracks and analyses various statistics of CRS activities in India.


Written by:
Ashlesha George

Game of Words: View vs Counter View 3.04

Need For Social Media Marketing Today 

Social Media has been an attractive topic ever since its introduction brought about the rise of a new era. It has many implications and differing opinions on whether it is a bane or a boon. This article will give you an insight on the effect or influence it holds in terms of large-scale and small-scale organisations.

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If people don’t know about your business, they can’t become your customers. Social media boosts your visibility among potential customers, letting you reach a wide audience to entice. Wrap Craft is a small-scale automotive company that deals with the customization of vehicles. It is co-owned by Mohammad Ashaab, a student of SJCC. During the interview with him, several questions were asked regarding the need for social media marketing. In response to this, he stated that people today are more active on social media platforms, which enables them to access information more easily. Also adding that due to the high rate of usage of such platforms by individuals of all age groups, asking customer, product or service related questions becomes less of a tussle.

His target customers are mainly individuals aged between 19-40 years who are passionate about their vehicles. He also mentioned that his business model is completely based on social media marketing. It is this technique of new age marketing that has built his company from scratch to the stage it has achieved now. The various platforms he uses to market his company are Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat and Twitter. He says that is it is cost efficient and can reach a wide range of people quicker than various other marketing techniques. Lastly, he mentioned that since it is free to create a business profile on all the major social networks, there is nothing an entrepreneur has to lose. Any business, regardless of  its size or budget, has an opportunity to grow its audience and reach its respective objectives through advertisements on social platforms.

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Social media marketing is not required for large scale businesses as they have grown and attained the required brand level to sustain themselves without taking support from social media. These large companies, having been incorporated before social media became the order of the day, marketed their offerings in traditional ways.

During an interview with one of the managers of DHL, it was learned that their business slogans are "talk of mouth". Their service speaks for them and the promoters are the customers who promote their service because of the satisfaction they enjoyed on availing the company’s service. Big businesses have set patterns and have been consistently achieving their goals through personal selling and personal interaction with their customers, which according to them, is their strength as they feel it is more satisfactory to both the customers and service providers.

They believe that the best method to truly sell and acquiring customers is by understanding. Understanding what customers want through individual attention improves the chances of attaining favourable attention in the market. Social media is merely one of the tools that can be used by business but is not the only available medium. There may be challenges pertaining to growth that can be dealt with if the corporation has an international physical presence. Visibility is key to gaining momentum in the market and this can be achieved through billboards or events. A research conducted by “The Recycler” which is a trade magazine gives insight on how Physical ads are more memorable and henceforth more efficient than ads on social media.

Written by:

Sanchal Bopanna 

Christopher Judah

Game of Words: View vs. Counter View 3.03

Understanding Consumer Behaviour 

Understanding the behavior of consumers is a key instrument to effectively sell a certain product or service. This will consequently help in growing the business by responding to their needs. There are many factors that influence consumers, such as geographical conditions, cultural factors and social factors. This article mainly focuses on understanding the behaviour of customers and how businesses can utilize this to increase sales in the textile industry.

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 Studying and understanding consumer behaviour is important for any small business to succeed. Most small business owners use their common sense and instincts to successfully sell a product by acknowledging the wants and needs of their customers. GS Fashions is a small textile business in Shastrinagar, Bangalore owned by Mr. Rajesh Kothari. His store has a product line that includes trousers, jeans, shorts, T-shirts, shirts and accessories, for men only. These clothes are bought from different factories and all the orders are made in bulk. The factory is the price maker, and as an intermediary, the owner cannot change or fluctuate the prices to a great extent. This makes it affordable to all sections of society.

Mr. Rajesh also mentioned that everyone is a customer and everyone should get a chance to avail his products and services to satisfy their needs. When one observes the type of products consumers purchase, it becomes easier to understand the consumer’s buying pattern.

When asked the questions ‘What are the key elements of satisfying a customer?’ and ‘What factors does one take into account while selling a product?’ Mr. Rajesh responded by saying that the key elements of satisfying a customer are the  availability of colour preferences, brands, the fabric of the cloth, the quality and the method of stitching, availability of different sizes, and the most importantly, the rate at which the product is priced and determining whether it is cost effective or not. Keeping all these things in mind he tries to understand his pool of customers.

In order to ensure that he is able to understand consumer behaviour in the best possible way, Mr. Rajesh personally visits the shops where his products are sold and converses with the shopkeepers to gain an insight on the items or patterns that are trending, the tastes and preferences of their customers, etc. Having a good relationship with fellow shopkeepers helps him maintain a consistent source to acquire the needed information in terms of choices of different customers. This practice makes it easier to ascertain what kind of products are sold best in certain stores and the pool of customers that are pulled towards that particular store’s product offerings.

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Mr. R Chandrashekar is the owner of a textile business in Bangalore. He owns two establishments—one in Malleshwaram and the other in Basaveshwaranagar. His business’ product line includes sarees, shirts, suits, pants, kurtis and more.

In the case of a big business, such as this, there are seasonal differences that come to play a major role. For example, during summer the demand for thin cotton clothes is more, therefore production of cotton clothing increases and in the winter, the demand for woolen clothing increases. As opposed to a small business setup where change in orders is not possible (since the products are provided by the factory), in this business, the owner can easily change the type of product offerings depending on the interests of the customer.

Mr. Chandrashekar stated that it is important to try and understand the customers on a personal level by taking mental notes of their likes, opinions and interests. He does this because all customers are different and show different behaviors while purchasing products. Being aware of all the details pertaining to his customers helps him better satisfy them all individually. Additionally, according to him, having a wide variety of materials and constantly keeping records of the recent trends has proved to be beneficial as well as profitable for his business.

The difference between the two businesses chosen for this article lies in the differences in their requirements pertaining to capital, labour, resources and contacts, how to effectively satisfy customer needs, how to price their products in order to cover the costs of production, profit margins, etc. Though these factors are common to all big and small businesses—how they are dealt with in their respective settings is what sets them apart from each other.
To sum up, the influence a business has on a consumer is based on the variables introduced by the consumers themselves. Understanding these influences and reacting to them will make businesses more successful.

Written by:

Shreya Kothari

Sneha Baindur 

Game of Words: View vs. Counter View 3.02

Striking the Perfect Work-Life Balance

Work-life balance is an important aspect of a healthy work environment. It is an aspect, however, that is more subjective than the others. Is being successful in one’s work considered important enough to allow it to influence one's own well being? Or should personal health and commitments allow priorities to be put on hold? 

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 “We need to do a better job of putting ourselves higher on our own ‘to do’ list.” —Michelle Obama, former First Lady.

Being successful in the current work age does not stop at achieving the peak of financial stability, but it requires adopting a lifestyle where you strive to be at the top of your game at all times and being the best of the best. Saying that employees today are under a lot of stress is an understatement, with the number of suicide cases increasing at an alarming rate. The question now is: do we value the balance of our bank statement at the expense of our lives?

One would think that being your own boss would reduce the pressure of being under constant scrutiny but an interview with Lakshman bhaiya changed my perspective on this subject. Having been in the fruit selling business for over 2 decades, he has witnessed the struggles of owning a fruit cart and having to sell his wares in the scorching heat of the day. In spite of the hardships that he faces, when I approached him with the question of how it is that he manages his work-life balance, his answer was highly unexpected. While I was prepared for him to list out the downfalls the profession carries, he surprised me with an answer that taught me a universal truth: “I work on my own time and have no schedule as such. I have no strategy and derive my strength from the relationship I have with my family and with God.” 

This goes to show that it is solely up to us to handle our work-life balance the way we want to. We can blame our job, our boss, the deadlines we have to meet and many other relevant factors, or we can choose to be like Lakshman bhayia and accept that every job comes with its own set of shortcomings and handle it before it reaches a point where our health is at stake.  His concluding message held an impactful lesson that should be mentally adopted by everyone who receives it: “If I am alive tomorrow, I live to work another day, if not, I go to God.”

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“SET YOUR PRIORITIES STRAIGHT”- Dr. Pavan Soni (Inflexion Consultant) 

Balance like a pirate: a pirate is both a captain and the king of the sea. It can be considered as an unnecessary necessity. Therefore, balance comes along with the package of potentiality within oneself—it comes  with accepting the dissonance in you and that is why it is a necessity.  

Priorities are progressive in nature. It makes one constantly develop and grow gradually or in stages. Taking the required time to pay attention to the details that will cater to fulfilling pre-set priorities is essential for a satisfactory outcome. Dr. Pavan Soni personally believes that a person that develops the ability to look at one's own priorities through a micro perspective has a better chance at succeeding than those that fixate on a macro way of thought.  This, according to him, is the beginning of balance. ‘Choice’ plays a crucial role in striking a stable balance as it is also understood that the choice we make comes along with a cost.

His advice to the people of the world would be to take that extra mile and try to move forward by adopting the mindset of one who is able to understand both failure and success. Taking risks becomes an easier measure once this mentality is fully understood. The first and primary challenge will be the ability to make a tenacious effort to hold to one's true self in this process.

Furthermore, Dr. Pavan Soni added that setting priorities comes with planning and decision making and stated that we ought to challenge our threshold point in order to sustain and be consistent because life is not always pink. He believes that strength must be derived from within ourselves, as external factors like family and spirituality can only amplify us. He concluded by saying: “Working for our daily bread is an unsaid weighted responsibility on each of us. We live everyday and die once, so make it count.”

Written by:

Sonam Gomes 

Clinton Justin