Barclays plc: Socially Responsible Corporate Behaviour

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Barclays plc: Socially Responsible Corporate Behaviour How does Barclays plc fulfil its obligations to their stakeholders in terms of ethical business practice and socially responsible corporate behaviour? According to The Institute of Business Ethics (cited in MORI, 2003), “80% of the public believe that large companies have a moral responsibility to society but 61% also thought large companies don’t care”. Why this shocking conclusion? Due to major accounting scandals such as Enron and WorldCom the public’s confidence in organisations have decreased. Why is there now an increasing demand for organisations to behave ethically and responsibly? Ethics is seen as ‘… a system of morals or rules of behaviour’ (Mullins 1999) meanwhile the definition of corporate responsibility taken from Sims (2004) states that’… business behaviour that is likely to engender the trust and commitment of stakeholders towards the company.’ Changes in people’s values and beliefs have also led to this demand. Yet, to what extent are organisations responding to the changing needs of society? For this analysis, the focus of this issue will be centred on Barclays plc and whether this company is fulfilling its ethical and socially responsible behaviour towards its stakeholders. In order to ascertain the effectiveness of these policies and validity of their claims, many different sources will have to be taken into consideration. As stated by MORI (2003) Barclays is ‘… an international financial services group engaged primarily in banking, investment and asset management. It is one of the largest financial services group, operating in nearly 70 countries and employing 74,800 people.’ How is Barclays able to satisfy its various stakeholders, considering its vast operations and the intense scrutiny the financial sector has come under? Stakeholders are ‘… individuals or groups who are affected by the goals, operations or activities of the organisation (Mullins, 1999). Who are Barclay’s stakeholders and what influence do they have? Barclay’s key stakeholders are their employees, customers, shareholders and the communities in which they operate. Below is a table adapted from Sims (2003, p41) showing what stakeholders expect from an organisation. To fulfil the purpose of this assigned the stakeholders of Barclays will be incorporated within the table. ... ... middle of paper ... ...r financial institutions lending money to Angola, a country that has high human rights violation. Overall, considering the current climate where many firms are facing increasing public scrutiny Barclays is making progress in the right direction. They were once a bank that was making ethical gaffes to one that has won awards for its policies. Barclays is an example of an ethically engaged company, it has listened to criticisms faced in the past and is trying to respond in a positive way. This was recognised by the title of their 2004 report ‘Behaving responsibly’ which contradicts their previous report about putting profits first. More need to be accomplished at Barclays though; they should state some of their policies more clearly (as in the case of the Angolan government and the support of oppressive regimes). Despite all this, there is evidence to suggest that Barclays is doing as much as possible to satisfy all its various stakeholders but more progress needs to be made. In order to achieve their aim of becoming a leader in ethical and socially responsible behaviour they just need to continue in the same direction and respond to the changing needs of society.

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