Corporate Social responsibility Case Study

Corporate Role in Sustainable Development: A Case of Novartis

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Abstract:
A professor in a leading business school was teaching about corporations’ role in sustainable development using the example of Novartis AG (Novartis), a leading global pharmaceutical company. Novartis established a foundation, Novartis Foundation for Sustainable Development (NFSD), to discharge its social obligation of contributing towards social development. The case mainly focuses on the NFSD’s role in providing access to healthcare facilities to the people in under-developed countries.

The literature on the corporate role in sustainable development, came out with three broad philosophies, namely, Corporations should perform their activities within legally permissible limits and should not use organizational resources for humanitarian activities which would dilute the business objective and in turn, reduce the shareholders’ wealth. Corporations should involve in social development with an objective to create future market. Corporations should contribute to the social development as these are social entities, deriving resources and generating profits from the society.

The case provides the students a scope to discuss which philosophy the corporations must follow to contribute towards sustainable development, without hampering their business motives.

Pedagogical Objectives:

• To understand the importance of mission statement in corporation’s business philosophy
• To discuss about the methodologies to make appropriate balance between social and stake holder responsibility of a corporation with reference to Novartis.

Keywords : Corporate Social Responsibility Case Study,Sustainable development (SD), Corporate social responsibility, Novartis AG, Novartis foundation for SD, Health care facilities, Access to medicine, Social development, Pharmaceutical industry, Micro-health insurance