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Archives of Business Research – Vol. 11, No. 2

Publication Date: February 25, 2023

DOI:10.14738/abr.112.12540. Alimen, R. A., Cortejo, N. S., Portal, E. R., & Sepaya, J. S. (2023). Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): Pathway Towards Excellence

in Maritime Education and Training (MET). Archives of Business Research, 11(2). 90-102.

Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): Pathway Towards

Excellence in Maritime Education and Training (MET)

Engr. Rolando A. Alimen, PhD

Nerios S. Cortejo, MME

Emily R. Portal, MSME

Julian S. Sepaya, PhD

Abstract

This study determined the level of corporate social responsibility (CSR) among

faculty members and non-teaching staff of John B. Lacson Foundation Maritime

University (JBLFMU)-Molo, Iloilo City, Philippines. The participants in this study

were the randomly selected the forty (40) randomly selected employees of John B.

Lacson Foundation Maritime University-Molo who were engaged with the

university’s corporate social responsibilities (CSRs) for School Year 2018-2019. The

present study employed quantitative-qualitative research design. The quantitative- statistical tools used in this study were frequency count, percentage, and rank.

Results reveal the following: (1) the level of corporate social responsibility of the

respondents was “high,” (2) the respondents agreed that the most dominant

corporate social responsibilities (CSRs) were the following: graduates who have

good knowledge and high social awareness, taking into consideration that the

interest of its students, skills, knowledge, and technology learned inside the

classrooms are transferred to the community , (3) significant differences existed in

the CSRs when the respondents were grouped according to teaching and non- teaching, (4) five (5) “themes” derived from the qualitative inputs, narrative

descriptions, remarks, and views about the CSR at the maritime university

(JBLFMU-Molo) were: “sustainability of the programs” in CSR, “help and protect the

environment,” “active involvement in CSR,” “regular activities to benefit the

society,” and “development of different stakeholders.” Majority of the respondents

agreed that CSR is an indicator towards the attainment of excellence in Maritime

Education and Training (MET) as a maritime university (JBLFMU-Molo).

INTRODUCTION

Universities and colleges are not only called for increasing the bar and performance in

education, but also embed social responsibility as part of important things in the higher

education system. Helping students become more socially responsible and ethically sensitive is

a substantive part or mission of any institutions to prepare as requirement for the new

generation of graduates. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) in any organization is an

interesting challenge and considered as value-learning process. CRS is the obligation of

corporate-decision makers to take action that protects and improves the welfare of the society

as a whole, along with their own interest. CSR refers to corporate policies and voluntary

initiatives that assure responsibility for the interest of the society. It is an important role of any

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Alimen, R. A., Cortejo, N. S., Portal, E. R., & Sepaya, J. S. (2023). Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): Pathway Towards Excellence in Maritime

Education and Training (MET). Archives of Business Research, 11(2). 90-102.

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/abr.112.12540

school as to be agent in socializing students to the attitudes and values of business life. CSR

deals with broader responsibility toward society such as economic, legal, ethical, and

philanthropic, aside from gaining or increasing profit. It has various dimensions, one of which

is ethics, this means that corporations or educational institutions shall learn to protect and

enhance the society in which they are operating with (Mayasari, & Herlina, 2011).

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is an important area of research among universities and

colleges simply because it plays a critical role in developing the next generation of leaders and

managers who will lead any nation in the future. The universities should not be profit-driven

entities because they are large employers and organizations in their own right. Universities

should play a special role in ensuring the moral and ethical considerations as important aspects

in all their business endeavors. CSR must create a good deal of positive publicity and good will

to the community. The universities should be administered based on good governance which

emphasizes transparency, taking into consideration the interest of different stakeholders

including students, employees, parents, alumni, and communities. Universities should be

established with the aim to serve the people in the region. They should produce graduates with

good knowledge and high social awareness, graduates equipped with knowledge from

classrooms to solve community’s problems. Universities and colleges should conduct research

to develop knowledge and the passing on such knowledge to the community, should have

missions for preserving and nurturing the religious, cultural heritage, and environment of any

country (Kimpakorn, Prugsiganont, Waters, Promburon, & Sampet (2011). CSR refers to the

obligation of organization to promote human welfare in every operation that they have.

Organizations must be responsible to the society they are connected with. This obligation

includes universities and colleges, which conducted activities to help the society and to develop

students’ mindsets about the other side of life and hence would see the world more practically.

CSR attempts should be planned carefully in order to shape the students’ perception and

attitudes regarding the significance and benefits of CSR’s activities (Tanchaisak, 2011).

CSR is an ethical and moral dimension of any organizations or firms towards their stakeholders,

both internal and external that successful organizations strive to succeed in achieving healthy

society that is sustainable. CRS can improve competitiveness of the company through process,

product-benefit, and positive financial performance. Moreover, in higher educational

institutions, this is called University Social Responsibility (USR), which in wider scale should

not only meet all local, state, federal laws, and regulatory requirements, but also treat as

opportunity for improvement. Schools should stress ethical behavior in all their stakeholders’

transactions and interactions. Higher ethical conduct should be a requirement of the school that

should be monitored seriously and regularly. The schools should address their current and

future impacts in the society in a proactive manner and should accomplish ethical

accomplishments and practices in all their interactions. The schools should define performance

or outcome indicators to ensure that the social consciousness and responsibilities meet the

basic requirements and expectations to service to the community (Shawyun, 2011).

A study of Idrus (2011) mentioned that a large part of University Social Responsibility (USR)

must be the students-students who will be useful to the community in general and in their

places of work in particular. But, when the universities are unable to change the teaching and

learning methodology, these universities failed to deliver its USR. This dilemma requires

persistence and better strategic planning by the top university's officials. To be left behind in

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Archives of Business Research (ABR) Vol. 11, Issue 2, February-2023

Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom

the acquisition and infusion of necessary knowledge and skills in the community has direct

impact on the USR, because these are considered as one of the aspects of its mission, which the

administration should be looked into. The author strongly stressed that universities must

render service to the community in the area of knowledge.

According to Suryani (2011), universities as part of the community have social responsibility,

therefore, CSR is a normative concept, multi-level concept, which depends on a variety of

perspectives and relationships. This is very important for the university sustainability through

integration with community services, this would facilitate students to transfer learning in real

cases, develop many soft skills, attributes, and technical competencies. This CSR permits the

university to extend cooperation with community.

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

This study was anchored on the theoretical framework advocated by Mazo (2011) of De La Salle

University, Dasmarinas, Philippines. That the universities with all their intellectual resources

should be morally engaged with social responsibility endeavors. Leading universities in the

world are getting in the wagon to concretize their social responsibility. University social

responsibility (USR) encourages universities to take cognizant of the progress and

transformation that they have undergone, they have to go down from their ivory towers and

take steps in realizing genuine development through social responsibility. Universities

capitalize the individuals’ capacity to change people’s condition, improve families’ welfare,

which make ripple effects of development in the succeeding levels of society. Universities can

directly contribute to community by addressing poverty, where the challenge to realize social

responsibility is greater. The university is one of the stakeholders in the development process

of community, it means that the university has common interest and aspirations with those of

the community. It is essential that the university’s initiative should not be in contrast with

community needs and resources. For the university to be fully effective in its social

responsibility, it should implement with community programs that are integrative, inclusive,

and context sensitive (Mazo, 2011; Millican & Bourner, 2011).

In the study of Kimpakorn, et al. (2011) CSR is considered as one of the important areas in

research in the different universities of the world because it helps in developing the next

generation of leaders and managers who will lead the nations in the future. The universities

should not be profit driven, they should play special role in ensuring the moral and ethical

considerations for the universities to have good reputation. The universities should produce

graduates with good knowledge and high social awareness towards community’s problems and

nurturing the religious, cultural, and heritage environment.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The present study determined the corporate social responsibility (CSR) of teaching and non- teaching staff of the maritime university, specifically, JBLFMU-Molo. In order to understand the

study, the specific questions were advanced:

(1) What is the level of corporate social responsibility (CSR) of the respondents as an entire

group and when classified according to different categories such as (a) age, (b) gender, (c)

employment classification, (d) number of years in the university, (e) highest educational

attainment (HEA)?