Management of CSR activities of V-Guard Industries Ltd. Submitted by Aiswarya Martin BBA-MBA 2017 20172152 THE REPORT IS FOR ACADAMIC PURPOSES, IT IS MADE FOR THE REQUIREMENT OF BBA-MBA COURSE. THE REORT CAN ONLY BE USED AS AN EVIDENCE OF SUMMER INTERNSHIP. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Firstly, I would like to thank “The Almighty” for giving me the support and strength to complete this project. A hearty thanks to Mr. Saneesh. K of CSR department of V- Guard for being a wonderful mentor and a constant motivator for encouraging me to achieve more and set new standards. I also take this opportunity to thank Ms. Namitha in HR for accommodating me in V- Guard and extending a warm welcome. The love and warmth extended to me from everyone in the administrative department was immense and a heart touching experience to cherish in future. The part played by my university O.P Jindal Global university to make my internship experience a wonderful one is very appreciable. I also want to thank my academic mentor Mr. Chitresh kumar for helping me throughout the journey. His guidance was very useful in completing the project. It was truly an honour to work for an esteemed organisation like VGuard and be a small part of it. 2|P ag e DECLARATION I Aiswarya Martin hereby declare that the report of summer internship project titled “Management of CSR activities of V-Guard Industries Ltd” is submitted to O.P Jindal Global University as part of BBA- MBA Course. It is an original work and has not been submitted to any other university or institution for any award. This is solely for the requirement of my course and can only be used for academic purposes and not anything else. 3|P ag e 4|P ag e PREFACE This summer internship was very rewarding. I got the opportunity to interact with a lot of people and have a hands-on experience of how a corporate life is. The internship was an eye opener as it helped me to see the reality with more clarity. The experience was an enriching one as there was a right amalgamation of theory and practical knowledge. The experience has increased my eagerness to grasp more knowledge and apply it in real life scenarios. I was able to be part of three projects during my internship and hence, the report is divided into mainly three parts, Chapter 1, chapter 2 and chapter 3. The individual chapters are a small account of the projects that I was involved in. Each chapter takes one through the project outline, salient contributions and key learnings. The last chapter is a bit long as it contains the impact assessment study conducted by me in the organisation on one of V- Guard’s CSR projects. The report also contains glimpses of work that has been done in each project in between the chapters. A detailed attachment of all the evidences can be found towards the end of the project. 5|P ag e Table of Contents COMPANY OVERVIEW ..................................................................... 7 CHAPTER 1: CSR REPORTING AND DOCUMENTATION ....................... 8 SALIENT CONTRIBUTIONS ....................................................................... 9 KEY LEARNINGS .................................................................................. 10 CHAPTER 2: DESIGNING A PROJECT FOR V-GUARD ......................... 11 ..................................................................... 12 KEY LEARNINGS ................................................................................... 13 SALIENT CONTRIBUTIONS CHAPTER 3: IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF TARANG ............................. 14 ..................................................................... 15 KEY LEARNINGS ................................................................................... 16 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ................................................................... 17 DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATIONS .................................................... 18 FINDINGS AND SUGGESTIONS ................................................................. 24 SALIENT CONTRIBUTIONS APPENDIX 1 .................................................................................. 25 APPENDIX 2 ................................................................................. 26 REFERENCES ................................................................................ 28 6|P ag e COMPANY OVERVIEW V- Guard Industries is a well-known brand in the stabilizer industry since time immemorial. The company was founded in the year 1977 by Mr. Kochouseph Chittilappilly in the state of Kerala. They started as a small stabilizer manufacturing unit and grew into an empire of manufacturers of electric and electrical goods. V- Guard has 15 product categories ranging from water heaters to fans. The company had a turnover of 23.21 billion in FY 2017-2018. Mithun. K. Chittilappilly is the managing director of V- Guard Industries LTD. V- Guard has its presence all over India. They have 30 branches, 6 factories and 1 corporate office situated in Kochi. Since its inception, V-Guard has contributed generously to its community development. VGuard corporate office was the 1st green building in Kerala. The founder himself has donated a kidney to a patient in need. The M.D Midhun Chittilappilly always say that V-Guard considers the responsibility in CSR very seriously. All the activities of the CSR team were a step closer to bettering the society and providing a new future. The CSR activities of the V-Guard included various aspects. They aimed the overall development of the community they live in. V- Guard has collaborated with numerous NGO’s on different projects. CHAI, Goonj, SOS Village, etc are to name a few. They have also partnered with the government to build homes for flood-affected victims, contributed in the Swachh Bharath Initiative by providing rickshaws to collect waste and plastic recycling machines. They have also partnered with several schools and hospitals to help them with infrastructural developments and rendering quality services. 7|P ag e Chapter 1: CSR Reporting and Documentation A report is a document which is a lot more important in the future than in the present. The job of a report in the present is to be an informant of things happening in the current time. A comprehensive good report is one which can answer any queries of a reader. It should be selfexplanatory. Even after years the future viewers/ readers of the report should get a full picture of what happened in a particular project. There are two types of reporting, reporting for internal stakeholder and external stakeholders. Both the reporting is important for its own purposes. Internal reporting is for the internal stakeholders which include the board of directors, the employees involved in the project, etc. these people expect the report to have everything in detail. The amount spent, the budget used, its impact, its future achievements and a lot more. The external stakeholders include the banks, investors, government authorities, etc who are more interested in the overall summary and the monetary aspects of a project. A report becomes a bible which contains true facts. True reporting leaves no space for vagueness. Vagueness often leads to misinterpretations. This can be dangerous when viewed without any other supporting material. These reports serve as documents to be referred for future projects and arriving at conclusions. 8|P ag e Salient Contributions CSR reporting is very essential for any company. Section135 of Companies Act also mandates companies for reporting the activities done. The reporting of events and activities which was completed during the year 2018- 2019 was reported successfully and made into a catalog. An additional brochure was also made regarding a project Navadharshan. The reporting task was very cumbersome as a lot of files which contained project proposals, implementation history, cost reports had to be browsed to categorize the data into different heads. V- Guard this year did many projects mainly under 3 heads Edu care, health care and Rebuild Kerala. The humungous task involved me to categorize the pile of data under these heads. Navdharshan was a very special project for V-Guard as it provided support for 5 special schools in Kerala for developing their vocation training, therapeutic activities, and quality of education. The three-year-long project had successfully completed 1 year. The brochure contained all the activities which were carried out by V- Guard to give a platform for the intellectually challenged children. My work also included documentation of proposals for next year’s CSR activities and a study of 50 companies in India about its CSR activities. I was able to summarise several proposals for V- Guard to deliberate upon. 9|P ag e Key Learnings I received the opportunity to learn different kinds of reporting. I understood how two kinds of reporting can focus on the same things in a different angle. The goal of the report to be selfexplanatory was the biggest challenge. Something important to me would not be important to someone else. Highlighting the crucial points were very necessary. The reporting process made me more patient and alert when reading big documents. It enhanced my ability to assess things in a better manner. I never knew the importance of reporting and proper documentation until I personally did the task. 10 | P a g e Chapter 2: Designing a CSR project for V- Guard V-Guard has always tried focussing its CSR activities in certain areas. Last year it was Edu care, health care, Skill development, and women empowerment. In the current year 20182019 they retained Edu care, health care, skill development and introduced rebuild Kerala project to Provide a helping hand to support the flood-affected people in Kerala. In India, most of the CSR activities revolve around Education and healthcare sectors. According to data of Quarts India, 2,202 crores and 1,691 crores was spent in education and health sector respectively in the year 2018 by Indian companies. The needs of these sectors are never-ending and constant support is required for bringing it up to international standards. This might be one of the reasons why V- Guard constantly supports the educational and healthcare sectors. V- Guard had to spent 3.63 lakhs through their CSR activities in FY 2017- 2018. The abovesaid amount is 2% of the combined average of profit before tax. They spent 3.65 lakhs and became an example for their sister concerns and other companies i.e. they exceeded the requirement by 2 lakhs. V- Guard as a company stresses on the work done rather than the monetary aspect of their activities. This remarkable trait has made them create a rapport with its customers and other stakeholders. Most of them are very happy to collaborate with a name which supports multiple social causes. 11 | P a g e Salient Contributions Designing a project for V-Guard is a prestige as well as a challenge for any 2nd-year student. My main objective while designing the project was to contribute towards one of V-Guard’s key areas which is women empowerment. I was very much disturbed with the health and environmental hazards of using nonbiodegradable sanitary napkins during menstruation. This, and the recent film Padman made me realize that a lot can be done by big corporates. Hence, the project designed by me focussed mainly on the entrepreneurship of women SHGs and sanitary pad making. The project was to bring out a biodegradable low-cost sanitary napkin for women, which will be made, marketed, sold and bought by women. All the initial costs (machines, rent of office, salary, etc) would be borne by V- Guard as part of their CSR activities. This was a project which would satisfy all stakeholders. It is mainly because the project would result in recurring income for the SHGs, zero harm for the environment and low-cost pad for the women community (rural and urban). The project proposal contained a market study, competitor analysis and cost analysis from the initial stages to the selling of the product. Now the proposal has been submitted to the VGuard authorities for approval and further improvements. 12 | P a g e Key Learnings A project should be defined in a way it can fulfill the objectives of the target group, the organizers, other stakeholders and the designer herself. My initial thoughts were to just give a medium of employment for women. Tackling multiple problems through one solution was something I had to deliberate upon for days. Designing and redesigning a project for days helped me receive criticism with more patience. In fact, my biggest take away from this internship is my learning that constructive criticism is the best way to arrive at great ideas. The necessity to have a bird’s eye view on a particular thing has enabled me to see the bigger picture of everything in life. 13 | P a g e Chapter 3: An impact assessment study of Tarang The aim of every company is to bring some change in the society it survives in and caters to through its CSR activities. The change might be small, but the ripples should be able to create a big wave. An impact assessment is the kind of measurement tool which helps measure the effect of the ripples. One might mistake impact assessment with outcome assessment. An outcome assessment is done soon after the completion/ implementation of a project while an impact assessment happens at least a year after completion of the project. Especially when a CSR project is implemented it is necessary that one conducts an impact assessment study. This will help the organizers to know the actual impact that they have made in the community. Tarang was one such project by V- Guard which could create ripples. It gave skill development training to unemployed youth in the field of electrical and electro-mechanical field. V- Guard also provided placement to some of the students by giving them employment in their ASPs (Authorized Service Partner). 14 | P a g e Salient Contributions The task vested upon me was to conduct the impact assessment study of Tarang project. It involved collecting data from the students by means of a telephonic interview and computing the results to arrive at conclusions and findings. The impact assessment study was conducted almost 1 year after the completion of the project. I used random sampling method and 45 responses across Kochi, Bhubaneshwar, Noida, and Hubli were received and recorded to further the studies. I introduced myself as a student researcher to avoid biases in response. Tools like pivot tables, average without outliers, etc were used to arrive at conclusions. The report had tables and charts for better understanding. A findings section was also added to give a glimpse of the report for faster understanding. An assessment report was made based on the data collected and submitted to higher authorities. Suggestions were also recommended to increase the success rate of the program in the future years. Apart from this an assessment study of vocational training programme for Special schools was also initiated during my tenure. As part of it I visited 2 Special schools out of 5 enrolled in the programme. 15 | P a g e Key Learnings Failure or partial success of an event might not be received well as it is hard for the creator to accept it. A project goes through several rounds of corrections, opinions, etc to reach the implementation stage. Impact assessment is that process which allows an organization to measure its impact. The flaws, the minor mistakes, overlooked facts, etc is revealed only in an impact assessment report. How much one can grow after the assessment is what matters the most. The fruition of a project ab-initio is rare. Big projects have taken enough time to rectify their mistakes and emerge successfully. Assessments like these serve as constructive criticism for your work. Drawing an impartial report is very necessary. Fabricating an assessment to show other people that the project has succeeded is like cheating oneself. 16 | P a g e Research Methodology Objective of study • To know how successful the project was. • To know the satisfaction levels of students enrolled. • To minimise glitches in the project. • To know ways to improve the project. Research design The method used was Random sampling. All the enrolled students were contacted to assess the impact of the project. The questionnaire contained a mixture of qualitative as well as quantitative questions. This judicious mix ensured a fair comparative scale for analysis of data. Period of study The period of study is from 3rd June 2019 to 12th July 2019. 17 | P a g e Data Analysis and interpretation of Tarang impact assessment report V-Guard started Tarang Skill development initiative to prepare youth for careers in emerging Electronic and Electro-Mechanical service sectors thereby addressing issues of employability and income generation and improving the quality of life of underprivileged youth. Its impact assessment will help to know the success rate of the program. The researcher tried to contact all the 100 students who were involved in the training program but only received response from 45 students. Most of the respondents were from kochi. The least response was recorded from Hubli. Location of Category training Number of people Total participants 100 Respondents Number of 45 responses Bhubaneshwar 12 Greater Noida 13 Hubli 5 kochi 15 Grand Total 45 Survey Questions 1. Are you working in electrical/Electro-mechanical field? 2. Where are you working now? 3. Was there an increase in salary? 4. What was the difference in salary? 5. Are you ready to attend similar courses/TG2 if conducted V-Guard? 6. Will you be ready to impart the knowledge for other pursuers? 7. How satisfied are you with the course on a scale of 1- 10? 8. What all improvements can be added to the course? 9. Will you recommend the course to colleagues and acquaintances? 18 | P a g e 1. Are you working in electrical/Electro-mechanical field? Minimising skill gap in electrical and electro-mechanical field was the objective of Tarang. The question helps us to know whether the objective is met. Working in electrical/ElectroResponse mechanical field? No 28 yes 17 Number of people working in electrical/ electro mechanical field 16 Grand Total no yes 29 45 62% of students have shifted from the field and is pursuing something different. 2. Where are you working now? This question helps one to know where they are working right now. The training program had offered placement to most of the candidates. The data will help in knowing whether they are continuing in the same company. occupation Company working 5 Not in the field 28 Self employed 8 V-Guard 4 Grand Total occupational status Number of people NUMBER OF PEOPLE Types of 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 29 7 5 company not in the Self field employed 4 V-Guard TYPES OF OCCUPATION 45 It is very evident that most of the candidates working in the field has started selfemployment or has shifted to other companies. 19 | P a g e 3. Was there an increase in salary? This question explains how beneficial the project was in helping the candidates to attain work which has a better pay than the previous one. Responses Salary change Salary change Decrease 2 No change 3 Yes 11 Grand Total 16 2 decrease 3 no change 11 yes We can infer that 11 out of 16 are able to get a raise in their package after attaining this course. 4. What was the difference in salary? This question quantifies the change in salary in monetary terms to give the researcher a better understanding of the increase and decrease in salary. Salary 0 3 1000 6 3000 2 6000 1 9000 1 -1000 2 500 1 Grand Total number of people Salary change Monetary change change 6 3 2 2 1 0 1 1 1000 3000 6000 9000 -1000 500 16 The data has outliers like an increase of 9000 for 1 person and even a decrease of 1000 for 2 people. 6 people are receiving a salary change of 1000. 20 | P a g e 5. Are you ready to attend similar courses/TG2 if conducted V-Guard? This question checks the passion of the current course pursuers interest to enhance their current knowledge and how much they want to advance in their careers. Interested to attend similar Responses Number of people interested courses/TG2 No 9 Yes 7 7 no Grand 9 Total yes 16 56% of the students are not interested to attain the course while the rest are. The Common reasons for not attending the course included non-availability of time, current job contracts etc. The data shows that more than half of the students are not ready to pursue more course and advance in their careers. 6. Will you be ready to impart the knowledge for other pursuers? This helps to know how confident they are about the knowledge they have attained. Readiness to impart the Responses no 9 partially 10 9 8 6 yes 3 yes 4 Grand Total Readiness to impart knowledge knowledge 3 4 4 Total 2 0 16 no partially yes yes 25 % of students are willing to teach a new batch of course seekers. The 18% who have said partially yes are not that confident to teach a batch. 21 | P a g e 7. How satisfied are you with the course? 1- 10 rating The respondents are asked to rate the course from 1- 10 according to the satisfaction they received. Satisfaction being a qualitative term, it was necessary to quantify to compute the real satisfaction of people. Below 5 meant below average, above 5 meant above average and 8 to 10 meant very good. Satisfaction level 2 1 4 2 5 1 7 4 8 4 9 1 10 3 Satisfaction level on a scale of 1- 10 Number of people Responses Grand Total 4.5 4 3.5 3 2.5 2 1.5 1 0.5 0 4 4 3 2 1 1 2 4 1 5 7 8 9 10 Scale 16 3 students rated the course below 5 points. 13 people rated the course above 5. 8. What all improvements can be added to the course? A suggestion taken from the students will improve the course material and way of conduction of the course. The inputs can be used to increase the course quality and output. Suggestions Number of people Suggestions /Improvements continue as it is 4 continue as it is Must take students with 1 has to take students with inter back,ground inter background 3 More products information 1 More time required 1 More practise sessions 2 Better Placement Grand Total 22 | P a g e 4 4 Misinformation 4 16 Misinformation More products information 1 2 More time required 1 1 3 More practise sessions Better Placement There was a request by 4 students for better placement. Interestingly, 3 students asked to convey all the information very clearly ab initio. The students had thought that V- Guard would take all students who are enrolled in the course in their work force. 9. Will you recommend the course to colleagues and acquaintances? Students will only recommend a course when they find it useful for themselves. The willingness to recommend a course makes it a successful course by itself. Will recommend Response Number of people who will recommnd the course the course 5 No 5 Yes 11 Grand Total 16 no Yes 11 Almost 70 % of 16 students are willing to recommend the course to their peers and family. 23 | P a g e Findings and suggestions Findings • 65% of the respondents have shifted from electrical or electro-mechanical field. • 11 out of 16 had a positive change in their salary. • The drive to advance in career by learning new courses is less in the students. • Even when respondents said that the course was good, they were not happy with the placements. Students also moved away from the field to pursue courses/ jobs in other fields. Suggestions There should be more transparency in the proceedings. Some respondents complained of not receiving stipends and certificates. The objectives of the company as well as students must be matched to retain students in the same field. The program was not that successful as one of its objectives was to lessen the skill gap. Since the students are not working in the same field the gap remains. 24 | P a g e APPENDIX 1 The Navdharshnan Brochure 25 | P a g e APPENDIX 2 Glimpses of slides presented for project 26 | P a g e Glimpses of slides presented for project 27 | P a g e References CII, 2017. Building a better society ,CSR activities by companies in kerala. s.l.:CII. PWC, n.d. Handbook on corporate social responsibility in India, s.l.: CII. Srinivasan, C., 2014. Taxmann’s Giude to Corporate Social Responsibilities. s.l.:Taxmann Publications. 28 | P a g e