The Company and its Credo

This paper posits that J&J appears to have chosen doing CSR activities because of its company Credo that is has adopted and whose influence permeates the whole organization’s way of doing its business. See Appendix A. This is evident in Johnson & Johnson’s commitment to the community that comes from a dedication to the principles defined 60 years ago by the then Chairman of the Board General Robert Wood Johnson in Company Credo.

Up to this time, the Credo could be considered still a living document, while has been translated into dozens of languages, and establishes the company’s responsibility to customers, employees, the communities in which the company operate and to the stockholders. The company determines the effectiveness of how these company’s policies fulfil these Credo responsibilities, when employees throughout Johnson & Johnson are periodically surveyed to be sure that the company conducts business in accordance with the Credo.

When one analyses when this concept of CSR has become a byword for companies, one could just see the earlier adoption of the concept by J&J 60 years ago as compared with other companies. There is therefore great evidence that company has known many years ago the requirements of its business to be able to serve various stakeholders. Through the company Credo, Johnson & Johnson is devoted to make the community better using a wide range of programs both in its home country (US) and outside as part of CSR activities.

Under this Credo, one will find evident the presence of contributor’s program and environment commitments as well company’s policies on equal opportunity, child labour and business conduct. Making declaration on these areas could be a way of making the people of J & J in their responsibilities Through its contributor’s efforts, the company is actively involved in supporting on going health care, educational and cultural programs. The company claims to be devoted to a healthy environment by reducing facility environmental impacts and participating to conservation projects.

J&J has also put in place high standards for health and safety of its workers. It has even extended the same with others in the around the community where it operate as not only as an evidence of it knowledge about the whole thing but out of a deep concern for the welfare for the community. It has its HIV/AID prevention and cure program where Johnson and Johnson’s provide a good amount of information how to stop the spread of said virus.

Johnson and Johnson feels proud that for having its stock in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DSJI) and the FTSE Good Index Series and this proves that the company is part of the those sustainability leaders in each industry. Its being one of the best sustainability leaders could ascertained by the fact the that DSJI companies after being group by industry group, get assessed against well designed industry criteria and then compared against several companies within industry.

In this regard, FTSE Good Index Series J&J inclusion of J&J must really be a reliable evidence how well the company is performing its CSR obligations in accordance with its Credo not because the are legal requirements upon which the company is made to comply with. J&J’s Governance Another evidence that could show the company’s choice of doing CSR activities is its declaration that that all levels the Johnson & Johnson employees are committed to the ethical principles outlined by the Company Credo which has guided the company for many years.

The company expects to carry on having set the tone for its philosophy (Johnson & Johnson, 2008). Although it may sound self-serving for the company to be making the declaration, the effect of the CSR will be shown later. Thus the company also declares that the Credo values extend to our accounting and financial reporting responsibilities. The company is of course part of the company commitment and dedication to serve and protect the interest of its stockholders and investors including the rest of stakeholders (Johnson & Johnson, 2008).

Because of this, of investors could put better reliance on company’s financial reports for decision making (Wilkins, 2003; Ocasio, 1999; Perry, 2001). Making this declaration could also assure investors that the company is doing good business and the financial information it is making to the public is reliable although it should have to pass through some audit requirement.