a study on corporating social responsibility (csr) in a multinational companies operating in vietnam a case study on unilever vietnam

A STUDY ON CORPORATING SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY CSR IN A MULTINATIONAL COMPANIES OPERATING IN VIETNAM A CASE STUDY ON UNILEVER VIETNAM BY NGUYEN THI VAN TRANG Graduation Project Submitted

A STUDY ON CORPORATING SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (CSR) IN A MULTINATIONAL COMPANIES OPERATING IN VIETNAM

A CASE STUDY ON UNILEVER VIETNAM

BY NGUYEN THI VAN TRANG

Graduation Project Submitted to the Department of Business Studies, HELP University College, in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of

Bachelor of Business (Accounting) Hons

October 2011

Declaration of Originality and Word Count

DECLARATION

I declare that this graduation project is based on my original work except for quotations and citation which have been duly acknowledged I also declare that it has not been previously or concurrently submitted for any other courses/degrees at HELP University College or other institutions

Word Count: 11,638 words

NGUYEN THI VAN TRANG

Date 17/10/2011

 Secondly, I also would like to express my thanks to Ms Sumathi, Help University College, who initiated the project and give me so much instruction and support

 Lastly, I want to thank to all managers and employees at Unilever Vietnam, who are very friendly and cooperative

October 2011

Supervisor: Dr Le Van Lien

Although there are many different interpretations, but more than a decade, the number of companies around the world recognizes the economic benefits of CSR policies are on the rise CSR commitments beyond the desire to increase profits, and company was fully aware of their responsibility to employees, customers, communities and the environment The main purpose of this project is to find out the level of awareness and the

implementation of CSR of a multinational company operating in Vietnam - Unilever Vietnam Both primary data and secondary data will be used to collect information in this project After collecting the information, researcher will analyze the information and from that can give conclusion and recommend some suggestions

TABLE CONTENTS

Page

Declaration of Originality and Word Count ii

Acknowledgement

Error! Bookmark not defined Abstract iv

Table of contents vi

List of Figures and Tables vii

List of Abbreviations viii

CHAPTER 1 : INTRODUCTION Error! Bookmark not defined.2 1.1 Research Background 13

1.1.1 CSR in the world 13

1.1.2 CSR in Vietnam 14

1.1.3 CSR in multination company in Vietnam 15

1.2 Problem Statement 16

1.3 Objectives and scope of the research 18

1.3.1 Objectives of the research 18

1.3.2 Scope of the research 19

1.4 Research Methods 19

CHAPTER 2 : LITERATURE REVIEW 20

2.1 Definition of CSR 21

2.2 Caroll’s 1979 - 1991 concept 23

2.3 Other concepts related to CSR 25

2.3.1 Triple bottom line 25

2.3.2 Stakeholder theory 26

2.3.3 Business ethics and CSR 27

2.3.4 Sustainable development 28

2.3.5 Social responsible investment 29

2.3.6 CSR reporting 30

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 31

3.1 Research Objectives 32

3.2 Research methodology 32

3.3 Theoretical framework 32

3.3.1 Managers 33

3.3.2 Employees 33

3.4 Data sources 34

3.4.1 Primary data 34

3.4.2 Secondary data 35

3.5 Research method 35

3.6 Research tool 36

3.6.1 Questionnaires 36

3.6.2 Phone interview 36

3.6.3 Annual report 37

3.7 Sampling 37

3.7.2 Sample frame 37

3.7.3 Sample size 37

3.8 Limitations 38

3.9 Hypothesis 38

3.9.1 Manager’s attitude toward CSR 38

3.9.2 Employee’s attitude toward CSR 39

CHAPTER 4 : ANALYSIS 40

4.1 Questionnaires collection and respond 41

4.2 Description of result 41

4.2.1 Age 42

4.2.2 Gender 42

4.3 Managers 43

4.3.1 Level of awareness 43

4.3.2 Implementation 46

4.4 Employees 53

4.4.1 Level of awareness 53

4.4.2 Implementation 56

4.5 Overall evaluation 59

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION 61

5.1 Conclusion 62

5.2 Recommendation 63

5.3 Limitation of Sutdy 64

5.4 Suggestion for Furture Research 64

REFERENCES ( Harvard referencing system) 65

APPENDICES 70

Appendix A: Questionnaire Sample 70

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

Development

1.3 Objectives and scope of the research

1.3.1 Objectives of the research

1.3.2 Scope of the research

1.4 Research methods

development, society can not be guaranteed, there still more and more countries and areas are marginality from the global economy CSR in many countries has grown to the

specific level of corporate responsibility in the code of conduct and internationally

quality standards The provisions of this standard have been adopted as the required conditions in business CSR is the corporate commitment to business ethics and

contribute to sustainable economic development, enhance quality of life for employees and their families, communities and the society in common (WBCSD) Social

responsibility of business (Corporate Social Responsibility – CSR) is no stranger to the developed country In the United States, there is “One Percent Club” where the members committed to use at least 1% of their profits into social work In France, a series of

cultural funds of enterprises such as RATP (subway company), France Télécom (France Telecom)…are sponsor for French contemporary art CSR is considered an important factor as other traditional factors such as cost or quality in business CSR is integrated into business strategy and become prerequisite for business survival and development CSR became the main factor to consider the decision of responsible investment Besides having good reputation, businesses also get other benefits such as labor relations are

improving, industrial accident and the rate of job quitting decrease, labor productivity increase and workers become increasingly have a strong attachment to the business In countries with developing CSR activities, the majority of businesses do not consider CSR

as charity; enterprise is just like a citizen – with rights and obligations in the society, therefore if the social is good, the business can be developed well

1.1.2 CSR in Vietnam

Vietnam is growing rapidly; the majority of businesses in small and medium – scale adoption and implementation of CSR has not been focused and interested According many Vietnamese enterprises’ explanation, it is probable because the starting point of Vietnam’s economy is at a low level so the profitability criteria should always be in the top priority Therefore, enterprises are rarely considered it as an important issue Only after a series about Vedan polluted the Thi Vai River and the protein in powder is not qualified…everyone begins to think about CSR seriously Vietnamese government has tried increased the awareness of businesses and stakeholders on CSR recently The

international development organizations in Vietnam have tried theirs’ utmost in

promoting and implementing CSR The programs and projects related to CSR focused on some important issues depending on the project’s objectives, resources and experience available In other words, businesses should choose how to do CSR that suit their abilities the best The development of a business always comes with CSR It is integrated into the business strategy and become the conditions for enterprises to develop, improve and maintain competitive advantage Prof Dr Miriam Meckel, the world’s leading experts in the field of Corporate Communication and CSR in his lecture on effective strategies to

improve business communications has shown that, CSR is still new in Vietnam, but particularly important for the sustainable development of Vietnamese enterprises CSR does not depend on the extent to which it is located but in the perception of each

business However, there are some obstacles in the implementation of CSR in Vietnam such as the concept of CSR is still new to a lot of business in the business community in Vietnam, while the related parties do not have long-term plan and strategies to implement CSR programs; management capacity and expertise in implementing CSR is limited…

To succeed in the application of CSR in Vietnam, business owners should implement CSR for their labor first as the observance of laws and policies on wages, social insurance and then building a relationship based on trust and sympathy between the employee and enterprise To promote the implementation of social responsibility of business, it is best

to have an association or organization to monitor and advise businesses Besides, the Government should create policies to support enterprises in implementing CSR

1.1.3 CSR in multinational company in Vietnam

Vietnam is a developing country with strong growth in economy so Vietnam has been attracting many companies to invest in Vietnam in which there are many famous

multinational companies (MNCs) in many different areas such as Samsung, Sony, Dutch Lady, Unilever, and Toyota… Although CSR in Vietnam has not developed strongly as

in other countries but the government of Vietnam began to care about CSR and

encourages enterprises to do their social responsibility CSR was launched in Vietnam through a major multinational companies investing in Vietnam These companies often develop codes of conduct and business cultural norms which are universal to be applied

in many different market areas Therefore, the contents of CSR that multinational

companies applied in Vietnam are effective and efficient Some typical examples are: project “I love Vietnam” of Honda – Vietnam company, educational programs for

personal hygiene of children in the mountainous province of Unilever, computer training program Topic64 of Microsoft, Qualcomm and HP… But not all companies investing in Vietnam are aware of their social responsibility Only after melamine-tainted milk from China and Vedan discharging waste water into the Thi Vai River, people realized that a violation of business ethics, environmental harm severely of these companies and also realized the importance of CSR After joining WTO, the competition with cheap goods and the quality is not enough in Vietnam, in addition, the other factors to make good business is CSR This has great impact to reputation and brand products of the enterprises especially MNCs who do not have advantages like domestic companies

1.2 Problem statement

For enterprises in Vietnam, CSR is still new and has many difficulties to implement, first

of all understands the concept of CSR, then how to put it into production and daily

business To do that, companies sometimes need to make changes in policies and salaries including the improvement of factory or workplace The commitment of the leadership is the biggest hurdle for small and medium companies operating in Vietnam In Vietnam, the implementation of CSR is not active, so some enterprises think that they are required

to implement CSR, but not fully understand the nature of it The most successful in the implementation of CSR is the business commitment to CSR initiative, turning it into a company’s culture

Beside the company trying to do CSR, there are some companies still not fully aware of their responsibilities to society In particular, some companies have serious violations of ethics in business, ignoring the environmental damage they can cause and do not care about the health of consumers – those who directly purchase and use their product A typical example is the scandal that Vedan discharging untreated waste to the Thi Vai River Vedan Vietnam active in many fields, which generate waste likely to cause environment pollution, such as production of MSG, starch, sugar, caustic soda (NaOH), acid… The total volume of water discharged into the Thi Vai River over 4,000m3

/day Moreover, Vedan has sold the waste two time to Taiwan (through the ship) with the total volume was 130,000 tons in the day 27/09 and 10/13/2008 (Vietnam Agriculture

newspaper) After being uncovered, consumers refused to buy all the products produced

metabolism can cause the coronary artery becomes blocked, causing angina, stroke (Phunuonline) In Vietnam, there is still no rule in managing products related to trans-fat, but some instant noodle manufacturers pioneered the specified information that does not

contain trans-fat on their packing products This is seen as a step in the awareness of businesses to protect consumer health

Vietnam is integrating into the global economy; investors and foreign companies are setting up operations or seek partners in Vietnam, so the problem of Vietnam’s business competitiveness in all aspects of the global markets is becoming increasingly important for businesses Practice shows that awareness of CSR of the people and management is poor and legislation is not strong enough (as the fine is low) This has lead to business easily dodge the law, denied liability and business ethics or environmental pollution in severity in a long time without being sanctioned

1.3 Objectives and scope of the research

1.3.1 Objectives of the research

There are some main objectives to carry out this research:

- Firstly is providing the concepts and definition of CSR

- Secondly is inspect the level of awareness of CSR in multinational company with specific target is Unilever company

- The third objective is to find out what benefits can CSR brings to the company and stakeholders

- The last objective is recommending a CSR framework for a multinational

company operating in Vietnam

1.3.2 Scope of the research

The research is carried out in order to find out how Unilever applied CSR in Vietnam Unilever is a multinational company established by England and Netherlands specializing

in the production of consumer goods such as cosmetics, chemicals, detergent, toothpaste, shampoo and food… The headquarter is in London and Rotterdam but it has many

subsidiaries all over the world such as Africa, Americas, Asia Pacific (including

Vietnam), Europe and Middle East Unilever employs about 180,000 workers and has sales of nearly 40 billion Euros or more than 62 billion Euros in 2005 (Unilever website)

So the research conducting place at Unilever Vietnam at 156 Nguyen Luong Bang

Avenue, Tan Phu Ward, Dist 7

1.4 Research methods

In order to do this research, the researcher will use the investigation and survey method Questionnaires will be distributed to the manager and employees of Unilever Vietnam and also consumers in Hanoi city Questionnaires are built based on previous researches and studies After collecting the information, researcher will use Microsoft Excel to analyze the data and collect the result

CHAP 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Definition of CSR

2.2 Carroll's 1979-1991 concepts

2.3 Other concepts related to CSR

2.3.1 Triple bottom line

“the fundamental responsibility of any business in a free-enterprise system is to make a profit while conforming to the basic rules of society, both those embodied in the law and those embodied in ethical customs.” (Carroll, 1979)

Some people believe that “There is one and only one social responsibility of business –

to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits so long as it stays within the rules of the game, which is to say, engage in open and free competition, without deception or fraud.” (Friedman in Turner 2006, p 7)

And some people understand

“In its broadest sense, corporate social responsibility represents a concern with the needs and goals of society which goes beyond the merely economic Insofar as the business system as it exists today can only survive in an effectively functioning free society, the corporate social responsibility movement represents a broad concern with business’s role in supporting and improving the social order.” (Eells and Walton in

Carroll 1999, p 278)

According to Aaronson “Business decision making linked to ethical values, compliance with legal requirements, and respect for people, communities, and the environment around the world” And in the 1990s O'Rourke writes that

“A trend also noteworthy in the late 1990s was that of shareholder activists linking their environmental or social issue to financial performance and/or risks faced by the

company By claiming that environmental and social issues have a direct effect on shareholder value, shareholder activists are moving the rhetoric of their activism out of the realm of “ethics” or good versus bad behavior, and into that of traditional issues of profitability, risk and shareholder value” (O'Rourke 2003, p 230)

The figure below shows three main factors that companies should do when carrying out CSR:

Figure 2.1: Three main factors of CSR

From many definitions above, we can see that businesses that wish to sustainable

development must always abide the standards of environmental protection, gender equality, labor safety, labor rights, equal wages, training and staff development,

community development The economy has seen a decline led to many difficulties for businesses, especially small and medium companies In such difficult conditions why are these companies still interested in CSR? Because consumers, investors, policy makers and non-government organizations (NGOs) worldwide are increasingly concerned over the impact of globalization on worker’s rights, environmental and community welfare Businesses that fail to comply with CSR can no longer access to international market

2.2 Carroll's 1979-1991 concepts

Social responsibility has now become extremely popular and there are many theories revolve around this issue Among them, the pyramid of A Carroll (1999) is

comprehensive and being used the most Carroll (1983) says that,

“corporate social responsibility involves the conduct of a business so that it is

economically profitable, law abiding, ethical and socially supportive To be socially responsible then means that profitability and obedience to the law are foremost

conditions when discussing the firm’s ethics and the extent to which it supports the society in which it exists with contributions of money, time and talent” (p.608)

According to Carroll, CSR including economic responsibility, legal responsibility, ethical responsibility and discretionary responsibility

Figure 2.2: Pyramid concept of CSR

(i) The economic responsibility: expressed through performance and growth, is a

prerequisite because the business was established from the primary purpose of profits Moreover, the enterprise is the economic fundamental cell of society Therefore, business functions must always be placed on top The aim of economic responsibility is to provide

2008, p 62) The responsibility must rest on a sense of economic responsibility of

business

(ii) Legal responsibility: responsibilities for compliance are part of the “contract”

between business and society Government has responsibility “coding” the social norms and ethics in fairly and meets the standards and values of that society expected from them Responsibilities for economic and legal are two basic parts that can not be lacked

of CSR

(iii) Ethical responsibility: is the rule, the value that is socially acceptable but not “coded” into the legislation For a company ethical components of CSR embrace acting morally and ethically and going further than compliance with laws and regulations (Carroll, 1991) Generally, the law can only go after to reflect changes in the rules of social

conduct which are flexible and complicated Moreover, in social ethics, there has always existed between right – wrong that is not clear and when the debate in the society still pending, we can not be specified in the law Therefore, compliance can only be

considered as meeting the requirements, minimum standards that society sets Enterprises also need to implement the commitments outside the law Moral responsibility is

voluntary, but is at the heart of the CSR

(iv) Discretionary responsibility: is the behavior of businesses beyond the expectations of society, such as donations to support the weak, funding scholarships, contributions to community projects… The difference responsibilities between charity and business ethics

is the businesses entirely voluntary However, the difference is that it is not seen as unethical behavior if businesses do not contribute their money to humanitarian programs (Carroll, 1991)

Firstly, we can see the model is on comprehensive and high feasibility Secondly placing the economic responsibility as the foundation not only satisfy the needs of the theory in corporate governance, but also resolve doubts about the truthfulness of the CSR programs

of business Thirdly, boundaries between layers in the pyramid are always influencing each other Compliance with the law certainly leads to economic costs for businesses The rules of morality outside the law has always extended (by level of social

development), putting pressure on the legal system, forcing lawmakers to always keep abreast of social practices And finally, the relationship between charity and social

responsibility are clarified

2.3 Other concepts related to CSR

2.3.1 Triple bottom line

We have been familiar with the 4P (Product, Price, Place and Promotion) in marketing – mix or 6P (adding Political environment and Public opinion) by Philip Kohtler or many other P in the organization and operation of the business… Purpose of this call (P) not generalize a complete text, but also helps us easily recognize and remember them

Among them, the letter P is used widely because they involve many different meaning that related to business operations There is one theory that has another Ps related to CSR That is People – Planet – Profit or “Triple bottom line” (TBL) TBL was first

recommended in 1994 by John Elkington – the founder of a British consultancy named SustainAbility People or we can say human capital indicated the treatment of the

enterprises with their employees In this part of TBL, it just not only mean paid a fairy day’s work for the employees; but also how the enterprises treat the workers (with other

benefits such as insurance, vacation,…) and how the enterprises help to develop the surrounding community such as donation, scholarships or sponsorships… This action for society in many countries can be written off tax by government as a part of the business operating expenses The second P is planet or also can be called natural capital Every business operates based on the fundamental from the nature therefore; they will try to decrease their ecological impact And the last P is profit Profit of course is the most important purpose that all enterprises pursue but this P must be made on the balance with other two Ps In each concept, we will have different understanding of philosophy of 3Ps But if we are aware of the structure and operation of social relations in general and

business relations in particular, the philosophy of TBL does not stop at listing three Ps but also asked each enterprise to arrange three letters P under the order of priority based

on different business concepts

2.3.2 Stakeholder theory

When it comes to the concept of sustainable development or CSR, certainly a concept that can not be excluded is “stakeholder” This concept was first mentioned in 1963 in internal memos of the Stanford Research Institute, which later was developed by R Edward Freeman in the 80’s, and among researchers about CSR, R Cowe and M

Hopkins emphasized the importance of stakeholder in the CSR activities Friedman (2006) mentioned: “That group of writers comes to coalesce around particular social constructions of reality, leading to writers referring to stakeholders without being aware of relevant theoretical issues that have been raised in other literature” In simple, any individual or group who has influenced or affected by the actions of an

organization called a stakeholders such as employees, their families, local governments, NGOs, governments, suppliers, etc…

Figure 2.3: Stakeholders inside and outside an organization

The stakeholder is a very important because these are objects of great power that has the right to rated, reviewed, and decided its attitude to business Typically today, the

fundamental driving force to promote enterprise to CSR include: pressure from the government, the rising demand of consumers, investors competitive pressure, competitive labor market, relationships with suppliers and investors…

“To this extent, stakeholder theory participates in a broader debate about business and ethics: will an ethical company be more profitable in the long run than a company that looks only to the "bottom line" in any given quarter or year? Those who claim that

corporate managers are imprudent or unwise in ignoring various non-stockholder

constituencies would answer "yes." Others would claim that overlooking these other constituencies is not ethically justified, regardless of either the short-term or long-term results for the corporation.”

2.3.3 Business ethics and CSR

The term “business ethics” and “social responsibility” are often used interchangeably In fact, the concept of social responsibility is widely used as an expression of business

responsibility is the obligation a business or individual must make to society in order to achieve the most positive impacts and minimize negative impacts on society, the business ethics "is the behavior that a business adheres to in its daily dealings with the world The ethics of a particular business can be diverse They apply not only to how the business interacts with the world at large, but also to their one-on-one dealings with a single customer " If business ethics related to rules and regulations to direct the decisions of individuals and organizations, social responsibility cares about the consequences of the decisions of the organizations to society If business ethics expressed desires,

expectations comes from inside, the social responsibility expresses desires, expectations from the outside Although different, business ethics and social responsibility are closely related to each other Business ethics is the power of social responsibility for the integrity and ethics compliance of the organizations that must have stretched far beyond

compliance with laws and regulations Difficulties in management decisions not only in determining the values and interests but also balanced, harmonious and acceptable

sacrifice a private benefit or profit Therefore, when applied to business ethics,

organization should have its own rules, business ethics, and responsibility in the cope and extent of wider social responsibility

2.3.4 Sustainable development

According to World Commission and Environment and Development, (WCED)

“sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own need It contains within two key concepts:

 the concept of needs, in particular the essential needs of the world’s poor,

to which overriding priority should be given; and

 the idea of limitations imposed by the state of technology and social organization on the environment’s ability to meet present and future needs.”

Sustainable development is a new concept to define a development in all aspects of the present and still ensure the continued development in the distant future This concept is targeted toward many countries around the world, each country will be based on specific economic, social, political, geographical, cultural… strategy to best suit that country Sustainable development is increasingly becoming the center of development in all areas

of society in the 21st century Sustainable development includes 3 objectives: (1)

development of economic efficiency, (2) development of social harmony and raise living standards, level of living strata, and (3) improve the environment, ensuring a solid long – term development future generations

2.3.5 Socially responsible investment

“An investment that is considered socially responsible because of the nature of the business the company conducts Common themes for socially responsible

investments include avoiding investment in companies that produce or sell addictive substances (like alcohol, gambling and tobacco) and seeking out companies engaged in environmental sustainability and alternative energy/clean technology efforts Socially responsible investments can be made in individual companies or through a socially conscious mutual fund or exchange-traded fund” Socially responsible investment (SRI)

investment is not only the financial benefits, but also the good effect for society, not destroy environment, and respect for others, such as ethics For sustainable development, the investment should go toward SRI For example, clean energy, clean food, restricted hazardous wastes, etc policy/ law are an important determinant in SRI SRI develops best

in place where have policies to protect the environment against pollution, the value of good and bad effects on the environment and social (bonus/ penalties financially adequate

to good/ bad influences)

2.3.6 CSR reporting

Today, most large companies all over the world have made an annual CSR report With the ongoing development of CSR, there are many ways and different tools to gather and learn information about CSR CSR report is a useful tool because it is the company prepared and made public to all interested parties Based on CSR report, stakeholders, individuals and other organizations can review and evaluate the company’s

achievements This is an effective connection between the company and society,

consumers and investors A good CSR report will improve the image of the company from which attracted many investors over the same time keeping the loyalty of customers for the company’s products Because of these benefits, many companies have fraud in their CSR reporting in order to improve their image that is not real

CHAP 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.9.1 Manager’s attitude toward CSR

3.9.2 Employee’s attitude toward CSR

recommendation of the researcher

3.2 Research methodology

This research includes qualitative method The qualitative method is carried out by

reviewing annual reports of Unilever Vietnam and questionnaire survey on managers, and employees (in Hanoi city)

3.3 Theoretical frame work

There are many factors related in CSR but in this research, researcher will focus on three main factors: managers, employees and customers These are the most important parts of

the CSR in all companies Researcher will ask question to find out the level of awareness

of CSR and the implementation of CSR

3.3.1 Managers

There are board of director and manager of departments such as accounting department, marketing department, sale department… Researcher will ask some questions to check about the level of awareness and how company implements CSR policy

Awareness:

Question 1: I understand about the term “Corporate Social Responsibility” (CSR) Question 2: Company gets benefits from CSR activities

Question 3: I know CSR reporting

Question 4: I think CSR is very important to businesses in Vietnam

Implementation:

Question 5: My company contributes to society (sponsorship, community project,

volunteering, scholarship,)

Question 6: My company protects environment

Question 7: My company has policies that help increased the employee’s life (health, safety, welfare…)

3.3.2 Employees

Employees including all workers who work for the Unilever Vietnam The awareness of employees is lower than managers because most of them are farmers and workers, therefore researcher will ask some simple questions

Awareness:

Question 1: I know about the term “Corporate Social Responsibility” (CSR)

Question 2: I think CSR is important (for you and for society)

Question 3: Business is not only making profit orientation but also goes beyond that Question 4: Company has responsibility not only with society but also with employees

Implementation:

Question 5: Company has programs to support my living condition (place, health,

holiday, family,)

Question 6: I have never been discriminated in the workplace

Question 7: The company provides me very good working condition (no pressure,

is often complicated and expensive To overcome this shortcoming, researcher did not investigate the entire unit’s, but carried on the investigation on a number of units

The primary data help researcher delve into subjects, understanding the customer’s behavior, found the relationship in the study’s subjects Because primary data was collected directly, therefore it is highly accurate, reliable, and ensuring the update

3.4.2 Secondary data

Secondary data is data collected by others for the different purpose Secondary data is data could not handle (also called raw data) or data processing Secondary data can be found easily on the Internet, books, journal… However, in studies, even secondary data sometimes need to be bought from an agency, organization or any company There are also secondary data that have to take a lot of time searching on the Internet, newspapers, data source from CD – DVD by the published organizations or from scientific articles The advantage of using secondary data is to save money and time But the disadvantages

of using secondary data sources are: (1) secondary data was collected for other research purpose and may be not suitable with this research; it is difficult to classify data;

variables, units of measurement may be different… (2) secondary data are often

processed so it is difficult to evaluate the accuracy, reliability of data resources

3.5 Research method

Collecting primary data is a very important process Therefore, in this project, researcher uses survey method to collect primary data which include questionnaire and phone interview with managers, employees of Unilever Vietnam and customers who buys products of Unilever Vietnam And researchers also uses annual reports, books, journals and others sources from Internet to collect secondary data

3.6 Research tool

3.6.1 Questionnaire

Questionnaire is the very first instrument that most of research project uses There are three main factors in the project: managers, employees who directly working at Unilever Vietnam Questionnaire prepared for managers include 6 questions that include: the awareness of managers about CSR, the attitude of managers about CSR and the

implementation of CSR Four questions will be prepared for employees who include: employees’ understanding about CSR, employees’ attitude toward CSR All questions will use five – point Likert Scales to get the respondents This method will help to get the answer easier There is also one more additional part that objectives can write their opinions which do not include in the questionnaire

Five – point Likert Scales:

Researcher conducting the interview subjects through telephone by a prepared

questionnaire This method applied to objects that are managers who do not have time to meet directly This method help researcher collect enough necessary information in case

of researcher can not meet the managers directly The questions are the same with the questions prepared in Questionnaire part

3.6.3 Annual report

CSR report is a very important factor since it is an independent variable Researcher can collect information from the CSR annual report CSR report of Unilever Vietnam will be choosing in 3 years ago to 2011 in order to collect update information From the CSR report, researcher can evaluate and determine the level of implementation of CSR of Unilever Vietnam