THE PRACTICE OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY BY CHINA RAILWAY GROUP LIMITED (CREC) IN ETHIOPIA

Abstract

The focus of the study is on the existence and practices of Corporate Social Responsibility and related problems in Ethiopia by taking China Railway Group Limited as case study in accordance with different Corporate Social Responsibility dimensions namely employee/labor treatment, consumer demands, social values and behavioral issues, Environmental Protection, Human right and Social justice, and transparency and anti-corruption. The findings of the study are believed to be relevant to employees, customers, and companies to implement Corporate Social Responsibility concepts and to get benefit from it. The study has been conducted on the basis of the mixed research techniques to assess the nature or practice of CSR related problems in the company. Purposive sampling technique was used in selecting respondents. Out of the total study population of 729 employees of China Railway Group limited and Ethiopian Railways Corporation, the samples size which has been selected for the study under consideration is 213, of which 118 are from China Railway Group Limited and 95 from Ethiopian Railways Corporation. Data were collected through questionnaires and field observation. Structured and unstructured interview have been also conducted with managers and administrators of the China Railway Group limited and Ethiopian Railways Corporation through open ended questions which are designed to elicit their perception about the nature of Corporate Social Responsibility in China Railway Group limited. The data collected through the questionnaires were coded, entered into computer and analyzed qualitative and quantitatively and presented in the form of tables and Charts using SPSS version 20 Software since it is appropriate for the study. Findings of the study have shown that China Railway Group limited gives high emphasis on the economic aspect of Corporate Social Responsibility on its practice. Budgetary problems, absence of strong interest and lack of support from government and other concerned bodies for the practice are also found to be major barriers on the company to perform Corporate Social Responsibility well. This thesis concludes with a discussion of the implications of these findings as well as recommendations.