Our presentation was on the case study of the NKF financial scandal, which took place in 2005. It all began when journalist, Susan Long, from The Straits Times published an article on the lack of transparency and accountability in NKF’s usage of the donated funds This led to the former CEO of NKF, T. T. Durai, suing Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) for defamation. The trial disclosed how Durai misused the donated funds and the financial mismanagement at NKF, greatly affecting NKF’s reputation. After the entire incident, the public became very concerned over the transparency of charitable organisations.
The broad concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) can be summarised into three main aspects.
First, employee’s wellbeing. This is…show more content… Over a span of five years, Durai received over S$5 million dollars from AVIVA, in exchange for access to the donors’ database. With the personal particulars of the donors, AVIVA was able to send marketing materials to the donors frequently. Durai’s act was unethical as he failed to obtain the consent of the donors before providing AVIVA with access to the database which contained sensitive information relating to the donors.
Moreover, there was also an issue on the misuse of donated funds. With regards to how the funds were being used by NKF, there was no accountability and transparency. Upon donating, the donors’ believed that their donations would be used for a good cause, in accordance to the mission and vision of NKF. However, Durai was using it for his personal benefits instead and kept everyone in the dark. From the installation of a gold plated tap in his office toilet, to financing a fleet of 8 chauffeured cars, Durai was leading a lavish lifestyle. Through all this, you could tell that he abused the trust of the donors. There was no accountability towards the donors (who are also the stakeholders), by NKF and this is a misconduct of CSR. In addition, Durai also under-declared the funds NKF had and exaggerated the number of patients in need of funding for kidney dialysis. The inaccurate representation of facts brings up the issue of responsible…show more content… Moreover, with the extensive media coverage, people became more skeptical with their philanthropic decisions, leading to lesser funds being raised by charities.
CSR is supposed to steer companies in the right direction, thus benefitting them in the process.
Corporations hope that by having good CSR, they would create a positive public image. When corporations support non-profit organisations through monetary donations or volunteerism, their efforts can be publicised. These actions serve to show the corporations’ dedication of giving back to the community and would improve the public’s impression of them. With a better public image, a corporation would be able to develop customer loyalty, increase revenue through greater support from the public and better attract talented individuals as compared to rival