This The fields of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and human resource (HR) function have gained
increasingly importance to corporate strategies. As many hotels are concerned with sustainability
issues and CSR, the HR function is positioned to assist implementing and enhancing CSR strategy as
well as administering its core functions. In most cases, CSR in the hotels are housed in HR Department
where the managers have responsibility for the strategic application of CSR in the hotels. This paper
presents a case study of five hotels in Penang Island, Malaysia as an attempt to demonstrate how
Human Resource managers of these hotels perform their CSR practices. Specific focus is placed on the
role of Human Resource managers who are not well-equipped with social work experience or
background and specifically to investigate how these managers perceive CSR concept, the impact of
their CSR programs on beneficiaries and the challenges that they encountered in the process. To
answer these questions, we have conducted interviews with five managers from four and five star
hotels in Penang. Our findings have reflected the importance of conceptualization of CSR particularly
in hotel sector as well as gaining insight into current HR profession in administering CSR activities to
consider someone with social work background in a bid to improve the quality of life of targeted
communities.