...DOING BUSINESS IN CHINA: The Human Rights Challenge CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION China: World Economic and Manufacturing Centre Why Are Human Rights so Important for International Business? Chinese Legislation: Gap Between Theory and Practice p. 3 p. 4 p. 6 II. SPECIFIC ISSUES AND RECOMMENDATIONS 1. Freedom of Association, the Right to Form and Join Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining 2. Working Conditions 3. Discrimination 4. Forced Labour 5. Forced Evictions 6. The Rights of Children 7. The Right to Freedom of Expression and Information p. 8 p. 12 p. 16 p. 20 p. 23 p. 26 p. 29 p. 32 p. 33 p. 34 p. 37 III. GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS TO COMPANIES IV. CONCLUSION V. LEGAL STANDARDS AND SOURCES VI. CONTACT ADDRESSES 2 I. INTRODUCTION China: World Economic and Manufacturing Centre Over the years China has become one of the largest economies in the world and the manufacturing centre of the world. Since the seventies, China has sought joint venture partners and encouraged technology transfer through foreign investment. Chinese firms are successfully manufacturing products on behalf of numerous foreign companies. The Chinese government provides massive contracts to foreign firms in order to build up the infrastructure required for its industrialization. Many companies establish distribution networks in China in order to benefit from the large home-market and increasing purchasing power of Chinese consumers. Last but not least, in 2008 China organized the first...
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...PrinciPles on Business and Human riGHts Implementing the United Nations “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework GuidinG PrinciPles on Business and Human riGHts Implementing the United Nations “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework New York and Geneva, 2011 Note The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. Symbols of United Nations documents are composed of capital letters combined with figures. Mention of such a figure indicates a reference to a United Nations document. HR/PUB/11/04 © 2011 United Nations All worldwide rights reserved iii contents I. THE STATE DUTY TO PROTECT HUMAN RIGHTS A. FOUNDATIONAl PRINCIPlES B. OPERATIONAl PRINCIPlES 3 3 4 II. THE CORPORATE RESPONSIBIlITY TO RESPECT HUMAN RIGHTS A. FOUNDATIONAl PRINCIPlES B. OPERATIONAl PRINCIPlES 13 13 16 III. ACCESS TO REMEDY A. FOUNDATIONAl PRINCIPlE B. OPERATIONAl PRINCIPlES 27 27 28 iv This publication contains the "Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Implementing the United Nations ‘Protect, Respect and Remedy’ Framework", which were developed by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises. The...
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...What is corporate social responsibility? Give example about CSR in today’s business * Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is the process by which businesses negotiate their role in society * In the business world, ethics is the study of morally appropriate behaviors and decisions, examining what "should be done” * Although the two are linked in most firms, CSR activities are no guarantee of ethical behavior History * CSR is a form of corporate self regulation turns into business models * Also called corporate conscience, citizenship, social performance, sustainable responsible business * Came into used late 1960s and early 1970s * ISO 26000 recognize CSR standards Bodies that governs CSR through out the world World Business Council for Sustainable Development -Corporate Social Responsibility is the continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as of the local community and society at large Business For Social Responisbilities Operating a business in a manner that meets or exceeds the ethical, legal, commercial and public expectations that society has of business The European Commision A concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operations and in their interaction with their stakeholders on a voluntary basis The ASEAN CSR Networks CSR is about how businesses...
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...Cultural Value of Respect in Business Operations: A Case Study of Developing Communities Name Institution of Affiliation Chapter Two: Literature Review Introduction A work environment that is respectful, reasonable, and that values individual differences is a central part of building a positive workplace culture. Casson (2005) asserts that promoting respect is a managerial aspect that oversees workers as it creates a respectful and positive workplace and, consequently, increased employee productivity. Respect at the workplace inspires respectful relationships, courtesy, and decent manners. On another angle, it ensures that employees stay updated with workplace information and consider and value other people’s positions (Casson, 2005). Regan (2004) defines respect as the fair treatment of employees and other stakeholders, fair valuation of contributions of each employee and consistency in the management of the company’s values. However, respect is viewed broadly under the cultural values that every society or business platform foresees. Accordingly, cultural respect has gone further to embrace the protection of human rights, the core driver of the corporates’ social responsibilities and transparency initiatives. Businesses have in the past integrated their cultural values, respect among them, in their endeavors (Regan, 2004). Since diverse business cultures appreciate and recognize other cultures for efficient business transactions, a critical aspect of what respect accords...
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...University of Hamburg Summer Semester 2014 The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights-Introduction, practical relevance and critical analysis Xiaoxiao Ding Master in International Business and Sustainability ABSTRACT: due to the increasingly significant influence of the transnational corporations in industrial and commercial fields in modern society, especially in the spheres of environment and labor protection, more and more cases raised involving their infringements of the international human rights laws. On June 16, 2011, the United Nations Human Rights Council endorsed Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, providing guidance for the implementation of the United Nations " Protect, Respect and Remedy" Framework. In the form of " Soft Law", these principles specify what business enterprises should do to respect human rights and how to prevent the violations on human rights. This paper identifies the main idea of these principles, gives relevant practical references and analyzes these principles with a critical perspective. Contents 1. Introduction .............................................................................. 2 2. The development and content of UN Guiding Principles......... 3 2.1 Historical development of UN Guiding Principles ........................ 3 2.2 The main idea of the UN Guiding Principles ................................. 4 2.3 The legal framework of the UN Guiding Principles ...................... 5 3. Practical...
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...Theme: International standards and principles on business and human rights Outline 1. UN Global Compact 2. Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights At first sight, it is difficult to trace the connection between human rights and business. However, nowadays the proximity of these concepts has been developing rapidly and ceases to amaze. For many influential companies this direction has already become a mainstream. Companies can achieve real progress in observing human rights and at the same time succeed in conduct of business operations. Respect for human rights by commercial structures has become a "sign" of an ideal, socially responsible organization and comfortable for the best shots. With the support of business and other stakeholders, the UN Global Compact’s governance framework was adopted by then UN Secretary-General Annan on 12 August 2005 following a yearlong international process co-led by Georg Kell, Executive Director of the UN Global Compact and Professor John Ruggie, then Special Advisor to the Secretary-General. That process included studying networked governance models of other cutting-edge global action and solution networks and holding focus groups with participants and stakeholders, including governments, local networks, and academics. The resulting governance framework distributes governance functions among several entities so as to engage participants and stakeholders at the global and local levels in making decisions and giving advice...
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...The Ten Principles The UN Global Compact's ten principles in the areas of human rights, labour, the environment and anti-corruption enjoy universal consensus and are derived from: * The Universal Declaration of Human Rights * The International Labour Organization's Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work * The Rio Declaration on Environment and Development * The United Nations Convention Against Corruption The UN Global Compact asks companies to embrace, support and enact, within their sphere of influence, a set of core values in the areas of human rights, labour standards, the environment and anti-corruption: Human Rights * Principle 1: Businesses should support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights; and * Principle 2: make sure that they are not complicit in human rights abuses. Labour * Principle 3: Businesses should uphold the freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining; * Principle 4: the elimination of all forms of forced and compulsory labour; * Principle 5: the effective abolition of child labour; and * Principle 6: the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation. Environment * Principle 7: Businesses should support a precautionary approach to environmental challenges; * Principle 8: undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility; and * Principle 9: encourage the development...
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...Business Case for the Human Rights Principles "Social responsibility is a matter of hardheaded business logic. It’s about performance and profits, and attracting the best people to work for you." John Browne, Chief Executive, BP How does the Universal Declaration of Human Rights relate to business? * Many human rights listed in the UDHR are directly relevant to business and concern issues which many companies routinely address in their day-to-day operations. These include the labour-related rights, freedom from discrimination, the right to health, the right to privacy, to mention but a few. * States have a duty to respect, protect and fulfil the human rights of their citizens and of people living in their territories. However, it was understood by the Member States of the United Nations when adopting the UDHR that achieving universal enjoyment of the rights would require immense efforts by all, including business. States therefore included in the UDHR a call on "every individual and organ of society" to strive to promote respect for the rights included in the UDHR and "to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance." * The UDHR also makes it clear that everyone – and this is considered to include business – have duties to the communities with regard to human rights How can business benefit from promoting and respecting human rights? Business increasingly needs a stable international environment in which to operate. Many companies have realized...
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...accounts, 279,000 employees and does business in more than 140 countries. We support the protection and preservation of human rights around the world and are guided by fundamental principles of human rights, such as those in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Labour Organization (ILO) Core Conventions. Our support for these principles is reflected in our policies and actions towards our employees, suppliers, clients and the countries where we do business. Citi treats its employees with respect and dignity, and we ensure that our policies and actions respect the laws and regulations of the countries in which we operate. We strive to conduct our business in a manner that supports universal human rights, acknowledging that our clients and suppliers face their own decisions on these matters but working to promote respect for human rights through our policies and standards. We respect the sovereignty of governments around the world and believe it is the responsibility of each nation to protect the human rights of its citizens. We realize that the laws of some countries where we do business differ from some of the global standards of human rights noted above. In such circumstances, we comply with local law and at the same time strive to adhere to our own internal standards, as reflected in our corporate policies, while assessing the most appropriate course of action to promote respect for human rights. As part of Citi's commitment to be...
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...EHR_C02.qxd 6/6/07 3:55 PM Page 27 CHAPTER 2 Ethics and Human Resource Management By Amanda Rose Chapter outline Standards, values, morals and ethics have become increasingly complex in a postmodern society where absolutes have given way to tolerance and ambiguity. This particularly affects managers in HR, where decisions will affect people’s jobs and their future employment. This chapter explores some of the ethical dilemmas encountered in the workplace, discussing ethical behaviour and values that relate to HR. It looks at relevant ethical tools, such as utilitarianism and relativism in order to examine current practices in the workplace and their links to corporate social responsibility. Learning outcomes By the end of this chapter, you should be able to: u u u u Critically explore and evaluate the ethical nature of human resource management; Identify and define current ethical and moral issues confronting HR managers; Compare, contrast and critically appraise a range of approaches to ethical analysis; Critically appraise the relevance and usefulness of philosophical analysis to HR practice. Introduction Human Resource Management is a business function that is concerned with managing relations between groups of people in their capacity as employees, employers and managers. Inevitably, this process may raise questions about what the respective responsibilities and rights of each party are in this relationship, and about what constitutes fair treatment....
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...Human rights impact Assessment: an INtroduction TABLE OF CONTENTS executive summary3 I. human rights are NOW the business of business4 II. WHAT ARE HUMAN RIGHTS?5 III. WHAT IS AN HRIA FOR? (WHAT GOOD IS IT?)9 IV. WHAt does an hria Add to all of the other studies and assessments?10 V. WHAT IS NEEDED FOR AN HRIA TO BE EFFECTIVE10 VI. EXAMPLE OF HUMAN RIGHTS IMPACT ASSESSMENT12 A. PHASE I: DESKTOP RESEARCH13 B. PHASE iI: FIELD RESEARCH13 C. PHASE IiI: rate impacts14 D. PHASE iV: Feedback16 E. PHASE v: RECOMMENDATIONS AND MONITORING16 APPENDIX I: ACRONYMS17 APPENDIX II: REFERENCES18 Executive Summary The term “Human Rights Impact Assessment” is new. References to human rights are everywhere. It is a topic constantly in the news, in analyses, in the mouths of the activists, academics, and government officials. “Impact assessment” is familiar when describing a study done on the environment, or on public health. But the novel combination of “human rights” and “impact assessment” can surprise and confuse. Human rights are constantly discussed, but rarely defined. Some companies take “human rights” to mean proper use of private security personnel. Some governments use it to mean freedom to protest. Adding to this confusion are new international structures, initiatives and protocols that require companies to conduct human rights impact assessments. When are these to be done? How are they...
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...1980. The situation has not changed radically since then. These figures highlight the necessity of the role that the private sector should play in conducting socially responsible business as an integral part of its corporate social responsibility. The simple logic is that, with the enormous share in the economy, a sector's passive role in worker and social welfare would not allow the country's major development indicators attain the expected level to compete in the global arena. More importantly, the sector with overwhelming share of employment, income generation and investment should proceed with ethical business and strive to make a positive contribution to the society. Integrated in the business, the obligation of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is the pathway to attaining a sustainable positive impact of business on society through socially responsible business. Although CSR as a concept came into being in the 1980s, with the recognition of business's social and environmental responsibilities, it can be traced back to the 1800s as part of business model. At least three similar initiatives by Sir Titus Salt (1853), Joseph Rowntree (1879), and Lever Brothers (1888) serve as examples of CSR. Today, the CSR issue combines a set of well-recognised principles that govern the manner a business should maintain in dealing with the stakeholders. CSR has been defined by contemporary...
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...Right Management Consultants Succeeds by Managing Change Overview The Right company is an international consultant firm specializing in change management within human resources. “Right Management Consultants is the continent’s leading career transition and human resource consulting provider, doing business with more than 80% of the Fortune 500.” (pg. 33). This is an innovative company introducing new programs and processes into the market to meet today’s employer and workforce needs. Question 1 What are the challenges faced by Right when the downsizing effort no longer is a popular human resource strategy? The largest challenge the Right company may have when downsizing is no longer is a popular human resource strategy is the potential absence of new talent and innovation in the company. The shortage of inflow of fresh talent and new ideas into the work force may be the most debilitating issue to a struggling company. Finding an alternative to downsizing while protecting the company’s future through human capital can be a huge, time-consuming challenge for the entire organization. The Right company may have several alternative options to downsizing to achieve the same goal. Typically, cost savings/reduction plans are implemented by all business units within a company before employee downsizing is implemented. In addition to these measures, there are human resource cost savings initiatives that could be exercised such as hiring freezes, reduction via attrition, salary...
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... NOKIA´S HUMAN RIGHTS APPROACH Introduction Nokia believes that our core business – connecting people with mobile technology – contributes to the promotion of human rights by enabling and enhancing communication and facilitating economic development. Improved communications provide better opportunities for freedom of expression, and therefore promote civil and political rights as well as economic and social rights. At the same time, we have specific human rights within our supply chain. responsibilities, towards our employees, customers, the communities where we work, and associated with its activities, operations and relationships. One part of due diligence countries. The Human Rights approach is based on the benchmarking study, as well as our own assessment of international best practices. process has been a benchmarking study in 2010 of the human rights situation in 18 to respect human rights and assess any potential human rights issues that may be Nokia has conducted, and is constantly conducting, due diligence to fulfil its responsibility the research and development phase when designing features for a new product, aspects like accessibility and privacy have to been taken into account. In manufacturing, including our supply chain, the main human rights matters are related to labour conditions and health & safety. Human Rights matters to be considered vary at different stages of the Nokia value chain. In There are several human rights issues related...
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...Ethical and Moral Issues in Business Ethics and morals go hand-in-hand in workplaces and organizations should be concerned about ethics and morals. Businesses that operate ethically and morally depend on how the managers, and employees behave, how they interact with each, and with customers. In this paper the difference between ethical issues and moral issues, differences between personal ethics and business ethics, and examples of common ethical problems in business will be discussed. Differences between ethical issues and moral issues Ethics and morals may seem the same but there is a difference. Ethical issues define the code used by a group or society of people. The ethics that people adhere to uses external factors, such as society, peer group, profession, and religion, and may change if any of the influencing factors changes ( Trevino & Nelson, 2007). For example, in England fox hunting was an ethical tradition until a legislation was put into place because of the protest of the evil nature of fox hunting and became unethical. Ethics are well defined and laid down; for example, professionals such as doctors and lawyers knows the ethics of their professions. A doctor will not divulge or discuss his or her patients medical history with anyone but the patient unless given authority by the patient or required by law. Also a lawyer will not compromise his or her client’s interest. Moral issues focus on the right and wrong and do not change. For example, it will always...
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