...its mission statement to “we save people money so they can live better” to appeal to a broader customer base. By expanding the target customer base, the retail giant has strategized to appeal to a mixed demographic which out performs other rivals. Wal-Mart’s net sales over the last 3 years have increased consistently with an increase in 2012 of 5.9% year over year. Wal-Mart’s performance and shareholders are inter-related, shareholders are concern about company performance because it will affect shareholders interests if company not doing well in their business. Wal-Mart main focus is to uphold and maintain it responsibilities to shareholders and follows free the market libertarianism model. Milton Friedman model was that Corporate Social responsibility a corporation to provide profit for it shareholders. Wal-Mart does not look at people welfare as one of the things that they need to promote they look at as cost of doing business. They are keeping the wages low to keep the profits. Employees constant complaining about job related issues, training and advancement opportunities. What Wal-Mart is up against...
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...CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (CSR) – THE NEED OF THE HOUR What is CSR? “No success or achievement in material terms is worthwhile unless it serves the needs or interests of the country and its people “ - Late Shri. J.R.D. Tata As evident from the above definition, the basic objective underlying CSR is maximization of societal benefits from business. The concept of CSR has been evolving since the early seventies, and yet there does not seem to be a uniform definition. It is perhaps not surprising that the CSR that exists now has many different definitions. In the Indian context, CSR would extend to issues as complex as regional development, rural development, employment, education and healthcare services, while CSR in the context of developing countries (and to some extent developed countries as well) broadly relates to issues of governance, business ethics, human rights and environment. CSR activities have their own advantages. The benefits are in terms of building a positive image, encouraging social involvement of employees, which in turn develops a sense of loyalty for the organization. A survey recently conducted by a reputed NGO revealed that the factors most influencing public impression of companies were social responsibility; brand reputation and sound business fundamentals. This goes to show the importance of CSR in an organizational context. Factually speaking, CSR activities in most organizations are much more than...
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...| Sustainability management | | | | | * Executive Summary Sustainability is a key concern for the business now-a-days. Firms are now triggering resources and practices towards the sustainable growth of the business. Shell Group, a leading firm in energy industry, is trying to turn their resources for being sustainable in their business practices. For being so, they can follow two approaches such as Carroll’s four part model of CSR and stakeholder analysis. It has become a vital concern for the firms like shell to conduct CSR activities as they have to operate in an environment where they have to be economically viable as well as conforming to the legal laws, rights and obligations of the society. Not only the corporate social responsibility but also the stakeholder’s satisfaction can influence a great deal in the firm’s success. So, the stakeholder’s theory means a lot to the firms. Stakeholders can be internal as well as external. For applying those approaches, shell has to consider several analysis like cost benefit, life cycle analysis, environmental impact analysis, stakeholder matrix , segmentation analysis and so on. Finally, the company will get findings of taking one approaches as per the analysis to implement for being sustainable. * Contents Executive Summary 1 1 Introduction 3 2 For effective management of sustainability, these two approaches can be considered by the Shell Group as prescribed. The approaches are 4 2.1 Carroll’s...
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...Introduction This essay aims to express my vision and ideas about responsible leadership, a new theory of growing importance. Indeed, previous theories about leadership lost credibility after the financial crisis in 2008. To fill in the gaps of the former theories, a new concept emerges: responsible leadership. In this essay, I first introduce the concept of leadership before expressing my vision of responsible leadership. Leadership In the literature, most of the definitions have common parts. Leaders are individuals able to influence and lead a group of people, by their actions, to achieve a common goal. To do so, those individuals must have a deep commitment to the goal and strive to achieve it. Moreover, they must have a personal vision of the future and inspire their partners so that their vision becomes a common goal for the group. Another characteristic of a leader is that he has persuasive skills and manages to make his/her followers trust him. He is also likely to empower people he works with. Thus, he manages to share responsibilities between team members so that the group becomes more effective. Finally, he motivates people to do their best in their respective fields and also to create a positive team spirit. In the business world, leaders were often associated with outstanding individuals shaped to conceive a competitive advantage for the company. The role of this person was to create value for the shareholders. In other words, one of the most important sides...
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...Corporate Social Responsibility An Implementation Guide for Business Paul Hohnen, Author Jason Potts, Editor Corporate Social Responsibility An Implementation Guide for Business Paul Hohnen, Author Jason Potts, Editor ii Corporate Social Responsibility: An Implementation Guide for Business © 2007, International Institute for Sustainable Development The International Institute for Sustainable Development contributes to sustainable development by advancing policy recommendations on international trade and investment, economic policy, climate change and energy, measurement and assessment, and sustainable natural resources management. Through the Internet, we report on international negotiations and share knowledge gained through collaborative projects with global partners, resulting in more rigorous research, capacity building in developing countries and better dialogue between North and South. IISD’s vision is better living for all—sustainably; its mission is to champion innovation, enabling societies to live sustainably. IISD is registered as a charitable organization in Canada and has 501(c)(3) status in the United States. IISD receives core operating support from the Government of Canada, provided through the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and Environment Canada; and from the Province of Manitoba. The Institute receives project funding from numerous governments inside and outside Canada,...
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...creation of the intellectual property. Using a free market approach to innovation based on Western moral philosophy, we suggest that treating intellectually protected life saving/life sustaining innovations as public goods will likely reduce social welfare over the long term. KEY WORDS: entrepreneurship, ethics, innovation, intellectual property rights, policy ‘‘For the Scripture says, ‘Do not muzzle the ox while it is treading out the grain,’ and ‘The worker deserves his wages’ ’’ 1 Timothy 5:18. Ray (2004), in a recent critique of Miles et al. (2002), proposes that the intellectual property rights (IPR) generated from any life saving/life sustaining entrepreneurial initiatives should be transferred to the public domain whenever potential users of these innovations are unable or unwilling to enter into mutually beneficial exchange relationships with the creators of the IPR. This reply offers a perspective on why Ray’s (2004) imperative does not maximize social welfare and, in fact, will tend to diminish social welfare over the long-term as a result of lower economic incentives for innovation. Introduction ‘‘Few trends would so thoroughly undermine the very foundations of our free society as the acceptance by corporate officials of a social responsibility other than to make as much money for their stockholders as they possible can. This is a fundamentally subversive doctrine’’ (Friedman, l962, p. 133). Morgan P. Miles is Professor of Marketing, Georgia Southern University...
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...FEMSA – Organization Development – HR Sustainment Intervention Fomento Economico Mexicano, known as Femsa (FMX) sustainability program keeps evolving with new acquisition and joint business ventures. In 2011, FEMSA and business segments required an organization development planned change to improve the corporation’s sustainability. Our research will focus on the corporations five core areas: ethics and corporate values; quality of life in the company; health and wellness, community engagement and, environment care. The OD practitioner used the well know Lewin’s Action Research theory, which is composed of repetitive four step process: diagnostic, planning, plan execution, and plan evaluation (Cheung-Judge, M., & Holbeche, L. 2011) FEMSA is a leading company that participates in the non-alcoholic beverage industry through Coca-Cola FEMSA (KOF), the largest independent bottler of Coca-Cola products in the world in terms of sales volume; in the retail industry through FEMSA Comercio, operating the largest and fastest-growing chain of stores in Latin America, and in the beer industry, through its ownership of the second largest equity stake in Heineken, one of the world’s leading brewers with operations in over 70 countries. KOF invested more than Ps. 28,000 million in mergers and acquisitions during 2011, to consolidate its leadership position in Mexico and Latin America, while entering the milk and value-added dairy products category with a leading...
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...Misery Loves Companies: Whither Social Initiatives by Business? Joshua D. Margolis Harvard University jmargolis@hbs.edu 617-495-6444 James P. Walsh University of Michigan jpwalsh@umich.edu 734-936-2768 December 16, 2002 We want to thank Christine Oliver, our three anonymous reviewers, Paul Adler, Howard Aldrich, Alan Andreasen, Jim Austin, Charles Behling, Mary Gentile, Tom Gladwin, Morten Hansen, Stu Hart, Nien-he Hsieh, Linda Lim, Nitin Nohria, Lynn Paine, Gail Pesyna, Rob Phillips, Lance Sandelands, Debora Spar, Joe White, Richard Wolfe and the students in Jim Walsh’s “The Corporation in Society” Ph.D. seminar for their constructive comments on earlier versions of this paper. We also want to thank Marguerite Booker, John Galvin and Nichole Pelak for their helpful research assistance. The Harvard Business School, the University of Michigan Business School, and the Aspen Institute’s Initiative for Social Innovation through Business provided invaluable support for this project. Misery Loves Companies: Whither Social Initiatives by Business? Abstract Companies are increasingly being asked to provide innovative solutions to deep-seated problems of human misery. Organization and management scholarship can play an important role in understanding and guiding possible corporate responses. Theory and research to date have sought to reconcile possible corporate responses with economic premises about the purpose of the firm. Our goals in this paper are to reorient the...
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...Ethical Perspectives: Drucker, Friedman, and Murphey Business Ethics Ethics in business is an extremely important matter that continues to be discussed in many organizations today. There are even many businesses that offer formal ethical training and believe in it vital to their business’s success. However, it can be proven that several professionals have different views on what is exactly ethical in business. Three professionals with different points of views regarding what is ethical in business include Peter Drucker, Milton Friedman, and Patrick Murphy. Peter Drucker Peter Drucker’s view on all ethical dilemmas is primum non nocere. This motto, taken from the medical profession, can be translated to mean “Above all do no harm” (Jennings, 2012). In other words, Dr. Drucker believed that people should make decisions that would not bring harm to other people. He, like many other management professionals, understood the many approaches philosophers have taken to understand ethics. However, he wanted to show how and where business ethics fit into the conflicting rules of ethics and human behavior. Ethics of Prudence and Self Development Dr. Drucker used his experience as a philosophy and a religion professor as well as his experience answering difficult ethical political questions as a method of drawing his conclusion regarding ethics in business. He believed that a major tradition of ethics in the West, Ethics of Prudence” would prove to be valuable in understanding...
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...Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is not an easily defined term. It is used in several different conditions, depending on how it applies and the objectives it serves. It only came into existence during the late 1970’s after the term stakeholder started being used, meaning – those whom the organizations activities have an impact on. Before, the role of CSR was not highly required or rather thought of, but consumers today are interested in companies, which are socially responsible. If companies loose sight of their consumer’s thoughts it will impact any potential of growth and hamper profitability leading it to cease in existence. This is why; CSR highlights corporate actions and business models related to social, environmental and economic facets within the world today. In regard to understanding CSR better and deeper we were asked to choose a company we could relate our readings and concepts from the Harvard Business Review by Porter & Kramer 2006 and by Zadek 2006. Initially I had trouble choosing a company as my interest in working is majorly in NGOs. I sought out to understand their CSR but after a couple of searching, I was made aware they mainly collaborate with corporate organizations to promote CSR. Such NGOs like Save the Children, ILO, UNDP all align themselves to create a guideline for companies to function with CSR in mind. So next I thought about considering a company that had built in values of CSR from the beginning- thinking understanding a company who had...
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...Introduction Corporate Social Responsibility, also known as CSR, is a self-regulatory system whereby a company keep its business dealings in check with the laws and ethical standards of the society. The various aspects of CSR will be discussed using a case study concerning Hennes & Mauritz (H&M). It is a case of unethical waste discharge by their supplier that is harmful to the environment. The stakeholders that are affected, solutions to this problem and the ethics and values of this case will be further explained and evaluated. This case shows that despite the importance of CSR, there are companies that will choose to break their code of conduct in order to increase profitability. The Case As reported by Frauzel (2011), a Greenpeace representative, H&M is found to be linked to factories that discharged toxic chemicals into China’s rivers and that their line of kids clothing contains nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPEs) that break down into the toxic nonylphenol (NP), which is a hormone disruptor that affects reproduction and fertility. This chemical is said to be hazardous even in small amounts. Moreover, this chemical can cause adverse effects to the food chain if accumulated as it is not easily broken down. Source: Frauzel, T., (2011), Clothing and the global toxic cycle . This is a serious case of pollution as the waste was not treated carefully and released in its toxic form into the water bodies. The Stakeholders and their involvement Shareholders: ...
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...Innovative. The principles related to “Responsible” serve as fundamental guidance for its business decisions. Siemens encourage business partners, suppliers and other stakeholders to adopt a similar standard of ethical behavior. Siemens is determined to meet, and wherever possible, exceed all legal and ethical requirements. Our responsibility is to conduct all business according to the highest professional and ethical standards and practices: There must be no tolerance for non-compliant behavior. Sustainability at Siemens is leading to profitable long-term growth and responsible value creation for the company. For Siemens, sustainability means acting responsibly on behalf of future generations to achieve economic, environmental and social progress: • For the environment, Siemens is providing innovative products and solutions to improve both its own eco balance and those of its customers and suppliers. • For business, Siemens is focusing on long-term value creation. • For the society, Siemens is developing its own employees and striving to be good citizens in all the communities in which the company is active. The Siemens CSR strategy includes Focus, Implementation & Budget. According to the company’s current sustainability-related portfolio, Siemens is focused on: • Environmental Portfolio • Integrity • Innovation • Human rights • Occupational health and safety • Own ecological footprint • Sustainability in the...
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...1. Starbucks demonstrates a new focus on business ethics and social responsibility by providing health care benefits to their employees, giving to the welfare of the needy, and also by packaging their goods in recycling materials along with any other practices that are beneficial to the company-------------------. Starbucks has also demonstrated by improving their dealings with their customers as well as their suppliers. Although this may not bring in additional revenues, the ethical businesses are better recognized and there durability is greater. ----------As long as Starbucks can continue to gain trust in the customers, it will allow them to have a strong bond with them also. 2. I feel that Starbucks has been concerned with social responsibility in its overall corporate strategy because for one reason it is a popular business and it helps the image of the company to care about the community and the environment-----------------. Other reasons Starbucks were so concerned was because of the negative impact on the company. Starbucks has always been engaged in responsible business practice since they first started their operation and they have always spent a lot of time defending their image as well.-------------------------. Several small coffee shops were put out of business due to the clustering strategy. Starbucks decided to refocus their strategy after the 2009-2009 recession.-----------------------------. Several locations were closed because of the lack of performance...
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...Question: how could Workers Inc. improve its corporate social responsibility? As an employment agency Workers Inc acts as one part of the triumvirate acting as the employers /workers representative, and the employer and worker. Underhill has identified that labour staff and in particular those who are employed through employment agencies ie casually ‘are injured more often and more seriously’ (Underhill, 2004). As a socially responsible employer and a hirer of staff working in trades Workers Inc has put in place an Occupational Health and Safety (OSH) policy and a Rehabilitation Policy in order ‘to provide a structured workplace programme where practicable, to promote and support staff rehabilitation in partnership with health professional, case managers and Workers Inc clients’ (website). Corporate social responsibility (CSR) however spreads not only through employment practices but through ethical and managerial decisions. It could be argued that Workers Inc has a vested interest in providing good OSH since the worker is its commodity. The main principles of CSR are to provide : CSR is also important in terms of image (Polonsky & Jevens, 2006, p341) and what it brings to the community as well as how it might enhance the brand image. This branding can lead stakeholders to have a series of expectations which are not always in line with the intent, for example, organisations that jump on the bandwagon of CSR in order to promote themselves do not always provide...
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...and corporate social responsibility. Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, 21(4), 275-277. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10672-009-9124-4 This article emphasises on keeping up of a good employee-employer relationship as the important element of maintaining ethics and corporate social responsibility. Employee as one of the inevitable factors of organisation should be considered as the most important stakeholder of business. Restrictive approaches towards employee will badly affect the organisation and the organisation may not be successful towards external stake holders like society as its basic duty itself towards the employee is a failure. At the same time, the employee has to be concerned about his duty towards organisation and should try to fulfil it in union with the employer. In conclusion, employee and employer relationship is an unavoidable element to secure ethics and social responsibility of the firm. This article gives a bird’s eye view about the requirement of maintaining a good employee-employer relationship, although it does not deal with the topic in a wide manner. The article consists of some relevant examples to prove the writers’ arguments. But, it does not put forward relevant suggestions to make the point practical. In spite of that, the writers have won in ascertaining employee and employer relationship as the requirement of time to secure ethics and social responsibility in this modern business world. Holme, C. (2010). Corporate social responsibility:...
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