Principles of Corporate Social Responsibility

Principles of Corporate Social Responsibility CSR can be defined as an organization taking responsibility for the results of its activities upon employees, customers, the community and the environment. Usually organizations voluntarily exercise their improvements, commitments and performance reporting. CSR is the need for organizations to consider the greater good of their actions and the effect on all those around the organization from within, local community and globally. Often the effects must be thought of in terms of the economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic impact or basically business decision of cost to implement versus return on investment. CSR is the process that guides company decision making and implementation activities in the areas of human rights, environmental standards, and compliance with legal requirements within its operations. PRACTICE: CSR can be thought of as the challenge organizations face to balance their social responsibilities with that of increased earnings and concerns according to shareholder and stakeholder expectations. CSR is generally applied to wherever firms operate encompassing both domestic and global economy. CSR applies to both the private sector commitments and activities then stretches beyond the just compliance with laws. Many organizations believe that focusing on new opportunities in interrelated economic, societal, or environmental demands in the marketplace provides a competitive advantage and stimulates creative solutions. PARTICULARS: CSR activities usually address many aspects of a firms behavior and key elements like health and safety, environmental community development, human rights, human resource management, community development, consumer protection, labor protection, supplier relations, business ethics, and stakeholder rights. Organizations are motivated to have stakeholders involved in their decision making process. A CSR approach is to promises the following. Improved financial performance. Improved accountability to investors. Improved employee commitment. Improved community relationships. Improved product branding. PERSONS: Bristol-Myers CEO Peter Dolan- His company has emerged from recent trouble due to issues stemming from the drug Plavix which is a blood thinner. Because of these and other past mistakes, Bristol-Myers has emerged a stronger company. An example is in the area of its environmental impact on the world, Bristol-Myers has reduced their greenhouse emission by 10% and worked towards obtaining a U.S. Green Building Council certified facility. Merck CEO Richard Clark- his company had problems with Vioxx, but has managed to solve those problems with programs that include a Corporate Responsibility Council that works to increase the number of employees involved. Transparency has been the major improvement within his company. HIP Investor CEO Paul Herman- is a corporate social responsibility consultant who believes grass roots produce the best solutions. One method is reaching out to the employees through an intranet that will give them a chance to express what improvements can be made and what community programs they will volunteer for. Korn-Ferry CEO Jay Millen- recommends a social; responsibility is not just a policy, it is a philosophy. A corporation should have a top-down strategy for CSR; if the philosophy and values are correct the rules will follow. PERIOD: Time period 1800s- CSR first started during this time period where companies that operated in rural areas build company towns. These towns including housing, stores, schools, and playground for children of their employees. Time period of 1930s- As part of President Franklin Roosevelts New Deal program, companies received tax breaks for donating money to charities. Time period of 1960s- Government steps in to regulate business with the formation of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration(OSHA), Equal Employment Opportunity Commission(EEOC), and the Environmental Protection Agency(EPA). This has compelled some companies to become more politically involved by contributing time and money to non-profits. Time period 2005- Surveys show that 98% of large corporations apply CSR in their strategic planning and 84% have seen their profits increase because of their actions. PLACES: Australia Established human rights laws that mandated the corporations must practice proper ethical behavior and human rights principals within their country and overseas. United States Environmental Protection Agency has enforced the standards established by the federal government for corporations in protection of the environment. United Nations This global organization has established policy for human rights throughout the world. PHRASES: CSR key terms- Charity principle- The principle that the riches people in the world should donate to the less fortunate. Stewardship Principle- mangers have an obligation to ensure benefits from their actions in society. Reputation- The essential characteristics that a corporation that influence their relations with the stakeholders. Enlightened self interest- The view that a company can be socially aware without losing its own objectives. Corporate citizenship- Apply CSR into practice. Legal obligation- The laws a company must follow established by the government. Iron law of responsibility- In the long run, those that do not use their authority in actions that society consider proper will lose it. PICTURES: Paul Hawken quote- If they (companies) believe they are in business to serve people, to help solve problems, to use and employ the ingenuity of their workers to improve the lives of people around them by learning from the nature that gives us life, we have a chance (Amaeshi, Osuji Nnodin, 2008, p.223). Karl-Henrik Robert quote- Business is the economic engine of our Western culture, and if it could be transformed to truly serve nature as well as ourselves, it could become essential to our rescue (Iankova, 2008, p.77). Mikhail Gorbachev quote We need a new system of values, a system of the organic between humankind and nature and the ethic of global responsibility (Amaeshi, Osuji Nnodin, 2008, p.223). Robert F. Kennedy quote- The future is not completely beyond our control. It is the work of our own hands (Pava, 2008, p.807). David Korten quote- to achieve true sustainability, we must reduce our garbage index that which we permanently throw away into the environment that will not be naturally recycled for reuse to near zero. Productive activities must be organized as closed systems. Minerals and other nonbiodegradeable, resources once taken from the ground, must become a part of societys permanent capital stock and be recycled in perpetuity, organic materials may be disposed into the natural ecosystems, but only in ways that assure that they are absorbed back into the natural production system (Amaeshi, Osuji Nnodin, 2008, p.223). Martin Luther King, Jr. quote- Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter (Iankova, 2008, p.77). PROSPECTS: The European Commission list of benefits for companies that adopt CSR criteria: Business ethics, the personal commitment of the companys directors, improve competitive, strengthen the companys image, prevent negative publicity, lawsuits or campaigns against the company, increase customer loyalty, stand out from the competition, improve human resources management, strengthen the loyalty of management staff, attract new employees, improve adaptation to change, cost reduction, tax breaks, less worker strikes (Fuentes-Garcia, F., Nunez-Tables, J. Veroz-Herradon, R., 2008). Research conduct my recent surveys have concluded the companies that practice CSR have increase financial success. A confirm fact from a recent customer survey the 70 % of customers indicated that they were more likely to buy from a socially responsible firm, in turn 50 % indicated that they not buy from a firm that was not socially responsible. PROBLEMS: Multinational corporations using operate outside the control of international laws. There is no international forum in which they could be prosecuted. CSR has limitations. The major limitation is that most ethical behaviors or charities which come under CSR require financial contributions. Some mangers feel their propriety should be making a profit for the stakeholders instead of giving money away to charities. PERFORMANCE: Examples of corporation that practice CSR principles. Nike has improved working conditions in their operations overseas. FedEx has begun to use hybrid trucks. General Electric has built health care centers in Africa. Employees are a key for CSR; they volunteer for community projects, are loyal to the company which results in increased profits. An organizations reputation has an effect on CSR; the impact can affect financial performance positively. Philanthropy by CSRs is interpreted positively by the public and organizations are often given the benefit of the doubt resulting steady stock prices. Sales increase CSR for corporations; cause-related marketing initiatives generates money through increased product sales and at the same time benefit charities. Poor CSR can negatively affect earnings and stock prices because of potential lawsuits and fines. PUBLICATIONS: Amaeshi, K., Osuji, O. Nnodim, P. (2008). Corporate social responsibility in supply chains of global brands: a boundaryless responsibility? Clarifications, expectations and implications. Journal of Business Ethics, 81 (1), 223-234. Fuentes-Garcia, F., Nunez-Tables, J. Veroz-Herradon, R. (2008). Applicability of corporate social responsibility to human resources management: perspective from Spain. Journal of Business Ethics, 82 (1), 27-44. Iankova, E. (2008). From corporate paternalism to corporate social responsibility in post communist Europe. Journal of Corporate Citizenship, 29 (1), 75-89. Iyer, A. (2009). Corporate social responsibility and farmer suicides: a case for benign paternalism? Journal of Business Ethics, 85 (4), 429-443. Lawrence, A. Weber, J. (2008). Business Society: Stakeholders, Ethics, Public Policy (12 ed.). New York, New York, United States of America: McGraw-Hill Irwin. Pava, M. (2008). Why corporations should not abandon social responsibility. Journal of Business Ethics, 83 (4), 805-812. Pfau, M., Haigh, M., Sims, J. Wigley, S. (2008). The influence of corporate social responsibility campaigns on public opinion. Corporate Reputation Review, 11 (2), 145-154. Ubius, U. Alas, R. (2009). Organizational culture types as predictors of corporate social responsibility. Engineering Economics, 61 (1), 90-99. Valentine, S. Fleischman, G. (2008). Professional ethical standards, corporate social responsibility, and the perceived role of ethics and social responsibility. Journal of Business Ethics, 82 (3), 657-666. National Directory of Corporate Giving. Directories Table HV80.N26. Columbia University Libraries database. http://www.columbia.edu/web/indiv/ business / refservices.html Web Sites and Internet Resources: http://search.ebscohost.com/ http://treehugger.com http://word.world-citizenship.org http://www.columbia.edu/ http://www.depauw.edu http://www.emeraldinsight.com http://www.google.com http://www.ineedmotivation.com / http://www.internationalpeaceandconflict.org/ http://www.robertfkennedylinks.com

Henry David Thoreau †“Why I Went to the Woods” Essay

This excerpt is from his famous essay, â€Å"On the Duty of Civil Disobedience†. First, some background; in 1842, his brother John died of lockjaw. Three years later, Henry decided to write a book commemorating a canoe trip he had taken with John in 1839. Seeking a quiet place to write, he followed a friend’s suggestion and built a small cabin on the north shore of Walden Pond on a piece of land owned by his friend and mentor, Ralph Waldo Emerson. He started work on his cabin in March of 1845. On the 4th of July, he moved in. Thus began one of the great and lasting experiments in life and thought of the whole of human experience. â€Å"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.† Thoreau otherwise filled his time by working in his garden, talking with visitors, reading, and writing in his diary. B ut most of all, he walked and thought, and it’s difficult to tell now which was the more important activity. It seems that, in his two years living in his little cabin in the woods he brought himself to a state of conscious living, where thought and action were harmoniously combined. This story is about his rejection of the world’s definition of ‘success’ and so he demanded a life of personal freedom. He went to the woods, built a humble cabin on the edge of Walden Pond, Concord, Massachusetts†¦and learned about nature and life. He rejected the Establishment and all its trappings. He saw such possessions as fancy clothes and elaborate furniture as so much extra baggage. He demanded a fresh, uncluttered existence with time for self-exploration. He would, he told the world, â€Å"breathe after his own fashion.† All aspects of life for Thoreau focused on simplicity. When Thoreau’s two years at Walden had ended, he left with no regrets: â€Å"I left the woods for as good a reason as why I went there. Perhaps it seemed to me that I had several more lives t o live, and could not spare any more time for that one . . . â€Å" His experiment had been a success. Thoreau had learned many lessons, had taken time to examine his inner self and his world, and proved he could live under the simplest conditions and still be fulfilled: â€Å"I learned this, at least, by my experiment; that as one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.† To him, most men live lives of â€Å"quiet desperation,† and have needed to simplify, to cast off material  encumbrances and achieve true freedom. The stages of spiritual evolution that a man passes through all prepare him for the more difficult inner development; and every man, he believed, possesses an inner spiritual instinct which, if nurtured and cared for, will divulge his divine nature.

Poetry Analysis of Ask Me Essay

In the poem â€Å"Ask Me,† the poet, William Stafford, gives the reader a strong sense of imagery, it describes the river so vividly, so creatively. This poem is a very good poem, and is actually very mysterious and a little bit almost questionable about the theme of the poem. Basically what I get from the poem is, the speaker is not ashamed of who he or she is and you can ask them any questions about their past and they will gladly answer. It’s almost as if it is kind of testing the speaker, like will or she actually answer the question? And the answer is most definitely yes. As for the meaning, I am not too sure. I guess some poetry cannot always be explained so well but that’s okay because I still enjoy reading it and trying to figure out what it is about. But I can pretty much understand the gist of the poem. It is just the last line that gets me, â€Å"What the river says, that is what I say.† It’s haunting almost chilling to me to read that. Shivers seriously run down my spine when I read that. So, from the poem, I basically get the vibe it is saying, the speaker has had a long life full of, love, hurt, pin, heartbreak etc, but ask him anything about his past or anything and he isn’t ashamed of it. He will proudly answer to anything and take responsibility for what he has caused and what he’s been through. I personally have tried analyzing this poem for about a week now, and it has been so difficult for me to find the real meaning of this poem. And very difficult to try and understand the tone and mood. So, although I wasn’t able to find a whole bunch about the poem, I found it very interesting and enjoyed even looking up this poem further and reading about the author and what other people took from this poem. So overall, this poem is a very well written poem and the ideas are endless of what it could mean.

Dorothea Lange 20th Century Photographer

Known for: documentary photographs of 20th century history, especially the Great Depression and her image of a Migrant Mother Dates: May 26, 1895 - October 11, 1965Occupation: photographerAlso known as: Dorothea Nutzhorn Lange, Dorothea Margaretta Nutzhorn More About Dorothea Lange Dorothea Lange, born in Hoboken, New Jersey as Dorothea Margaretta Nutzhorn, contracted polio at seven and the damage was such that she limped for the rest of her life. When Dorothea Lange was twelve, her father deserted the family, perhaps fleeing charges of embezzlement. Dorotheas mother first went to work as a librarian in New York City, taking Dorothea with her so that she could attend public school in Manhattan. Her mother later became a social worker. After graduating from high school, Dorothea Lange began to study to become a teacher, enrolling in a teacher training program. She decided instead to become a photographer, dropped out of school, and studied by working with Arnold Genthe and then Charles H. Davis. She later took a photography class at Columbia with Clarence H. White. Beginning Work Dorothea Lange and a friend, Florence Bates, traveled around the world supporting themselves with photography. Lange settled in San Francisco because they were robbed there in 1918 and she needed to take a job. She began her own portrait studio in San Francisco by 1919, which soon became popular with civic leaders and the wealthy of the city. The next year she married an artist, Maynard Dixon. She continued her photography studio, but also spent time promoting her husbands career and caring for the couples two sons. The Depression The Depression ended her photography business. In 1931 she sent her sons to boarding school and lived separately from her husband, giving up their home while they each lived in their respective studios. She began photographing the effects of the Depression on people. She exhibited her photographs with the help of Willard Van Dyke and Roger Sturtevant. Her 1933 White Angel Breadline is one of the most famous of her photographs from this period. Langes photographs were also used to illustrate the sociology and economics work for University of Californias Paul S. Taylor. He used her work to back up grant requests for food and camps for the many Depression and Dust Bowl refugees coming to California. In 1935, Lange divorced Maynard Dixon and married Taylor. In 1935, Lange was hired as one of the photographers working for the Resettlement Administration, which became the Farm Security Administration or RSA. In 1936, as part of the work of this agency, Lange took the photograph known as Migrant Mother. In 1937, she returned to the Farm Security Administration. In 1939, Taylor and Lange published An American Exodus: A Record of Human Erosion. World War II The FSA in 1942 became part of the Office of War Information. From 1941 to 1943, Dorothea Lange was a photographer for the War Location Authority, where she took photographs of interned Japanese Americans. These photos were not published until 1972; another 800 of them were released by the National Archives in 2006 after a 50-year embargo. She returned to the Office of War Information from 1943 to 1945, and her work there was sometimes published without credit. Later Years In 1945, she began working for Life magazine. Her features included the 1954 Three Mormon Towns and the 1955 The Irish Country People. Plagued by illness from about 1940, she was diagnosed with terminal cancer in 1964. Dorothea Lange succumbed to the cancer in 1965. Her last published photo essay was The American Country Woman. A retrospective of her work was exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in 1966. Books by Dorothea Lange: Dorothea Lange and Paul S. Taylor. An American Exodus. 1939. Revised 1969. Original edition reprinted 1975.Dorothea Lange. Dorothea Lange Looks at the American Country Woman: A Photographic Essay. Commentary by Beaumont Newhall. 1967.Dorothea Lange and Margaretta K. Mitchell. To a Cabin. 1973.Dorothea Lange. Photographs of a Lifetime. Essay by Robert Coles and afterword by Therese Heyman. 1982. Books About Dorothea Lange: Maisie and Richard Conrat. Executive Order 9066: the Internment of 110,000 Japanese Americans. Introduction by Edison Uno, epilogue by Tom C. Clark. 1972.Milton Melter. Dorothea Lange: A Photographers Life. 1978.Therese Thau Heyman, with contributions by Daniel Dixon, Joyce Minick, and Paul Schuster Taylor. Celebrating a Collection: The Work of Dorothea Lange. 1978.Howard M. Levin and Katherine Northrup, editors. Dorothea Lange, Farm Security Administration Photographs, 1935-1939, from the Library of Congress. Introduction by Robert J. Doherty, with writings by Paul S. Taylor. 1980.Jan Arrow. Dorothea Lange. 1985.