Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
The importance of social responsibility in international business
Social responsibility of global business
Corporate social responsibility in an organisation
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Amvac has an intriguing business strategy but is it sustainable? Founded in 1969, Amvac is a manufacturer of agricultural pesticides and chemicals. Their strategy is to buy once popular and now dated products for other companies that created the initial industry clamoring. Amvac develops new markets, often in foreign countries, and restores luster to an outdated product to eek out any remaining profits (Steiner, p. 504) Serious ethical issues exist around Amvac’s business strategy and bring into question its sustainability. A lawsuit or potential regulatory enforcement actions do not deter Amvac from their strategy. They forge ahead purchasing some of the most toxic chemicals and identify unsuspecting markets in mostly foreign countries …show more content…
These chemicals produced although the knowledge of their harmful effects could welcome lawsuits against Amvac and the United States. Amvac could argue because they are illegal in our country does not mean in another country with their acceptable standards these pesticides may not be harmful. If Amvac is not forthcoming and makes the nation aware of the dangerous effects, then they are not socially responsible. A relationship exists between sustainability, culture, reputation, corporate citizenship, environment, and financial performance. A corporation’s reputation and ability to reach satisfactory resolutions are essential assets that influence performance (Miles & Covin, 2000). Governance, corporate social responsibility (CSR), and culture have a direct impact on sustainable profitability. The possible issue here could be a shortage of resources, money, or something else that would facilitate the production of something that would protect their agriculture, their fruits, and vegetables. Accountability is one of the processes whereby a leader, company, or organization seeks to ensure integrity. In a global stakeholder society, ac¬countability is among the key challenges of organizations. Responsible lead¬ers are concerned with reconciling and aligning the demands, needs, interests, and values of employees, customers, suppliers, communities, shareholders, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), the environment, and
Many counselors enter into the profession because they are interested in helping individuals and have the desire to enhance human development. Though counselors are guided in culture from their own values and beliefs they have about living, ethics supersedes morality. Ethics are rooted in philosophy and are created by professional associations in order to govern those members of the profession. In the field of counseling there are two individual agencies, American Counseling Association (ACA) and the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT), that both have several similarities and differences within each specific codes of ethics.
Although Maniates labels the “A” in IWAC as “meaningful consumption Alternatives,” his thoughts on the matter refer more to the institutional influences on product development. In Woodhouse’s words, “The public’s failure to embrace sustainable technologies has more to do with institutional structures that restrict the aggressive development and wide dissemination of sustainable technologies than with errant consumer choice” (48). Instead of attributing the lack of environmentally friendly products to happenstance, Maniates claims that there are production-side structural aspects which hinder the development of green products. Woodhouse mirrors Maniates in this aspect by recognizing the influences on engineers to overlook environmental concerns. “Neither law nor professional norms make [sustainable] design tasks a required aspect of most engineers’ responsibilities, and most employers place substantial obstacles in the way of engineers taking those design elements farther than law and market competition require” (27). By and large, companies are driven by the desire to maximize profit above all else, and from the perspective of employers, adding in environmental concerns is merely an additional constraint on potential profit margins. If engineering ethics and government regulations are sufficiently detailed on sustainability, then employers
A corporation, like any organization of people, has civic responsibilities in terms of legal and ethical conduct. Monsanto, the worldwide agrichemical business, is the subject of much legal controversy. Considering the enormous impact of their perception as it is conveyed en masse, one ought to also venture a conjecture: What if the company is not only not malevolent, but is in fact comprised in the main, of people with moderate to strong ethics, motivated by a vision of bettering mankind. This cannot be explored without considering the actions that motivate the ranks from the vast array of Environmental and Social Justice groups who so vociferously oppose them.
The problem with pollution prevention is that it requires people to understand more than the intimate details of the production process; they must also understand the technical possibilities. Many corporations have environmental managers, which are generally responsible for helping corporations comply with the law. According to the case study, the work of environmental managers often expose them to many pollution prevention solutions, but they often have trouble getting access to production areas. Production often sees Environmental Managers as "the compliance police".
This causes businesses to be held accountable for the ethical and social missteps. The consequences of their strategies, such as the working conditions of Foxconn and the implications of a new Walmart on the surrounding environment, are something managers should be concerned with as many consumers will boycott a business because of unethical decisions by managers. Managers should find themselves completely responsible for the implications of the strategies they have put into place. It is important for managers to understand the ethics and social issues of the day and incorporate those into a business strategy that will continue to allow competitive advantage while remaining socially responsible (Carroll,
To help keep crops from being destroyed, conventional farmers use many methods such as pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides. Nearly 1 billion pounds of these chemicals are used every year (“pesticides”). Because of this excessive use, some scientists express concern that using artificial chemicals in the farming process could produce unhealthy crops. People who ate it over a long period of time could suffer from degraded health and stunted growth (“Organic Foods”). For example, in 1989, the EPA banned the use of Alar which was a chemical used to ripen apples (“Farming, Organics”). This chemical proved to be carcinogenic after causing tumors in mice after several laboratory tests (“Organic Food”). As a result of these findings there was a dramatic increase of the sales for organic food (“Organic Food”). Another study found that Atrazine (one of the most widely used herbicides in the United States) has the potential of being carcinogenic and reducing sperm counts in males (“Organic Food”). This was further proven when evidence was found that chemicals u...
Her audience is anyone who cares about the world we live in and its long term health. “The world we live in” is a vast category, which includes our entire ecosystem as well as animals and humans. The essay also targets producers and users of chemicals and pesticides used for insect and pest control. In “The Obli...
Boycott others 82 - 76 79 43 74 86 75. Give up 10-15% quality for environmental safety 65 - 62 80 45 74 64 78. Pay more even if its hard to make ends meet. Source: David Jobber, 1998, Principles and Practice of Marketing, 2nd Edition. Appendix 2: Table showing Ecover’s competitors’ market share.
Understanding the American Counseling Association (ACA) and the American Mental Health Counselors Association (AMHCA) ethical codes is an important aspect of developing one’s professional identity as a mental health counselor. More specifically, in order for a counselor to be professionally competent and ensure he/she is able to uphold ethical boundaries, it is essential that one becomes familiar with the codes. Furthermore, both ethical codes share a multitude of similarities as well as differences, including that the AMHCA code of ethics profoundly draws from the ACA code of ethics. However, it is important to note that the AMHCA code presents ethical criteria geared specifically towards mental health counselors whereas the ACA code
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is about how companies manage their business processes to produce a positive impact on society. Companies introduce new products in markets, usually after testing concludes that the product is safe for use or consumption. It is nearly impossible for a company to truly know all of the potential risks a brand new product may have, even after thorough testing. However, once a company receives reports that its product may be causing harm to consumers, it is their responsibility to conduct more research and tests to rule-out any possible truth in the reports. This is what a socially responsible company would do, one who is preoccupied not only with their bottom-line, but one that is also worried about its customers.
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) involves going beyond the interests of the firm and requirements of law to contribute in developing a sustainable environment and a better society (McWilliams and Siegel, 2001). Yet Vogel (2005) claims that regulation is required to ensure that companies comply with a standard of CSR. Unethical practices create negative images of organisations, however through adopting CSR; profitability may be increased through the positive image that society creates (Pava and Kraus, 1997). While Friedman (1970) argues that corporations are responsible for obtaining shareholder’s funds in a profitable and legal way, therefore not engaging in corporate philanthropy. Friedman’s view is egoistic, whereby acting to promote the greatest impact for the company compared to adopting a utilitarian approach which focuses on achieving the greatest good for the majority (Beauchamp and Bowie, 2004). Organisational performance is evaluated on three factors; economic prosperity, social justice and environmental quality (Elkington, 1997), emphasising the significance of companies adopting an ethical stance in the modern business world. This assignment will address the role ethics and CSR play in organisations through applying case studies to examine whether companies adopt CSR for the enhanced reputation and competitive advantage or the social and environmental impact. The role of regulation within CSR will be investigated due to corporate scandals and environmental disasters which raise concerns over the ethical perspective of companies.
In analyzing the macro-environment, it is important to identify the factors that might in turn affect a number of vital variables that are likely to influence the organization's supply and demand levels and its costs (Kotter and Schlesinger, 1991; Johnson and Scholes, 1993). The "radical and ongoing changes occurring in society create an uncertain environment and have an impact on the function of the whole organization" (Tsiakkiros, 2002). A number of checklists have been developed as ways of cataloguing the vast number of possible issues that might affect an industry. A PEST analysis is one of them that is merely a framework that categorizes environmental influences as political, economic, social and technological forces. Sometimes two additional factors, environmental and legal, will be added to make a PESTEL analysis, but these themes can easily be subsumed in the others. The analysis examines the impact of each of these factors (and their interplay with each other) on the business. The results can then be used to take advantage of opportunities and to make contingency plans for threats when preparing business and strategic plans (Byars, 1991; Cooper, 2000).
While the concept of an individual having responsibility is commonly recognized, modern views have lead to the emerging issue of corporate responsibility. Business Directory.com defines corporate social responsibility as, “A company’s sense of responsibility towards the community and environment (both ecological and social) in which it operates. Companies express this citizenship (1) through their waste and pollution reduction processes, (2) by contributing educational and social programs, and (3) by earning adequate returns on the employed resources.” But such a concept has been much disputed since at least the 1970’s.
As a result of modern corporate scandals and rapid development of international business environments, social responsibility (SR) has become a key aspect of corporate competitive contexts. (Brammer, Williams and Zinkin, 2007). Businesses are under increasing pressure to incorporate SR amongst their profit-driven aims and have become increasingly accountable for their social and environmental actions. Increased interest in CSR developed in the mid 1990s as consumers began to lack their former trust in companies due to both environmental and financial scandals and it became noticeable that society was moving towards values incorporating harmony, quality of life and environmental conservation (Carrasco, 2007) Additionally, major corporate failures over the past two decades have resulted in increased demand for stronger, corporate governance (CG) rules. (Sui, Wright & Evans, 2007). Superior CG rules are needed in order to preserve the integrity of corporations, financial institutions and markets and the health and stability of world economies. (OECD Website)
Young, D. (2012). Green Marketing & Marketing Ethics, Room 009, Block 17, Middlesex University Dubai. (25th March, 2012)