Effects of Pollution on World Economy Essay Example for Free

Effects of Pollution on World Economy Essay Today, the increase in the world population and the fact that improved lives leads to life in the cities could only mean more pollution and a concern for every one. The daily requirements of the humans have created an unrelenting world where human enterprise would not be ignored. The direct or indirect involvement such has been created by the necessity to survive largely as the major reason. Although, at times the basic force behind that, is the human nature to live comfortable lives by making work easier. Human activities on the face of the earth have affected the natural settings leading to major environmental impacts. Damage to the environment through pollution has always been the overriding result rather than improvement and development. In the recent increase in green house gas emissions have been rampant therefore warranting research, analyses and survey. The green house gases include carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons that cause air pollution chemicals responsible for water pollution water and other metals that cause pollution to land and water (Hill, 2004). The analysis of pollution The graph below illustrates the yearly carbon emissions from different regions from 1800 up to 2000 in Million metric tons of carbon per year. From, this graph it is clear that the most leading countries in carbon emissions rank among the most developed countries. Developing countries and the less developed countries like Africa rank the lowest from this graph. It has been explained that less developed and developing countries is that economic costs of environmental regulation and compliance are small in respect to factors of production inclining more to those that influence comparative advantage (Gallagher, 2004) Source: Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center, Online, n. d. There is evidence that increase in economic growth leads to an increase in pollution has been authenticated by the research in Mexico by the use of Kuznet curve. What Gallagher in his paper says is that pollution surpasses the economic growth thus the industries must come with strong environment strategies to ensure hat the growth of both are at per. Otherwise pollution leads to loss of profits made by an industry. This means that pollution eats back to what has lead to the accumulation of wealth (Gallagher, 2004). Pollution effects from a negative outlook What do we mean by the term environment? The environment is composed of the natural situations that form the human living space. This means that these are the inputs for nature that man has to turn to at one point of his life for survival or to aid in acquisition of an otherwise important need in his or her life. In economic terms the environment is seen as a scarce good that has its own special attributes (Siebert, 2007). The argument is that environment has two conflicting functions, one being a public consumption good and the other a home for deposition of waste from the consumption and production processes. The transformation of the environment on the other hand has affected the humans and the enterprise leading to a cyclic system; a system that works by triggering form one end and the process comes back trough and from another end. One of the major environmental impacts has been pollution thus this research paper will concern on how pollution affects the world economy from all perspectives. Pollution in the world has seen the increase in carbon dioxide and fixation of nitrogen present in air since the start of industrial revolution. The major reason for this increase is due to human activities changing and recoursing the natural law order of making and degeneration of organic and inorganic substances. Fresh water available sources have been put into human use and millions of birds have gone to extinction due to human activities. It is very clear that the rate of degeneration caused by man is much faster than the way natural order would take to replace back or deal with the amount of excretion. This therefore, means we have a cause to worry because in the quest for dominion of the earth and to improve our lives the other side of the balance is getting heavier. The process of natural replacement requires one to a hundred years to be effective therefore if pollution goes on with the same kind of alarming rate then man has to use his own means to replace the depleted materials to their original levels. This is very costly and affects the world’s economy negatively (Ash Scholes, 2005). It is thus crucial to harmonize the different views on pollution to achieve pragmatism and success in the fight against man’s environment eventual extinction due to his own activities. This statement stems from the fact that pollution rates are different form the position of the country or region in that developing countries have the highest rates of pollution. This is a result of inadequate and many times lack of planning policies for the management of the waste form industries. On the other hand the rampant corruption harbored in these countries contributes immensely to the mismanagement of funds meant for the environment conservation and measures taken to avert the consequences of industrial effluents. However this does not mean that the developed countries are an exempt from this blame. Some of the most developed countries like America have large number of pollution from industries leading to mass destruction of animals especially in rivers lakes. At times these pollutant ranges to national border effects transported by agents like water and wind. Most of the large world economies since 1980’s have adopted the liberalized economy. This involves the right to engage in free trade using the available means of production. This thus, raises the concern of economy from the effect of pollution as a result of different countries applying all their resources to beat their inadequacy. This has translated to pollution taking two major turns. The first is the pollution from production and the second is pollution arising from consumption. In the quest to sustain energy production and sufficient supply of power major economies like China have resulted to using nuclear energy. This source of energy is renewable but has high dangers of leaking emission s to the atmosphere which can be lethal. The fact is that if it is lethal then it upsets the supply of labor if death occurs due to its results (Ash and Scholes, 2005). Labor is a very important factor of production which when terminated can lead to closure of factories besides causing negative growth. A very good example is the Bhopal accident in India that lead to the closure of the pesticide company due to death of 2000 to 8000 workers hours after the accident. Therefore the increased concern in the world environmental management has lead to United Nations concern of a fast fading natural setting world. This can be explained by the Kyoto protocol of 1997 which sought to achieve stabilization of green house gas concentrations in the atmosphere from dangerous levels that cause anthropogenic interference with the climate of the world. Many less developed and developing countries find themselves in situations of lack of enough capital to invest in the business equipment. It is therefore to assign a mammoth task to ask these business firms or industries to assign capital for purposes of preventing pollution. The implication from such kind of scenarios is that the externalities of pollution end up being passed to the society and to the governments indirectly. It is common in these economies to find that strategic industries are exempted from policies that are meant to curb the externalities because governments are not in position to make policies of internalization due to the importance attached (Stellman Bureau, 1998). Pollution has proved to be very costly to countries in terms of health and safety, waste, and clean up costs. Of most crucial point to be noted is the reduced life expectancy especially in developing nations. When pollution either air, water, land, noise or any other has adverse effects to the humans it becomes a major concern to check and rationalize the existence of such a firm or industry. Human life should be first be respected from any angle of perspective. The United Nations millennium goals state that life is a right that is inalienable. Therefore, the slightest notion that life human life is at risk should not be taken lightly. Gravity lies at the core of issues pertaining pollution and disturbance of human life. The greatest damage to the economy would be to destroy human life emanating from pollution. First it is not easy to diagnose the various signs and symptoms resulting from instances of pollution in the environment. This requires specialized personnel, equipments and a variety of high demanding technology to sort out the problem. Nonetheless, some of the effects to human health are life lasting thus the issues of compensation cannot be avoided. The point here is that a long and time exposure to pollution is an expense to the economy of a country. The expenditure in treating and maintaining health of humans caused by pollution is a major drawback to achieving success in the global development especially if the magnitude of such pollution is very prolonged over a long period of time (Limited, 2001). The other way of looking at the effect of pollution to the economy is the customer relation to pollution. From the point of any organization, firm, or business the ultimate final goal is to make profit. This means that form the management of business affairs all means must be employed to remain in the market for a long time and outdo other rival business or firms. This from the business point of view is very encouraging but to look at the other side of the face it has an ugly look. Pollution being a costly project requires planning for efficiency to balance internalities and externalities of a business. The damage that is done to the economy is that this cost is passed to the consumer. Such an economy where the consumer is robbed of the power to buy is a weak economy that is not driven by the market forces. It results to exploitation of the employer to the employee sine he has the means. The employee only works to achieve the basic needs. There is no pleasure derived from work thus the value of work in such an economy is downtrodden (Driesen, 2003). Pollution had had a myriad of problems and affects the economy of the world in a myriad ways. It is therefore, pertinent to mention that it might not be possible to tackle al of them. However, one major effect of pollution to the economy is international trade. The concept of international trade operates form the point of multinational companies moving to transnational border and trade relations between states. The fact that most of the products are transported from their place of manufacture to heir places of consumption means that they offer employment, so when such goods are found to be below standards or then they might be rejected. This means that the number of people who were working from these firms is laid off. This increases the rate of unemployment of such places in such countries. In this context, if such firms are closed the chances to improve are thwarted thus no chance is given to the possibility of innovation (Driesen, 2003). Conclusion In the light of this research paper it is worth to note that the effects of pollution have also a positive side. Already discussed above are the negative effects thus, the following part will try to look at the positive aspect of pollution. It might sound rather unconvincing but the approach will try to authenticate the concern correctly. Pollution being seen from the international trade of states lens can lead to effective prevention. This is possible from the fact that if a certain state identifies a certain product to be a pollutant then measures to control the production of such a product are put in place. This means that the regulations will apply to other state trading with this nation. This means that the overall economies are focused to have products that are acceptable to them and to other member states. This at he same time means that if pollution prevention measures are put in place the firms and manufacturing companies seek the alternative of innovating other methods to produce better goods that are in lime with the regulations on pollution prevention. This means that the products that arise as a result for this new invention are better placed thus they penetrate markets to leap heavily at the expense of the earlier polluting products. This raises the firm’s reputation as well as the market advantage (Driesen, 2003). At the same time, this new invention lead to offer of new employment thus the once aversive pollution firm now becomes the centre of interest by complete change of ideology and repackaging. If a manufacturing firm changes its products from the polluting ones to the zero or less polluting ones there is an increase in the requirement from the market due to the increase in population. This means that industrialization takes human life and aspects to another level of civilization. Thus, if there is no pollution we might be stagnating with obsolete technology that does not help mankind. Tabb argues that an economy grows from the pollution that emanates from the industries. If workers must die from pollution and in the response economy grows, then pollution is might be justified (Tabb, 1992).

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One could debate endlessly over the definition and what exactly Jihad is, I’m certain many have. The very basic definition of the word simply means â€Å"struggle,† not to gain money or power but merely to bring people to Islam. The common western idea - or misconception - is that Jihad is a holy war or justification for terrorism. Very rarely are there any two religious groups that will agree on the exact deeper meanings of Jihad. There are also some groups that may believe the same basic definition of Jihad, but interpret it or apply it drastically differently within their own religion. There are two better known or accepted definitions of which Muslims refer to as the â€Å"greater Jihad,† and the â€Å"lesser Jihad.† â€Å"Greater Jihad† is defined as the internal spiritual struggle of one’s self in submission to Allah, the struggle of moral reformation, and converting others to Islam; while the â€Å"lesser Jihad† is considered the external, physical endeavor of an Islamic obligation to take up arms against the nonbeliever infidels in defense of the faith against tyranny and persecution. In the Sunni’s historical belief of the â€Å"greater Jihad,† Mohammed is thought to have told his followers returning home from war that they had, â€Å"returned from the lesser jihad of struggle against non-Muslims to a greater jihad of struggle against lust,† per Menhab Khans’ article on Modern Gangha. This is believed to be the first time the â€Å"lesser jihad† and the "greater jihad" had been differentiated. According to John Heit, the â€Å"greater jihad† is also then further divided into three types of internal struggle: â€Å"One, Jihad of the Heart (the struggle for moral reformation and faith); two, Jihad of the Tongue (the struggle to proclaim God's word abroad; right ... ...hese young men found solace and inspiration in the works of the Iraqi Muslim Brother Muhammad Ahmad al-Rashid; who demonstrated a sensible mind toward political action, but also stated that jihad with the sword- the way of the true Muslim-was inevitable. Putting things into perspective, I imagined what it would be like if America was invaded by foreign forces, the government demolished, a new leadership established, and none of which agreed with my way of life. I would honestly be able to say that I would follow similar actions as the Sunni insurgents. I recently watched the modern cinematic remake â€Å"Red Dawn† where the (in the new version) North Koreans invade and effectively take over the United States, this assisted in my imagination. I would have taken up arms the same as the characters in the movie. My enemies would hear my hoarse battle cry, â€Å"WOLVERINES!†

Corporate social responsibility Essay

Social responsibility is an ethical theory that an entity, be it an organization or individual, has an obligation to act to benefit society at large. Social responsibility is a duty every individual has to perform so as to maintain a balance between the economy and the ecosystems. Businesses can use ethical decision making to secure their businesses by making decisions that allow for government agencies to minimize their involvement with the corporation. Critics argue that Corporate social responsibility (CSR) distracts from the fundamental economic role of businesses; others argue that it is nothing more than superficial window-dressing; others argue that it is an attempt to pre-empt the role of governments as a watchdog over powerful corporations though there is no systematic evidence to support these criticisms. A significant number of studies have shown no negative influence on shareholder results from CSR but rather a slightly negative correlation with improved shareholder returns. Corporate social responsibility (CSR, also called corporate conscience, corporate citizenship, social performance, or sustainable responsible business/ Responsible Business) is a form of corporate self-regulation integrated into a business model. CSR policy functions as a built-in, self-regulating mechanism whereby a business monitors and ensures its active compliance with the spirit of the law, ethical standards, and international norms. In some models, a firm’s implementation of CSR goes beyond compliance and engages in â€Å"actions that appear to further some social good, beyond the interests of the firm and that which is required by law. CSR is a process with the aim to embrace responsibility for the company’s actions and encourage a positive impact through its activities on the environment, consumers, employees, communities, stakeholders and all other members of the public sphere who may also be considered as stakeholders. FUNCTIONS OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY The function of corporate social responsibility is for corporations to hold themselves accountable for the ethical, legal, societal and ecological impacts of their business practices. Corporate social responsibility practices are self-monitoring, meaning there aren’t laws requiring corporations to behave in a socially responsible manner. Rules regarding corporate responsibility practices are generally written into the corporate bylaws, mission statements and employee handbooks. Ethical Function Ethics are one of the most important aspects in corporate governance and therefore have an important function in corporate social responsibility. A company must have internal controls regarding the expected ethical behavior and consequences of unethical business practices of its top executives and employees. Behaving ethically makes the company as a whole accountable to its investors, shareholders and consumers. The ethical function of corporate social responsibility helps to prevent conflicts of interest between earning corporate profits and maintaining the integrity of the company and the goods and services it produces. Legal Function The legal function of corporate social responsibility is to encourage transparency in a company’s business practices and financial reporting. Maintaining high levels of legal business practices, such as adhering to Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA, regulations promotes goodwill toward employees. Maintaining high levels of legal financial practices maintains good will among investors, stakeholders and government financial-reporting regulatory agencies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC. Societal Function The societal function of corporate social responsibility is to respect and invest in the communities in which the company operates. Companies are aware of how the production of their products affects the local community. These companies take necessary actions to diminish the negative impacts of factors such as increased traffic, noise and pollution for the communities in which they operate. The societal function of corporate social responsibility also includes companies reinvesting in the communities in which they operate, such as donating money to local charities. Ecological Function The ecological function of corporate social responsibility is to not only respect the immediate environment in which the company operates but also to respect the company’s effect on the global environment. Companies are aware of the environmental impact the production of their products have on their local communities. In corporate social responsibility, these companies adhere to strict standards in an effort to diminish the negative impact of the environmental byproducts such as air and water pollution from the production of their products. Having such standards impacts both the local and global environments. CHARACTERISTICS OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY The idea of Corporate Social Responsibility, CSR, first appeared in the late 1960s in response to the need for businesses to address the effect of their pursuits on the environment and society, in addition to the interests of their shareholders. CSR attempts to portray corporations as responsible citizens who are concerned with issues of social and environmental welfare. The Public CSR argues that corporations bear responsibility for the effect they have on other sectors of society. The activities of corporations have an impact on individuals who don’t work for them and don’t buy their products, through, for example, secondary economic impacts and degradation of the natural environment. CSR acknowledges this, and attempts to make the interactions between corporations and society positive and productive. This can be done by consulting with neighbors and citizens who are affected by corporate activities and by striving for transparency in corporate pursuits so that the public knows what is going on. The Environment Increased knowledge on the part of the public about declining resources, toxic waste and global warming is compelling companies to make more efforts to be more environmentally benign. The traditional view that the natural world is merely a source of materials and an equally convenient dump for waste is being challenged from many quarters, and CSR is an attempt by corporations to respond to these concerns. The sincerity of changes being made on the part of corporations includes some serious efforts to achieve sustainability and other efforts that are essentially â€Å"greenwashing,† activities in which corporations put more effort into appearing green than into actually being green. Clients CSR challenges the traditional wisdom that the interests and needs of the clients of a corporation will be adequately protected by the market itself. Because the free market has been severely compromised by a combination of government subsidies and manipulative marketing practices, CSR attempts to remedy this situation by installing practices into corporate life that will monitor the interaction between corporations and their clients in an attempt to ensure that nobody is being exploited or cheated. Consumer protection can be enforced by the government or voluntarily pursued by companies, the latter course have clear advantages for the public relations of the company. Staff Staff and employees of corporations have a right to expect fair pay, safe working conditions and meaningful work. CSR is one aspect of a transformation in the corporate world that attempts to overcome archaic views of workers as mere means to an end on the part of shareholders. Particularly in less developed countries that are often the sites of intensive resource extraction, the treatment of labor is frequently substandard. CSR is intended to promote the rights of all workers and to ensure that corporations respect these rights and make whatever changes are required to prevent the exploitation and mistreatment of labor. FOUR TYPES OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY As large corporations begin to dominate the world economy, it raises questions about the importance of corporate social responsibility in business. A variety of types of corporate social responsibilities have emerged in public discussions, and understanding their implications is important. Environmental Responsibility People expect businesses to exhibit environmentally responsible behavior, as evidenced by a PricewaterhouseCoopers survey that found that the No. 1 issue for companies in the future, according to U. S. respondents, is carbon emissions reductions. Specific environmental issues that affect businesses include global warming, sustainable resources and pollution. Businesses are being urged by environmental groups and governments to reduce their carbon footprint, to obtain their materials from sustainable sources and to reduce their pollution. Human Rights Responsibility The 21st-century marketplace is highly global. This means that when a product is purchased in the United States, for example, it may have been produced in China, or have components from South America. The ethical issue for corporations is ensuring that human rights are respected throughout all levels of the supply chain. Major companies have received criticism for their use of sweat shops and for sourcing resources that are harvested by unfairly treated workers. This has lead to a push for the use of strict labor standards to be applied to suppliers, and a demand for fair trade products such as chocolate and coffee. Financial Responsibility Financial responsibility is an important issue in corporate social responsibility. In the wake of the accounting fraud perpetrated by Enron and Arthur Andersen and Ponzi schemes orchestrated by the likes of Bernie Madoff, businesses are questioned about the accuracy of their financial reporting by increasingly skeptical shareholders and government officials, as evidenced by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Employees are expected to act as whistle blowers in such situations, and white collar crime is seeing high-profile prosecutions like that of Martha Stewart or former Worldcom CEO Bernie Ebbers. Political Responsibility Trading with repressive regimes is a difficult issue in corporate social responsibility. Some businesses argue that working with these regimes will help to advance them and bring rights to the countries. People and governments have demanded that businesses stop trading with repressive regimes, which was most notably observed when several western governments launched an embargo against the Apartheid government in South Africa during the 1980s. Shell Oil received considerable consumer backlash during the 1990s for its complicit involvement with the Nigerian government that murdered anti-oil activists. These issues make doing business with certain governments an important consideration for corporate social responsibility. PROS & CONS OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY Corporate social responsibility is generally perceived as a positive business ideology in the 21st century, despite some challenges. A significant expansion of basic business ethics, CSR establishes guidelines for ethical and socially responsible behavior. It addresses how companies that want to satisfy government and societal requirements should treat key stakeholder groups, including customers, suppliers, employees and the community. Pro 1: Social Responsibility and Customer Relationships One of the foundational elements of CSR is that it causes companies to reason beyond basic ethics to consider the benefits of active involvement in communities. In his article â€Å"The 7 Principles of Business Integrity,† business strategist Robert Moment argues that 21st-century companies must prove themselves to customers to build long-term, trusting relationships. They must also get involved in the community to give back. This community connection endears your company to the local markets in which you operate. Pro 2: Motivated Employees Employees are a company’s most valued asset. This is the premise of a company’s obligation to this key stakeholder group with regard to CSR compliance. This means treating employees with respect and offering fair working conditions. It also means establishing fair hiring practices and promoting a non-discriminatory workplace. This improves morale within the workplace and encourages teamwork. Additionally, a writer on the As You Sow website stresses the importance of managing a diverse workplace so that you can benefit from a variety of backgrounds and life experiences. Con 1: Expenses The main reason any company would object to participating in CSR is the associated costs. With CSR, you pay for environmental programs, more employee training and efficient waste management programs. Proponents of CSR agree that any expenses to businesses are ultimately covered by stronger relationships with key customers. However, David Vogel indicates in his Forbes article â€Å"CSR Doesn’t Pay† that investment in CSR programs may not necessary result in measurable financial results. Con 2: Shareholder Expectations Another challenge for companies when considering CSR is the possible negative perception of shareholders. Historically, publicly-owned companies had a primary focus of maximizing shareholder value. Now, they must balance the financial expectations of company owners with the social and environmental requirements of other stakeholder groups. Some shareholders are happy to invest in companies that operate with high integrity. Others may not approve of the aforementioned expenses of operating under CSR guidelines. IMPORTANCE OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY Social responsibility is so important to current and long-term business success that corporate social responsibility, CSR, has become a widely recognized business process in the early 21st century. An entrepreneur point out that CSR is an evolution of corporate ethics because it involves balancing the social expectations of all stakeholders, including shareholders, citizens, providers and customers, along with environmental responsibility. Basic Integrity Most experts and CSR analysts agree that this broad business concept is an evolution of basic business ethics and integrity. Entrepreneur and business strategist Robert Moment â€Å"The 7 Princes of Business Integrity† agree that treating stakeholders with respect and earning trust of customers through ethical business operations is the CSR foundation. Leading advocate of corporate accountability, the As You Sow Foundation, also stresses the importance of internal business controls that mandated ethics from corporate leaders and employees. Community Relations The word â€Å"social† is key to understanding how CSR goes beyond basic integrity. Moment states in one of his seven principles that as a CSR adherent, you must â€Å"remain involved in community-related issues and activities thereby demonstrating that your business is a responsible community contributor. † This community involvement and participation shows your marketplace that you are interested in more than just taking money from their pockets. In the long run, this strategy leads to a stronger public reputation and more profitable business relationships. The Environment Another reason CSR is much broader than conventional business ethics is its necessary inclusion of environmental responsibility. Once an opportunity for companies to add value and enhance their brand image, green-friendly operations are now a societal requirement with CSR. As You Sow discusses the importance of preserving the environment, optimizing efficient use of natural resources, such as renew, reuse and recycle, and reduction of waste as important to the environmental component of CSR. Companies that do not consider these initiatives draw the ire of the government, public and consumer watch groups. Bottom Line The underlying question is whether CSR operations improve a company’s bottom line performance. David Vogel argues in his 2008 Forbes article that â€Å"CSR Doesn’t Pay. † Vogel argues that operating under CSR guidelines is not likely to produce higher tangible profits for a company throughout time. Now that socially responsible behavior is expected, it goes largely unnoticed, argues Vogel. He does agree, though, that companies that ignore CSR may experience public backlash and negative business consequences. Still, many advocates of CSR believe that companies can still profit in the long run through stronger business and customer relationships. PRINCIPLES OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY The main principles involving corporate social responsibility involve economic, legal, ethical and discretionary aspects. A corporation needs to generate profits, while operating within the laws of the state. The corporation also needs to be ethical, but has the right to be discretional about the decisions it makes. Levels of corporate social responsiveness to an issue include being reactive, defensive, responsive and interactive. All terms are useful in issues management. Selecting when and how to act can make a difference in the outcome of the action taken. CSR has inspired national governments to include CSR issues into their national public policy agendas. The increased importance driven by CSR has prompted governments to promote socially and environmentally responsible corporate practices. Over the past decade governments have considered CSR as a public issue that requires national governmental involvement to address the very issues relevant to CSR. The heightened role of government in CSR has facilitated the development of numerous CSR programs and policies. Increasingly, corporations are motivated to become more socially responsible because their most important stakeholders expect them to understand and address the social and community issues that are relevant to them. Understanding what causes are important to employees is usually the first priority because of the many interrelated business benefits that can be derived from increased employee engagement (i. e. more loyalty, improved recruitment, increased retention, higher productivity, and so on). Key external stakeholders include customers, consumers, investors (particularly institutional investors), and communities in the areas where the corporation operates its facilities, regulators, academics, and the media. The debate, on whether responsibility of a business enterprise is only to its shareholders (owners) or to all stakeholders, including environment and the society at large, is an on going one and continues. In received literature â€Å"Stakeholder†, as an expression is fairly recent in origin, reportedly appearing first in an internal memorandum of the Stanford Research Institute in the year 1963. According to a definition given by Edward Freeman â€Å"A stakeholder is any group or individual who can effect, or is affected by the activities and achievements of an organization. † Friedrich Neubauer and Ada Demb in â€Å"The Legitimate Corporation† identify six groups of distinguishable stakeholders (not necessarily in this order) as follows a) Providers of funds b) Employees c) General public d) Government e) Customers and f) Suppliers An increasing number of companies are reporting publicly on their social, environmental and ethical performance, both as a communication to stakeholders, and as a management tool. However, as this practice has only become more widespread since the mid 1990s, there is as yet no standard format to address the type of information companies choose to report, or how that information is collected, analyzed and presented. At the same time, many stakeholders are becoming increasingly sophisticated in the type and quality of information they are demanding from companies. In an effort to meet these demands – as well as to strengthen the credibility of their social and environmental reports – some companies are choosing to have their reports externally verified. In doing so, companies recognize that verification by a third party can add value to the overall social and environmental reporting process by enhancing relationships with stakeholders, improving business performance and decision-making, aligning practice with organizational values, and strengthening reputation risk management. Social Responsibility Principles The Corporate Social Responsibility is based on the following principles: Legal Compliance Principle: The enterprise shall comply with and understand all applicable, local, international, written, declared, and effected laws and regulations, in accordance with fixed, specific procedures. Adherence to Customary International Laws Principle: The enterprise shall adhere to international and governmental agreements, executive regulations, declarations, covenants, decisions, and guidelines, when setting its policies and practices pertinent to Social Responsibility. Respecting Related Stakeholders lefts Principle: The enterprise shall acknowledge and accept the diversity of related stakeholders’ lefts and interests, and the diversity of the major and minor enterprises’ activities and products, among other elements, which may affect such related stakeholders. Transparency Principle: the enterprise shall clearly, accurately, and comprehensively declare its policy, decisions, and activities, including known and potential effects on environment and society. Moreover, such information shall be available to affected persons, or those who are likely to be affected materially by the enterprise. Respect for Human lefts Principle: the enterprise shall execute policies and practices which shall result in respecting existent human lefts in the Universal Declaration of Human lefts. Because CSR can influence economic, environmental and social factors in a variety of ways, there is no â€Å"one size fits all† approach. An effective CSR strategy must consider alignment with the organization’s business strategy, commercial added value, and sustainability of impact. The benefits of an effective CSR approach to an organization can include: Stronger performance and profitability Improved relations with the investment community and access to capital Enhanced employee relations and company culture Risk management and access to social opportunities Stronger relationships with communities and legal regulators CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AT RELIANCE POWER LTD Reliance Power Limited is part of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, one of India’s largest business houses. It was established to develop, construct and operate power projects in the Indian and international markets. Reliance Energy Limited, an Indian private sector power utility company and the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group promote Reliance Power. With its subsidiaries, it is developing 13 medium and large-sized power projects with a combined planned installed capacity of 33,480 MW. Reliance Natural Resources merged with Reliance Power in 2010, shortly after its initial public offering. The group operates across multiple sectors, including telecommunications, financial services, media and entertainment, infrastructure and energy. The energy sector companies include Reliance Infrastructure and Reliance Power. Reliance Power has been established to develop, construct and operate power projects both in India as well as internationally. The Company on its own and through its subsidiaries has a portfolio of over 35,000 MW of power generation capacity, both in operation as well as capacity under development. The power projects are going to be diverse in terms of geographic location, fuel type, fuel source and off-take, and each project is planned to be strategically located near an available fuel supply or load centre. The company has 1,540 MW of operational power generation assets. The projects under development include seven coal-fired projects to be fueled by reserves from captive mines and supplies from India and elsewhere; two gas-fired projects; and twelve hydroelectric projects, six of them in Arunachal Pradesh, five in Himachal Pradesh and one in Uttarakhand. Reliance Power has won three of the four Ultra Mega Power Projects (UMPPs) awarded by the Indian Government so far. These include UMPPs in Sasan( Madhya Pradesh),Krishnapatnam( Andhra Pradesh) & Tilaiya(Jharkhand). UMPPs are a significant part of the Indian government’s initiative to collaborate with power generation companies to set up 4,000 MW projects to ease the country’s power deficit situation. Besides these, Reliance Power is also developing coal bed methane (CBM) blocks to fuel gas based power generation. The company is registering projects with the Clean Development Mechanism executive board for issuance of Certified Emission Reduction (CER) certificates to augment its revenues. Reliance Power in its continuous efforts to positively impact the society, especially the areas around its sites and offices, has formulated policies for social development that are based on the following guiding principles: Adopt an approach that aims at achieving a greater balance between social development and economic development. Adopt new measures to accelerate and ensure the basic needs of all people. Work towards elimination of all barriers for the social inclusion of disadvantaged groups- such as the poor and the disabled Give unfailing attention to children for in their hands lies the country’s future. It is for their sake that health, education and environment get topmost priority in our programs and investments. In areas around its power plant sites in Sasan,Rosa,Krishnapatnam,Butibori,Chitrangi and others, Reliance Power has been actively involved in various social and environmental organizations to address the issue of sustainable development and social uplift. The Company in discharge of its responsibility as a corporate citizen actively contributes to community welfare measures and takes up several social initiatives every year. Reliance Power Ltd. has been closely working with institutions and social organizations and supporting their programs for social development, adult literacy, adoption of village, tree plantation schemes etc. HEALTH Health and safety are of universal concern across the spectrum of communities. As a company, we are not only committed to compliance with legal norms but its is our endeavour to voluntarily go beyond that and provide quality healthcare facilities in the regions around our site. We are committed to providing all possible support to create awareness on various health related issues impacting the local people. We believe in a multidimensional approach that considers the needs of the area leading to an effective plan to address all issues in consultation with the local administration, community workers and NGOs working in the area. At its various project sites, Reliance Power sites runs medical facility center, physiotherapy center, and mobile medical vans that dispenses free medicines and provide free health check-ups. Also periodically we come up with health camps like general health check up camps, gynecology camps, eye check up camps and corrective surgery camps for disabled children. EDUCATION Education is a basic tool to bring development to an area and its people. We aim to create an awareness pool of human resource both within and across our area of operations. We are committed to bridging the digital divide between the ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’ in educational infrastructure and facilities. Exposure to technology along with a sustainable education model could be strengthened through partnership with government and quasi-government agencies. Reliance Power is involved in a surfeit of activities that have changed the lives of the people residing at the sites or the PAFs (Project Affected Families). Education is the main thrust of these activities. Major contributions made in the area include building of a DAV school at the site for the children of the PAFs and the children of the villages around the sites, free school bus facility for the students, stipend to every child who attends school (a boy child gets Rs. 250 per month while a girl child gets a stipend of Rs. 300 per month), free uniforms, study tours for children, teaching aids to the teachers, training of teachers, as well as night schools for uneducated adults etc. EMPLOYMENT Community is an integral part of the business environment and the basic commitment lies towards augmenting the overall economic and social development of local communities by discharging our social responsibilities in a sustainable manner. Reliance Power invests significantly in skill up gradation of people around the sites. The trained manpower available for construction will ensure quality and accident free working. CIDC, a Government of India initiative has been engaged and has trained about 300 project affected youths as electricians, welders, carpenters and masons and bar benders in batches of 40 each. To further encourage them we paid them, a monthly stipend of Rs. 1000 per month. In addition efforts are on to enroll the oustees in short term courses at the ITI operating in the region. Apart from these, training is also provided are: Computer coaching centre English speaking classes Personality development classes Physiotherapy training center Training by NAC (National Academy of Construction) and use them for future requirement of the construction. For the women folk of the villages, in an effort to empower them the company trains them in soft skills like tailoring and poultry farming etc. Reliance Power provides assistance to women keen on starting their own businesses. THE HUMAN TOUCH BEYOND POLICY IMPERATIVES Although the main thrust of Reliance Power’s CSR lies in providing quality education, health care and livelihood, we don’t restrict ourselves to it. In order to better lives around our areas of interest and business, we strive to provide basic amenities like electrification in the villages, augmentation and development of roads connecting the village to the main roads, old age support for senior citizens of the project affect families, development of the grazing lands for the cattle of the villagers, afforestation and veterinary camps for domestic cattle. Moral and financial support is extended during social occasions like marriages, community prayers, funerals and other such occasions.

Leadership And Leadership The 21 Irrefutable Laws Of...

Highlights of the laws of leadership No one said leading was easy, and in the book, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, John C. Maxwell addresses the principal of transformational leadership, and how there is more than one aspect in becoming a successful leader. Leadership is one of the many desirable qualities in becoming successful not only in everyday life, but also in nursing. This paper will discuss ways to develop into an effective, successful leader, the necessary steps to increase leadership ability, and how leadership can affect personal growth in nursing practice. Definitions James MacGregor Burns first introduced the concept of transformational leadership in 1978 and described it not as a set of specific behaviors, but†¦show more content†¦Functions in Nursing Practice The empowerment of staff is a hallmark of transformational leadership (Marquis Huston, 2015). Empowerment can function in nursing practice by encouraging, and motivating staff to be the best that they can be and by supporting them in decision making and problem solving. For example, a unit manager of an intensive care unit can establish empowerment by holding a staff meeting regarding current staffing shortages and involve subordinates in the resolution of the problem. By encouraging their communication and input to upper management, as well as planning and implementing ways to improve the problem may help bridge the authority- power gap. This is because the manager displays to subordinates that efforts are being made to improve the existing dilemma. Empowerment plants seeds of leadership, collegiality, self-respect, and professionalism among all levels of management (Marquis Huston, 2015). Another function in nursing practice, that I believe is one of the most demanding skills, is priority setting. 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