Managment free essay sample

I have a passion – facilitating and teaching online! Its a great opportunity for me to share my experiences while at the same time learning from all of you. I have taught both onground and online for the last 9 years. My areas of focus have been human resources, communications, marketing, management, administration and business. I enjoy teaching online because I learn so much from each individual student! By sharing experiences we can all learn from each other and apply what weve learned to our own professions. In addition, I have a passion for online learning because it gives so many non-traditional students an opportunity to complete degrees. Previous to teaching online full time, I was the Director of Human Resources and Branch Operations at BFG Supply, Co. BFG is a supplier of greenhouse goods throughout the Mid-West. I built the Human Resources department from the ground up and then found myself in charge of 10 remote locations. We will write a custom essay sample on Managment or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page This was a challenging position and really helped broaden my operations experiences. Previous to this, I was the Director of Human Resources for a dot com called All Outdoors in Traverse City, MI. Although my title was HR, I wore many hats and worked in each department of the organization. This was perhaps one of the best jobs ever. We had a creative team environment. I helped build the company from the ground up but, unfortunately, it did not weather the dot com storm well. Prior to All Outdoors, I worked on the Great Lakes as a Deck Officer, Pilot, and Fleet Supervisor for Inland Steel out of East Chicago, Indiana (Chicago area). This, too, was a great learning experience for me both personally and professionally. I worked both on board ship (thats right†¦I drove big boats! ) and in the office to deliver the raw materials to the mill to make steel. In addition to the navigation and cargo handling responsibilities, I also was responsible for HR, safety, logistics and general fleet management. I have a BA from the Ohio State University in Political Science, an AAS in Maritime Technology from the Great Lakes Maritime Academy, a MSA in administration from Central Michigan University, and a PhD in education from Walden University. I am an only child and help my parents who are getting older (yet another reason I love teaching online – flexibility! ). I have a boyfriend of 10+ years†¦we have 2 four-legged children – westies. They keep me hopping in between discussion posts. I am looking forward to getting to know you all. COURSE POLICIES Evaluation: There are 1000 possible points. I will update the online grade book weekly so that you always know where you stand grade-wise. It is your responsibility to check the grade book weekly. The performance evaluation (grading) is divided up as follows (See classroom for specifics on assignments. There is no extra credit in this class. Late Policy: Assignments submitted after the due date will not receive full credit. Assignments will be reduced based on the following schedule: within 24 hours of due date (1 day late)reduced by 5% within 48 hours of due date (2 days late)reduced by 10% within 72 hours of due date (3 days late)reduced by 20% within 96 hours of due date (4 days late)reduced by 30% within 120 hours of due date (5 days late)reduced by 40% within 144 hours of due date (6 days late)reduced by 50% For example, if you turned in an assignment worth 100 points, 2 days late, the highest possible score you could receive is 90 points. NO CREDIT will be given for assignments turned in more than one week late. In order to finish the term project, and the class, weekly assignments MUST be kept current. Because discussion is dynamic and needs to occur throughout the week in order for student’s to reap the full benefit, the rubric portion of the discussion outlined in the discussion section of the syllabus can not be submitted late. Discussion needs to occur within the week in which it is assigned. Be on time, allow extra time for problems, but accept the penalty if you miss it this is the real world. NOTE: Because final grades need to be posted, no assignments will be accepted after the last day of the term.

Alice and Wonderland essays

Alice and Wonderland essays Jefferson Airplane, The Beatles, and LSD: Alices Connection to the 1960s The late sixties were a time filled with sex, drugs, and rock and roll. A huge part of American culture at the time was focused around these three things. Musicians possessed a tremendous amount of social influence, and like wise, society put a lot of emphasis on the lives and attitudes of musicians. Of the rock groups from this time period, the Beatles were by far the most influential. The British rock group was probably the most catalytic band in rock and roll history. Although they came together in the shadow of the Beatles, another influential band of that era was Jefferson Airplane. Jefferson Airplane was deemed the first of the San Francisco psychedelic rock groups. Jefferson Airplane was always considered to be a psychedelic rock group, but it was not until later in their existence that the Beatles fell into this category as well. Both groups earned this title for their creative style of rock as well as for their experimentation with drugs. Each of these groups wrote song s that alluded to drug use at one time or another. Two of the most criticized songs from these bands are Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, by the Beatles, and White Rabbit by Jefferson Airplane. White Rabbit is a song latent with drug references. The connection with drugs in Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds is not as clear. Although John Lennon claims that he had no intention of making references to LSD in his song, the abstract lyrics and metaphoric language invite those drug connotations. Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds and White Rabbit mirror each other in their association with LSD and their allusions to Alice in Wonderland. But, having looked deeper into these songs, it is obvious that both artists were writing about escaping reality just as Alice does in the famous childhood story. Lysergic Acid...

Free sample - Annotated biography of James Baldwin. translation missing

Annotated biography of James Baldwin. Annotated biography of James BaldwinRandall Kenan. â€Å"The Cross of Redemption: Uncollected Writings by James Baldwin† (August 24, 2010) Pantheon. This book basically explains what the collection of James Baldwin’s The Cross of Redemption: Uncollected Writings is all about. The collection contains speeches and essays alike brought together and combined in a single book. The contents are mainly educational material and cover such topics as racism, past and present American literature and also educating black children. They contain among others Mass culture, some personal notes, creative writing and he also goes ahead to discuss different novelists of his time. In this way, Baldwin is portrayed as a teacher, preacher and also a smart person in his times. In his review, Randall Kenan, a renowned novelists and book reviewer, James Baldwin is portrayed as a very good novelist who will express his feelings without fear and also tend to go for what he wants. His brave writings and discussions of other different novelist is very amazing. He also looks at the different aspects of language as used at that time and also examines the evolution of these dialects, especially in the black community. This source is a very simple straight forward and it vividly brings out James Baldwin’s character. It can be recommended to readers who desire to know more about novel authors and their history. Bigsby, C. W. E. The Committed Writer: James Baldwin as Dramatist Vol. 13, No. 1 (Apr., 1967), pp. 39-48 In this biograpgy by Bigsby C. W. E., James Baldwin is described as a dramatist as the title suggests. This is in reference to his work entitled ‘The Native son’, which basically brings out his roots as having been born in Harlem. James Baldwin’s intention was basically to emancipate humanity from the narrow view of life that they had (pp. 39). And in his later publications, he ruffled some feathers and caused some friction, with for example Wright. Bigsby C. W. E., a Twentieth Century Literature analyst, evaluates the works of Baldwin and compares them to his way of life. This is an easy to understand piece of work and it will go a long way to aid my presentation in that Baldwin’s character is brought out clearly. For those who would like to know about Baldwin’s charcter and perspective, this is the book for them. Mabe, Chauncey. Baldwin's Harlem: A Biography by Herb Boyd (22 February 2008) South Florida Sun-Sentinel (MCT) Chauncey Mabe analyzes the skill of James Baldwin as a novelist. In his book Baldwin’s Harlem, ambition and experimentation is evaluated. It basically brings aiut his character relative to the Harlem neighborhood where he was born and brought up. Boyd examoines Baldwin ‘s childhood character and behaviour as sensitive and odd-lloking and not fitting in the setting. However, in this piece of work, Boyd increasingly critisizes Baldwin for hi actions in discussing the authors who mentored him, and portraying Harlem as a cornerstone of hi life’s upbringing. Although this is not the case throughout, he sometimes highlights the strong points in Baldwin’s life. This is a very good critique of Baldwin and brings out his weaknesses and negatives. This work can be recommeded to those non-fiction lovers interested in Baldwins’s background check. Rasbury, Angeli R. Go Tell it on the Mountain (September 26, 1995) Modern Library; New Ed edition publishe in Sacred Fire. Angeli Rasbury notes that the James Baldwin’s novel â€Å"Go Tell It on the Mountain† is considered as one of his greatest works. He notes also that this novel draws much of its development on Baldwin’s childhood experience and upbringing in the slums of Harlem, thereby bringing out inspiration to his writings. In this novel, aspects of racism, sexual orientation as being gay , religious doubt and a rough experience with his complicated father while growing up are embedded. Featuring John Grimes, this book is in three parts where Johns horrific experiences are shared in part one, his parent’s difficult experiences in part two and finally his yielding to religious ways in part three. It has numerous biblical references evoking the black church. This is a straight forward book and illustrates the life of James Baldwin. Blues for Mister Charlie This is a play written by James Baldwin to depict the way the perceived the white man, that is ‘Mr. Charlie’. It is a play based on the story of a young black man, Emmet Till who was murdered in 1955 in Mississippi. In this set up, the strength of the black man in that generation is developed. That is the establishment of the Negro’s full manhood in the country. Basically set up in the American South in the 1960’s when there was terror on blacks. It depicts the trial, consequences and results of a white man that executed killings of blacks. Basically, ‘the blues’ depicts the song that is sung to the white man representing the punishment for his actions. An explosive play involving different characters to depict different people in the society, ‘Blues for Mister Charlie’ is a must read. This play allows people room for focusing on issues such as race, Christianity and also sex.   Also, it has been structured and made into plays ac ted indifferent places. This book is recommended for theatre lovers. Book Jacket. Giovanni's Room (June 2000), Dell Publishing Company, IncorporatedJames Baldwin’s ‘Giovanni's Room’ is a non-fictional work sample that talks about a young man’s struggle with his sexual bias and identity. Being born naturally as a man, this young man finds himself trapped in a situation where he has to choose which direction to take, either to be straight or to be gay. At one point, he finds himself inlove with a young woman and proposes marriage. But at the same time, he has peculiar sexual desires which land him into an affair with a bartender! Therefore ha has to juggle in between the two. This jeopardizes his view of the conventional normal American lifestyle and sexual orientation. Bascally, James Baldwin’s struggle with sexuality is brought out in this piece of work and the review by book Jacket sums it up all. A classical gay literature depiction set in the 1950s.

International Ethics Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

International Ethics - Assignment Example Lastly, illegal immigrants pose serious problems to the states, imposing enormous economic costs and are a major concern in the times of today. In the recent years the outbreak of the global war on terror has raised serious issues of human rights and distributive justice in the international system. According to scholars "the term  distributive justice  refers to fair, equitable, and appropriate distribution determined by justified norms that structure the terms of social cooperation" (Beauchamp and Childress, 226). Moral and ethical troubles take place with distributive justice when there is tug war for resources. Also with the ongoing war on terrorism serious human right violations are observed, bloodshed of innocents, torture and targeted killings of many etc. Human rights are relevant to terrorism as concerns both its victims and its perpetrators ( Zalman). It is believed by many that for a state to emphasize on its national security, it has to steal away the rights of others resulting in concerns of human security and distributive justice. These beliefs however vary in different schools of thoughts. Where war is inevitable for realists, the idealists view it unnecessary, unethical and immoral.  Idealism holds that a state should make its internal political  philosophy  the goal of its foreign policy which is never war. A â€Å"realist† foreign policy of a state places national interests and security above ideology, ethics and morality (Ziring et al, 9). The idealist school believes that foreign policy must reflect the ethical, moral and philosophical values of the country. Realists approach would defend and promote violation of human rights and distributive justice for the defense of national security however an idealists approach would condemn that. As a Secretary of Foreign Policy and International Ethics I would design an assessment which would

Managing The Artist Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Managing The Artist Assignment - Essay Example However, dissatisfaction by artistes led to filing of suits, which later formed precedent by altering the laws governing music practices. Artist management has to be effective for all the stakeholders in music to benefit. Therefore, there has to be an artist manager who takes the responsibilities to ensure business takes place mutually (Allen, 2011). The person will take charge in planning and other managerial responsibilities. This paper looks at how the report cases influenced the music artist management in the United Kingdom. The cases in this study have caused a shift from the traditional practices in music management for over the last twenty-five years. The judgments of those cases have lead to the establishment of laws guiding relations in the music industry, specifically artist management. All the cases emphasized on the need to shift away from split management, which was common in the UK in the past. In the case of Mills Company as an example, Sullivan received 50% for the co pyright, which later became a precedent in the customs and practices of artist management. Legal authorities nowadays have influence on artist management activities compared to the past (Allen, 2011). In the case above the judge ordered an inquiry into profits made by Mills Company. There are compensations to artists as opposed to the past, from the above case mills is fighting for his empire, which is suffering because of engaging in malpractice. The judgment and laws in place forces him to adhere to requirements when managing artists. According to the case reports music has become a source of livelihood to many individuals in United Kingdom. Allen (2011) states that the music industry has experienced growth over the past years commercially thus promoting professionalism in artist management. The present day artists understand their basic patent rights regarding music and the relations with their managers (Marcone, 2003, p.145). Awareness has made the artists challenge status quo f rom the traditional style of artist management. In the case reports, financial agreements takes place in accordance to the acts stipulated thus alteration to custom and practices, which took place in the past. The case reports clearly highlight management roles in ensuring success to the music industry. All the cases prove that some management duties are more critical like marketing and selling artistry works. The report cases have influenced the present practices by managers whereby signing contracts have become a basic legal requirement before managing an artist (Allen, 2011, p.2). This ensures justice and fairness to all the parties who engage in music in case where a dispute arises. In the report cases, copyright is a sensitive element considered as the major contributor of disputes in music. Financial disagreements are subjective to patent rights when solving cases affecting artist managers (Beeching, 2005). The artists and other individuals in the music industry have the manda tory obligation of recognizing copyright laws as stipulated in the United Kingdom. The copyright law has provision that allows for fair utilization of literature material by all citizens, whereby they have a right to conduct personal research on a piece of music works. The law gives artists managers the right use music from other artists but reciprocate with payment (Allen, 2011, p.186). The United Kingdom lined their copyright law with the international

Middle Range Theory Essay Example for Free

Middle Range Theory Essay Cohens article (2010) addresses the fact that the transition from adolescence to adulthood no longer occurs at age 21. Starting in the 1970s the U.S. economy changed from a manufacturing economy to a service-based economy. The results are evident today. This economically driven shift changed how people prepared for careers and life. The traditional timing of becoming an adult, marriage, career, children, and financial independence now occurs almost 10 years later than before. Erickson’s would research and create a new sequence of eight stages including of development from 10 years up until now. For each specific conflict at each stage, which allows an individual to develop successfully. Each conflict would have to be extended as a result of the change in the economy today. The effect of resolved conflicts are more appropriate as the result the change of adolescent to adulthood no longer occurring to prevent the transition to the next stage of development. Erickson The most profound life crisis occurs at the fifth stage of development, which can be characterized by rapid physical growth, sexual maturing, concern about the perception of us by others and search of professional calling. The final stage is also crucial, as people asses their life and their achievements. If a man looks back at his life with few regrets, and feels that it was worth living, it leads to a feeling of satisfaction. If, on the contrary, the person feels hopeless, reflects on his mistakes, it leads to a feeling of despair. According to Erickson, if a person achieves a sense of wholeness and self-identity, he will not be afraid of death, and this means that this person has reached the highest form of achievements. References: Cohen, P. (2010). Long road to adulthood is growing even longer. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/13/us/13generations.html?scp=1sq=Long%20road%20to%20adulthoodst=cse_r=0 on September 13, 2014. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/13/us/13generations.html?scp=1sq=Long%20road%20to%20adulthoodst=cse

White Fang :: White Fang Essays

White Fang The book White Fang by Jack London starts off when two men named Henry and Bill, are traveling through the snowy, below-zero weather to deliver the corpse of Lord Alfred to Fort McGurry. It is the time of famine and Henry and Bill are low on food and only have three rounds of ammunition left. One morning when they have woken up they find out that they only have two dogs of six left. The four that were missing had been eaten by the wolves. Bill decided to stay up the next night to try to kill the wolves, with whatever ammo he had left. When the night came so did the wolves. Bill chased the wolf pack, and killed three of the wolves. He tried to kill a fourth with his bare hands but it was to swift, and killed him in defence. Henry realizing what had happening lit a fire in a circle around him. Another group of people in the area saw the fire and came over and rescued Henry. After the famine ends the wolf pack splits up. The she-wolf and three male wolves travel together until one of the males named "One Eye" killed the other males in a battle for the she-wolf. One Eye and the she-wolf find a lair where the she-wolf can lie down to give birth to her cubs. Another famine comes upon the land when the cubs are still young and all of them die except for a small gray cub. The gray wolf was the strongest of his pack. His first lesson in life was the lesson of the wilderness, "Eat or be eaten, kill or be killed." The cub and it's mother leave One Eye and travel into an Indian village. The she-wolf is instantly recognized by an Indian named Gray Beaver. She answers to the name of "Kiche," and the little wolf is named White Fang. In the Indian village White Fang learns how to protect himself from other dogs. When White Fang's mother was taken from him he tried to follow hr but was beaten by Gray Beaver. The next day Gray Beaver went to sell furs at the nearest fort, and took White Fang with him.

Csr of Mnc

Table of Contents INTRODUCTION1 UNILEVER2 PHILANTHROPY DETAILS2 CSR IN BUSINESS PROCESS3 DEALING WITH SUPPLIERS3 CONTRIBUTING TO THE COMMUNITY4 REDUCTION IN ACCIDENT RATE4 SOURCING OF RAW MATERIAL4 SIGNATORY ISSUES5 AWARDS5 UNILEVER IN INDIA5 PROJECT SHAKTI5 SANJIVINI6 PROCTER & GAMBLE6 PHILANTHROPY DETAILS7 CSR IN BUSINESS PROCESS8 CSR: COMPANY POLICIES9 INDUSTRY ANALYSIS (FMCG)10 CITIGROUP INC. 11 PHILANTHROPY DETAILS11 FINANCIAL LITERACY11 Microfinance12 Community Relations12 ‘Plant-a-Tree’ initiative12 CSR IN BUSINESS PROCESS12 Diversity12 Technology13 Climate Change13 Environment and Social Risk Management Policy (ESRM)14 SIGNATORY INITIATIVES14 HSBC15 CSR AT HSBC15 GLOBAL EDUCATION PROGRAMMES16 INDUSTRY ANALYSIS (BANKING)18 VODAFONE19 CSR IN BUSINESS PROCESS19 COMPLIANCE WITH GRI GUIDELINES22 CONCLUSION23 REFERENCES24 Introduction Within the world of business, the main â€Å"responsibility† for corporations has historically been to make money and increase shareholder value. Although for decades, business has also been engaged in charity, philanthropy, and civic activities including social investments in health. Many times these investments were less than strategic, and were not directed to real social change. Is then Corporate social responsibility planting trees in some vague corner of the world or supporting a certain cause? Today, business understands â€Å"doing well by doing good,† In the last few years, a movement defining broader corporate responsibilities– for the environment, for local communities, for working conditions, and for ethical practices–has gathered momentum and taken hold. The era of new corporate responsibilities have emerged. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is about how businesses align their values and behavior with the expectations and needs of stakeholders – not just customers and investors, but also employees, suppliers, communities, regulators, special interest groups and society as a whole. CSR demands that businesses manage the economic, social and environmental impacts of their operations to maximize the benefits and minimize the downsides. CSR is not only about fulfilling a duty to society; it should also bring competitive advantage. Through an effective CSR programme, companies can: †¢improve access to capital sharpen decision-making and reduce risk †¢enhance brand image †¢uncover previously hidden commercial opportunities, including new markets †¢reduce costs †¢attract, retain and motivate employees But in India most of the CSR Activities are philanthropic in nature, but globally it forms only a small percentage of total CSR. What if Indian companies also s tarted looking at CSR as more than money donations and can we push them. this where CSRidentity is positioning itself. CSRIdentity is a resource that can be used to †¢teach managers and to-be-managers about â€Å"the real† CSR provide a tool/resource/database for CSR depts to refer to for CSR activities †¢Highlight â€Å"good† CSR practices from cos. to motivate them †¢use this to motivate Indian cos to match global standards CSRidentity. com Services a. Project identity for the corporate b. Project identity for the brands c. NGO Research d. CSR Research The first purpose of CSRidentity. com is to build capacity of the corporates on CSR. And the second purpose is to help corporates project their identity. The portal takes the mode of information, research, analysis, views and interviews. It invites thought leaders to share a path which can be followed by others, share innovations in business, and share what went wrong. And while doing this, it will ensure that corporates think of the larger purpose than being myopic money makers. CSRidentity. com has rich information on CSR in philanthropy, CSR in business processes, CSR policies, Global trends in CSR †¦ It plan to share CSR case studies of all the global fortune 500 companies, leading 200 Indian companies & SMEs, and leading companies in about 20 countries. Each case study offers great learning and replication potential. Unilever Unilever is a Fortune 500 company and a global leader in the Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) category. As Unilever products touch a huge number of consumers worldwide every day, the company believes it has an opportunity to impact many lives through its CSR program. Globally Unilever lays more emphasis on CSR in the true sense i. e. a reduced emphasis on philanthropy. To ensure this, all brand managers in Unilever constantly work towards initiating CSR Initiatives for their brand to reduce the impact of its brands on the environment. Mission : Unilever’s mission is to add Vitality to life. To meet everyday needs for nutrition, hygiene and personal care with brands that help people feel good, look good and get more out of life. To understand the vast program, it has been categorised into sub categories which include initiatives in Philanthropy, Business Processes, Impact on Environment, Company Policies and Signatory Issues. Philanthropy Details Food Donation In 2005, nearly two billion pounds of food and grocery products were provided through the Second Harvest network. Available through food pantries, soup kitchens, emergency shelters and other distributions centres, the foods helped over 25 million Americans stave off the risk of hunger. Nine million of these were children. Unilever's product donations made up 7. 6 million pounds of the charity's total food basket – a threefold increase on our previous year's donation. In total, Unilever US gives away products worth around $12. 5 million every year, around 70% of which goes to the Second Harvest's hunger-relief work. Donations during Natural Disasters – Katrina and Rita Unilever donated $1 million to relief efforts following the hurricanes – divided equally between the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army. Employees also dug deep, contributing over $600,000 as part of a matching-gift programme. Conservation of National Parks In May 2008, Unilever contributed grants of over $240,000 to 12 national parks across the United States in an effort to aid wild life preservation. Orphaned and Abused Child Welfare Unilever donated an industrial washing machine to the Durban’s Children Society which is a care centre for children in the age group of 8-18 years and have been orphaned, abused or neglected. The washing machine helps fulfil the cleaning needs for over 60 children in the society on a daily basis. Child Education Unilever donated $1 million for the Families of Freedom Scholarship fund – a fund initiated to assist the education of children who lost parents to the September 11 attacks. CSR in Business Process Nutrition Value in Food Products Unilever initiated the Nutritional Enhancement Programme to improve the nutritional quality of food and beverage products by assessing the level of four nutrients (based on international guidelines) – Saturated Fats, Trans Fats, Salt and Sugar. The move has resulted in several changes in products like: †¢Reduction of 20% added sugar in brands for children such as twister †¢Reduction in salt levels in soup products from European markets by 10% †¢Breyers Ice cream launched a fat free range in North America with 50% less saturated fats Initiating Hygiene Unilever believes in developing products that would deliver benefits to people and make a difference to their health while promoting best practices for hygiene by partnering with local, government and international bodies. Behaviour change is a high priority on Unilever’s campaign and includes The Global Handwashing Day Campaign by Lifebuoy, Safe Drinking Water – Pureit, Improving Oral Health Care – Pepsodent and Close Up, Enhancing Self Esteem and Better Skin – Dove and Vaseline. Influence on Consumers Includes inculcating best practices among consumers (Hygiene Campaign), Promoting outdoor learning and development in children (Dirt is Good Campaign), breaking stereotypes (Dove’s Real Beauty Campaign) Dealing with Employees The company lays emphasis on certain key areas of employees such as Leadership Development, Health and Safety of Employees, People Vitality, Global Diversity, Continued focus on Gender, Diversity Planning and Listening to employees. Dealing with Suppliers The expectations of Unilever’s suppliers are codified in the Business Partner Code. It specifies guidelines which suppliers must follow in order to continue business with Unilever which include health and safety of workers, labour standards, consumer safety and impact on the environment. Unilever also conducts a Supplier Audit Programme to identify areas of improvement and non compliance. Contributing to the Community Unilever measures its contribution to the community using the London Benchmarking Group model. In 2008 a total of 91 million Euros was contributed to commercial initiatives in the community (27%), social investment (35%) and charitable donations (38%) with the greatest emphasis on health (52%) and Educations (13%). Reduction in accident rate Unilever has continuously strived to reduce the accident rate at its production centres. It has succeeded in reducing the accident rate from 0. 26 to 0. 21 per 100,000 hours worked over one year. CSR in Company Policies Advertising The company policy restricts marketers from using ‘size zero’ models in any of the ad campaigns of Unilever. Sourcing of Raw Material Unilever has decided to purchase all palm oil from certified sustainable sources only, in this regard it has already purchased the first batch in November 2008. It has also decided to procure tea for Lipton bags only from Rainforest Alliance Certified farms by 2015. Choice of Suppliers Unilever has a stringent expectations manual which their suppliers are expected to adhere to, if they wish to continue business with Unilever. The company has identified eleven parameters for the suppliers to adhere under the sustainable agriculture policy. Already a third of the suppliers have registered with the electronic system to adhere to the norms. CO2 Emission control The company has targeted to reduce emission by 25% measured per tonne from production plan by 2012. Water Conservation The company has also committed to reduce water usage in the production process, during the years 1995-08 the company has reduced water consumption by 63%. It has also introduced product variants like Surf in India which equired less water to wash clothes to conserve water. PVC Usage The company has decided to eliminate the use of PVC (where sustainable alternatives are available) in an effort to reduce the impact of PVC on the environment. Waste Reduction Through the continuous efforts of the company, the production process has reduced its waste per tonne of production by 68% in the 1995-2008 period. Signatory Issues Global Compact Uni lever has instituted a senior management position to ensure that labour standards are upheld and the company continues to support the UN Global Compact’s principles on human and labour rights. This aspect has been given high priority by the executive committee. GRI The assessment of Unilever’s Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) reporting has been certified to be B+. The same has been verified by third party – Corporate Citizenship. Awards †¢Awarded Two ‘Good Egg’ awards by Animal Welfare NGO Compassion in World Farming in recognition of their decision to source eggs only from cage free sources †¢Unilever was awarded for the tenth year running, the leader in food sector in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. Secured the Platinum standard award in the UK Business Community Corporate Responsibility Index †¢Included in Global 100 Most Sustainable corporations in the world for the fifth year running, a 2009 list compiled by Corporate Knights and Innovest Strategic Value Advisors †¢Gained joint first place in VBDO (Association for Investors in Sustainable Enterprises) 2008 rating for sustainable supply chain management, ahead of 34 o ther companies listed on the Dutch Stock Exchange Unilever in India Commitment to UN Global Compact HUL has separately reaffirmed its commitment to the UN Global Compact and its ten principles. They support institutionalization of the principles enshrined in the Global compact amongst companies in India and are a founder member of the UN Global Compact Society of India. Project Shakti Hindustan Unilever's Project Shakti is a rural initiative that targets small villages populated by less than 2000 individuals. It is a unique win-win initiative that catalyses rural affluence even as it benefits business. Lifebuoy Swastya Chetna Lifebuoy Swastya Chetna (LBSC) is a rural health and hygiene initiative which was started in 2002. LBSC was initiated in media dark villages (in UP, MP, Bihar, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Orissa) with the objective of spreading awareness about the importance of washing hands with soap. Fair and Lovely Foundation The Fair & Lovely (FAL) Foundation aims at economic empowerment of women across India by providing information, resources and support in the areas of education, career and enterprise. It specifically targets women from low-income groups. Sanjivini HUL started Sanjivani – a free mobile medical service camp in the year 2003 near its Doom Dooma factory in Assam. The aim was to provide free mobile medical facility to the interior villagers in Assam. This was done keeping in mind the lack of quality medical facilities available in the villages in and around Doom Dooma. PROCTER & GAMBLE Procter & Gamble Co. is a Fortune 500, American MNC headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio As of 2008, P is the 8th largest corporation in the world by market capitalization and 14th largest by profit. It manufactures a wide range of consumer goods. It has one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands including Pampers, Tide, Ariel, Always, Whisper, Pantene, MACH3, Bounty, Dawn, Gain, Pringles, Folgers, Charmin, Downy, Lenor, Iams, Crest, Oral-B, Actonel, Duracell, Olay, Head & Shoulders, wella, Gillette, Braun, and Fusion Vision: Be, and be recognized as, the best consumer products and services company in the world. Purpose: Company wants to be the innovation leader in every business, product category and country where P competes. P views sustainability as a significant responsibility — and a continual source of opportunity. 2012 SUSTAINABILITY GOALS OF P Strategy 1: Products Develop and market at least $20 billion in cumulative sales of â€Å"sustainable innovation products,† which are products with a significantly reduced (;10%) environmental footprint versus previous or alternative products. Strategy 2: Operations Deliver an additional 10% reduction (per unit production) in CO2 emissions, energy consumption, water consumption and disposed waste from P plants, leading to a total reduction over the decade of at least 40%. Strategy 3: Social Responsibility Enable 250 million children to Live, Learn and Thrive. Prevent 80 million days of disease and save 10,000 lives by delivering 2 billion liters of clean water through Children’s Safe Drinking Water program Strategy 4: Employees Engage and equip all P employees to build sustainability thinking and practices into their everyday work. Strategy 5: Stakeholders Shape the future by working transparently with stakeholders to enable continued freedom to innovate in a responsible way. P follows CSR activities in following categories Philanthropy Details Education Over the past 12 years, P has built over 140 schools across rural China, helping tens of thousands of children access better education facilities and an improved learning environment. Through this program, P builds and maintains facilities, trains teachers, and provides health and hygiene education programs. P Hope Schools engage employees on multiple levels, even encouraging participation from employees’ families. It uses cause-related marketing efforts, more than 320,000 retail outlets and 100 million consumers have also supported P Hope Schools. Shiksha (India) Through Shiksha, which means â€Å"education,† P is providing children in 15 cities and 75 villages across India with access to education. This program commits a portion from the sale of P brands toward the education of children in need in India. P India has also launched the Shiksha Ambassador Program, allowing employees to lead a word-of-mouth campaign to raise awareness of the issue. Infant health Pampers/1 Pack = 1 Vaccine campaign helps babies in underdeveloped regions, especially Africa, get off to a healthy start. Each time a consumer purchases a package of Pampers, a vaccination is provided via UNICEF to a child in need. So far, more than 50 million vaccinations have been funded. P hopes to eradicate maternal and neonatal tetanus through this effort, saving tens of millions of lives. Safe Drinking Water Children’s Safe Drinking Water initiative provides safe drinking water for children in need around the world, with an emphasis in Africa. It provides emergency relief and establishes safe drinking water technology to children and their families. This program is on the ground in developing nations such as Uganda, Kenya and Malawi. Thus far, technology has provided more than a billion liters of clean drinking water. Goal is to provide up to 2 billion liters of water by 2012. Community Welfare Enfance Mal-Logee (France) Program supports families with children living in sub-standard housing. This Live, Learn and Thrive program helps move families from sub-standard living conditions to safe, accessible housing, allowing children to stay with their families rather than being placed in orphanages. T. O. U. C. H. Together for Our Community Here) program has resulted in thousands of hours of voluntary work to help disabled, sick, and underprivileged children in Geneva. CSR In Business Process Waste Management P Gattatico Plant instituted a â€Å"War on Waste† program in January 2008 to reduce the trend in liquid waste due to increasing change-over sanitizations as production lines â€Å"produced to demand. † Gattatico i s a waste â€Å"lead site† for EMEA. At the end of FY 07/08 the site avoided 3,000 tons of disposed liquid waste. By the end of FY 08/09 they plan to reduce by another 2,200 tons. This plan will have over a 50 percent reduction impact on the waste footprint by FY11/12. The key interventions include: recycling wash water back into the process; improved washout procedures; and adding wastewater treatment to reduce the COD levels prior to sewer discharge. Energy saving and Emission reduction P operations pioneered breakthrough technologies to reduce energy consumption. Among the simple, low-cost steps were the following: oUsing water spray instead of electric power to cool water oRecovering waste heat from washout and sanitization water Using high-efficiency long-life lighting Over the year, these changes helped to reduce mean output energy by 6 –10 percent for each site. They are currently being reapplied across other business units. In addition, energy training and energy audits were conducted at all sites this year, making each self-sufficient in delivering sustainability opportunities. There has been a decrease over the past three years in CO2 (Direct) : 2. 9 million metric tons, 2. 9 million metric tons and 2. 8 million metric tons in 2006, 2007 and 2008, respectively. Also there has been a decrease over the past three years in water consumption: 91 million m3, 90 million m3 and 87 million m3 in 2006, 2007 and 2008, respectively. Technology/ Information Technology Managing innovation sustainably begins with the use of comprehensive analysis tools. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) generates a complete environmental footprint, extending beyond carbon impact to measure total energy and water use and waste production. Also included are the impacts of consumer use of P products, as well as all emissions into the air, water and land. This detailed review pinpoint areas where our innovation efforts can be most effective. Recycle At manufacturing site for perfume in Avenel, New Jersey, P developed a new process for blending scrap material for reprocessing as an ingredient for potpourri. As a result, annual generation of scrap waste at the site has dropped from 50,000 kg to zero. Each site monitors total suspended particulates, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOx) and sulfur oxides (SOx). Overall, the total air emissions decreased from last year to 15. 9 thousand metric tons. P continues to find innovative recycling methods to change the trend to be more efficient. CSR: Company Policies Disclosure policy Disclosure controls are systems and processes that help ensure that important information is made available to the right people at the right time. The Company requires every area of the business to maintain disclosure controls to provide adequate assurance that significant information is reported to the appropriate levels of the Company – so that the appropriate business steps can be taken to address any issues, and so that the Company can consider whether the information should be disclosed externally Antitrust Policy and Compliance Guidelines Antitrust laws are designed to prohibit agreements among companies that fix prices, divide markets, limit production or otherwise impede or destroy market forces. P policy is that all employees strictly comply with antitrust laws and the competition and anti-monopoly laws of all countries, states and localities in which they conduct P business. Supervisors and managers are responsible for ensuring that employees under their responsibility are aware of and comply with this policy. Child Labor and Worker Exploitation Policy P does not use child or forced labor in any of our global operations or acilities. P do not tolerate unacceptable worker treatment, such as exploitation of children, physical punishment or abuse, or involuntary servitude. The Company respects employees’ right to freedom of association, third party consultation and collective bargaining where all P by law. P expect our suppliers and contractors with whom P do business to uphold the same standards. HIV/AIDS Policy All employees, including those who are HIV infected or with AIDS, are treated consistently with the Company's Purpose, Values & Principles (PVP) by the Company, their managers and coworkers. P&G treat employees with HIV/AIDS the same as P&G treat those with other serious illnesses. Specifically, an employee who is HIV-infected or with AIDS: have the same employment rights and responsibilities as other employees, has the same eligibility for employee benefits and programs, including medical care and disability coverage, as non-infected employees, is afforded privacy and confidentiality protection consistent with the Company's handling of confidential, medical or other sensitive information, and is provided management support to remain productive Fair Competition P compete strictly on the merits of our products and services and make no attempts to restrain or limit trade. P do not enter into agreements with competitors concerning prices, production volumes, customers or sales territories. P do not disparage the products or services of a competitor. P collect competitive information through proper public or other lawful channels but do not use information that was obtained illegally or improperly by others, including through misrepresentation, invasion of property or privacy, or coercion. Advertising/Promotion Policies Neither deceptive advertising nor questionable promotional activity can ever be justified. These are vital tenets of P dedication to consumers and essential to gaining and keeping their continuing loyalty to our brands. P observes standards of commercial fairness in devising, using and selecting advertising and promotions, so the products succeed based on their own quality and performance and our reputation as a company, rather than by false or deceptive statements or comparisons. AWARDS 1. In December of 2007, P was honored with the highly prestigious Presidential Ron Brown Award for Corporate Leadership. . International Health Communication Gold Medallion Award, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health — for building market-based relationships that sustain and deliver safe drinking water. 3. Children’s Environmental Health Excellence Award, U. S. Environmental Protection Agency for outstanding leadership in protecting children from environmental risk . 4. Global Leadership Award, United Nations Association of the USA — in part, for providing clean water for millions around the world through the Children’s Safe Drinking Water program. Report is prepared using the Global Reporting Initiative’s (GRI) G3 Guidelines. INDUSTRY ANALYSIS (FMCG) FMCG industry primarily deals with the production, distribution and marketing of consumer packaged goods. Some of the prime activities of FMCG industry are selling, marketing, financing, purchasing, etc. The industry also engaged in operations, supply chain, production and general management. With increased competitiveness in the sector, it is critical for an each organization to leverage its social activities in order to gain a competitive advantage. The increased credibility and goodwill earned from the customers and associates is an invaluable intangible asset for the FMCG organization. CSR has now become a part of the corporate strategy thinking. A CSR activity of FMCG companies generally involves improving their processes and brings out change through policy measures. Most of the companies use communication medium and channels partners to showcase their activities and sensitize the population about the issue. Global FMCG companies have presence in more than 50 countries and CSR activities are designed according to the local issues and problems. Business Process: Innovation is the key for P and through innovation company brings efficiency in overall operations. Use of technology to reduce the inventory, waste management and emission reduction issues are some of the activities undertaken. Unilever mainly concentrates on providing more nutritional value to its product and promoting good practices for hygiene. Unilever is also involved in waste management and emission reduction. Company policies: P strongly advocates CSR through its policies and follows the same across all the offices and manufacturing units. Providing right information to consumers, no discrimination of employees on social status or on health issues like AIDS. Unilever mainly controls its supply chain through strict policy measures and make them also socially responsible. Philanthropy Most of the P activities across the globe concentrate on Child welfare. Through Live, Learn and Thrive Program Company provides education, scholarship, safe drinking water to millions of children. Unilever is providing to relief to disaster affected areas. Also wild life preservation and environment conservation initiatives are undertaken. CITIGROUP INC. About the Company: Citigroup Inc. , a global financial services company, provides consumers, corporations, governments, and institutions with a range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, and wealth management. The core citizenship priorities of Citi include microfinance, financial education and asset preservation, and the environment. These are the areas in which Citi holds specific expertise and has an opportunity to make a material difference. We will be discussing the CSR activities undertaken by Citi under two major heads – philanthropy and CSR in business practices. Philanthropy Details Financial literacy The Citi Foundation supports programs that provide individuals with access to knowledge and incentives that help them take control of their financial future by making informed decisions, acquiring and preserving financial assets, and responding to major life events that can affect income and expenses. The specific goals of Citi Foundation program are: †¢Invest over $200 million over ten years in financial education; †¢Support programs to help low income families build and preserve assets. Performance highlights for 2008: Total funding till date has been $149 million. In 2008 alone, Citi invested $28 million in 73 countries. The total number of individuals reached through this program by the year 2008 is 22,344,441. Microfinance The Citi Foundation has been supporting the expansion and evolution of the microfinance industry for decades. Its approach is to: †¢Expand outreach to millions more low-income borrowers †¢Build and preserve borrowers’ assets via savings, housing finance, remittances, insurance, and financial education †¢Build global awareness of microfinance as an effective poverty alleviation tool The highlights of the microfinance initiative of Citi are as follows: Citi Foundation sponsored the Microfinance Banana Skins Survey 2009 that describes the risks facing the microfinance industry. Citi launched an innovative micro-savings product called Citibank Pragati in India. It utilizes a biometric ATM, which can identify customers not only on the basis of a card and a pin, but also by their fingerprints, and it displays and speaks to customers in up to six languages. On May 9, 2007, SKS Microfinance and Citibank announced a $40 Million (Rs. 180 crores) financing program involving Citibank India purchasing loans that are originated by SKS. Community Relations Under its community relations initiative, one of the major programs of Citi has been its Office of Homeownership Preservation (OHP). Through this, Citi is working hard to keep distressed homeowners whose mortgages it owns or services in their homes and out of foreclosure. It established its Office of Homeownership Preservation (OHP) in 2007, as the foreclosure crisis began to emerge. This initiative has helped approximately 440,000 homeowners since 2007 through loss mitigation and proactive loan modification. In the year 2008 OHP: †¢Reached out to 88,000 borrowers †¢Participated in 106 borrower outreach program in 72 cities †¢Trained more than 600 counselors from 304 non-profit organisations †¢Worked with 18,240 borrowers to find foreclosure solutions ‘Plant-a-Tree’ initiative In April 2007, Citi adopted a ‘Plant-a-Tree’ initiative to create environmental awareness by encouraging its credit card holders to switch to paperless statements, planting a tree for each conversion made. CSR in business process Diversity Citi strives to be an ‘Employer of Choice’ by: a. Hiring, training, mentoring and championing individuals from diverse backgrounds. b. Offering training to employees on topics such as â€Å"Championing Diversity,† â€Å"Valuing Diversity and Inclusion at Citi† and â€Å"Leadership Through the Lens of Diversity. † It strives to be a ‘Business Partner of Choice’ by a. Maintaining a diverse supplier base. Its supplier diversity team tries to identify and hire qualified business enterprises owned by minorities, women, and people with disabilities, veterans and disabled veterans. Energy Citi has undertaken various initiatives to conserve energy by following certain practices in its business process. It has developed a ‘Green Energy Community Investment Fund’ which supports the installation of solar electric systems on commercial buildings, especially the ones which are under privileged. Also, between the year 2006 and 2008, it centralized its recycling of e-waste operations in New York. More than 0. 1 million devices were recycled between these two years itself. Citi is also looking at increasing the component of purchases with recycled content in its office supplies. In the year 2008, it increased from 33% to 38%. Employees Citi is particularly focused towards its employees. It provides Employee Assistance Plan (EAP) to help employees manage stresses related to job loss, personal counseling etc. It also offers Flexible Work Strategies program through which the employees can decide when they want, from where they want and how they want to work. Technology In the year 2008, Citi launched ‘log off for Savings’ program. This program involves centrally managing PC sleep settings. This initiative would cut down GHG emissions and save costs too. Another of its initiative, Desktop Standardization Initiative (DSI) deployed ‘Thin Client’ technology which uses anywhere from 6 to 50 watts, versus the 150 to 350 watts used by a standard PC. Citi also plans to reduce number of overall datacenters from 52 to 24. In the year 2008, it has come down to 32 datacenters. Citi has also been adopting ‘virtualization’ to reduce the need for physical resources. It is also trying to conserve energy resources through travel substitution by Using Tele- and video conferencing wherever possible. Climate Change On May 8, 2007, Citi announced that it will direct $50 billion over the next 10 years to address global climate change through investments, financings and related activities to support the commercialization and growth of alternative energy and clean technology among the clients and markets it serves, as well as within its own businesses and operations. In 2008, Citi eliminated six million square feet of office space through the Alternative Workplace Strategies program. Environment and Social Risk Management Policy (ESRM) This policy was developed in 2003 to help address environmental and social issues from both a credit risk perspective and a reputation and franchise risk perspective. The CMB ESRM Policy’s core elements are based on the Equator Principles. The ESRM policy assesses the proceeds from the financial transactions into three categories: ? Category A: Use of proceeds is expected to have a significant adverse impact on society and/or environment. Category B: Use of the proceeds is expected to have limited adverse impact on society and/or environment. ?Category C: Use of proceeds is expected to have minimal adverse impacts. Signatory initiatives Equator Principles In adopting the Equator Principles, Citi agreed to provide loans only to those projects whose borrowers can demonstrate their ability and willingness to co mply with comprehensive processes aimed at ensuring that projects are developed in a socially responsible manner and according to sound environmental management practices. Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Citi uses Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) G3 Sustainability Guidelines in Citi’s 2008 Citizenship Report. It is a self-declaring a â€Å"B† Application level. The carbon Principles Through its commitment towards the Carbon Principles, Citi has sworn in to †¢Encourage investments in cost effective demand reduction to reduce the amount of CO2 emissions. †¢Encourage clients to invest in cost effective renewable sources of energy and distributed technologies. Assess and reflect the risks in the financing of certain fossil fuel generation in the light of the need to substantially reduce greenhouse gas pollution through its Enhanced Due Diligence process. On September 14, 2009, Citi announced that it has been included in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI) for the ninth consecutive year, affirming Citi's position as a global sustainability leader. Associations Citi has many NGO partners: Friends of the Earth (U. S. ), EcoLogic Finance, Forest Trends, Rainforest Action Network, Wildlife Habitat Council, World Wildlife Fund etc. Awards Citizenship Best Corporate Citizen, Second Place in Foreign Company Category Common Wealth Magazine, Taiwan Best Bank for Corporate Social Responsibility The Bank of the Year Competition, Hungary Honorable Mention for Best CSR Award Taiwan Academy of Banking and Finance Diversity 100% Corporate Equality Index Human Rights Campaign (United States) – fifth time on the list Employees Best Flexible Work Practices Hong Kong HR Awards 2008 The City Foundation The Citi Foundation is committed to the economic empowerment of individuals and families, particularly those in need, in the communities where it works so that they can improve their standard of living. Citi is particularly interested in supporting program innovations in the following priority focus areas: Microfinance: Help individuals and families improve their lives through economic self-sufficiency and reduce financial vulnerability Small and Growing Businesses: To create employment opportunities and support broad economic growth Education programs: To help improve quality and access to primary and secondary education in Citi markets internationally, and in the United States programs that increase the number of low-income and first-generation students who enroll in postsecondary education and earn a degree Financial Education and Asset Building: To help individuals and families develop the knowledge they need to achieve financial stability HSBC HSBC Holdings plc is a public limited company incorporated in England and Wales in 1990, and headquartered in London since 1993. As of 2009, it is both the world's largest banking group and the world's 6th largest company according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine. HSBC has an enormous operational base in Asia and significant lending, investment, and insurance activities around the world. The company has a global reach and financial fundamentals matched by few other banking or financial multinationals CSR at HSBC The focus of HSBC’s work on environmental issues primarily addresses the risks and opportunities associated with climate change and natural resources, including energy, water management, waste and biodiversity. The social initiatives they prioritise include making financial services available more widely and providing access to education. HSBC believe this is the best way to help communities build capacity, financial independence and long-term prosperity. Sustainability at HSBC is overseen by the Corporate Sustainability Committee of the HSBC Holdings Board. The Corporate Sustainability Committee is responsible for advising the HSBC Holdings Board, committees of the Board and executive management on sustainability policies, including environmental, social and ethical issues. Focus Area The main focus of HSBC’s commitments is on two main themes – education and the environment. HSBC believes that we are dependent upon the skills of future generations; if we do not prepare them adequately, we limit our future potential. Access to education can be life changing and helps to equalise opportunity. It is also a prerequisite for economic growth and the development of stable societies. Their educational support focuses on: †¢Disadvantaged children †¢Financial and business literacy †¢Environmental education and understanding They equally believe that the needs of today’s society should not be fulfilled at the expense of future generations. It believes that we are dependent upon the state of the environment, and if we degrade it, we damage our future prospects. Our environmental support focuses on: †¢Climate change †¢Freshwater (e. g. rivers) †¢Biodiversity (plants, forests and animals) Global Education Programmes Opportunities for disadvantaged children – Future First The flagship programme, Future First, has taken on the challenge of helping homeless children, orphans and children in care around the world. For this they are working in partnership with the charity SOS Children’s Villages, among others, with the shared aim to provide access to education and life skills training. This helps the children to grow in confidence and, in time, to make their own contribution to society. Our presence in over 80 countries and territories presents us with a large network of people and resources capable of making a significant difference to these children’s lives. Rural Children Programme China has seen impressive economic growth over the last two decades but a vast disparity remains between the prosperity of rural and urban regions. To help support the ongoing success of the country, HSBC has identified a need to build up the educational infrastructure in rural areas where 95 per cent of primary schools are located. HSBC’s Rural Children Programme aims to improve facilities and provide training to teachers in curriculum design, computer-aided teaching, nutrition and counselling to help support a modern and rounded education for rural children. Financial Literacy Programme – JA More than Money As household debt rises throughout many developed countries and the world faces economic uncertainty, gaining an early understanding of how to create and manage a sustainable income is ever more important for individuals and for society as a whole. HSBC launched JA More than Moneyâ„ ¢ in 2007 in partnership with Junior Achievement Worldwide ®. HSBC colleagues are involved in classroom activities where they draw on their own skills and experience to teach children about earning, spending, sharing and saving money. Promoting environmental education: Eco – Schools Climate Initiative The HSBC Eco-Schools Climate Initiative is run by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) and with HSBC’s support will be able to expand the programme across the world. The programme involves a tried and tested seven step processes to engage the entire population of the school in practical activities to improve their local environment. Through these seven steps, students, parents, teachers and the wider community are encouraged to take a more active role in environmental decision making. Investing in the Environment Protecting the environment is central to HSBC’s sustainability strategy as a carbon neutral organization. They focus on reducing the footprint of their own operations and even encourage their clients and suppliers to do the same. They also partner with leading environmental organizations to achieve shared goals. The Climate Group works with corporate and government leaders in some of the world’s cities to tackle climate change. Participation in the HSBC Climate Partnership has enabled the launch of new offices and recruitment of new members in Beijing, Hong Kong and Delhi plus the launch of the UK Together campaign, helping households save carbon dioxide by providing cheap and easy ways for consumers to reduce their carbon footprint. The HSBC Climate Partnership has helped WWF to support 33 nature reserves in China to tackle increased flooding, reduce pollution and safeguard endangered species in the central and lower Yangtze River. The HSBC Climate Partnership makes up around 80% of HSBC’s overall investment in the environment. It is complemented by a number of local programmes, many of which allow its employees the opportunity to engage in and understand conserving their local environment. INDUSTRY ANALYSIS (BANKING) Banks act as financial intermediaries in our society: they price and value financial assets, they monitor borrowers, they manage financial risks and they organize the payment system. By performing these functions, banks have a huge impact on society. They usually require firms and households to adopt certain behaviour in order to increase the chances that these lenders will pay interest and amortizations. As such, they also may affect sustainable development. Socially responsible banking is becoming a well-established notion in the financial services industry. Financial institutions are coming round to the idea that there is more to invest than just to check the figures. In the US, every one out of eight dollars invested is subject to some social or ethical screen. In most countries, private households have the opportunity to save or invest their money not only on the basis of financial rewards, but also in the face of the nonmonetary value of savings and investments. In many OECD countries, specialized banks offer savings accounts to the public while promising that the savings will be used to finance environmentally sound projects or for operations of entrepreneurs who find it hard to get access to finance from institutions that are more conventional. Women and minorities have been targeted specifically in this respect in the US based on so-called community investments. In more than 40 countries – including several developing countries like Brazil and South-Africa – people can put their savings in socially responsible investment funds that in some way or another check for corporate social responsibility (CSR) of the firms in which they invest. Banks increasingly are involved with financing economic activity that aims at sustainable development and offer microcredit to the poor and deprived. Some of the important CSR initiatives taken by various banks are: Reporting Standards Non-financial reporting is a very popular instrument in the banking sector and this is a partial confirmation of CSR’s maturity of the sector. Banks have developed their own reports and use the ‘Global Reporting Initiative’ (GRI) reporting framework. Financial Literacy With growing business banks and other financial institutions have started realizing of creating awareness about financial planning. To address this issue banks have started with financial literacy programs at various levels. Like HSBC has launched JA More than Moneyâ„ ¢ program to educate children on financial planning while on the other hand Citi has various programs targeting adults for the financial literacy. Climate Change and Environment Protection Banking Industry has shown concerns towards changing climatic conditions. Although banks have less impact on the natural environment than, say, the chemical or mining industry, their relatively low impact on environmental sustainability is more than compensated for by their impact on society as a whole. Most of the initiatives are towards reducing the total CO2 emitted not only by them but also by their stake holders forming part of the value chain. Some of the important steps are like commitment of USD50 billion by Citi towards climate control investments, HSBC’s eco-school climate initiative to provide education on climate conservation awareness. Energy Banks are encouraging investments in green energy. The encouragement is mainly in terms of funds and other financial assistance specifically allocated for installation of green energy sources. Recycling of waste and use of recyclable supplies is been done at the institution level by majority of the banks. Vodafone Vodafone is a British mobile network operator, with its headquarters in Berkshire, England, UK. It is the largest mobile telecommunications network company in the world by turnover, and has a market value of about ? 75 billion (August 2008). Vodafone currently has operations in 31 countries and partner networks in a further 40 countries. Vision : To be world’s mobile communications leader, enriching customers’ lives, helping individuals, businesses and communities be more connected in a mobile world. Vodafone’s latest Corporate Responsibility Report It highlights how the company's expansion in emerging markets is facilitating economic development by increasing access to communications. The rapid expansion of the network means one of Vodafone's biggest issues is how to control greenhouse gas emissions. To address this Vodafone recently announced a target to reduce CO2 emissions by 50% by 2020 in its established markets. This year's report outlines how the company aims to achieve this ambitious goal. Vodafone is also exploring how its products and services can help other industries cut their carbon footprint, and is increasing its focus on managing climate impacts in the supply chain. Vodafone's social and environmental performance in 2008/09 is reported in its signature ‘We said, We have, We will' format. CSR in business process Decreased like-for-like carbon emissions by 4. 7% In 2008/09, company’s total CO2 emissions was1. 31 million tonnes, 4. 7% lower than last year despite an increase in energy use. The carbon intensity of the Group’s energy consumption has decreased due to our increased use of green tariff energy – energy generated from renewable sources. This Group reduction target applies to our entire local operating companies that active for a full year in 2006/07; and to their CO2 emissions from all energy ources except business flights and other greenhouse gases. Increased the number of sites powerd by on-site renewable energy by 7. 5% acro ss the Group Vodafone now has 429 base stations powered by on-site renewable energy in eight countries, Diesel is often used to power sites that are not connected to the electricity grid, as well as being used in back-up generators in case of power failure. In 2008/09, diesel use accounted for 6. 3% of our total CO2 emissions from network energy use across the Group. This proportion is higher in our Indian operations. Collected 1. 82 million handsets for reuse and recycling Vodafone has exceeded our target to collect 1. 5 million handsets during 2008/09. Vodafone operating companies continued their efforts to collect handsets for recycling, collecting approximately half a million more handsets than last year – representing a 37% increase. Begun a pilot project to assess capability for recycling e-waste in Mumbai In 2008/09, Vodafone commenced an end-of-life assessment of mobiles in India, particularly in Mumbai, with The Environment Resources Institute. The study aims to assess current practices and devise strategies to improve end-of-life management of mobile phones. Supply chain Vodafone expect all our suppliers to maintain high ethical, environmental and labour standards, and Vodafone work with them to build their CR capability. Our Code of Ethical Purchasing (CEP) sets out our requirements and Vodafone assess new and existing suppliers for compliance with the CEP. Vodafone also engage in industry partnerships to improve CR standards throughout the supply chain for the ICT sector as a whole. Diversity in workforce The strategy, launched in April 2008, aims to ensure that Vodafone’s workforce reflects its diverse customer base and that the company has an inclusive working environment that embraces the benefits diversity brings. Implementation of the strategy is overseen by a global steering committee. The initial focus is on gender and nationality diversity. In 2008/09, 13% of our most senior managers – including three operating company CEOs were female. A total of 23 nationalities were represented in top management bands, an increase on 2007/08. Introduced a new health and safety strategy In February 2009, Vodafone developed a three-year strategic plan to prevent fatalities and ensure effective implementation of our product safety policy. To achieve this, Vodafone will introduce initiatives to promote leadership in health, safety extend our online management and reporting systems, and improve health and safety governance and risk management. Consumer Issues Vodafone's reputation depends on earning the trust of its customers. Their loyalty is vital to the long-term success of our business. This section covers a range of issues that Vodafone believe play an important part in maintaining customer trust. Important consumer issues include the clarity of our pricing, the responsibility of our marketing material, the way Vodafone handle customer privacy and our measures to protect customers from inappropriate content, contact and commercialism. Vodafone also address other consumer issues such as responsible mobile phone use, driving safety and mobile theft. Safety from RF & EMF Developed employee awareness training and awareness initiatives on RF fields Vodafone has made significant investment in e-learning programs, induction briefings and face-to-face training to raise awareness among relevant employees in all our local operating companies to enable them to fulfill their vital role in communicating our approach to RF fields. The International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) has issued guidelines on levels of exposure to RF fields. Vodafone’s policy on Health and Safety of RF Fields requires that all our base stations – and the mobile phones Vodafone sell – comply with ICNIRP guidelines. In fact, RF field exposure from our base stations is typically hundreds, if not thousands, of times below the limits set by the guidelines. Mobile for blind and deaf people Vodafone is currently focusing on making its services easier to use for customers who are: †¢Blind or visually impaired †¢Deaf or hard of hearing †¢Elderly or have special healthcare needs. This text-to-speech software – enabling blind and visually impaired customers to use text messages – is an updated version of Mobile Speak. Health Service vial mobile An mHealth services pre-feasibility study in India. A total of ? 450,598 was provided by the Fund towards these initiatives at 31 March 2009. In 2008/09, Vodafone fostered continued developments in mHealth by partnering with and investing in t+medical, the leading provider of mobile phonebased technology used to transfer patient biometric data. t+Medical’s innovative technology enables patients with chronic diseases to record details about their condition and treatment using their mobile phones. The information is quickly and easily relayed to nurses who can monitor the data and take action if Necessary. Corporate Governance The Board of the Company is committed to high standards of corporate governance, which it considers are critical to business integrity and to maintaining investors’ trust in the Company. The Group expects all its directors and employees to act with honesty, integrity and fairness. The Group will strive to act in accordance with the laws and customs of the countries in which it operates; adopt proper standards of business practice and procedure; operate with integrity; and observe and respect the culture of every country in which it does business. Vodafone Group Plc Annual Report 2008 65 Awards During the year, Vodafone’s 2007 CR report won the main accolade of the Corporate Register Reporting Awards for the best report and was commended by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (â€Å"ACCA†) for the best isclosure in Tax and Public Policy. Vodafone is included in the FTSE4Good and Dow Jones Sustainability Index and rated fifth in the Global Account Ab ility Rating. The Vodafone Group Foundation The Vodafone Group Foundation is a UK registered Charity established by Vodafone Group Plc in 2002. It has invested over ? 100 million in projects since its creation and currently receives ? 24 million per annum from the Vodafone Group Plc which it distributes between projects globally and its unique global footprint of 23 Vodafone Foundations. Vodafone is committed to making a difference in the communities in which it operates. The Vodafone Group Foundation has invested over ? 00 million in projects since its creation in 2002 concentrating on disaster relief, helping disadvantaged children via sport and music initiatives and specific projects across Vodafone's 23 local Foundations worldwide. Philanthropy Details The Vodafone Group Foundation has donated ? 10m to the United Nations Foundation over five years, part of which has been made available to the Measles Initiative for Immunization programs. As a second phase of their support of the se activities, VGF and the UN Foundation have now begun work with WHO on a new program to use technology to improve disease surveillance, a critical aspect of fighting not only measles but many other diseases. The Vodafone Group Foundation partnership is the largest financial commitment made by any corporation to the UN Foundation. Philanthropy in India Vodafone Group Plc has established the Vodafone India Foundation, with an initial commitment of $10 million. This step signifies a further landmark in the development of Vodafone’s presence in India and confirms the Group's commitment to invest socially in the communities where it operates. This activity will be supported by The Vodafone Group Foundation which has developed a unique network of 23 Foundations around the world during the last five years. Compliance with GRI guidelines Vodafone has benchmarked its CR reporting against the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) sustainability reporting guidelines. The company assess its application of the GRI reporting framework to be at level B+. Independent assurance report to Vodafone KPMG LLP was engaged by Vodafone Group Services Limited to provide assurance over selected aspects of the Vodafone Group plc 2008/09 Corporate Responsibility Report. Conclusion CSR activities are followed worgwide but their ways of approach are different depending upon company and their nature of business. CSR projects are frequently carried out as a cooperative effort; involving external partners can enhance the success and value of the project, and projects can benefit from the experience of local organizations or stakeholders. Companies are faced with the challenge of expanding their reporting to include the social and ecological effects of their business activities. This involves, in particular, maintaining international standards and norms with respect to CSR topics. More and more, however, even socially relevant CSR projects and their effects are being carefully scrutinized. It is no longer enough simply to assert that a project is doing something positive for society The goal is to develop a CSR strategy that addresses the most urgent social needs on the local agenda, while avoiding risks and identifying new opportunities to achieve corporate objectives. In a country with widespread poverty, for example, adapting a company’s products to the resources of low-income consumers can serve a social purpose and at the same time help the company gain access to new customer groups. Providing basic and further training ensures a well trained labor force and alleviates a shortage of qualified workers. Well planned CSR activities can have the immediate effect of helping a company’s business run more smoothly while also ensuring the long-term availability of the workers and resources that are necessary for corporate success. Rather than following fleeting trends or giving in to pressure from NGOs, companies need to integrate sustainable CSR activities into their everyday routine so that they gradually become second nature. Another option is to outsource CSR projects or transfer them to partners with greater expertise and experience in the relevant area. Particularly when projects are too far removed from a company’s core business, it is wise to assign responsibility for them to competent entities or independent structures. CSR projects can only survive if they are integrated into a company’s core business over the long term. It is not simply a matter of developing a positive reputation, but also of shaping sustainable business processes. It is therefore important to review the effectiveness of projects on a regular basis. Accordingly, (CSR) management is responsible for introducing CSR projects that have been successfully launched to the relevant departments and making them part of the company’s core business as independent products and processes. In purchasing, certain social guidelines should be the norm, and environmental standards should be the norm in the area of development. References www. csridentity. com www. csrwire. com www. unilever. com www. citygroupinc. com www. hsbc. com www. pg-india. com www. vodafone. co †¢Sustainibility report of all five companies

Racism in “Snow Falling on Cedars” by David Guterson Essay

In Snow Falling on Cedars, the theme of racism stands out most strongly. Events, characters’ attitudes, and emotions are all directly related with the surrounding environment of racial tension, caused by war hysteria. This prejudice retains a strong hold over the people of San Piedro Island, as well as all over America at this time. Events in the novel take place as a direct result of bigotry, such as the search for a â€Å"right handed Jap.† This comment made by Horace Whaley to Sheriff Moran, caused a search warrant to be issued, with special attention to persons of physically apparent Japanese descent. Even while in court, a supposed place of justice, racial barriers still existed. Nels Gudmundsson attempted to overcome this obstacle by his statement of â€Å"†¦the shape of Kabuo Miyamoto’s eyes, the country of his parents’ birth — these things must not influence your decision. You must sentence him simply as an American, equal in the eyes of our legal system to every other American.† to the jury. Most characters in the novel are racist against the Japanese, except Arthur Chambers, who is accused of siding with the â€Å"enemy† for contributing Japanese points-of-view into his newspaper editorials, and his son, Ishmael, who later views Japanese in a negative light. Ishmael’s change in attitude occurs because of his frustration in the failure of his pursuit of Hatsue. Etta Heine’s attitude towards the Japanese is among the worst of any character in Snow Falling on Cedars. She does not see the Japanese as an equal race, but as an evil, vengeful race with ulterior motives. Etta’s skepticism becomes obvious in the meeting between Carl, Zenhichi, and herself, through her thoughts; â€Å"he was always nodding†¦It was how they got the better of you–they acted small thought big†. David Guterson developed the theme by the general condescending attitude and actions by the whites towards the Japanese. There is constant tension between characters of different races (Etta and Zenhichi), problems with interracial relationships (Ishmael and Hatsue), and a fearful, bigoted dialogue; â€Å"They’re Japs†¦We’re in a war with them. We can’t have spies  around.† The majority of elements in the novel revolve around racial issues, as Guterson creates an important and poignant theme of a difficult era in American history.

People Management Case Study Essay Example

People Management Case Study Essay Example People Management Case Study Essay People Management Case Study Essay The SITUATION: the Ben Brooks’ dilemma Ben Brook, 43 years old, a solid professional with 20 years of experience at Livingstone Corp. , is extremely disappointed for not having been promoted CEO of his company. For the first time in his life, he is reflecting about his personal and professional history and choices, trying to get some lessons for the future. He considers quitting his company for a CEO job in another one. The FACTS: Ben Brooks’ personal and professional life Our starting point will be to understand (through a 3 pages letter) who Ben is as a person, and as a professional. We can deduce several key personality clues, based on the facts in the letter: ? An â€Å"achiever†: born in 1935, graduated with honors, joins Livingstone at the age of 23, promoted to an important position after only 4 years in the company, promoted youngest ever Executive VP (35 years old) after 12 years in the company. ?Loyal to the company and proud of it: entire career at Livingstone (20 years) ? â€Å"Work-aholic† at the expense of his family: regularly spend evenings and weekends in the office. Forgets about taking vacation. Immersed by work, leaves all energies in the office and fails in dedicated some to his wife and kids. One anecdote: after divorce, lives in a NYC hotel close to the office. ?Self-confident: believes others will notice and reward him for his own professional skills. ?Small (or none) circle of friends: having written this letter, at this point in time, to a professor he has neither seen nor talked to in the past 20 years seems like a strong sign that he had nobody closer with whom share his dilemma. The ANALYSIS: Ben Brooks’ profile 1. Psychological Type With the limited information available in the letter, we can guess Ben is an NT TYPE (â€Å"Intuitive Rational†): Ben is fascinated by power, he is very ambitious and believes he will progress and be recognized / rewarded by others as a result of his own personal competences. As we said, he is a â€Å"work-aholic†, his competence seems never enough to him and he lives permanently with the fear to â€Å"fail† (ie. to not getting as high as he believes he deserves). He is a â€Å"visionary† and permanently challenges the status-quo: a good example is the â€Å"direct cost model† Ben developed and implemented at Livingstone only 2 years after having joined the company. In his professional relationships with others, NT types are arrogant in that sense that they assume a small contribution from his peers and team since, ultimately, â€Å"they are not as good as I am†. At the same time, as contradictory as it may seem, he can be as highly demanding with others as he is with himself. The NT types could go as far as hurting others’ feelings without even noticing it. Worth noting: there is nevertheless one component in Ben’s personality which could have led us to classify him rather as an SJ type. Ben is committed to deliver on his promises and objectives and, in that respect, he values duty above all and dedicates all of his time and energy to his work. That said, an SJ type is also very sensitive to others, to bringing harmony to the relationships and his â€Å"duty sense† goes beyond work to also his family. This is clearly not the case for Ben. ? To further complete this picture, Ben seems to be more of an INTROVERTED type: difficult to say through the letter but he does not seem like a very social or externally-focused person. He does not seem to be sourcing his energy from others, but rather from himself and his work. He definitely prefers communicating in written, even to a professor he has not seen for the past 20 years (! ) which clearly shows how little genuine interest he has in knowing how others (the professor) are doing: he dedicates 3 pages to talking exclusively about himself and his dilemma. On the 4th axe, Ben seems more like a JUDGEMENT type: he enjoys planning is work and is excited about reaching objectives. That said, we do not have much more information about this topic. 2. Motivational profile Reading through his letter, we can sense Ben has consistently been moved by mostly INTRINSIC MOTIVATIONS, with some component of EXTRINSIC MOTIVATIONS but a total absence of TRANSCENDENT MOTIVATIONS. Let’s elaborate slightly more: Most important motivation for Ben seems to have been his own self-fulfillment at work, the satisfaction of being a competent professional facing challenges and delivering results (INTRINSIC MOTIVATION) with the objective of being rewarded by the company with increasingly important jobs, power and status (EXTRINSIC MOTIVATION). Economic compensation, although also important (as for most of us), seems to play a secondary role for Ben. In his letter, he explains his jobs and some key business achievements yet never mentions other people, his teams, the role they played on his success or the impact he, as a manager, had on their development (lack of TRANSCENDENT MOTIVATIONS). This analysis is coherent with the conclusion we can drive from his (lack of) personal life: Ben acknowledges he failed in dedicating time and energy to his family and was not surprise when his wife left him. He talks about this â€Å"personal drama† in a very dispassionate manner, as a â€Å"logical fact†: another indication of the little relevancy of TRANSCENDENT MOTIVATIONS. How does this affect his LEADERSHIP ABILITY? Nobody, no matter how good of a manager he/she is, could be perceived as a true leader by his/her organization, if he/she does not display a minimum of TRANSCENDENT MOTIVATION, ie. a unique interest and empathy about others and about doing what is better for others’ well-being. This motivation is a must in order to be able to generate VALUES in the organization. Ben thought his personal needs would be fulfilled with MATERIAL and PROFESSIONAL components. He disregarded AFFECTIVE needs or, equally worrying, he thought it was other people’s role (his wife) to provide him unilaterally with some affection. 3. Leadership Style and Competencies Ben appears as an EXECUTIVE LEADER, a â€Å"DOER†. He has vision for the business and the skills to get there. He relentlessly focus on results, on delivering on objectives and is highly involved and committed to do so. This single-minded focus leaves little room for other people: he is egocentric and lacks genuine interest in others. He is a poor listener and could end up manipulating others (even unconsciously) in his will to get results at any cost. Ben is ambitious about his career and concerned about his own success above all. Through his 20 years of successful career progression, Ben has certainly demonstrated both BUSINESS and MANAGING COMPETENCIES (otherwise he would probably not have become Executive VP). As previously said, Ben has a vision for the business, knows how to administrate people and resources in order to be effective in delivering results. On the contrary, lacking of Transcendent Motivations, Ben has been unable of bringing a SENSE OF MISSION to his leadership. Further, he has probably even been unconscious and unaware of the importance of this sense of mission. Ben has lacked the critical PERSONAL COMPETENCIES required to lead others behind a common â€Å"vision†, a higher level commitment than merely objectives or tasks. With strong Business and Managing competencies, Ben has been able through his career to deliver results and to motivate his teams â€Å"on the short-term† by merely leveraging on their extrinsic and intrinsic motivations (LIDERANCA TRANSFORMADORA). Nevertheless, as it is, Ben would be unable to motivate an organization behind a higher-end, longer-term mission (LIDERANCA TRANSCENDENTE), and this is certainly what Livingstone top management has identified as a gap for Ben to become the company CEO. In the words of another leadership specialist, Ben is certainly a COMPETENT MANAGER, he organizes people and resources to reach objectives. He is probably an EFFECTIVE LEADER, with a vision to engage others towards the pursuit of stretching goals. But he is not at the top leadership level, the LEVEL 5 EXECUTIVE, who builds solid organizations and preaches with his own example and humility, rallying the organization behind a common mission, one which transcends extrinsic and intrinsic motivations to truly make an impact on people’s well-being and, ultimately, on the society. Advice I would give to Ben Brooks Throughout the above analysis, the advice I would give to Ben is to take quality time and start a well-thought process of personal change. Any personal change process requires: -First, to acknowledge the need for a personal and a professional change: Ben has done so already, at least on the professional side, as we can see in his letter. He does not yet seem concerned about the importance of a well-balanced personal and emotional life and its positive impact on his leadership ability. Second, the willingness to change: Ben is starting to realize this as he says he will certainly behave differently if he joins a new company. -Third, to act, to plan the change and to execute it, as an iterative process. For a mid-aged person like Ben, with 20 years of professional experience in the same company (hence, already with a personal risk-aversion profile), changing profoundly anchored habits will be a very difficult exercise. Further, Ben is currently frustrated and angry about his top management decision and he will probably lack the necessary objectivity in analyzing his own case and the true reasons why they believe he is not ready to be the CEO the company needs. I would hence advice Ben to reach out to a professional coach who, same as psychiatrics do, will help him dissect the information and drive conclusions and who will design, with him, the steps needed for the change. I would advise him to start by complementing his own in-depth reflection with the feedback he could get from several peers, subordinates and friends/family about who is Ben, how does he behaves, how is he perceived. This will be the starting point, the raw material to start the work with the coach. Also importantly, this process will take significant time and effort, yet it is crucial if he wants to become not only a better rounded senior leader for an organization, but also a happier person. I would suggest that he puts aside, for the moment, his prospection for new jobs. Ideally, if this is financially possible, he would quit his job and dedicate some time (some months) entirely to himself and his change process. Probably 20 years of experience do â€Å"buy you† the right to do so and the personal â€Å"win† will be worth the time and the salary. Ultimately, I believe Ben will be better off leaving his company: he has accumulated significant frustration that will impact him in his daily work and, as he says, he will probably not make it to CEO there in the mid-term. That said, I believe he should also think whether â€Å"becoming CEO† is his true objective. The title â€Å"per se† does not say much. He should be more factual in writing down the â€Å"must have† and the â€Å"negotiable elements† of the ideal job he wants and, with the help of his coach, identify the type of jobs and, as importantly, the type of companies where he could find it. In my opinion, these are the lessons Ben Brooks should learn for the future Driven by his own professional ambition, Ben has failed in taking a â€Å"helicopter view† to evaluate his personal and professional life on a permanent mode. He has failed in growing as a leader and as a person to go beyond efficacy (delivering on results), to leave a positive mark on those surrounding him and to make his beloved ones happier and his collaborators more profoundly committed about a mission. A leader is not a â€Å"top level† leader if he does not: -First, knows himself (â€Å"Self-Awareness†), his motivations, his style, his strengths and weaknesses, the impact he makes on others, -Leverages his own emotions and skills to be more effective and empathic in working with others, to get the most out of them (Emotional Intelligence) -Has a genuine interest for other people, Behaves as a change agent, an influential leader well beyond a â€Å"doer† delivering business results -Knows how to manage his own career and his personal time and, ultimately, balances both (Work Life Balance) to be an example as a professional but also as a human being. Ben invested all his time and energy on his own effectiveness as a manager and thought this would be enough to take him where he wanted to be. He invested all the time in his company, his projects and results and failed to dedicate time and energy to his beloved ones but also to himself. The best investment one can make, at any time in life, is the investment made to become a better person and a better leader, more genuine and more engaged to excel not only in results, but also in the positive impact we have on others. Ben is still on time to do so and excel in this new professional adventure, whatever makes him happier, with or without the â€Å"CEO† title in the business card.

Abortion in the United States Essay Example for Free

Abortion in the United States Essay ? Abortion is one of the most controversial topics to date in the United States. Because of the complexity and issues involved, there are those individuals who are for abortion, and those who are against. There is neutrality that extends between the two, with those who are one the fence depending on circumstantial situations. In this paper our group of four peers debate the topic, and base a conclusion on weather women in the United States should have the right to abortion, based on the arguments themselves. Today, the reference of for and against, is better known as pro-choice and pro-life. Pro choice (abortions) refer to the political and ethical view that a woman should have complete right over her fertility, and that she should have the freedom to decide whether she wants to continue or terminate her pregnancy (Bose, 2012). According to pro-life advocates, women who demand complete control of their body should also shoulder the responsibility of preventing unwanted pregnancy, and that the result of an unplanned pregnancy, rape or incest, aborting the embryo is equivalent to punishing the unborn child (Bose, 2012). The position that Valora has in this debate, is that it is the woman’s choice to decide whether or not to have an abortion, but also to understand that it is their responsibility to protect against unwanted pregnancies by using every available means of contraceptive, not including using abortion as if it were a contraceptive, as some pro-life advocates would claim. When evaluating risk, one should take in account of women’s feelings after an abortion. Feelings of depression and anxiety is something woman feel prior, and of course afterwards. Women sometimes choose abortions because of medical issues with the babies, or horrifying circumstances leading to the unwanted pregnancy. Henry P. David, PhD stated after conclusive research â€Å"severe psychological reactions after an abortion are infrequent†. The best indicator of your mental feelings after an abortion is to realize your feelings and mental health prior to the abortion. (ProChoice.org). Usual feelings aft er an abortion is relief, loss, sadness, and grief. It is okay to grieve and you should give yourself time to grieve. Women who have had abortion may have feelings of sadness because they had to make the decision on their own without help from family and friends. Some woman may live in a home life where they are made to feel worthless because of the decision they will make. Some believe women who decide to have abortions will come down with â€Å"Post-Abortion Stress Syndrome†, which is psychological trauma or deep depression, and the American Psychological Association has found no scientific evidence that abortion leads to this type of trauma. Furthermore, experts stated after a study with the National Cancer Institute studied abortions and breast cancer, trying to see if there is any link between an abortion and breast cancer. In the end they settled that there was no link between the chances of breast cancer if you had received an abortion. In the United States, technology has made abortion safer in the last few years. Abortions are performed with in the first 9 weeks of pregnancy. Early termination the better is for the woman, less complications. Most woman receiving their abortion within the first 9 weeks report no complications afterwards. Less than 0.5% of women have serious complication that may bring them back to be seen or hospitalized. Complication rates to rise if the abortion is decided with the pregnancy weeks of 13 and 24. The position of Tracy in this paper is that abortion should be the right of the woman. I do not believe the government or any religious authority should make this type of decision for any woman. Deciding to have an abortion is an important decision in itself and having others dictate you can or cannot choose makes the situation even more confusing. As with most any conflicts, there are usually laws which govern the actions those directly involved, and with abortion comes some of the most well-known pieces of legislature in history. Today in the United States abortion is legal in every state due to the decision of Roe v. Wade. In this case the appellant (Roe) sued the state of Teas on the basis that personal privacy was violated unconstitutionally when the state proscribes that it is unlawful to abort a fetus, other than to save the life of a mother, advised by a licensed medical physician. The ruling decided on January 22, 1973 by the United States Supreme Court was a major milestone in the still controversial topic of abortion. According to the court â€Å"the abortion statutes void as vague and over-broadly infringing those plaintiff’s Ninth and Fourteenth Amendment right† (Roe v. Wade). On the same day of the Roe decision, another case in the state3 of Georgia was also decided on, in the case of Doe v Bolton we the state in question also was found to be in violation of the appellants constitutional rights. The Ninth Amendment: The enumeration in the constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. The Fourteenth Amendment: Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or poverty, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws (Legal Information Institute). The position that Timothy has on this subject, is that a woman’s right to abortion should be that of her own decision based on the legislation’s that have been passed. A woman should be able to do with her own body as she chooses, not including using abortion as a method of birth-control. Abortion is not all together without some medical complications. The side effects of abortion are sometimes critical. Some of them involve spotting and bleeding. You could be bleeding for past 30 to 60 days, bleeding which could be very dangerous if care was not sought from a physician. Another side affect is headaches and dizziness, fever and chills, nausea and vomiting, cramping, and diarrhea. Sometimes abortion can even lead rare instances of death. During the surgery the doctors may leave some parts of the fetus inside the body. That is what may cause the affections that may cause damage to the body and or death. The symptoms are high fever, diarrhea, cramping, foul smelling in your discharge and more. Your cervix may get injured and damaged by the surgical tools that are being used during the abortion procedure which will lead to not being able to conceive again. Women who have gone through abortion are at a greater risk of ovarian and cervical cancer. Abortion is a very short p rocedure but it impacts your life forever, and the after affects of abortion varies from physical and psychological effects. Women may develop an eating disorders, or drugs on alcohol abuse, or they may have flash backs about the procedures themselves. Abortions may cause problems in relationships, and it may affect the woman’s sex life which leads to sexual dysfunction. The position that Veronica has on the subject of abortion is that she does not agree with the procedure, and the word abortion can be discussed in two different ways. Therapeutic abortion is one, where the abortion is unplanned due to medical problems with the patient’s health also unknown as miscarriage. Another way is elective abortion when it is planned. In many states planned abortions are illegal and have resulted in up to 70,000 deaths across the world every year. Many arguments support the issue on abortion. One reason why I am against abortion is that you are killing an innocent child that has nothing to do with the mistakes that one makes by having unprotected sex. You should not kill an unborn child because you are ashamed and afraid of what people might say about you. Another reason why she is against abortion is it’s against her religion. â€Å"If I make a mistake and got pregnant, then I would have to step up to the plate and take care and raise my child. It is against my religion to have abortions, because children are a gift from God†. In conclusion of this paper, there are two sides to this debate on whether women should have the right to have abortions in the United States. The research shows that the peer group has more emphases on the pro-choice side of the debate, because the laws of abortion are designed to protect the welfare of the mother and in some cases the fetus, if there is evidence of potential danger, and the fetus may be born with severe disorders, or mother having serious complications that could threaten the mother’s life. In the past, abortions were not as safe as they are today due to advanced technologies, making abortion safer than they’ve ever been before. Abortion is sometimes the best course because of medical issues, and sometimes due to other horrifying circumstances in which some women may become pregnant, such as rape, incest, and or other circumstances that may be legitimately valid reasons, and may lessen the quality of life for the child or mother. In 1973 it was decided by the highest court in the United States (The Supreme Court), that prior statutes infringed on the rights of women in such cases as Doe v Bolton, and Roe v Wade, making abortion legal, and the right of women to choose. Opposing arguments have raised health related issues of having abortions such as â€Å"Post-Abortion Syndrome†, breast cancer, and depression, but upon studies conducted by the National Cancer Institute, and The American Psychological Association, there has been no scientific evidence to prove the accusations. Abortion will probably remain one of the most controversial topics known to man, but the pros, and the laws which protect, are essential in preserving individual rights of freedom in the United States. Bose, D. (2012). Arguments for Pro Choice.