...RE: Lead Elements in “True Heroes” Police Action Figure A. Lead Contamination – Problem and Solutions Upon recent inspection of the “True Heroes” line of action figures, our quality assurance team detected lead elements in the whistle of the police action figure. According to their testing, the lead content is above that which has been identified as a legally acceptable limit for children age 7 and under in the U.S. We are in the process of fulfilling a 6 unit order set to ship out this week to schools in South America. It has been estimated that the cost to reproduce the product and repack the product will be close to $100,000. After studying the situation and the facts, I have come up with three possible solutions to the issue at hand. The first possible solution is to ship this batch of products out as is to our South American clients. While the lead content of the products doesn't meet the acceptable levels for U.S. children, the products destination has different quality standards which the product does meet. We can also reduce costs and limit our liability by labeling the package as “Not Intended for Children under 7 Years of Age.” While a cost effective option, one major issue with this approach is that the company will still maintain a certain level of liability should the product sicken a child who comes into contact with the whistle portion of the toy. Because we are a U.S. based company, it is possible charges could be filed against the company in the U.S. by...
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...TIMBERLAND THE SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE MNE TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT 3 INTRODUCTION 3 1 A THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ON CSR 4 1.1 Changing perceptions, CSR as a must 4 1.2 Stakeholders’ Theory and Social Contract 5 1.3 Carroll Theory 6 1.4 Positive and negative light of CSR 6 1.5 How to implement Corporate Social Responsibility in a MNE ....................................7 2 TIMBERLAND AND CSR 7 2.1 Brief history of Timberland 8 2.2 The path towards CSR at Timberland: “Commerce and Justice” 8 2.3 CSR at Timberland today: the 4 Pillars 9 2.4 Timberland CSR practices: two cases in evidence 10 Case 1: Timberland entering India 10 Case 2: Timberland in China and Vietnam 11 3 TIMBERLAND’S INTERNATIONALIZATION STRATEGY 11 3.1 Timberland’s internationalization process: an overview 11 3.2 Historical context fostering or hampering Timberland’s internationalization 13 3.3 An internationalization theory applied: The Uppsala model 14 4 ROLE OF CSR IN TIMBERLAND’S INTERNATIONALIZATION STRATEGY 15 4.1 Boosting company efficiency by educating workforce 16 4.2 Improving local performances by assessing Code of Conduct compliance 16 4.3 Strengthening international relationships by supporting local development 17 4.4 Spreading global image by involving communities 17 4.5 Financing international expansion by boosting shareholders’ endorsement 18 5 TIMBERLAND VS. COMPETITORS: CSR NURTURING COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE 19 5.1 OLI theory: an application of Timberland’s...
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...progress” (Porter). The article written by Archie Carroll and Kareem Shabana titled, “The Business Case for Corporate Social Responsibility: A Review of Concepts, Research and Practice” looks at how social responsibility can provide “incentives from a primary corporate economic/financial perspective (Carroll).” This can all be tied together with the new emerging type of corporation, a B-corp. A B-corporation is concerned with the triple bottom line; people, planet, and profit. Many businesses are jumping on band wagon of social responsibility while others are standing back to evaluate the progress of this new idea. Is there any stock in what Michael Porter or Archie Carroll and Kareem Shabana are saying? Do their ideas conflict with one another or support each other? Do B-corporations fit into this idea of social responsibility? Michael Porter article looked at the things that businesses could do to create shared value. Shared value as Porter explains means long term sustainable business that benefits multiple stakeholders. Porter’s article focused on different ways to create this shared value. He looked at reconceiving products and markets. This could mean looking at the question, “Is this product good for our customers? Or for our customers’ customers (Porter)?” Porter wants people to look at how their products or services impact society, and how it can assist in social change. Porter also considered enabling a local cluster development. This concept looks at the communities...
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...Marketing Strategy 09/14/14 The writers of the book The Responsible Company, Yvon Chouinard and Vincent Stanley, state in the start of their book that there is no single company that is responsible, but they all just choose to take different procedures towards being responsible to all of their stakeholders. The book guides employees and businesses to ensure they learn their social and environmental shortcomings and act on them in order to be more responsible. One question one asks themselves when reading this book is: What is the responsibility of the companies? Normally companies will invest highly on maximizing their stakeholders. They will direct all their attention on their direct stakeholders and unfortunately focus less on their indirect stakeholders who matter as much too. We are given a perfect example in the book of Patagonia. It poses a challenge to the companies to take ultimate accountability for their deeds in relations to each and every one of their stakeholders. Among the customers’ checklist, one of them is being progressively open about the social and environmental impact of what you make. The company should be transparent to ensure customer satisfaction and business success. They have to ensure its consumers trust them, and they will earn this only through transparency. One other item on the customers’ checklist is to make things that help the commons. The company should ensure their products are user-friendly, and anyone can use them...
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...Chapter 5 Social Responsibility and Ethics How important is it for organizations and managers to be socially responsible and ethical? In this chapter, we’re going to look at what it means to be socially responsible and ethical and what role managers play in both. Focus on the following learning outcomes as you read and study this chapter. LEARNING OUTCOMES 5.1 Discuss what it means to be socially responsible and what factors influence that decision. 5.2 Explain green management and how organizations can go green. 5.3 Discuss the factors that lead to ethical and unethical behavior. 5.4 Describe management’s role in encouraging ethical behavior. 5.5 Discuss current social responsibility and ethics issues. SPOTLIGHT: Manager at Work Chapter 5 presents contemporary concepts of managerial ethics and social responsibility to help your students explore and appreciate the critical role of these issues in today’s complex business environment. In the opening case, “A Manager at Work,” we see firsthand the complications that arise when companies are caught in the middle of unethical and illegal allegations. The case revolves around allegations of attempted bribery by three Renault executives. After an investigation, all three of the employees were dismissed, but the story doesn’t end there as the Paris prosecutor in charge of the case later dismissed the charges for lack of evidence. Renault would eventually backtrack on the firing of the executives, rehiring all three...
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...MSc Business Management BS7916 Principles of Responsible Management Semester One 2013- Module Handbook Module Leader : Dr Roz Sunley Room 201 Roz.Sunley@winchester.ac.uk Room 201 West Downs 01962 827339 In this module study guide you will find much of what you need in order to successfully complete the module. Further learning materials and information are available on the learning network under the module code BS7916. Module Code BS7916 Module Name: Principles of Responsible Management It is your responsibility to: * Collect a copy of the reading pack from the faculty office * Attend both lecture and seminar sessions as stated on your timetable * Arrive in time for the start of all taught sessions * Read the preparatory reading before the taught sessions each week * Undertake any directed learning that may be set * Seek help from the module tutor if you are having any problems with any aspect of the module * Hand in assignments on time Tutor contact details: Module leader: Dr Roz Sunley Roz.Sunley@winchester.ac.uk Module tutor: Dr Natalia Yakovleva Natalia.Yakovleva@winchester.ac.uk Module administrator: Karen Robbertze Karen.Robbertze@winchester.ac.uk Contents Introduction and learning outcomes 3 Weekly schedule 4-6 Assessment 7-9 Useful texts 9-11 Feedback, Harvard referencing etc 12 Study guide for each week 12 - 17 Marking criteria 18 – 20 Background...
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...CSR 2014 www.educationpost.com.hk/csr2014 MBAs and social responsibility The green trend in business Lowdown on courses and events Hong Kong Brazil Singapore Miami Manchester Shanghai Dubai 25 Nobel Prize Winners 22 4 Top in Hong Kong * | World 34 # | 6th in UK * | 14th in Europe * years in Hong Kong 3 Accreditations + Registration No. 250144. It is a matter of discretion for individual employers to recognise any qualification to which this course may lead. Source: * Financial Times ranking 2014 # Financial Times 3 year average rank (2012-14) + Part of 1% of business schools to be awarded tripe accreditation status (AMBA, EQUIS, AACSB) Original Thinking Applied CONTENTS CSR 2014 04 The Trend The rise of CSR in business education 07 Case Study 10 Teaching CSR 14 16 18 Event The green trend in business Advertorial Economy MBAs and social responsibility Industry 08 CSR 2014 Lowdown on courses and events Oil companies and MBAs: a pipeline for corporate social responsibility www.educationpost.com.hk/csr2014 MBS stresses importance of social responsibility Teaching China’s business leaders the importance of CSR PolyU means business when it comes to creating a better world 04 07 08 10 14 16 18 Corporate social responsibility will revitalise the world’s economy CUHK CSR case competition winner will be awarded a Swire...
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...Michael E. Porter and Mark R. Kramer Strategy G & Society The Link Between Competitive Advantage and Corporate Social Responsibility overnments, activists, and the media have become adept at holding companies to account for the social consequences of their activities. Myriad organizations rank companies on the performance of their corporate social responsibility (CSR), and, despite sometimes questionable methodologies, these rankings attract considerable publicity. As a result, CSR has emerged as an inescapable priority for business leaders in every country. Many companies have already done much to improve the social and environmental consequences of their activities, yet these efforts have not been nearly as productive as they could be – for two reasons. First, they pit business against society, when clearly the two are interdependent. Second, they pressure companies to think of corporate social responsibility in generic ways instead of in the way most appropriate to each firm’s strategy. harvard business review | hbr.org DOUG FRASER 78 HBR Spotlight Making a Real Difference The fact is, the prevailing approaches to CSR are so fragmented and so disconnected from business and strategy as to obscure many of the greatest opportunities for companies to benefit society. If, instead, corporations were to analyze their prospects for social responsibility using the same frameworks that guide their core business choices, they would discover that CSR can be much more...
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...and Corporate Social Responsibility by Michael E. Porter and Mark R. Kramer • Reprint R0612D HBR SPOTLIGHT Strategy and Society The Link Between Competitive Advantage and Corporate Social Responsibility by Michael E. Porter and Mark R. Kramer COPYRIGHT © 2006 HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL PUBLISHING CORPORATION. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Governments, activists, and the media have become adept at holding companies to account for the social consequences of their activities. Myriad organizations rank companies on the performance of their corporate social responsibility (CSR), and, despite sometimes questionable methodologies, these rankings attract considerable publicity. As a result, CSR has emerged as an inescapable priority for business leaders in every country. Many companies have already done much to improve the social and environmental consequences of their activities, yet these efforts have not been nearly as productive as they could be—for two reasons. First, they pit business against society, when clearly the two are interdependent. Second, they pressure companies to think of corporate social responsibility in generic ways instead of in the way most appropriate to each firm’s strategy. The fact is, the prevailing approaches to CSR are so fragmented and so disconnected from business and strategy as to obscure many of the greatest opportunities for companies to benefit society. If, instead, corporations were to analyze their prospects for social responsibility using...
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...387 From supply chains to value chains: A spotlight on CSR Malika Bhandarkar and Tarcisio Alvarez-Rivero* 1. Introduction Corporate social responsibility (CSR)1 has become a hot topic in boardrooms across the world. Changes in corporate value systems are being driven by pressures from different actors, including governments, consumers, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and institutional investors (diagram 1). Multinational corporations (MNCs) have operations spread across the globe, relying on both foreign affiliates and arm’s-length suppliers arrayed along global supply chains, many of which encompass developing countries. What then does the growing CSR movement mean for developing country producers? The chapter addresses this question. Diagram 1 Institutional Investor Tier I Tier II Tie r III NonGovernmental Organization Multinational Corporation Supply Chain, consisting of: Consumer Government CSR has relevance to many facets of a corporation’s operations. Strong CSR policies can help to recruit the right people for the job, keep attrition rates low by promoting a “feel good” quotient, improve corporate image, prepare for future regulation, empower “soft” laws (Vogel, 2005, p.162), appease green customers, and convince institutional investors that the corporation is following sustainable practices that positively impact the bottom line. * Policy Integration and Analysis Branch, Division for Sustainable Development, UNDESA...
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...“We are one team” – H&M Executive Summary Sitting on top as the 3rd largest fast fashion producer in the world, H&M has enjoyed a spectacular 10% growth in the last five years. With its 600 million garments produced every year, H&M is a large player in the race to becoming a sustainable fashion house. After embracing sustainability at large in the last decade, H&M has made significant changes internally towards adopting and embedding sustainability into all their operations and value chain – but it’s still a work in progress. H&M’s CSR initiatives have a strong track record and involve various stages and stakeholders of its value chain, including their design team, suppliers of raw materials and fibers, as well as customers. Some of these renowned initiatives include the Better Cotton Initiative, the Conscious Collection, the Fashion Against AIDS collection and the Garment Collecting Initiative to name a few. All which have in common the involvement of different stakeholders, from suppliers to customers and designers. In this context, our challenge was to find what more can H&M do? Where and how should value be created, and which opportunity would create the most value for H&M and its stakeholder, all while increasing the company’s triple bottom line. The company’s core values, its strong customer focus and its business vision to provide customers with “fashion and quality at the best price in a sustainable way”, has driven many of H&M’s...
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...these products should be manufactured under good working conditions and with limited impact on the environment. Taking responsibility for how our operations affect people and the environment is key for H&M’s continued profitability and growth. We are committed to integrating social and environmental concerns into all our business operations and investing in the communities where we work. Our 2008 sustainability report covers our activities in relation to our business operations, our supply chain, our products and how they are produced, our employees and the communities around us. This section provides an overview of our business and its impact, and how we go about integrating Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) into it. GLOBAL BRAND GLOBAL IMPACT AND REACH H&M was established in Sweden in 1947 and today sells clothes, accessories, footwear and cosmetics in more than 1,700 stores in 33 countries and via internet and catalogue sales in Scandinavia, the Netherlands, Germany and Austria. Here, we will also sell home textiles through online and catalogue sales from 2009. H&M also stands behind the brand COS and acquired the majority of shares of FaBric Scandinavien AB with its brands Cheap Monday, Weekday and Monki. Given our global presence, we have a responsibility to societies around the world and the communities where we operate. This means integrating social and environmental concerns into all our business operations to reduce negative impacts and maximise positive ones. We...
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...management issues1 Identification of management issues2 rationalisation behind unethical behaviour2 corporate governance and social responsibility2 recommendations3 Implementation of recommendations3 references4 1.0 BACKGROUND The purpose of this case study is to identify the management issues of Satyam Computer Services Limited’s, former chairman Ramalinga Raju when he admitted to corporate fraud in 2009, and how these issues could be addressed. Satyam Computer Services Limited, (now known as Mahindra Satyam) is a “leading global information communications and technology company”. (Anon., n.d.) It is a part of the “US $15.4 billion dollar Mahindra group, a global industrial federation of companies of the top 10 business houses based in India”. (Anon., n.d., p. 1; Anon., n.d.)). 1.1 INTRODUCTION TO MANAGEMENT ISSUES “India’s corporate community experienced a significant shock in January 2009 with damaging revelations about board failure and colossal fraud in the financials of Satyam.” (Afsharipour, 2010)Ramalinga Raju and the CFO of the company were charged with “conspiracy, cheating and falsifying records. Raju was also allegedly using salary payments to fabricated employees, in order to steal money from the company.” (Anon., n.d.) This case study will explore the unethical behaviours of Ramalinga Raju, but also how ethical standards and social responsibility factors in with Satyam’s Computer Services Limited’s own management issues, which would have also contributed...
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...t Malaysian-based Company (Maybank) Introduction / Objective of the term paper Company Background Maybank, a government-linked company (GLC). is the largest bank in Malaysia with more than 380 domestic and 90 international branches. In Maybank, the unionised Special Grade Clerks performs these functions: • receiving and paying of cash items within designated authority • signing of internal vouchers • checking and verifying all activities of tellers • dual control of ATM • control and release of checkbooks, PIN, bank drafts, bankers cheques etc. If one analyses the job function / authority and responsibility of the unionised Special Grade Clerk, one would note that a lot of the functions of some Unionised employees in some banks are much superior to the said officers. Non-clerical - Position hold above trainee officer, bank officers (in-charge banking hall) and etc. It was reported of estimated 4,605 or 61% of Maybank employees in the clerical and non-clerical category were NUBE members and some of them decided to form an in-house union called Maybank Non-Executive Union (Mayneu). Organizational Behavior issues identified ✓ Biasness in Performance Bonus Maybank and the National Union of Bank Employees (NUBE) had been in dispute over the alleged lack of or insufficient performance bonuses provided to lower-level employees. The dispute had been ongoing since 2009. NUBE claims that the bank did not provide a fair...
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...Ethics MGT 498 November, 2012 Ethics Edward O Wilson, an American biologist and theorist proposed that in the end, success or failure will come down to an ethical decision; one on which those now will be judged for generations to come (ThinkExist, 2012). Organizations require members to adhere to the established guidelines and ethics to maintain compliance with internal and external directives. The ability of the company to remain profitable without sacrificing ethics is a competitive advantage that will ensure consumer loyalty and enhance its reputation. Additionally, ethical decision-making contributes to a company’s fulfillment of corporate social responsibility. This analysis will describe how ethics and social responsibility influence the development of a strategic plan. Furthermore, it will provide an example of an unethical action and present an alternative method for handling the situation. Influence of Ethics The Free Dictionary.com (2012), defines ethics as a set of principles of right conduct or standards governing the conduct of a person or the members of a profession (Ethics). Although many believe that ethics and business cannot exist simultaneously, the cost of unethical behavior in organizations is unacceptable. According to Wheelen and Hunger (2010), a survey by the Ethics Resource Center of 1,324 employees of 747 U.S. companies found that 48% of employees surveyed said that they had engaged in one or more unethical and/or illegal actions during the...
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