The Responsibility Project
Sharon Lewis
ETH/316
May 21, 2012
Michael Mc Neal

The Responsibility Project The issues in the film are important because ethical principles are what shape and define the values of any organization. The Responsibility Project is what Liberty Mutual has addressed to put together a program that helps those in need in the communities around them and to better themselves as well. This is one company that has gone above and beyond to help those within their community. The need and desire to improve and to make a better life for their children is what Greyston Bakery has in mind. They are a for-profit business that has a bottom line that they go by: “We don’t hire people to make brownies; we make brownies in order to hire people” (Greyston Bakery, 2011). They hire those people that might be considered “hard to employ”. They are part of a foundation that helps individuals get back on their feet and get their lives together as a way to succeed. This bakery is just one of the Foundation’s enterprises in which its program is capable of reaching 2,200 community members annually. The Greyston Bakery was founded in 1982 by a Zen Buddhist meditation group that was led by Bernard Tetsugen Glassman. Glassman who was a former aerospace engineer had an entrepreneurial spirit and a bold vision. He borrowed $300,000 and opened the small bakery in the Bronx. His original goal had been to produce quality, locally made products that would give the company a satisfactory livelihood. They were inspired to be socially responsible and extended what they had to others within their community. The organization takes place in a state-of-the-art facility located on the Hudson River banks. The bakery continues to be a force for self-transformation and community renewal. The bakery offers on-site training with fair wages and benefits to more than 65 local residents, despite their prior work history. They continue to be a pioneer in the world of social enterprise. These issues are important to organizational and personal decisions because they promote the ability to maintain a successful business. Profits from the Greyston Foundation’s community development initiatives support community development that includes low-income housing, childcare, health services, and technology education. This is what is important to organizational and personal decisions. With the open-hiring policy, they provide jobs to those who have little to no credentialed work experience, homelessness, incarceration, substance abuse, welfare, domestic violence, and illiteracy. The profits all go to the Greyston Foundation, which operates intensive self-sufficiency programs in Yonkers, N.Y., including permanent housing and support for the homeless, low-income families, children and youth services, and many others. The relationship between legal and ethical issues according to the bakery has been to find a middle ground between the mission and its margin. They began to address the bottom line that the mission was better met by holding people accountable and giving them the opportunity to become successful. That gives them the opportunity to be successful and increase their self-esteem. We instituted an apprenticeship process and what is called open hiring. This gives the person an opportunity of employment regardless of their background. By performing an interview, it does not tell you if they are going to perform better but who is able to interview better. We put more of those practices into place and by doing so; we began to achieve higher levels of success. The majority of our employees find out by word-of-mouth. We actually do not do advertising for any entry level due to being well known in the community. One of the statements within our mission statement discusses having an opportunity for employment, but then goes on to say “and an opportunity for advancement.” (Walls Jr., J., 2009) Our apprenticeship program started out as a 90 day period and now it has grown to become a year-long period. We have a 2-3 hour training every couple of weeks and that includes a form review of performance in areas of attitude, productivity, and punctuality/attendance which are very stringent. This guarantees they understand exactly where they stand so there is no question. They are given the support to be successful, and also understand that they are going to be held accountable, what their expectations are so there is no guessing at it. References: http://responsibility-project.libertymutual.com/films/greyston-bakery#fbid=QjLbJNCHvOK http://www.carnegiecouncil.org/resources/transcripts/0210.html