World Forums
Everett Cordy, everett.cordy@waldenu.edu
Student ID#: A00186883
MGMT 8010 – Management in Human and Societal Development
Winter Quarter, 2011
Professor: Dr. Kenneth Sherman
Walden University

January 11, 2012
Abstract
This paper critically examines contrasting worldviews on corporate and civil society. To facilitate this examination, a comparison of the values and purposes of the World Social Forum is contrasted with those of the World Economic Forum. The analysis concludes that, without individual and governmental input, corporate action cannot be relied upon to improve the state of the world.

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World Forums Without a doubt, the values of the “haves and have not’s” has been in increasing, not only on a national scale, but also on a global scale. From ‘state house’ to ‘hut house’, it is obvious that today’s emphasis on ‘money at any costs’ has resulted in a perversion of the Golden Rule, resulting in “those who have the gold, make the rule”. Not only has this attitude resulted in an abandonment of values that underpin traditional American values of democracy, respect and value of differing cultures, it exacerbates a legacy of American and European colonialism on a global scale. This attitude is manifested in American and European government and corporate policies and actions that erode the principles of corporate social responsibility.
World Social Forum and the World Economic Forum The World Social Forum is an open meeting place where social movements, networks, Non-Government Organizations (NGSs) and other civil society organizations opposed to neo-liberalism and a world dominated by capital or by any form of imperialism come together to pursue their thinking, to debate ideas democratically, for formulate proposals, share their experiences freely and network for effective action (World Social Forum, 2011). The World Social Forum is not a group or organization, but is a forum which proposes to facilitate decentralized coordination and networking among organizations engaged in concrete action towards building another world (World Social Forum, 2011). In contrast, the World Economic Forum is an independent international organization committed to improving the state of the world by engaging business, political, academic and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas (World Economic Forum, 2011). To accomplish its mission of improving the state of the world, the World Economic Forum focuses on five areas of importance, including Economic Growth, Sustainability, Financial Systems, Health for All, and Social Development. Although the World Economic Forum professes to represent a wide spectrum of organizations, the voice of the individual is a glowing omission. This omission is important in the context of global social unrest. The technology of social media, then, becomes an important tool for advancing the voice of the average individual, whose voice would be ignored in the World Economic Forum.
Global Points of Friction Between Corporate and Civil Society The question at the heart of social responsibility is “how can businesspersons act in an ethically responsible manner and at the same time make profits for their firms’ owners” (Miller & Jentz, 2010). According to Scott Bowman (1993), the “Corporate Cobdenires” argue that the proliferation of transnational corporations within an interdependent world economy holds forth the promise of international peace, prosperity, and a glowing freedom for all people”. Unfortunately, recent actions by multinational corporations have disproved this assertion. Corporate actions, fueled by greed, have resulted in environmental disasters BP Oil Spill), disregard for human rights (Dick Cheney and Halliburton) and a growing realization of the sordid principal of “the haves and have nots”. For the masses, on a global spread, global corporate responsibility has been a failure. This is not the society that the “Corporate Cobdenires” envisioned.

References
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World Economic Forum. Mission Statement. Retrieved from http://www.weforum.org/.
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