Talent Management Practice Analysis of Lan Airlines Company Research Paper

Talent Management Practice Analysis of Lan Airlines Company - Research Paper Example Being a highly successful company in Latin America, the company has been known for its ideal business integrated model. Almost 86 years in the aviation industry has allowed the organization to accomplish its desired goals and objectives but still the organization is working towards the accomplishment of its challenging vision (i.e. to be recognized as one of the top 10 airlines in the world) (LAN Airlines. (2013). The utmost attention given to efficiency and performance has resulted in ‘0’ (zero) flight accidents since 1991. The key success factors of LAN include the timely care and professional development of the workforce. This has allowed the organization to perform effectively while providing the employees with several opportunities for development through professional training sessions (LAN Airlines, 2012b). The talent management system at LAN has played a crucial role in the success of the company over the past few decades. Through the talent management system, the organization has continually been provided with opportunities to convert LAN into a highly successful and high performance company in the aviation industry. In addition, the corporate training and development sessions at LAN are considered to be an investment through which it strengthens its workforce to become fundamental pillars of LAN Airlines. As a result of such extensive training sessions, LAN has always been equipped with quality staff (i.e. staff with skills and competencies to overcome internal and external issues effectively). BACKGROUND OF THE INTERVIEWEE Mr. Johnson works as a HR Executive at LAN Airlines and has been with the organization for the past 3 years. He is responsible for... This research paper discusses the talent management of the LAN Airlines company, that could be defined as a systematic process through which an organization ensures quantity as well as quality of people that could help it to achieve the desired business objectives effectively. Through this process, the organization is provided with an opportunity to identify the gaps between the talent available at the organization and the required talent for the profitable achievement of organizational objectives to drive business success. Moreover, organizations have become aware the talent management not just helps in the management of employees but also plays a crucial role in the creation of organizational value. The aim of this research paper is to evaluate the talent management practices taken into consideration at LAN Airlines for the accomplishment of desired goals and objectives. In addition, the practices through which LAN Airlines enhance it values through the talent management practices. For the achievement of the challenging vision of LAN Airlines in a highly competitive industry, the organization has shifted its focus towards the achievement of overall success and increased performance through talent management system. Talent management as well as succession planning has always been the strength of LAN Airlines and has provided the organization with inevitable success over other competitors in the market and with several opportunities to enhance the capabilities and abilities of its workforce.

The Peace of Paris Essay Example for Free

The Peace of Paris Essay The years following the Peace of Paris (1763) through the outbreak of war in the wake of the French Revolution marked a period of remarkable change for England. The American Revolution effectively ended the first British empire, but England extended its power in the East, managing remarkable imperial growth. 28 The impetus for this expansion was industrialization, which fueled a need for markets in which to sell manufactured goods. Between 1750 and 1800, British imports and exports trebled in value, while growing naval superiority allowed her to win and hold trade and bases. 29 Rather than repeat the occupation and population they had in North America, the English copied the Dutch, establishing a network of trading and naval stations. 30 One of the things which captured the fascination of the English during this period was their belief n the existence of a southern continent. Its existence having been speculated as early as Ptolemy, this Terra Australis Incognita was often visualized as having fantastic size and wealth. 31 The effective search for this new continent was initially hindered by two difficulties. First, there was no effective way to measure longitude, so that which meant that effective mapping was all but impossible. Second, the ships were ill-suited to serious exploration, often in poor condition, designed for other tasks, and manned by men of no scientific interest or talent. 32 Much of this changed with the growing interest in astronomy in England. In 1763, William Herschel established that Uranus was a planet, the first planet discovered in modern times. 33 Enthusiasm over this prompted new interest in astronomy, including a decision by the Royal Society to take observations of the passage of Venus across of the sun, to occur in 1769. The Royal Society decided that it should obtained measurements of this phenomenon from various locations around the globe, including Tahiti. 34 In this endeavor, the Royal Society was offered the assistance of the remarkable James Cook. The Royal Society knew the wealth of data to be gleaned from ships’ logs and mariners’ journals, filled with numeric data, maps, and coastal profiles. 35 Cook had distinguished himself during the Seven Years War when his skill in navigation and charting helped the English to sail up the St. Lawrence River to attack Quebec, when the French believed that no landing could be made. Later, he had mapped the coastline of Newfoundland, and after carefully observing an eclipse from there, had given his notes to the Royal Society. Self-taught and with no aristocratic connections, Cook’s talents so awed the Royal Society that it chose him to lead the Tahiti voyage, to the chagrin of the aristocratic Alexander Dalrymple. 36 Outfitting his voyage for practicality rather than style, Lieutenant Cook picked as his ship a collier, a ship without style that it had no figurehead but admirably suited for a scientific expedition. Among the scientists Cook carried was Banks, the leading naturalist of his time. 37 The result was a remarkable voyage, although at the time, it was the presence of the botanist Joseph Banks which caught attention. In three years, Cook had charted some 5,000 miles of coastline, including the two islands of New Zealand and the east coast of Australia. 38 On his return, the account of his voyage was put into print, with official approval and support, setting a precedent for future publication. 39 The account of Cook’s and other voyages was soon supplemented by the report of the voyage of Henry Wilson, who with his crew was shipwrecked in the Palau Islands. The account described accurately the islanders with whom Wilson dealt, and began a trend away form the fanciful descriptions of all such people as noble savages and exemplars of natural virtue. 40 On his second voyage, Cook carried a chronometer accurate enough to allow computation of longitude based on the disparity of the sun’s position shipboard versus the position it would have had in Greenwich. Cook dispelled the idea of a huge continent in the south Pacific, mapped key features of the area, and gave order to the understanding of the ocean. 41 On his voyages, Cook observed aboriginal peoples carefully. Noting that the Australian aborigines had no houses and wore minimal clothing, Cook reported that they were remarkably happy in their lack of desire for material goods. Living in a warm climate with adequate resources, they lived happily with no need for material goods. 42 Cook then sailed a third time, trying to find the western entrance to the Northwest Passage. While failing in this endeavor, he produced maps of the coast of North America and the Hawaiian Islands, perishing there in a fight with natives. 43 This voyage did produce benefits. Cook described abundant sea otters along the north-west Pacific coast. The luxurious pelts were readily accepted in Canton, where the East India Company was building the tea trade. 44

Integrated Pests Management: A Safe Alternative to Hazardous Pesticide

Integrated Pests Management: A Safe Alternative to Hazardous Pesticides       The well being of our everyday day lives are affected by the agriculture industry.   For many years now we have been using pesticides to control the pest population in our crops.   Over the years research has shown that pesticides can cause fatal diseases like cancer.   Pests are also becoming resistant to pesticides.   It is time that we find a new way to rid of pests.   A program called the Integrated Pests Management is doing so and many growers have begun to use their tactics. Pesticides have been known to cause a number of diseases in humans as well as animals.   The most vulnerable to these diseases and side effects are infants.   Pesticides effect infants the most because the structures of their body systems are not fully developed.   Parents don’t use adult doses of drugs to their children. In contrast, the EPA allows infants and children to eat adult approved doses of pesticides that have not been evaluated in terms of safety for infants and young children.   Infants and children react differently to many drugs and toxic substances.   An example of this is Aspirin.   Aspirin can cause Reyes syndrome (a condition that kills 80 percent of its victims) in children and teenagers, but it does not cause this condition in adults (Cook, 2). Children are at the greatest risk to pesticides.   The national Cancer Institute USA found an increase risk of leukemia in children whose parents used pesticides in the home garden.   Children are commonly exposed to hundreds of pesticides in food, meanwhile, the incidence rate of childhood brain cancer and childhood leukemia continues to rise (Ries, 93).   â€Å"The reason that children are at risk the most is because ever... ...th. Pesticides in Food, Environmental Working Group,   http://www.ewg.org/pub/home/reports/Baby-food/Baby.html Elkins, E.R. Effect of commercial processing on pesticide residues in selected fruits and vegetables. Journal of the Associated of Official Analytical Chemists, 1989 Ries, L., et al.1993. Cancer in Children, SEER Cancer Statistics Review. U.S. Department   of Health and Human and Human Sevices. Washington, D.C. 1990 Sorensen, A. Proceedings of the National Integrated Pest Management Forum, June 17-19,   1992. American Farmland Trust Center for Agriculture in the Environment.   Arlington, VA, 1992 United States Environmental Protection Agency: Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic   Substances, For Your Information: EPA Efforts to Encourage Alternatives   To Traditional Chemical Pest Control, Washington, D.C., March 1993            

The Future of Education Essay -- Teaching Teachers Essays

The Future of Education As teachers our primary concern should be the students and what type of learning environment will be best suited to meet their needs. There are many different opinions as top what the most effective or appropriate curriculum is for the students. I do not believe there is any one philosophy that can provide the ideal curriculum for each and every student. Just as there are numerous methods of teaching, there are also numerous ways to learn. It is essential that we keep this in mind as we help the students achieve their goals and discover their talents. Above all we must encourage the students to try new things and do what we can to prevent limiting them in any way. I do not feel that I completely fall under any of the major teaching philosophies, but I do mostly agree with the progressivists. The school system needs to attempt to keep their curriculum as current as possible with the ever changing technological advances. I also believe that the students will be able to retain what they learn if they are given hands on projects that pertain to the subject material. It is not my intent to undermine traditional book learning, which is still an essential part of the schooling process, but basic book learning cannot be the total emphasis of the school program. The school system should not eliminate some of the some of the classes such as Agricultural Science, Music, Art, or the Shop classes. Elimination of these types of classes ...

Building Types through Time

Since the evolution of mankind, he has been in the struggle of creating and molding the world and its raw resources according to his dire needs and comfort. When Adam and Eve were sent down to an absolute barren world they had all the resources unrestricted, and in an unlimited amount, but what they didn’t have then was knowledge of exploiting them or even the crave of attaining comfort of unimaginable means. They lived in small stone caves, supported with branches of trees and nature, sheltering themselves just like their peer animals.Man since the very beginning has been the same animal, however the way his surroundings changed and his abilities evolved, he gained the potential of achieving the maximum efficiency and production from his living designs and that is the concept of derived modernism in man’s life today. What identifies man from other animals of his race is his ability to think, to create and then design it according to his own needs.And his ability to fin d and form a shelter for him self and his family, has been his habit since prehistoric times; while the economy and technology have been changing throughout his life, so have been the forms of his construction and way of living. The word architecture can be taken in a very broad manner; from the residential houses, bungalows, flats and apartments, to commercial plazas, offices, shops and industrial structures.While over the time, with the malting of candle of time the architectural form which has witnessed the greatest change due to societal, demographical, economical, political and technological changes is that of residential buildings and its architecture. Stone Age Constructions Taking a look back into the history of mankind, we see that during the Stone Age’s man started off his life in animal like caves, and under canopies of trees, which could provide them shelter from the changing seasons and protection from the wild animals around.He did not possess the knowledge or t he tools to formulate anything more comfortable for himself and did not even have the potential of doing so. The human living status however soon shifted to tents and huts, to meet greater needs of self sufficiency. With the growth of man’s needs and the population size, with the formation of ruling bodies, came the establishment of urban centers. This change in establishment was brought forth by simple use of wood and metal in construction techniques; along with the use of nails, levers and pulleys.Medieval Construction With the 1500 century, residential architecture found a new era of development and progress with the rising of cathedrals, castles, and fortifications; the biggest man made structures even to this time, with their grandeur and magnificent craftsmanship. These huge structures were mainly built for the war purposes, in case of an attack from the enemies, these residences were also used as battlefields.Large forts were built in which entire cities lived so that if any threat to sovereignty occurred the mighty gates were closed, securing the entire population guarded by huge strong walls which surrounded them around. Theses powerful structures, had crosses erected across the glass windows, which represented ready made aims for crossbows, while strong arches and pillars were hiding places for the archers during war times. Thus the residences of the medieval times basically facilitated the warriors and served a stronger protection purpose from the enemies.However, as the world moved towards a greater peaceful living, one of the greatest elements of change that was brought during this period was the discovery of bricks, which greatly eased the production techniques making it less time consuming and gave a greater liberty to the designers. Thus houses shifted from less of being battle fields and more towards homely structures. Renaissance architecture As the world was shifting from living lives less of that of warriors, and had the aesthetic se nse slowly inhabiting their culture and tradition, the social lives of the people were on the verge of seeing a major change.Art was slowly becoming a modern part of their lives, which first started the sense of creating the elite and sophisticated class of aristocrats who greatly indulged in the exhibition of this abstract sense. This cultural rebirth was brought by the philosophical and scientific works which were gaining great popularity. The architecture of this period thus presented the aim of joining spaces to human lives, by which the theories of geometry were relate to light and how it varied with different materials, bringing the idea of ‘perspective viewing’ for the first time.Thus first architectural plans came into being, where designs were laid out first before they were rectified, and the idea plunged from France, to Italy, England and took over the rest of the world. Thus the new perspectives were further refined by the coming of the Baroque Architecture in the 17th Century, which redefined Renaissance with the agility of sculptures and theatrical fashion clean sweeping the olden ideas established by the staunch Church laws, which represented the religious shift of people from pure Catholicism to Protestants.It thus gained is freedom through fortifying grand palaces in Paris, London and then the rest of the world, the period giving birth to the world’s greatest architects such as Michelangelo and Carlo Maderno. Industrial Revolution and the rise of Modern Techniques The Industrial Revolution, a period which elongated from the late 18th to the early 19th Century, was an era which brought major structural changes in agriculture, manufacturing and transportation; greatly influencing the socioeconomic and cultural status of people in the North America and Britain, which later slowly took over the entire world.This was an era, in which machinery was gradually taking over manual and animal drift labor, whereby impossible acts seeme d to be coming to reality, with massive production, less time consumption, greater efficiency, lower costs as well as magnified distribution facilities. This revolution influenced the normal life style of almost every individual, who became a part of the new machine world. The turning point was brought by the easier transportation techniques, reinforced with the development of steam engines, giving life to trains, canals and road; and also the usage of metal and steel at higher levels for stronger and machinery.This metal was being used for the development of I-Beams and reinforced concrete; glass panels were being excessively installed, with more intricate wooden work now being made possible with precise machinery, able to work on minute details. Also with the launch of plumbing techniques, access to drinking water became easier, and thus houses could now even be built further away from a water source. However the Industrial Revolution, also gave rise to the new riches and poor who had been forced out of the income stream.It divided the community into two halves, the capitalist’s class who were the rich factory owners and industrialists living in enormous castles and gardens to meddle in, while the poor labor class hardly survived in small houses clustered in abundance across a street, which shared sanitation facilities. Epidemics of disease plagued these claustrophobic areas, where there were almost no plumbing facilities, no food supplies and large families living in houses of one or two rooms, with no government rules to intervene with the inhumane conditions.Victorian Architecture The Victorian era, which predominantly attained its name; through the rule of Queen Victoria (from 1837 to 1901); is most importantly remembered for the grace and elegance that it brought in the architectural sense of that time period. The newly established Industrial Revolution, which had made machine made products now cheaper and easier to use by the majority of the peo ple, saw the development of complex houses, different from their regular box like forms.The architects ad constructors found themselves exploding with ideas and notions which were diverse and freed themselves from the traditional forms, and allowed them to play with bolder colors, elaborate and prudent exterior fixtures. With the growth of trade, and growing influx of people to and forth different parts of the world; brought in more creative ideas. The most famous of the Victorian houses were the Gothic styles, or commonly known as the gingerbread homes; due to their strong color and intricate structures, derived their inspiration from Western Europe.As the era became more engrossed in maintaining grander, the Italianate style came in formation with huge arches and pediments influenced from the Roman Architecture were camouflaged into everyday houses, with porches elaborated with a centered square. As urbanized architecture was on the rise, mass and cheaper productions of materials were required, which it initiated the development of wooden shingles rather than the thick wooden use; thus for the first time the working class could erect their own homes, giving birth to the English traditional cottage style and American homestead, popularly known today as the Folk Victorian architecture.While the richer class dwelled in more expensive sort of ‘Queen Anne homes,’ with unequal floor plans, numerous arched windows, grand porches, elaborate, fancy gardens all fountain set and decorative windows and doors. While the American architecture of mansions consisted of large stone buildings, topped with giant chimneys, large windows and decorated with massive sculptures around the house. Moreover, the Industrial Revolution provided the cheap availability of brass and steel hardware utilized throughout these houses.History states that every great revolution or civilization meets it end in catastrophe, and so did the Victorian Era, whose closure was marked by the First World War in 1914. Whereas on the other hand, modernization and rise in incomes which was brought by the Industrial revolution, was further engulfed by the Great Depression, which plagued the economic status of the people. This span of downtrodden economies spun from 1929, and ended in the late 1930s to 1940. Modern Architectural DesignsThe end of the Second World War, brought with it an era of International living, with ever increased communication levels around the global, emerging creativity, sophisticated tools and designs which were impossible before now were standing in the broad daylight exhibiting the evolution of man’s mind to greatness. With the emergence of developing countries, new and intricate ideas were on the rise. Where structures stood on abstract lines, giving the architects a wide field to play with geometrical figures and culminate them into an extraordinary structure, each standing a loaf from the other in every aspect.In the 1930’s came th e idea of Art Deco, which exploited the use of various other materials such as nickel, chrome, stainless steel and aluminum. These substances proved to be more efficient and cheaper to use. However, to accommodate the war trodden refugees houses which were more simple and quicker to produce were introduced, making elaborate use of glass, flat roofs and simple interior. While most of these houses were duplicates of each other lacking individuality, but enough to meet up with daily needs; whereas an attached garage was a new feature.The second Industrial Revolution, in the early 20th century, with the aid of computer generation, and even efficient poor tools and machinery, led to the establishment of elevators and escalators, to approach the high rise buildings, later turning into skyscrapers, and it attained its maximum with the building of the twin towers of the World Trade Centre in New York in 1977, which however faced its tragedy in 2001 due to the rising political calamity throu gh the world.The modern architecture is a blend of boldness, affordability, abstract designs and comfort; which all look towards the gleaming future of innovation. However, an aspect which cannot be avoided in these residences is their connection still staying strong with the traditional lines and patterns of their ancestors, which gives it a stronger and more sustainable area of growth, developing its roots for a longer time of existence.Nevertheless, the social status of the modern homes is evolving towards smaller families usually comprising of four members, thus such families also prefer living in a relatively smaller house, which is cost effective and could be easily be maintained by the mediocre earning of both the parents. Today with the growing urbanization and over utilization of resources, most of the residential architecture of the modern times is moving towards energy conservation and more of a sustainable development, which is easy to maintain and is less heavy upon the incomes of individuals.The residences of the future will be less of consumer friendly but more catering towards the needs of the environment. Throughout the world resources have been exploited to their maximum, with the increasing green houses effect, global warming, curtailing energy resources, and growing population levels there is a need of the creation of â€Å"Green Building,† which focuses upon conservation of energy, materials and water, which would have least externalities upon human health and the environment.Thus architecture is a living source, which evolves with time, perspective and society, taking over the shape and style which best meets its needs of the present as well for the generations to follow. References Dixon, Roger and Muthesius, Stephan. (1978) Victorian architecture. Thames & Hudson. ISBN 0-500-18163-2 Ching,F. , Jarzombek, M. , & Prakash, V. (2006). A Global History of Architecture. John Wiley and Sons Inc. Hopkins, R. (2002). A Natural Way of Buil ding. Transition Culture.Retrieved on April 26, 2009 from http://transitionculture. org/essential-info/articles/a-natural-way-of-building-2002/ Pater, P. (1976). Renaissance Rome. University of California Press The Architectural Timeline: Victorian. Retrieved on April 26, 2009 from http://houseofantiquehardware. com/site/timeline/tl_victorian. html Theisson, A. The Evolution of American Residential Architecture. Retrieved on April 24, 2009 from http://www. helium. com/items/1366726-american-residential-architecture? page=2

Tips for Working With Students With Severe Handicaps

Tips for Working With Students With Severe Handicaps Typically, children with severe handicaps have behavior concerns and minimal ability or cannot perform or havent yet learned many of the basic self-help skills. Some sources of research estimate that somewhere between 0.2-0.5% of school-aged children are identified as having a severe handicap. Although this population is low, times have changed and these children are rarely excluded from public education. They are, in fact, a part of special education. After all, with the incredible growing technologies and trained professionals, we can hold higher expectations than previously possible before. Handicaps Usually, children with severe handicaps are born with it, some of the etiologies and causes include: Chromosomal abnormalitiesPostnatal difficultiesGestational (prematurity)Maldevelopment of the brain and or spinal cordInfectionsGenetic disordersInjuries from accidents Problems With Inclusion There are still major issues related to inclusion of students with severe handicaps. Many teachers dont feel they have the professional training required to meet their needs, schools are often not adequately equipped to meet their needs, and more research needs to be done to determine how best their educational needs can be met. However, the reality is that these children have a right to be included in all aspects of society. Teacher Tips for Working with Children with Severe Handicaps Prior to supporting the specific goal, it is important to make sure you have their attention. Typically, youll be using a very direct teaching method.As much as possible, use grade appropriate materials.Identify some clear goals/expectations and stick with it. It takes a great deal of time to see success in most cases.Be consistent and have predictable routines for everything you do.Make sure that everything is relevant to the child you are working with.Be sure to track progress carefully, which will help you define when the child is ready for the next milestone.Remember that these children dont often generalize, so be sure to teach the skill in a variety of settings.When the child has reached the goal, be sure to use the skill regularly to ensure mastery of the skill continues. In summary, you are a very important person in this childs life. Be patient, willing and warm at all times.

What Were the Consequences of the Vietnam War for Civilians essays

What Were the Consequences of the Vietnam War for Civilians essays The US withdrawal made many problems for people on both sides. The Americans suffered mainly from the indignity of loosing and also the consequences of there use of things like Agent Orange.. The Vietnamese people suffered by having the aftermath of the US actions, they suffered famine and the significant problems of having deformed children. The effects of chemical warfare, although people had speculated about long term effects, they only really became apparent after the war. Like the links of Agent Orange with cancer, then in 1985 the first ideas that illness may be passed through generations were considered but were not proved until 1993. The land was badly contaminated by the use of chemicals, Vietnam had gone from one of the major rice producing countries to not being able to grow any thing, not even the relatively small amount to survive on a subsistence level. The Vietnamese people were then forced to import food, this began economic problems as there was no money to help theses people. Especially as inflation was at 700% and the Russians stooped providing the country with aid in 1991 The debree from the war posed a threat to Vietnamese people in unexploded land mines and sharp pieces of metal and so the unsuitability to farm the land or build on it. Other wars broke out in Vietnam with Cambodia and China, numerous people decided to leave. Many of these by boat, as many people as possible would be crammed into small vessels before sailing for Hong Kong or Thailand. Many of these boats were attacked by pirates or sank. Roughly 50,000 of the 'boat people' drowned. About a million were successful in traveling west settling in Britain and in the US. Things began to look up when, in 1993 the Americans allowed the international monetary fund and world bank to start investing in Vietnam. Then the trade embargo was lifted by 1995. Only 20 years after the US withdrawal were full diplomatic relations rees ...

How to Calculate Gross Tonnage of a Ship

How to Calculate Gross Tonnage of a Ship The term gross tonnage refers to the internal volume of a water-going vessel, and is normally used as a means for categorizing commercial vessels, especially those used for shipping. This volume measured includes all areas of the ship, from keel to funnel and from bow to stern. In modern usage, the measurement deducts the crew spaces and other parts of the ship that cannot hold cargo. Since 1969, gross tonnage has been the principal means by which a  commercial ship is defined. The gross tonnage measurement has a number of legal and administrative uses. It is used to determine regulations, safety rules, registration fees, and port charges for the vessel.   Calculating Gross Tonnage Calculating the gross tonnage of a ship is a somewhat complicated procedure, due to the fact that most ships have an asymmetrical shape that makes calculating volume difficult. There are many ways to make this calculation, depending on the level of precision required and the agency requiring the measurement. Different formulas are used depending on the shape of the vessel, and even the types of waters on which the ship sails. A simplified set of gross tonnage formulas is set forth by the U.S. Coast Guard Marine Safety Center, which are based on three measurements: Length (L), breadth (D), and depth (D). Under this system, the means of estimating gross tonnage is as follows:   For a boat with a simple sailing hull, gross tonnage (GT) (.5 * L * B * D) / 100For a sailing boat with keel, GT   (.375 * L * B * D) / 100For freighters with angled or cylindrical hulls, GT   (.67 * L * B * D) / 100For ships with square barge-shaped hulls, GT   (.84 * L * B * D) / 100 The  International Convention on Tonnage Measurement of Ships  sets forth another, more precise formula for calculating gross tonnage of a vessel, which says GT   K  *  V. Here, K .2 .02 * log10(V), and V interior volume of a vessel in cubic meters (m3). History of Gross Tonnage as a Measurement Standard Since most commercial ships were originally involved with the transport of goods, otherwise known as cartage,  ships at first were rated and valued on the maximum amount of cargo that could be stuffed into every nook inside a ship. On long sailing voyages, after selling their loads of cookware, tools, machinery and other products, private traders often bought bundles of lumber, spices, cloth, and decorative goods to sell upon return to home port. Every space was stuffed full to maximize profit on both legs of the voyage, and thus each boats value depended on just how much open space was available in the vessel. One of the few exempt spaces in these early calculations of a ships volume was the bilge area, where ballast was held. In early shops, no cargo could be stored here without damage since in these wooden ships the bilges were wet. Ballast stones were used on sailing ships that were leaving with a light load and returning with a heavy cargo. This might be the case when transporting a finished metal such as copper to a port where raw copper ore was loaded for the trip back to England for refining. As the lighter load was unloaded and the heavier load brought aboard, the bilge stones were removed to compensate for the extra weight. Today, piles of these foreign stones, roughly the size of bowling balls, can be found underwater near historic ports all over the world. Eventually, with the availability of mechanical pumps,  water as ballast  became the norm,  since it was much more efficient to simply pump water in and out of the bilge to adjust the ships weight rather than use stones or other forms of weight.   Ã‚   The term  tonnage originally  came into usage as a means for referring to the physical space occupied by 100 cubic feet of ballast  water, an amount of water that was the equivalent of about 2.8 tons. This can be confusing since a ton is usually thought of as a measurement of weight, not volume. In the context of maritime shipping, however, the term tonnage refers to the volume of space available to hold cargo.

Management and leadership development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Management and leadership development - Essay Example Emphasis is given on the operationalisation of management and leadership development into practice. Appropriate literature is used for highlighting the key issues of the study’s subject. At the next level, the article of the Emerald Group Publishing Limited (2010) ‘Changing Face of Leadership’ is used in order to show the key aspects of the operationalisation of leadership management in practice, as derived through the approach used by the article’s authors. It is concluded that the operationalization of leadership management into practice can be a challenging task – not just because of the requirements of these plans but also because of their implications for the leaders and the organizations. Leadership development is a multi-dimensional plan. When such plan is to be developed within a particular organization, it is important that its implications and its expected benefits are estimated and evaluated. The requirements of the specific plan need also to be taken into account, aiming to reduce the chances of failures when initiating such project. The leadership development affects the organizational life, in terms of the organization’s daily operational activities but also in terms of the context of its strategic choices. These issues are highlighted in the literature. Different approaches have been used for explaining the aspects of operationalisation of leadership development in organizations of different structural and operational characteristics. In accordance with Ryan (2007) the leadership development can lead to the establishment of inequality within the organization; it is explained that leadership is not equally developed across the departments of a particular organization. In certain teams of the organization, leadership plays a key role; in those teams, a significant amount of resources is likely to be invested on leadership development; in other organizational teams – referring to groups of individuals in different

English - Writing Directions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

English - Writing Directions - Essay Example The following flow chart will help to clarify the actions that will be described: Choose a paint color and buy it ? set up the equipment and lay down the drop cloths ?put blue tape for delicate surfaces against all the edges ? use an angled brush to outline all the close edges ? open the can and stir the paint ? use a roller brush to fill in all the spaces in an X pattern After considering this flow chart, these are the directions. Instructions for Painting a Wall Painting a wall can be a source of achievement and pride when the room looks dingy and needs to be made to look fresh and alive. The area around the wall should be cleared away so that access to all portions is made convenient and clear of items that could be in the way. Equipment must either be gathered or purchased, so the first thing to do once the wall area is clear is to make a list of everything that is needed, including the paint. Choosing the paint color is the first step in deciding to paint a wall. This can be don e before the process begins or during the initial step as the equipment is being gathered. The wall will need to be taped off so that the edge beyond what is desired painted is protected. A two inch angled brush is used to paint near the tape, allowing for a clean edge that has not bled into the space that is not desired to be painted. The walls are then rolled in an x pattern so that there are no roller marks. When this is done, it is allowed to dry and then the tape removed in order to check for bleeds. The equipment is cleaned up and the room put back into order. The following instructions will outline exactly how to do each of the steps involved in painting a wall. 1. The first step in painting a wall is in clearing away the items around the space in front of the wall. This means that there should be enough room in front of the wall to put up a ladder. The ladder should allow access to every space of the wall that will be painted 2. The second step is to make a materials list, g ather what is already on hand and go purchase the materials that are yet needed. Steps one and two are interchangeable, but it can be preferable to have my work space clear and to see exactly what will be required for the job. 3. A basic materials list includes screwdrivers, spackle, blue delicate surface tape, two inch angle brush, roller pan, roller, roller head, and ladder. Do not forget the paint! 4. The third step is to choose the paint color, again interchangeable with steps 1 and 2. A paint color can be chosen long before the job will be done or during the trip to the store when all other materials needed will be purchased. One method of choosing a paint color is gathering paint sample cards from a store and taping them to the wall. There are many ways to choose a color and that will be up to the buyer. When purchasing materials, purchase the paint and it is recommended to use one of the new paints that have primer in them in order to get good coverage on the wall. 5. Once th e materials are brought to the site of the wall they must be organized. First, tools required to take off electrical plates and to fix any holes in the wall should go to one side of the wall away from the painting equipment and placed securely away from the wall so they can be grabbed, but not in the way. The floor should be covered with drop cloths to protect it from spills and drops that might damage

Whole Foods financial recommendation for the next 2 years Case Study

Whole Foods financial recommendation for the next 2 years - Case Study Example After obtaining such quotation, it can issue its shares to the public. This is the easiest way of raising funds. It is to be noted that issuing shares to general public will increase the number of shareholders (or owners) of Whole foods. To limit the number of owners to a reasonable level, Whole foods may issue shares to its existing shareholders only. Such an issue of shares is called ‘Right Issue’. One way of increasing capital funding is to offer employee stock purchase. This is a plan in which active employees are offered by the corporation to purchase shares of the company at a discounted price, one additional benefit which may be achieve through this plan is the increase in efficiency of the prospective employees. This plan may be created by encouraging employees to contribute to the plan. Offering high discount rates of up to 15% may also be helpful in making the plan effective. Similarly, devising good 401k plan will encourage employees to contribute to 401k account which may be used for the business global expansion. However, these plans, implementation largely depends on the interest and abilities of contribution by the prospective employees of Whole

Case studies Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Studies - Case Study Example There could be other test which could clarify the situation as to whether the patient has actually a lung cancer. Reason being giving the patient timeline of 6-9 months to live could have a huge physiological affect on him. Even though patient looks competent, as he/she only has 6 – 9 months to live, he would have no time to reflect upon this situation and fully comprehend this information. If the patient is told about the condition, it is necessary that it is burdensome neither to the patient nor to his family. It could be a good time for the patient to prepare his will if he hasn’t up till now which would definitely benefit his family financially. If the patient has been living a sound, happy life before being admitted to the hospital, his active life style could just go apart if told about his condition. This would in turn result in his family suffering. Its better not to inform patient about his condition if his family and himself would be well off as others around him would be unfamiliar with his situation. If his family members fully understand the situation he is in, which should at the first place not be in, filling a malpractice claim would be the way to go given that the physician would eventually be found. Even if the family goes to court, there are particular laws which would eventually help his family to charge the physician. If the hospital suffers a major liability, it could close down thus, making it difficult or impossible for other patients to be treated and could result in them loosing there life. The filling claim has something to do with financial issues of the family as they might have run out of insurance cover for the patient thus, having liquidity issues and might be looking to redeem via filling a lawsuit. The patient has had a similar medical problem that is GL bleed due to alcoholism. This medical status suggests that his issues are more linked to something he can

Changes Brought by Occupiers Liability Act to the Common Law Essay

Changes Brought by Occupiers Liability Act to the Common Law - Essay Example The common law of negligence initially applied in cases relating to those who suffered damages while in one’s premise. However, this was to the extent that the claimant proved that a duty of care was owed to him or her under the common law of negligence. However, the common law of negligence had inconsistencies owing to differences in court rulings under the similar set of facts. It also proved less relaxed in holding the owners of premises liable, often for lack of duty of care, more so to visitors and trespassers. These formed the foundation of a legislative intervention The Occupiers liability Acts being enacted. As of now, the law concerning such liability in the United Kingdoms is mostly found in the Occupiers Liability Act 1957 (regarding visitors) while that regarding the non-visitors is largely found Occupiers Liability Act 1984. In as much as the law to a large extent codified common law, the cases have to be relied upon in determining the meaning of â€Å"occupierâ €  and the line between a â€Å"visitor† and a â€Å"trespasser† or a non visitor. According to the Occupiers Liability Act 1957 the occupier only owes a duty of care to the lawful visitors. This duty is similarly owed to the lawfully visitors either to or to on the premise. It is worth noting that the occupiers rather than the owners of the premise retain the liability to compensate the victims injured on the premises as a result of their dangerous state. Sufficient or effective degree of control is used to determine the occupation of the premise. For that reason, one must not necessarily need to be the actual owner of a premise for him or her to be considered the occupier. He may owe the duty if he exercises a substantial extent of control in which case he owes this duty to all lawful visitors with the only exceptions specified in the agreement. The Occupiers’ Liability Act 1984 does not imposes this duty of care on the occupier towards the visitors of the premises; rather it is towards the non visitors, essentially understood as a trespasser. A trespasser for that matter is anybody who goes into the land in another person’s possession intentionally without obtaining a lawful authorization. Taking an example of a theatre, any member of the public who happens to be admitted there is a visitor and the occupier of the theatre owes them a duty of care. The theatre ticket they are issued with serves a license which bears with it an agreement not to be revoked till the end of the performance. As such this is a sufficient authorization (Hurst v Picture Theatres Ltd (1915) 1 KB 1 CA). The extent of liability was traditionally based on whether or not one was a visitor. The question asked then is, who is a visitor? Generally speaking, at common law it was important to know the difference between licensees, invitees and the premise

Case studies Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Studies - Case Study Example There could be other test which could clarify the situation as to whether the patient has actually a lung cancer. Reason being giving the patient timeline of 6-9 months to live could have a huge physiological affect on him. Even though patient looks competent, as he/she only has 6 – 9 months to live, he would have no time to reflect upon this situation and fully comprehend this information. If the patient is told about the condition, it is necessary that it is burdensome neither to the patient nor to his family. It could be a good time for the patient to prepare his will if he hasn’t up till now which would definitely benefit his family financially. If the patient has been living a sound, happy life before being admitted to the hospital, his active life style could just go apart if told about his condition. This would in turn result in his family suffering. Its better not to inform patient about his condition if his family and himself would be well off as others around him would be unfamiliar with his situation. If his family members fully understand the situation he is in, which should at the first place not be in, filling a malpractice claim would be the way to go given that the physician would eventually be found. Even if the family goes to court, there are particular laws which would eventually help his family to charge the physician. If the hospital suffers a major liability, it could close down thus, making it difficult or impossible for other patients to be treated and could result in them loosing there life. The filling claim has something to do with financial issues of the family as they might have run out of insurance cover for the patient thus, having liquidity issues and might be looking to redeem via filling a lawsuit. The patient has had a similar medical problem that is GL bleed due to alcoholism. This medical status suggests that his issues are more linked to something he can

Tools of Organizational Change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Tools of Organizational Change - Essay Example A leader could further ensure that there is effective communication and engagement within the organization when implementing an organizational change. In order to achieve this, the leader could ensure that workers are not only aware of required changes that are happening but also understand them. A leader could further seek to engage workers in the formulation and implementation of an organizational change as this creates a positive attitude among workers (Lewis, 2011). The third component that a leader could use involves internalization of the change. This refers to the actual implementation of the change. Depending on the nature of the change, a leader could choose the appropriate channel for internalization of the change by the workers. These channels include seminars and departmental meetings. During internalization, workers review the proposed change and analyze how better it is than the old practices. This helps workers to realize the benefits of the change and propel them to work within the set rules of the proposed change (Lewis,

Auto Mobile vs Amusement Park Safety Essay Example for Free

Auto Mobile vs Amusement Park Safety Essay Automobiles today are built with many different safety features, and these are so the person(s) within the vehicle do not get injured and or killed. Also these features are not to only protect the people(s) but also the company that the automobile came from, so for example if someone was driving a car and got into a serious wreck and the air bags did not deploy therefore injuring the victim then they could sue the automobile company for money, a new car, pain and suffering, etc. Some of these safety features include Brakes, Airbags, seat belts, and more. When talking about brakes in a car you’re going to want to know what it is your getting because there are many different options in brakes, some examples of this being your regular brakes like you push down the peddle softly and the car with start to slow down or Anti-Lock Brakes or ABS, The primary purpose of anti-lock brakes is to prevent a cars wheels from locking during panic braking. By allowing the car to slow in a more controlled manner, the driver can often maintain better steering control and avoid an accident. Brakes can easily be interpreted by Newtons first law of motion which states that every object will remain at rest or in uniform motion in a straight line unless compelled to change its state by the action of an external force. So a car is moving along the road and the car steps of the gas now the car will eventually stop from the friction of the pavement to the tires but let’s say it doesn’t. So while the car is moving at the speed you let off the gas the car will keep moving at the same speed unless acted on by an opposing force which in this case are the brakes. Know the brakes are applied and what brakes do is they but force of the tiers of the car and that produces friction on the tiers which in term slow the tires down thus slowing the car down. Airbags in a car are extreme safety features because they keep a person(s) from potentially coming out of the front window; seat belts will also do the same but with a little more added protection. So say a car were to hit you from behind what would happen? Well besides your car being wrecked. The body(s) would start moving forward. This is because of part of Newton’s first law of motion which states a body at rest tends to stay at rest unless acted upon by another force. So your car is sitting at a stop light but the car behind you does not stop so they run into the back of you well your body will fly forward. Because you were at rest and then a force came and pushed you out of rest therefore moving you in the same direction as the car that hit you. So the air bag and seat belt are there to stop you from flying forward and getting severely injured. Amusement park rides and cars have some of the same safety features and even if there not called the same thing they do the same thing for example a seat belt in a car is the same as the harness on a roller coaster. In my opinion I find roller coasters safer then cars because there are equipped with the same features but there are few outside forces to mess with it unlike a car. Because unless due to a technical problem a roller coaster cart will not smash into another roller coaster cart. Amusement park rides also have brakes most of these are more heavy duty breaks then car but then again your taking a one ton car vs. a potentially one hundred ton ride so you’re going to need that extra power to help. Some would argue that to many safety features on an amusement park ride can take the thrill away, I would have to disagree with that because I myself have been on many and I feel thrill every single time. But in a ride if there are many safety features then usual then that will typically mean that the ride is potentially more dangerous than a lesser safety featured ride and this can be because of high speeds, higher altitudes and so on. So if you come to a ride with many safety features it’s not because they want to take away the thrill but because they want to make you safe and once again like automobile company’s not get sued.

Environmental Corporate Social Responsibility

Environmental Corporate Social Responsibility CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION This dissertation discusses and undertakes an analysis of some data gathered on Environmental Corporate Social Responsibility within organizations in the Fast Moving Consumer Goods Industry. The environmental social responsibility activities to be looked at within the selected companies are their water usage level, emissions, waste produced and total energy used with regard to being aware of environmental concerns. In this chapter, the aim and objectives of the study are outlined and a brief introduction is furnished. 1.1 BACKGROUND AND OVERVIEW OF STUDY In recent times, there has been much debate about whether corporations should be socially responsible or not and also the extent to which they should be responsible. With the global recession at the moment, the future years will show if CSR has been taking on by corporations or if it is, as critics say, merely a marketing stunt designed to make their business attractive (The Independent, 2009). The phrase social responsibility is often hard to pin down because of the fact that there are several schools of thought concerning this notion. Milton Friedman questions if companies are required to take responsibility for social issues (Kok et al., 2001, p. 286). He stressed that the sole social responsibility of any organization is to boost its profits through legal ways and that donating an organizations funds to the society is harmful to the organization as this might reduce the organizations profit or cause an increase in product price or, in exceptional cases, have both effects (Pinkston and Carroll, 1996). Some researchers on the other hand are of the opinion that because of the ever changing competitive environment in which businesses are carried out, it is essential that organizations incorporate some sort of Corporate Social Responsibility standard that will help foster its sustainability in the environment. Boynton (2002) asserts that social responsibility is â€Å"a val ue that specifies that every situation from family to firm- is responsible for its members conduct and can be held accountable for its actions†. This research work supports the notion that organizations should continually engage in corporate social responsibility activities; therefore, as a conscious strategy, corporations must endeavour to incorporate environmental CSR in their diverse functions and operations. Fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) also known as Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) industries focus on the production of consumable goods which people require from day to day. Fast Moving Consumer Goods can be said to be â€Å"low price items that are used with a single or limited number of consumptions† (Baron et al., 1991). Examples of FMCG or CPG products are food and beverages, footwear, clothing products, tobacco and other general products. The FMCG or CPG industry is an umbrella for wholesale and retail consumer goods producing companies. A number of companies function within this industry: examples are Nestle, Procter and Gamble, Pfizer, Reckitt Benkiser, British American Tobacco, Cadbury and Smithkline just to mention a few. According to Jarvis (2003), business organizations endeavour to maximise profits as much as they can. Fast-moving consumer goods companies cannot therefore be left out in the quest for profit maximisation as the goods they produce are sold to consumers in order to make some sort of gain. FMCG companies provide humans with day to day products they require and as such one of their responsibilities is to ensure that the manufactured products meet the required quality standard. In manufacturing their products, some FMCG companies make use of some natural resources such as water, wood, soil etc., and sophisticated machineries which in some way affect the environment. Making use of the earths natural resources without any provision for replacing the resources leads to depletion, while emissions from machineries pollute the environment. Corporations implement CSR activities because they hope they will give them a competitive advantage over their rivals. Branco and Rodigues (2006) assert that CSR offers internal and external gains. The benefits are referred to as internal if engaging in social responsibility activities helps a corporation build, develop and manage its wealth and abilities, for instance: corporate culture and expertise. External benefits, on the other, are those linked to a corporations status, staff awareness and culture; these are essential indescribable assets which, though hard to easily replace or duplicate, can be developed or trashed depending on whether a corporation is socially responsible or otherwise. Moreover, because companies take from the environment directly or indirectly, it is their responsibility to ensure that the environment and society at large, and not only the stakeholders, benefit from some kind of social responsibility activities set up by the companies (Stoner and Wankel, 19 88). Speaking of the FMCG industry in United Kingdom, Bourlakis and Weightman (2004) assert that the industry, which includes the food and grocery sector, contributes immensely to the countrys economy as it provides employment to over 3.2 million people. This figure accounts for close to 17% of the countrys total workforce. The same authors also mention that the FMCG industry accounts for over  £130 billion of consumer spending yielding, representing over 9% of the GDP. 1.2 THE MANUFACTURING SECTOR The British Prime Minister, Mr. Gordon Brown, declares that â€Å"†¦for this government manufacturing not only has been, but remains and will always be, critical to the success of the British economy†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (BIS, 2008). The United Kingdom is the 6th largest manufacturing country in the world (See appendix 1 for details). It provides the economy with about  £150billion per annum. The countrys productivity has increased by about 50% since 1997. The United Kingdom attracts â€Å"more foreign direct investment than any country apart from the USA† (BIS, 2009). In UK, manufacturing accounts for 13% of the GDP; also, between 1997 and 2004, the average labour productivity grew by 4% over the United States, 5% above France and also 15% over Germany. The figure below shows a graph of the growth in productivity. Sheldons study on ‘social responsibility of management indicates that industries exist with the aim of servicing the society (Sheldon, 1923). The developments which various industries have made lately show that there is a link between the society and the industry. It can therefore be said that the purpose of creating industries is so that the society can benefit from it as well as sustain it. Sen (1999) observes that â€Å"as people who live in a broad sense together, we cannot escape the thought that the terrible occurrences that we see around us are quintessentially our problems. They are our responsibility whether or not they are also anyone elses† (Sen, 1999). The manufacturing sector is very huge and includes a range of industries such as: Aerospace, Biotechnology, Chemical, Food and beverages, Pharmaceuticals etc. The FMCG industry is one of the sub industries within the manufacturing sector. They sometimes face a lot of problems and as such struggle with critic isms from stakeholders on social responsibility matters even though they have functional CSR agendas. From the size of the British manufacturing industry, it is fair to say that it uses a huge amount of energy compared to the rest of the European Union. 1.3 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM From looking at FMCG Companys website and their social responsibility/sustainability reporting materials, it will be seen that they engage in corporate social responsibility at different levels. Looking closely at FMCG companies within the United Kingdom, it will be seen that almost all of them if not all, consider corporate social responsibility and its effect on their business operations particularly as it pertains to their corporate image, competitive advantage and even their finances. Davis (1973) in his work asserts that engaging in corporate social responsibility can improve an organizations finances and image. 1.4 AIM OF PROJECT The aim of the project is to contribute to the body of empirical data in the area of Corporate Social Responsibility by gathering information that will help in the analysis of environmental corporate social responsibility within organizations in the Fast-Moving Consumer Goods industry. The findings of this research should provide managers and the academic world some more information in the area of Environmental Corporate Social Responsibility. 1.5 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES The main objective of this study on the analysis of data gathered on environmental corporate social responsibility in some organizations in the Fast Moving Consumer Goods Industry is to critically look at the steps the corporations take in being environmentally responsible and also how they measure the progress. Also, this dissertation will be attempt to: To analyse the data from selected FMCG companies relating to their environmental CSR practices to identify the indicator/metrics used by the companies to benchmark their performance on environmental CSR in their organizations; to determine factors that encourage environmental responsibility practices. To draw some conclusions and make some recommendations about the state of environmental CSR in the selected organizations. 1.6 SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY The FMCG industry is very large and as such it may not be feasible for the researcher to report on all the companies in the industry bearing in mind the limitation of time and adequate resources. Therefore the scope of this study will be limited to environmental corporate social responsibility in selected FMCG companies. The study will take a look at the environmental corporate social activities they have embarked on with respect to water usage reduction, CO2 emission reduction, reduction of waste produced, and total energy usage of each of the companies. Owing to lack of time and resources, the researcher will not be able to conduct a survey of environment corporate social responsibility in all UK-based fast moving consumer goods companies. It is worth noting though that a lot of them carry out environmental corporate social responsibility activities and also report on them using indices to which some of them are benchmarked. 1.7 STRUCTURE OF THE DISSERTATION This study is structured into five chapters. Chapter one provides an introduction/background to the research study, together with a brief introduction of the sector and industry. Chapter two contains the literature review; it comprehensively and critically reviews previous work done in this research area. Chapter three highlights the research design and data collection process employed by the researcher. Chapter four contains an analysis of the data gathered together. Some findings and discussions of the research area are also furnished. The final chapter, chapter five, contains some recommendations and conclusions based on the findings in the course of carrying out this dissertation. CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY Corporate Social Responsibility has progressed from an irrelevant and often discriminated concept to one that is today well-known and established in businesses round the globe (Lee, 2008). Corporate Social Responsibility can be thought of as an umbrella phrase that takes into consideration the various ways and means a corporation embarks on in trying to act ethically and morally. In the last couple of decades, CSR has become widely well-known (Campbell, 2007). According to some researchers, the first book on CSR was written in 1953 by Howard Bowen, with the title: Responsibilities of the Businessman (Carroll, 1979; Kantanen, 2005). Defining Corporate Social Responsibility can prove to be a complex task as it has varied meanings to different people. This is due to the fact that there is no agreed definition and as such organizations that are meticulous in their goals of incorporating CSR activities into their businesses are faced with compound problems. Because of how complex CSR is, it is hard to provide a definition. Stakeholders therefore make use of different definitions that are in line with their business operations, goals and aims. The definitions are often also related to the sizes of the corporations and how they regard their officers who are responsible for CSR activities within their organisations. Thus there is no agreed definition of CSR, because different corporations translate it to suit them depending on their state of affairs (MacLagan, 1999: Campbell, 2007: Garriga Mele, 2004). Bowen (1953) defines corporate social responsibility as â€Å"†¦ the obligations of businessmen to pursue those policies, to make those decisions, or to follow those lines of action which are desirable in terms of the objectives and values of our society†. Manakkalathil and Rudolf (1995) explain CSR as â€Å"the duty of organizations to conduct their business in a manner that respects the rights of individuals and promotes human welfare†. It is quite a weak explanation which makes it somewhat tough to actualize. Aguilera et al. (2007) emphasize that corporations should not border their CSR activities on stipulated legislation regarding such issues but should also make provision for activities not stipulated in any legislation they adhere to. Aguilera et al. (2007) assert that â€Å"corporate social responsibility is a companys considerations of and response to issues beyond the narrow economic, technical and legal requirements of the company to accomplish social and environmental benefits along with traditional economic gains†. Carroll (1991) states that CSR consists of f our aspects: legal, economic, ethical and philanthropic (discretionary) responsibility (See Appendix 1). Carroll (1991) argued that for a corporation striving to be seen as good within the society, all four aspects should be fulfilled. Carroll (1991) cites renowned economists Milton Friedmans assertion in trying to explain the relationship of the four aspects. On Friedmans part, he was only interested in the first three parts of CSR stating that corporations exist â€Å"to make as much money as possible while conforming to the basic rules of society, both those embodied in the law and those embodied in ethical custom† (Carroll, 1991) and he totally objected to the philanthropic aspect saying â€Å"the business of business is business†. In saying this, he meant that the usual economic standpoint only acknowledges legal, ethical and economic responsibility as a crucial principle while taking part in altruistic activities do not yield incentives for corporations. Levitt ( 1958) has a different approach to the CSR issue called the functional theory which considers CSR as ethically neutral. Corporations are considered to have particular tasks or organizational codes that communicate their position in the society. Corporations are expected to fulfil their social responsibilities by conforming to existing legal frameworks, as the onus of determining social good is the responsibility of the state and not that of the corporations. The reliability and character of an organization is in its sensitivity to varying conditions and demand. Organizations that react positively to financial and other varying issues will thrive, while those that do not respond adequately will die. Consequently, if the immediate situation requires that corporations be â€Å"socially responsible† then the corporations must endeavour to be so. Davis (1960) implies that social responsibility pertains to corporations â€Å"decisions and actions taken for reasons at least partiall y beyond the firms direct economic or technical interest†. Eells and Walton (1961) debate the meaning of CSR and say that it pertains to the â€Å"problems that arise when corporate enterprise casts its shadow on the social scene, and the ethical principles that ought to govern the relationship between the corporation and society†. Deakin and Hobbs (2007) assert that corporations that go ahead and carry out CSR activities which are over the minimum legal requirements stand to benefit immensely. Margolis and Walsh (2003) in the research they conducted found that most corporations, however, only focus on particular aspects of CSR: mainly the economic aspect and try to shy away from the social and environmental aspects. 2.1.1 STAKEHOLDER THEORY OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY The most spoken about theory of corporate social responsibility is the stakeholder theory. Freeman (1984) explains the basic concepts and attributes of stakeholder management in his booked entitled Strategic Management: A Stakeholder Approach. He defines stakeholders to be ‘‘groups and individuals who can affect, or are affected by, the achievement of an organizations mission† (Freeman, 1984) or otherwise regarded as ‘‘those groups who have a stake in or a claim on the firm (Evan and Freeman, 1988). Freeman (2004) regards stakeholders as â€Å"those groups who are vital to the survival and success of the corporation†. Freeman explains that not only the owners of a corporation have genuine concerns about it but also persons and or groups of persons that might be affected or can possibly have an effect on the corporations doings and as such these groups of people have the right to be considered in any decision making process within the corporation. Kaler (2006) on the other hand refers to the stakeholder theory that supports the notion that corporations should be socially responsible. This theory states that â€Å"the shareholders value is boosted through employee commitment, customer loyalty, contractor cooperation and immense support from the community amongst other things. Some researchers are also of the opinion that the performance of organizations can be attributed to their strategies in trade and non-trade environments† (Baron, 2000). Freeman and Evan (1990) assert that corporations that embark on social responsibility activities often times do it because they trust that their managers are capable of boosting the corporations effectiveness in taking action regarding demands from external sources by handling and meeting the requests of the diverse shareholders. Stakeholder theory can be said to be a managerial activity because it expresses and directs how managers function (Freeman et al. 2006). In analyzing stakeholder theory, Donaldson and Preston (1995) proposed ethical guidelines for considering and selecting stakeholders. They made reference to this as being â€Å"instrumental† in the sense that when corporations manage their stakeholder activities accordingly, their performance will improve tremendously in relation to their stability, growth and profitability. According to Freeman (1994), the aim of stakeholder theory is conveyed in two key questions and the first is determining what the function of the firm is. This influences managers to convey the feeling of importance built within the corporation and also display activities that pull together all the major stakeholders. This propels the corporation forward and makes it possible for it to produce outstanding performance, instituted with respect to its function and economic p erformance in the open market. The second question asked by the stakeholder theory deals with the sort of responsibility owed to the stakeholders by the managers. This motivates the managers to convey the means they take in conducting their businesses and particularly the kind of relationship they yearn for and have to build with their stakeholders in order to realize their purpose (Friedman and Miles, 2006). The stakeholder theory concept can be further broken down into: normative stakeholder theory, which hinges on theories of how managers and sometimes stakeholders are supposed to behave, and also how they are supposed to view the beliefs of the corporation as they pertain to its ethical ethos (Friedman and Miles, 2006), and the descriptive stakeholder theory which is about how managers and stakeholders actually act and the perception of their responsibilities and actions. The stakeholder theory that, in fact, relates very well with corporate social responsibility is the instrumental stakeholder theory. This theory is at times associated with a corporations strategic style: where the major concern for the corporation is how its managers perform if they are allowed to put their own interests and/or the interests of the corporation forward as it relates to profit maximization or the maximization of stockholder value (Friedman and Miles, 2006). Orlitzky et al (2003) mention that several authors are of the opinion that corporate social performance might help a corporation towards acquiring new abilities, raw materials and possibilities which are apparent in a corporations culture, expertise, business and workforce. Corporate social performance is closely related to corporate social responsibility and it is sometimes assumed that it will help advance managerial abilities that boost employee contribution, organization and harmonization together with a ground-breaking management approach (Shrivastava, 1995). The reputation perspective theory on the other hand, states that â€Å"superficially, corporate social performance might encourage the development of a positive figure with a corporations customers, its investors, banks and contractors which it can in the long run benefit from through having access to capital and also possibly draw high-quality employees towards it and also enhance the good will of its current employees towards the organization which over time the corporation might benefit from in financial terms† (Orlitzky et al, 2003). In recent times, it will be seen that so many corporations and/or establishments have planned and sustained their businesses in ways that correspond to the concept of the stakeholder theory (Collins and Porras, 1994). For example, corporations like Procter and Gamble, Reckitt Benckiser, British American Tobacco, to mention a few, present an excellent example of the value managers place on the fundamentals of stakeholder theory. It is worth noting that these corporations place high importance on their stakeholders and organizational wealth but at the same time do not stress on profitability as the push factor of their business. This is because they are fully aware of the worth and relationship with stakeholders as an important factor if they are to succeed. Friedman (1970) on the other hand is of a contrary opinion. He is of the opinion that when executives take decisions it should only be for the purpose of wealth creation for its stakeholders. It is evident that Friedman does not support the concept of CSR. He holds that the principal duty of directors is towards their staff. In his opinion, a corporate executive may take decisions that directly concern himself but should never take decisions concerning, for example, price mark down of products or pollution due to carbon emission, beyond the obligations imposed on the corporation by law. Friedman states further that by doing these, the corporate executive will be spending the corporations wealth and forcing its stockholders to pay tax while at the same time taking decision on the expenditure of the corporations tax returns. Friedman (1970) asserts that governments demand taxes from corporate entities, ensuring that there are adequate governmental, legal and constitutional measures in place to force compliance. Friedman stresses that executives are selected by stockholders as representatives to protect their interest and this motivation dies gradually if the corporate executive wastes the stockholders wealth on social activities. Friedmans belief is that government instructs corporations to pay a certain amount as tax and if paid, government use the tax appropriately, thereby making it unnecessary for corporations themselves to engage in any CSR projects. In this regard, one assumes that such taxes will be adequate to ensure the effective handling by the government of CSR activities that benefit the environment and the larger society. In Friedmans perception, the corporations that pay their taxes as and when due are responsible. Jensen and Meckling (1976) assert that corporate social responsibility may have an adverse effect on corporations especially if the cost of implementing CSR projects becomes exceptionally high. There are certain contrary views that claim that many ostensibly socially responsible corporations actually benefit far more from their CSR activities than the target societies that were expected to be the main beneficiaries. For example, relying on a report by Corporate Watch (2006), more than â€Å"80% of corporate CSR decision-makers were confident in the ability of good CSR practice to deliver branding and employee benefits. To take the example of corporate philanthropy, when corporations make donations to charity, they are giving away their shareholders money, which they can only do if they see potential profit in it. This may be because they want to improve their image by associating themselves with a cause, to exploit a cheap vehicle for advertising, or to counter the claims of pressure groups, but there is always an underlying financial motive, so the company benefits more than the charity†. Paine (2002) affirms that the choice to neglect corporate social responsibility will in some way indicate the corporations disrespect for its stakeholders who include its workers, suppliers, clientele and the society at large. Quoting CIPD (2009), â€Å"When CSR is done well; it means a precious, though precarious, trust in your business. Successful CSR can bring benefits such as a distinct position in your marketplace, protecting your employer brand, and building credibility and trust with current and potential customers and employees. It can help significantly with recruitment, engagement and retention of employees†. Some academics believe that some corporations embark on corporate social responsibility projects for strategic reasons. Xueming and Bhattacharya (2008) affirm that in recent times, corporate social responsibility matches the strategic plan of many corporations. They mention that although some corporations carry out a range of socially responsible activities such as philanthropic acts, corporate responsibility and sustainability reporting, marketing and stakeholder events to mention a few, they do so not because they feel it is the â€Å"right thing to do† but regard it is a â€Å"smart thing to do†. 2.1.1 GOVERNMENT AS STAKEHOLDERS Porter and Van der Linde (1995) believe that countries impose firm directives on home organizations, and the relationship government has with organizations corporate social responsibility issues positively affects them. It encourages them to create policies pertaining to the environment, cost reduction, sustainability of their products, and also increase the organizations competitive advantage in the international marketplace. This means that the government can control organizations and ensure they adhere to its directives and policies. Even though government has great control on the way organizations operate their businesses through the use of regulatory guidelines and policies, the activities of organizations have also had a growing influence on the government. Thorne et al (2008) assert that â€Å"managing this relationship with government officials while navigating the dynamic world of politics is a major challenge for firms, both large and small†. They explain that because of the varied nature of the environment, there are several competitors and suppliers in the decision making process, and as such raising the economic risks. Being stakeholders, organizations and government are considered mutual stakeholders and as such both sides can cooperate and play a part in the decision making process. In a Questions-and-Answers session with the Chairman and CEO, Charles Holliday, of DuPont a science-based solution company, Holliday was asked on how businesses and the government can effectively collaborate on stan dards-setting and value-creation for their stakeholders. He replied as follows: â€Å"The complexities and opportunities of modern business and industry are too great to assume that regulation alone can get us where we have to go. Regulation, as we have seen historically, is not a precision tool for change. But it can overcome inertia and get things going. The landmark environmental legislation of the 1970s and 1980s set in motion the kind of change that in the U.S. has led to cleaner air and water. No one doubts that†. He further said that in regulating sustainability, â€Å"We can expect that government will identify some pressure points where regulatory instruments can advance the cause. But real progress in sustainability will come from what we build into products and services, in the way we design and operate our plants and distribution networks, in the way we think about the ultimate disposition of the things we make, even and especially in the way we direct our rese arch and development. Its hard to imagine regulatory protocols that can encompass all of that. Industry has to be imaginative and proactive and show that we can accomplish the things our stakeholders expect of us, especially those things that go beyond the letter of the law† (as cited in Freeman et al, 2006). He also mentioned that at DuPont, they have reduced their greenhouse gas emissions by 72% since 1990 and this is because it was expected of them by their stakeholders to be proactive, and that gave them the push. This further shows how corporations work on their own in accordance with government directives designed towards improving the society. Marcus (2002) and Delmas and Terlaak (2002) are quick to assert that some corporations might be discouraged if government implements regulations they consider stringent and as such corporations should be allowed to make their own decisions as they consider appropriate. 2.2 THE CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY SCHOOLS OF THOUGHTS The issue of whether corporations should be socially responsible or not, the extent to which they should be responsible, to whom they should be responsible and the context in which they should be responsible, has been a major debate amongst researchers. There are two schools of thought which have differing opinions on CSR matters. They are the restrictive and expansionist opinions. The restrictive school of thought upholds the profit maximisation stand while the other school believes that corporations should be socially responsible. 2.2.1 THE EXPANSIONIST SCHOOL OF THOUGHT The expansionists believe that environmental problems are caused by businesses and for that reason they should be liable for their externalities. Stoner and Wankel (1988) maintain that corporations should take into consideration the impact of their environmental activities on the society and for that reason they should act responsibly not only for the benefit of their stakeholders but to the general populous. Davis and Blomstrom (1975) give an account of their opinion of how a model corporation should look. They assert that it should provide an opportunity for investment, a good working condition, be ethically considerate, be a good corporation to do business with, pay their tax contributions and support governments endeavours, be good to the community they work in, contribute to social endeavours and public concerns. Crowther and Rayman- Bacchus (2004) assert that â€Å"the activities of an organization impacts upon the external environment and have suggested that such an organizat ion should therefore be accountable to a wider audience than simply its shareholders†. They also mention that the â€Å"recognition of the rights of all stakeholders and the duty of a business to be accountable in this wider context therefore has been largely a relatively recent phenomenon†. In summary, corporate social responsibility should include responsibility to the owners of the business, Environmental Corporate Social Responsibility Environmental Corporate Social Responsibility CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION This dissertation discusses and undertakes an analysis of some data gathered on Environmental Corporate Social Responsibility within organizations in the Fast Moving Consumer Goods Industry. The environmental social responsibility activities to be looked at within the selected companies are their water usage level, emissions, waste produced and total energy used with regard to being aware of environmental concerns. In this chapter, the aim and objectives of the study are outlined and a brief introduction is furnished. 1.1 BACKGROUND AND OVERVIEW OF STUDY In recent times, there has been much debate about whether corporations should be socially responsible or not and also the extent to which they should be responsible. With the global recession at the moment, the future years will show if CSR has been taking on by corporations or if it is, as critics say, merely a marketing stunt designed to make their business attractive (The Independent, 2009). The phrase social responsibility is often hard to pin down because of the fact that there are several schools of thought concerning this notion. Milton Friedman questions if companies are required to take responsibility for social issues (Kok et al., 2001, p. 286). He stressed that the sole social responsibility of any organization is to boost its profits through legal ways and that donating an organizations funds to the society is harmful to the organization as this might reduce the organizations profit or cause an increase in product price or, in exceptional cases, have both effects (Pinkston and Carroll, 1996). Some researchers on the other hand are of the opinion that because of the ever changing competitive environment in which businesses are carried out, it is essential that organizations incorporate some sort of Corporate Social Responsibility standard that will help foster its sustainability in the environment. Boynton (2002) asserts that social responsibility is â€Å"a val ue that specifies that every situation from family to firm- is responsible for its members conduct and can be held accountable for its actions†. This research work supports the notion that organizations should continually engage in corporate social responsibility activities; therefore, as a conscious strategy, corporations must endeavour to incorporate environmental CSR in their diverse functions and operations. Fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) also known as Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) industries focus on the production of consumable goods which people require from day to day. Fast Moving Consumer Goods can be said to be â€Å"low price items that are used with a single or limited number of consumptions† (Baron et al., 1991). Examples of FMCG or CPG products are food and beverages, footwear, clothing products, tobacco and other general products. The FMCG or CPG industry is an umbrella for wholesale and retail consumer goods producing companies. A number of companies function within this industry: examples are Nestle, Procter and Gamble, Pfizer, Reckitt Benkiser, British American Tobacco, Cadbury and Smithkline just to mention a few. According to Jarvis (2003), business organizations endeavour to maximise profits as much as they can. Fast-moving consumer goods companies cannot therefore be left out in the quest for profit maximisation as the goods they produce are sold to consumers in order to make some sort of gain. FMCG companies provide humans with day to day products they require and as such one of their responsibilities is to ensure that the manufactured products meet the required quality standard. In manufacturing their products, some FMCG companies make use of some natural resources such as water, wood, soil etc., and sophisticated machineries which in some way affect the environment. Making use of the earths natural resources without any provision for replacing the resources leads to depletion, while emissions from machineries pollute the environment. Corporations implement CSR activities because they hope they will give them a competitive advantage over their rivals. Branco and Rodigues (2006) assert that CSR offers internal and external gains. The benefits are referred to as internal if engaging in social responsibility activities helps a corporation build, develop and manage its wealth and abilities, for instance: corporate culture and expertise. External benefits, on the other, are those linked to a corporations status, staff awareness and culture; these are essential indescribable assets which, though hard to easily replace or duplicate, can be developed or trashed depending on whether a corporation is socially responsible or otherwise. Moreover, because companies take from the environment directly or indirectly, it is their responsibility to ensure that the environment and society at large, and not only the stakeholders, benefit from some kind of social responsibility activities set up by the companies (Stoner and Wankel, 19 88). Speaking of the FMCG industry in United Kingdom, Bourlakis and Weightman (2004) assert that the industry, which includes the food and grocery sector, contributes immensely to the countrys economy as it provides employment to over 3.2 million people. This figure accounts for close to 17% of the countrys total workforce. The same authors also mention that the FMCG industry accounts for over  £130 billion of consumer spending yielding, representing over 9% of the GDP. 1.2 THE MANUFACTURING SECTOR The British Prime Minister, Mr. Gordon Brown, declares that â€Å"†¦for this government manufacturing not only has been, but remains and will always be, critical to the success of the British economy†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (BIS, 2008). The United Kingdom is the 6th largest manufacturing country in the world (See appendix 1 for details). It provides the economy with about  £150billion per annum. The countrys productivity has increased by about 50% since 1997. The United Kingdom attracts â€Å"more foreign direct investment than any country apart from the USA† (BIS, 2009). In UK, manufacturing accounts for 13% of the GDP; also, between 1997 and 2004, the average labour productivity grew by 4% over the United States, 5% above France and also 15% over Germany. The figure below shows a graph of the growth in productivity. Sheldons study on ‘social responsibility of management indicates that industries exist with the aim of servicing the society (Sheldon, 1923). The developments which various industries have made lately show that there is a link between the society and the industry. It can therefore be said that the purpose of creating industries is so that the society can benefit from it as well as sustain it. Sen (1999) observes that â€Å"as people who live in a broad sense together, we cannot escape the thought that the terrible occurrences that we see around us are quintessentially our problems. They are our responsibility whether or not they are also anyone elses† (Sen, 1999). The manufacturing sector is very huge and includes a range of industries such as: Aerospace, Biotechnology, Chemical, Food and beverages, Pharmaceuticals etc. The FMCG industry is one of the sub industries within the manufacturing sector. They sometimes face a lot of problems and as such struggle with critic isms from stakeholders on social responsibility matters even though they have functional CSR agendas. From the size of the British manufacturing industry, it is fair to say that it uses a huge amount of energy compared to the rest of the European Union. 1.3 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM From looking at FMCG Companys website and their social responsibility/sustainability reporting materials, it will be seen that they engage in corporate social responsibility at different levels. Looking closely at FMCG companies within the United Kingdom, it will be seen that almost all of them if not all, consider corporate social responsibility and its effect on their business operations particularly as it pertains to their corporate image, competitive advantage and even their finances. Davis (1973) in his work asserts that engaging in corporate social responsibility can improve an organizations finances and image. 1.4 AIM OF PROJECT The aim of the project is to contribute to the body of empirical data in the area of Corporate Social Responsibility by gathering information that will help in the analysis of environmental corporate social responsibility within organizations in the Fast-Moving Consumer Goods industry. The findings of this research should provide managers and the academic world some more information in the area of Environmental Corporate Social Responsibility. 1.5 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES The main objective of this study on the analysis of data gathered on environmental corporate social responsibility in some organizations in the Fast Moving Consumer Goods Industry is to critically look at the steps the corporations take in being environmentally responsible and also how they measure the progress. Also, this dissertation will be attempt to: To analyse the data from selected FMCG companies relating to their environmental CSR practices to identify the indicator/metrics used by the companies to benchmark their performance on environmental CSR in their organizations; to determine factors that encourage environmental responsibility practices. To draw some conclusions and make some recommendations about the state of environmental CSR in the selected organizations. 1.6 SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY The FMCG industry is very large and as such it may not be feasible for the researcher to report on all the companies in the industry bearing in mind the limitation of time and adequate resources. Therefore the scope of this study will be limited to environmental corporate social responsibility in selected FMCG companies. The study will take a look at the environmental corporate social activities they have embarked on with respect to water usage reduction, CO2 emission reduction, reduction of waste produced, and total energy usage of each of the companies. Owing to lack of time and resources, the researcher will not be able to conduct a survey of environment corporate social responsibility in all UK-based fast moving consumer goods companies. It is worth noting though that a lot of them carry out environmental corporate social responsibility activities and also report on them using indices to which some of them are benchmarked. 1.7 STRUCTURE OF THE DISSERTATION This study is structured into five chapters. Chapter one provides an introduction/background to the research study, together with a brief introduction of the sector and industry. Chapter two contains the literature review; it comprehensively and critically reviews previous work done in this research area. Chapter three highlights the research design and data collection process employed by the researcher. Chapter four contains an analysis of the data gathered together. Some findings and discussions of the research area are also furnished. The final chapter, chapter five, contains some recommendations and conclusions based on the findings in the course of carrying out this dissertation. CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY Corporate Social Responsibility has progressed from an irrelevant and often discriminated concept to one that is today well-known and established in businesses round the globe (Lee, 2008). Corporate Social Responsibility can be thought of as an umbrella phrase that takes into consideration the various ways and means a corporation embarks on in trying to act ethically and morally. In the last couple of decades, CSR has become widely well-known (Campbell, 2007). According to some researchers, the first book on CSR was written in 1953 by Howard Bowen, with the title: Responsibilities of the Businessman (Carroll, 1979; Kantanen, 2005). Defining Corporate Social Responsibility can prove to be a complex task as it has varied meanings to different people. This is due to the fact that there is no agreed definition and as such organizations that are meticulous in their goals of incorporating CSR activities into their businesses are faced with compound problems. Because of how complex CSR is, it is hard to provide a definition. Stakeholders therefore make use of different definitions that are in line with their business operations, goals and aims. The definitions are often also related to the sizes of the corporations and how they regard their officers who are responsible for CSR activities within their organisations. Thus there is no agreed definition of CSR, because different corporations translate it to suit them depending on their state of affairs (MacLagan, 1999: Campbell, 2007: Garriga Mele, 2004). Bowen (1953) defines corporate social responsibility as â€Å"†¦ the obligations of businessmen to pursue those policies, to make those decisions, or to follow those lines of action which are desirable in terms of the objectives and values of our society†. Manakkalathil and Rudolf (1995) explain CSR as â€Å"the duty of organizations to conduct their business in a manner that respects the rights of individuals and promotes human welfare†. It is quite a weak explanation which makes it somewhat tough to actualize. Aguilera et al. (2007) emphasize that corporations should not border their CSR activities on stipulated legislation regarding such issues but should also make provision for activities not stipulated in any legislation they adhere to. Aguilera et al. (2007) assert that â€Å"corporate social responsibility is a companys considerations of and response to issues beyond the narrow economic, technical and legal requirements of the company to accomplish social and environmental benefits along with traditional economic gains†. Carroll (1991) states that CSR consists of f our aspects: legal, economic, ethical and philanthropic (discretionary) responsibility (See Appendix 1). Carroll (1991) argued that for a corporation striving to be seen as good within the society, all four aspects should be fulfilled. Carroll (1991) cites renowned economists Milton Friedmans assertion in trying to explain the relationship of the four aspects. On Friedmans part, he was only interested in the first three parts of CSR stating that corporations exist â€Å"to make as much money as possible while conforming to the basic rules of society, both those embodied in the law and those embodied in ethical custom† (Carroll, 1991) and he totally objected to the philanthropic aspect saying â€Å"the business of business is business†. In saying this, he meant that the usual economic standpoint only acknowledges legal, ethical and economic responsibility as a crucial principle while taking part in altruistic activities do not yield incentives for corporations. Levitt ( 1958) has a different approach to the CSR issue called the functional theory which considers CSR as ethically neutral. Corporations are considered to have particular tasks or organizational codes that communicate their position in the society. Corporations are expected to fulfil their social responsibilities by conforming to existing legal frameworks, as the onus of determining social good is the responsibility of the state and not that of the corporations. The reliability and character of an organization is in its sensitivity to varying conditions and demand. Organizations that react positively to financial and other varying issues will thrive, while those that do not respond adequately will die. Consequently, if the immediate situation requires that corporations be â€Å"socially responsible† then the corporations must endeavour to be so. Davis (1960) implies that social responsibility pertains to corporations â€Å"decisions and actions taken for reasons at least partiall y beyond the firms direct economic or technical interest†. Eells and Walton (1961) debate the meaning of CSR and say that it pertains to the â€Å"problems that arise when corporate enterprise casts its shadow on the social scene, and the ethical principles that ought to govern the relationship between the corporation and society†. Deakin and Hobbs (2007) assert that corporations that go ahead and carry out CSR activities which are over the minimum legal requirements stand to benefit immensely. Margolis and Walsh (2003) in the research they conducted found that most corporations, however, only focus on particular aspects of CSR: mainly the economic aspect and try to shy away from the social and environmental aspects. 2.1.1 STAKEHOLDER THEORY OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY The most spoken about theory of corporate social responsibility is the stakeholder theory. Freeman (1984) explains the basic concepts and attributes of stakeholder management in his booked entitled Strategic Management: A Stakeholder Approach. He defines stakeholders to be ‘‘groups and individuals who can affect, or are affected by, the achievement of an organizations mission† (Freeman, 1984) or otherwise regarded as ‘‘those groups who have a stake in or a claim on the firm (Evan and Freeman, 1988). Freeman (2004) regards stakeholders as â€Å"those groups who are vital to the survival and success of the corporation†. Freeman explains that not only the owners of a corporation have genuine concerns about it but also persons and or groups of persons that might be affected or can possibly have an effect on the corporations doings and as such these groups of people have the right to be considered in any decision making process within the corporation. Kaler (2006) on the other hand refers to the stakeholder theory that supports the notion that corporations should be socially responsible. This theory states that â€Å"the shareholders value is boosted through employee commitment, customer loyalty, contractor cooperation and immense support from the community amongst other things. Some researchers are also of the opinion that the performance of organizations can be attributed to their strategies in trade and non-trade environments† (Baron, 2000). Freeman and Evan (1990) assert that corporations that embark on social responsibility activities often times do it because they trust that their managers are capable of boosting the corporations effectiveness in taking action regarding demands from external sources by handling and meeting the requests of the diverse shareholders. Stakeholder theory can be said to be a managerial activity because it expresses and directs how managers function (Freeman et al. 2006). In analyzing stakeholder theory, Donaldson and Preston (1995) proposed ethical guidelines for considering and selecting stakeholders. They made reference to this as being â€Å"instrumental† in the sense that when corporations manage their stakeholder activities accordingly, their performance will improve tremendously in relation to their stability, growth and profitability. According to Freeman (1994), the aim of stakeholder theory is conveyed in two key questions and the first is determining what the function of the firm is. This influences managers to convey the feeling of importance built within the corporation and also display activities that pull together all the major stakeholders. This propels the corporation forward and makes it possible for it to produce outstanding performance, instituted with respect to its function and economic p erformance in the open market. The second question asked by the stakeholder theory deals with the sort of responsibility owed to the stakeholders by the managers. This motivates the managers to convey the means they take in conducting their businesses and particularly the kind of relationship they yearn for and have to build with their stakeholders in order to realize their purpose (Friedman and Miles, 2006). The stakeholder theory concept can be further broken down into: normative stakeholder theory, which hinges on theories of how managers and sometimes stakeholders are supposed to behave, and also how they are supposed to view the beliefs of the corporation as they pertain to its ethical ethos (Friedman and Miles, 2006), and the descriptive stakeholder theory which is about how managers and stakeholders actually act and the perception of their responsibilities and actions. The stakeholder theory that, in fact, relates very well with corporate social responsibility is the instrumental stakeholder theory. This theory is at times associated with a corporations strategic style: where the major concern for the corporation is how its managers perform if they are allowed to put their own interests and/or the interests of the corporation forward as it relates to profit maximization or the maximization of stockholder value (Friedman and Miles, 2006). Orlitzky et al (2003) mention that several authors are of the opinion that corporate social performance might help a corporation towards acquiring new abilities, raw materials and possibilities which are apparent in a corporations culture, expertise, business and workforce. Corporate social performance is closely related to corporate social responsibility and it is sometimes assumed that it will help advance managerial abilities that boost employee contribution, organization and harmonization together with a ground-breaking management approach (Shrivastava, 1995). The reputation perspective theory on the other hand, states that â€Å"superficially, corporate social performance might encourage the development of a positive figure with a corporations customers, its investors, banks and contractors which it can in the long run benefit from through having access to capital and also possibly draw high-quality employees towards it and also enhance the good will of its current employees towards the organization which over time the corporation might benefit from in financial terms† (Orlitzky et al, 2003). In recent times, it will be seen that so many corporations and/or establishments have planned and sustained their businesses in ways that correspond to the concept of the stakeholder theory (Collins and Porras, 1994). For example, corporations like Procter and Gamble, Reckitt Benckiser, British American Tobacco, to mention a few, present an excellent example of the value managers place on the fundamentals of stakeholder theory. It is worth noting that these corporations place high importance on their stakeholders and organizational wealth but at the same time do not stress on profitability as the push factor of their business. This is because they are fully aware of the worth and relationship with stakeholders as an important factor if they are to succeed. Friedman (1970) on the other hand is of a contrary opinion. He is of the opinion that when executives take decisions it should only be for the purpose of wealth creation for its stakeholders. It is evident that Friedman does not support the concept of CSR. He holds that the principal duty of directors is towards their staff. In his opinion, a corporate executive may take decisions that directly concern himself but should never take decisions concerning, for example, price mark down of products or pollution due to carbon emission, beyond the obligations imposed on the corporation by law. Friedman states further that by doing these, the corporate executive will be spending the corporations wealth and forcing its stockholders to pay tax while at the same time taking decision on the expenditure of the corporations tax returns. Friedman (1970) asserts that governments demand taxes from corporate entities, ensuring that there are adequate governmental, legal and constitutional measures in place to force compliance. Friedman stresses that executives are selected by stockholders as representatives to protect their interest and this motivation dies gradually if the corporate executive wastes the stockholders wealth on social activities. Friedmans belief is that government instructs corporations to pay a certain amount as tax and if paid, government use the tax appropriately, thereby making it unnecessary for corporations themselves to engage in any CSR projects. In this regard, one assumes that such taxes will be adequate to ensure the effective handling by the government of CSR activities that benefit the environment and the larger society. In Friedmans perception, the corporations that pay their taxes as and when due are responsible. Jensen and Meckling (1976) assert that corporate social responsibility may have an adverse effect on corporations especially if the cost of implementing CSR projects becomes exceptionally high. There are certain contrary views that claim that many ostensibly socially responsible corporations actually benefit far more from their CSR activities than the target societies that were expected to be the main beneficiaries. For example, relying on a report by Corporate Watch (2006), more than â€Å"80% of corporate CSR decision-makers were confident in the ability of good CSR practice to deliver branding and employee benefits. To take the example of corporate philanthropy, when corporations make donations to charity, they are giving away their shareholders money, which they can only do if they see potential profit in it. This may be because they want to improve their image by associating themselves with a cause, to exploit a cheap vehicle for advertising, or to counter the claims of pressure groups, but there is always an underlying financial motive, so the company benefits more than the charity†. Paine (2002) affirms that the choice to neglect corporate social responsibility will in some way indicate the corporations disrespect for its stakeholders who include its workers, suppliers, clientele and the society at large. Quoting CIPD (2009), â€Å"When CSR is done well; it means a precious, though precarious, trust in your business. Successful CSR can bring benefits such as a distinct position in your marketplace, protecting your employer brand, and building credibility and trust with current and potential customers and employees. It can help significantly with recruitment, engagement and retention of employees†. Some academics believe that some corporations embark on corporate social responsibility projects for strategic reasons. Xueming and Bhattacharya (2008) affirm that in recent times, corporate social responsibility matches the strategic plan of many corporations. They mention that although some corporations carry out a range of socially responsible activities such as philanthropic acts, corporate responsibility and sustainability reporting, marketing and stakeholder events to mention a few, they do so not because they feel it is the â€Å"right thing to do† but regard it is a â€Å"smart thing to do†. 2.1.1 GOVERNMENT AS STAKEHOLDERS Porter and Van der Linde (1995) believe that countries impose firm directives on home organizations, and the relationship government has with organizations corporate social responsibility issues positively affects them. It encourages them to create policies pertaining to the environment, cost reduction, sustainability of their products, and also increase the organizations competitive advantage in the international marketplace. This means that the government can control organizations and ensure they adhere to its directives and policies. Even though government has great control on the way organizations operate their businesses through the use of regulatory guidelines and policies, the activities of organizations have also had a growing influence on the government. Thorne et al (2008) assert that â€Å"managing this relationship with government officials while navigating the dynamic world of politics is a major challenge for firms, both large and small†. They explain that because of the varied nature of the environment, there are several competitors and suppliers in the decision making process, and as such raising the economic risks. Being stakeholders, organizations and government are considered mutual stakeholders and as such both sides can cooperate and play a part in the decision making process. In a Questions-and-Answers session with the Chairman and CEO, Charles Holliday, of DuPont a science-based solution company, Holliday was asked on how businesses and the government can effectively collaborate on stan dards-setting and value-creation for their stakeholders. He replied as follows: â€Å"The complexities and opportunities of modern business and industry are too great to assume that regulation alone can get us where we have to go. Regulation, as we have seen historically, is not a precision tool for change. But it can overcome inertia and get things going. The landmark environmental legislation of the 1970s and 1980s set in motion the kind of change that in the U.S. has led to cleaner air and water. No one doubts that†. He further said that in regulating sustainability, â€Å"We can expect that government will identify some pressure points where regulatory instruments can advance the cause. But real progress in sustainability will come from what we build into products and services, in the way we design and operate our plants and distribution networks, in the way we think about the ultimate disposition of the things we make, even and especially in the way we direct our rese arch and development. Its hard to imagine regulatory protocols that can encompass all of that. Industry has to be imaginative and proactive and show that we can accomplish the things our stakeholders expect of us, especially those things that go beyond the letter of the law† (as cited in Freeman et al, 2006). He also mentioned that at DuPont, they have reduced their greenhouse gas emissions by 72% since 1990 and this is because it was expected of them by their stakeholders to be proactive, and that gave them the push. This further shows how corporations work on their own in accordance with government directives designed towards improving the society. Marcus (2002) and Delmas and Terlaak (2002) are quick to assert that some corporations might be discouraged if government implements regulations they consider stringent and as such corporations should be allowed to make their own decisions as they consider appropriate. 2.2 THE CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY SCHOOLS OF THOUGHTS The issue of whether corporations should be socially responsible or not, the extent to which they should be responsible, to whom they should be responsible and the context in which they should be responsible, has been a major debate amongst researchers. There are two schools of thought which have differing opinions on CSR matters. They are the restrictive and expansionist opinions. The restrictive school of thought upholds the profit maximisation stand while the other school believes that corporations should be socially responsible. 2.2.1 THE EXPANSIONIST SCHOOL OF THOUGHT The expansionists believe that environmental problems are caused by businesses and for that reason they should be liable for their externalities. Stoner and Wankel (1988) maintain that corporations should take into consideration the impact of their environmental activities on the society and for that reason they should act responsibly not only for the benefit of their stakeholders but to the general populous. Davis and Blomstrom (1975) give an account of their opinion of how a model corporation should look. They assert that it should provide an opportunity for investment, a good working condition, be ethically considerate, be a good corporation to do business with, pay their tax contributions and support governments endeavours, be good to the community they work in, contribute to social endeavours and public concerns. Crowther and Rayman- Bacchus (2004) assert that â€Å"the activities of an organization impacts upon the external environment and have suggested that such an organizat ion should therefore be accountable to a wider audience than simply its shareholders†. They also mention that the â€Å"recognition of the rights of all stakeholders and the duty of a business to be accountable in this wider context therefore has been largely a relatively recent phenomenon†. In summary, corporate social responsibility should include responsibility to the owners of the business,