Social Responsibility Practices Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Social Responsibility Practices - Essay Example Socially Responsible Business Practices 5 4.1 Designing Facilities 5 4.2 Developing Process Improvements 6 4.3 Discontinuing Product Offerings 6 4.4 Selecting Suppliers 6 4.5 Choosing manufacturing and packaging materials 6 4.6 Providing full disclosure 6 4.7 Employee Welfare Programs 6 4.8 Measuring, tracking and Reporting 6 4.9 Children’s Marketing 6 4.10 Access for the disabled 7 4.11 Privacy for Customer Information 7 4.12 Plant, outsourcing, retail location decision 7 5. Conclusion 7 6. References 8 1. Introduction Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as a field of study has created a niche for itself among the academia, corporate, the government and other agencies. Starting at the beginning of the twenty first century, there has been a growing interest in Socially Responsible Investment. There is always a conflict of interest between business and society. From an ethical standpoint, CSR helps create an ideal society due to the actions of companies. However, the economic view is that profit should be maximized. As Leonard and McAdam point out, CSR includes issues such as human rights, workplace, unfair trade practices, ecology, consumers, community involvement and social development among others; and it has a bearing on organizational aspects like manufacturing, marketing, packaging, pricing, and distribution (27-29). CSR has evolved gradually from a ‘compulsory’ attitude to an ‘instructional’ one to a ‘suggestion’ one. This implies a process towards a complex and nuanced framework to define the concept and implement the practice of CSR. 2. Concept of CSR The World Business Council on Sustainable Development (WBCSD) defines CSR as â€Å"the commitment of business to contribute to sustainable economic development, working with employees, their families, the local community and society at large to improve their quality of life† (as qtd in Centidamar and Husoy 164). The best CSR initiatives are taken volun tarily on behalf of companies. Encouragement rather than punishment is a better alternative. The stakeholders in CSR should include customers, employees, suppliers, local neighbourhood etc. A softer relationship rather than a formal one should be the basis for collaboration with various stakeholders. Further, CSR brings together various organizations i.e. makes a network among them or builds communication channels between them (Centidamar and Husoy 165). As long as companies can benefit economically, they will implement CSR. Environmentally sound technology is the perfect example for this trend. Increased investments in technology will finally result in increased profits. Not only can innovations improve the corporate image, but also reduce the costs involved (165). Quality is part and parcel of CSR. The lower the company’s ethics, the lesser will be the success of Total Quality Management (TQM). Moreover, the brand image of a corporation is affected if it ignores quality. 3. Importance of CSR The following is a description of some of the merits and the criticism of CSR which together explain the significance attached to this growing field. 3.1 Limiting Litigations Every company has to cross swords with the law of the land at some point of time. Litigations arise when there is an aggrieved party who does not have faith in the company finding a solution that is fair to him/her. CSR is an attitude and a way of doing business. Implementing CSR can

Parental Spanking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Parental Spanking - Essay Example According to Shane Tucker, "spanking is an appropriate form of punishment when used in an effective way, and not merely as an angry reaction to behavior." (Tucker) Therefore, spanking is an appropriate form of punishment to discipline a naughty child and it is a legal, socially-tolerated, and biblically-supported means of disciplining the child. First of all, parental spanking is a good form of discipline because it is most effective in disciplining the child and it causes no problems to the child, if implemented effectively. It is the most-widely used and effective way of immediately reducing or stopping an unwanted behavior of the child and it is not very harmful to the child. "Spanking can immediately reduce or stop an unwanted behavior if used extremely infrequently in selective circumstances (for instance when the child's behavior is so unsafe or dangerous that he could be significantly or permanently harmed.

Biology Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Biology - Research Paper Example The stabilization of soil carbon results in enhanced soil properties like improved aeration, aggregation and water-holding capacity which leads to better crop production and soil conservation (Six, Frey and Thiet). Furthermore, fungal species are also able to extract important minerals and elements from rocks and other geologic matter in a process known as bioweathering (Gadd, Burford and Fomina). Fungi have properties that permit them to work under a wider range of pH conditions, resist the effects of toxic metals, UV radiation, and climatic extremes (reviewed in Gadd, Burford and Fomina). Fungi also have food uses, the most common is the use of yeast to ferment glucose and allow dough to rise and polymerize during bread-making. Other known food uses are production of cheeses and wines, as a substitute for protein foods, and as primary food products. Many are cultivated for food consumption like the common white button, Shiitake and Portobello mushrooms. These have been consumed and cultivated for hundreds of years: for example the consumption of Shiitake as food as been reported since 1313AD while the white button mushroom was first described in 1707 (Baar, Straatsma and Paradi). However, some expensive and rare edible fungi are not yet produced agronomically like truffles, matsutake, and chanterelles. Fungi colonize and penetrate food ingredients which result in the release of enzymes and metabolites that can result in food spoilage. However, the action of these filamentous colonizing fungi, also known as molds or moulds, could also result in fermentation and desira ble changes in foods. Foods like tempeh, tofu, soy sauce, Roquefort cheese, blue Stilton cheese, salami, brie, and rice wine have improved flavors and texture because of the action of different types of moulds (Nouts). A negative aspect of fungi is their ability to cause diseases known collectively as mycoses. According to the US National Center for Health Statistics,