Corporate Social Responsibility

Digital native is a term used to describe a person who has grown up and been attached with the immersion of technology. In the article “Multitasking Madness”, the digital natives have been known with the ability of multitasking at which previous generations are surprised. The digital natives are able to do many tasks at the same time because they strengthen brain cells to carry out specific activities. However, the question has been addressed: “How will businesses need to change to capitalize on the multitasking ability of the digital natives?

In a few years later, the baby boomers will get retired, then businesses will replace them with the younger generations, among them are digital natives who are much better in multitasking than previous generations. Also, technology has rocketed since the mid of 90’s, which requires businesses need to update and catch up with the rapid development of technology; as a result, businesses have to consider of hiring employees who are familiar with new technologies and adapt them into work efficiently.

With those two reasons, business organizations must come up with hanges, such as creating a new work environment in which the digital natives can maximize their abilities, and allowing them to work in their personal time. Creating such a good work environment to capitalize the abilities of the digital natives is making them comfortable at work. Their work area is no longer limited in a small cubicle but any place in the building so they don’t feel narrowed down in the small area. Also, they only need a thin slight laptop instead of a big screen desktop computer to carry around with them so that they can work anytime and anywhere.

For example, as an accountant for a website security company, I’m responsible for business transactions between the company with our clients and vendors, having a laptop with me all the time, I quickly respond urgent inquiries from them while interacting with other employees on IM windows. Allowing the digital natives to work in their personal time is one of changes that businesses should consider too, such as providing them with access so that they can work at anywhere and anytime. For instance, they can work at home and still are able to take care of their kids.

Or as my situation, full-time employee and attend school as part-time student, to be able to catch up with school and work projects, a permission of working on my own time would be a great idea for me. Creating a work environment at the workplace to capitalize the abilities of the digital natives is the best solution that business should consider because a company still hold the control of their employees, which is knowing if they show up for work and attend conferences and meetings frequently as requested. Businesses don’t need to spend much money on office furniture and big flat screen monitors.

The population of the study was one hundred and twenty; comprising of both staff and customers of Globacom . The sample size was ninety two and it was determined using the yaro Yamane formula. The research used both the primary and secondary sources of data in the course of study. The primary data were collected through the instrument of questionnaire, interviews and observation. The secondary data were collected from text books, journals, magazines, newspaper and libraries.

The research finding of the project work revealed that social responsibility programmes are necessary he findings also unveiled that Globacom Nigeria, a telecommunication firm carries out its social responsibility programme in its host community. The researcher recommended that the company should increase and expand its social responsibility programmes. Corporate social responsibility is therefore something that a company should try and get right in implementing. It is something that business today should wholeheartedly be committed to. The danger of ignoring social responsibility is too dangerous.

Corporate Social Responsibility an essentially American phenomenon has over the years become a major concern in Western Europe and in other countries of the world following the western model of development. According to Drucker, (1986:66). The genesis of the debate on the concept of corporate social responsibility has been traced to the wave of crisis in social values that engulfed America in the post World War II period and most especially in the sixties. The Chief Executive of General Motors who observed the changing trend could not help observing: I am concerned about a society that has demonstrably lost confidence in its institutions – in the government, in the press, in the church, in the military, as well as in business”. Business to America has had a most unique history. Its development growth and impact on social life in America since the civil war II is almost common knowledge. What may not be common knowledge, however, is the fact that business which has hitherto shaped and controlled the lives of millions of Americans some two hundred years ago is today being threatened by a wave of protests from various publics it uses to serve.

The crisis of confidence in the social role of business as made explicit in debates on corporate social responsibility points to the fact that America sees big business as a big powerful machine gone out of control. And efforts to control and at least re-orientate its directions form the core of the argument of all who urge business to change with the times. In other words, to deemphasize its so much vaunted profit maximization dogma and pay attention to the human lives and environment which it is subtly, ruthlessly and almost surely grinding out of existence.

As one of the protagonists has viewed the concept of corporate social responsibility it is a crude blend of long-run profit-making and altruism, a doctrine which fuses social values with profit maximization goals. In the early years of the American Republic and especially in the post civil war reconstruction era, business in America played an almost indispensable role as a powerful social tool for harnessing resources and ensuring material progress.

But as the years rolled on and business began to concentrate and centralize capital, its role in the economy became expansive and pervasive. At the height of prosperity, the captains of industry were heralded as heroes of the society. The later years of the post World War II era harbored a different story. The boom period following the end of World War II soon gave way to a periodic wave of depressions and crisis that was to rock every foundations of society on which business existed.

The frustrating economic situation characterized by inflation, unemployment, failing profit, declining investment, pollution of the external environment etc. , pushed Americans to re-examine almost every old values and the assumptions behind them. According to Drucker, (1986:96) the debate on corporate social responsibility did not only take place in the United State of America. The noise of the debate filtered through to other countries that shares similar business cultures with America most especially the Western European countries.

While the western European nations have responded positively to the debate, accepted and even implemented some of its own far reaching conclusions it is pertinent to know if the discussions and conclusion so far reached have had an impact on the countries periphery. One of the objectives of this study is to investigate to what extent the current debate on corporate social responsibility and its conclusion has trickled down to the periphery of Nigeria in particular and how it is applied here by firms who have embarked on such projects in Nigeria.

It is believed by the researcher that although the present level of industrialization does not entitled us to discuss the issue on the same platform with the industrialized western economies; the fact that they are imitating their path to industrialization should imply that we should study their experience closely to avoid mistakes. It is arguable also that foreign corporate bodies operating in host countries especially in the Third World countries are most likely to pay lip service to such principles as corporate social responsibility which are most likely to be of benefit to their host countries.

Also local or indigenous organizations can neglect this principle of corporate social responsibility to their host communities. These days, social responsibility of business is on what should or might be done to tackle and solve problems of society. The emphasis is on what contribution they can make to such social problems as protected and restoration of physical environment, racial discrimination or social discrimination. In striving to satisfy its corporate goals and achieve its objectives the organization cannot operate in isolation from its environment. .

The performance of corporate social responsibility is not undertaking to boost profit at the short-run but to meet some social needs, aspirations, and profit at the long-run. Organizations who hold this view of corporate social responsibility believes that once it does what is expected of it by law and its host community the organization is socially responsible. Owing to the vastness of this topic – corporate social responsibility we shall have to restrict our investigation to manageable proportions by focusing attention on telecommunication sector Nigeria, using Globacom Nigeria Limited.

The telecommunication industry is one of the fastest growing sectors in Nigeria. There are so many telecommunication companies owned by foreign and local corporate bodies in Nigeria. These telecommunication industries have covered a large area in Nigeria from urban to rural areas in the country. As a result of this, the researcher has selected one out of the many telecommunication companies to take a look at its corporate social responsibility project.

The researcher has decided to pick on Globacom Nigeria Limited, Enugu Zone, and has decided to look into its corporate social responsibility activities, to see how the company has gone in performing its social responsibility in host community. In recent years there have been series of arguments, debates and controversies among businessmen, academics, government officials and the society in general on what should be the principle objectives or business enterprises. Over the years, managers have neglected the problems created by corporate firms to their host communities.

These problems possess a lot of threat and sometimes make life difficult for these communities. The privilege giving to organization to operate in the society stems from the act that society believes that there is a mutual interdependency existing between them, that is, the organization and the society. The relationship between organizations and their host community has become increasingly important. The decision made in an organization may influence community prosperity and also national and even internationally economic activity might be affected.

An example of these problems is the on-going crisis in the Niger Delta region which has led to the destruction of lives and properties. There are accusations from the youths in these areas that companies misdirect their efforts and resources that they should have used to develop the community to bribe opinion leaders in order to overlook their responsibilities to the community, and these have caused a lot of acrimonies between the two parties, community and the firm. These same problems can also be identified in other arrears and in other communities across the country where large companies are located.

This prompted the researcher with deep sense of burden to these communities to unraveled the need for these large firms to see the need in helping the society solve some of its problems, most especially those they help to create, and involve in philanthropic donations to the needs of these communities and provide the community with some social amenities. Despite the roles played by organizations carrying out corporate social responsibility and the growing importance of social responsibility, the following issues have not been fully addressed: i. Why should organizations be socially responsible to their environment?

What benefits do organizations get from performing its corporate social responsibility? Why is social responsibility considered as a waste drain of business resources? Are organizations in Nigeria socially responsible? In view of the above, the researcher has taken up the issue of social responsibility in the telecommunication sector in Nigeria and used Globacom Nigeria as a case study to examine the extent of the company’s involvement in corporate social responsibility. For organizations to successfully survive in business, it must recognize the importance of social responsibility to the society.

The broad objective of the study is to – i. Examine the argument for and against corporate social responsibility. ii. Whether Globacom Nigeria Limited has been involved in social responsibility activities, and if so, to what extent have they been involved in their corporate social responsibility to their environment? To examine whether the immediate environments are taking into cognizance during planning and implementation of social responsibility, iv. To know the factors that motivates the adoption of corporate social responsibility. In pursuit of the objective of identifying the effectiveness and workability of corporate social responsibility the following hypothesis have been formulated, which intend to test in the course of this study: Ho: The organization involvement in social responsibility does not have an effect on the company and its host community. Ha: The organizations in social responsibility activities have an effect on the company and its host community. Ho: Globacom corporate social responsibility programme does not enhance organization-societal relationship.

According to Edgar (1982:61) business organization is a system, and a system can be defined as a set of interdependent parts which come together to make up the whole business. Each of these components or parts contributes and in return receives something from the whole which in turn is interdependent on the environment. A system may be closed or open. A system is said to be closed when it does not receive inputs from outside, that is its external environment nor does it contribute output to the external environment. A system can be said to be an open system when it exchanges inputs and outputs with its environment.

It gives output to the environment and in return receives inputs from the environment. The case study which is Globacom Nigeria is an example of an open system as it receives inputs and gives outputs to the environment. Environment can be defined as surroundings, especially the materials and other influences which affect the growth, development and existence of a living being or a business organization. Enudu (1999: 98), citing Onuoha (1991:121) defined an environment as a set of conditions and forces which surround and have direct or indirect influence on the organization.

Generally speaking, environmental variables that affect business organizations may be classified into internal and external environmental variables. An organization’s survival is dependent upon a series of exchange and the continual interaction with the environment gives rise to a number of broader responsibilities to society in general. To understand the business organizational environments, we must borrow some concepts from Systems Theory. One of the basic assumptions of systems theory is that business organizations are neither self-Sufficient nor self-constrained.

Rather, they exchange resources with and care dependent on the external. Thus, business organizations take inputs such as raw materials, money, labour and energy from the external environment, transform them into products or services and then send them back as outputs to the external environment. Koontz et al (1980:89) maintained that the relationship between a business organization and its environment can be examined in three main ways:- First, a business organization can be viewed as importing various kinds of inputs such as man, materials, money and machine.

These inputs are then transformed to produce outputs such as products and services,Secondly, in the study of the relationships between business organization and its environment is to focus on those publics which the business organization must service. These publics are, Employees, consumers, suppliers, stakeholders, government and the community where the business organization is located. A third approach is to view the business organization as operating in an external environment of opportunities and constraints which some authorities classified as economic, political, legal, technology etc.

The direct-action environment is made up of stakeholder. The stakeholders fall into two categories: External and Internal stakeholders. Stakeholders are defined as individual or groups that are directly or indirectly affected by business organization’s pursuit of its objectives. These are groups or individuals such as employees, shareholders that are not strictly part of a business organization’s environment but for whom an individual manager remains responsible. They are a part of the environment for which an individual manager is responsible.

The employees of a business organization render services. They also involve in the production of goods or services which the business organization sell. Therefore, managers must always seek to get the right caliber of workers in the workforce, SHAREHOLDERS: The shareholders are primarily interested in the return on investment but in recent time, managers and shareholders have become interested in how a business is run. The governing structure of a large company allows shareholders to influence a company by exercising their voting rights.

The management of an organization is responsible for the smooth running of the organization while they deal with multiple shareholders and balancing conflicting claims. Consumers are those people and organizations that buy the organization’s products and services. They therefore, exchange resources, usually in form of money. Their patronage or lack of it determines whether a business organization’s operations will be successful or not. Customers and market situation determines selling tactics that should be employed by the organization in marketing the organization’s products or services.

Usually, a marketing manager analyses the potential customers and market conditions and direct a marketing company based on that analysis. Globacom managers understands this, that is why they make sure that their product quality is unbeatable and prices less so that competitors will not have an hedge over them in the market. They also make sure that they have their products readily available for distributors at all time, and this they do by having depots all over the nation. Suppliers are those people and organizations that provide the materials, equipment and spare parts with which business organizations operate.

Every organization buys inputs – raw materials, services, energy, equipment and labour – from the environment and uses them to produce output. What the organization brings in from the environment and what it does with the price of its final products. Organizations are therefore dependent upon suppliers of materials and labour and will try to take advantage of competition among suppliers to obtain lower prices, better quality work and faster deliveries. In Nigeria, the relationship between government and business organizations has been that of restrictive control in nature.

Government had acted as a protector of business through maintaining domestic peace and security. Government has shown interest in the private sector of the economy and this they do by regulating the activities of all productive organizations to public interest and reinforcing laws and establishing agencies or regulatory bodies to ensure that these laws are adhered to. Like consumers and environment advocates, are social critics who use the political process to further a position on particular issues. Managers have to study and defect groups formed to oppose the company on any issue.

Special interest groups can use the media to gain attention; therefore managers must take both present and future special interest groups into account when setting organization strategy. The economy and business activity have always been covered by the media, since these topics affect so many people. There is an increase reports of business activities in the media, therefore, managers who regularly deals with the media should often seek for professional coaching to improve their ability to present information and opinions clearly and effectively. LABOUR UNIONS:

Labour Unions seek to improve the quality of work-life of members of another by giving workers more control over what they do and how they do it. Managers through collective bargaining try to negotiate wages, working conditions, hours, etc. They have improved workers sense of responsibility and participation. Business organizations depend on a variety of financial institutions, including commercial banks, investment banks and insurance companies to supply funds for maintaining and expanding their activities. Both old and new or well established business may rely on short-term loans to build new facilities.

Managers have to establish and maintain a working relationship with these institutions. A firm must always seek to increase its market share by gaining additional customers or it must beat its competitors in entering and exploiting and expanding market. These it must do by defining its marketing strategy. These are elements of the external environment that affect the climate in which a business organization’s activities take place, but do not affect the business organization directly Stoner et al (1996:63).

Some people refer to indirect-action as the “General environment”. The following are factors that influence business organization in an indirect-action environment: These are factors, such as inflations, recessions, price stability, tax, etc, that affects business. These are general economic conditions and trends that may be factors in an organization. Other important economic variables are capital, economic stability and government fiscal policies. In addition to the above economic controls, Farmer and Richman (1965:56), identified three other economic variables, one of them they referred to as factor endowment”, which is the extent to which a country has available natural resources, adequate and useful labour, and capital which can be employed for efficient production. Another one is the size of market and the third major pervasive economic constraint is the extent to which social overhead capital is available. These are factors such as demographics, lifestyles and social values that may influence and organization from its external environment. These are factors that may influence an organization’s activities as a result of political process or climate.

The political process involves competition between different interest groups, each seeking to advance its own values and goals. Political legal variable also refer to political and legal environment which relate primarily to compel of laws, regulations and government agencies and their actions which affects all kinds of enterprises. One of the most pervasive factors in the environment is technology. The term ‘Technology’ refers to the sum total of knowledge we have of ways to do things, which affects an organization’s activities.

By approaches to social responsibility, we mean the perception or view of people about the concept. While it is no longer new that social responsibility of business is necessary, there is still no consensus on what actually constitutes social responsibility. The various perceptions of social responsibility are: i. Social obligation ii. Social Reactions iii. Social Responsiveness. Those who hold this view of social responsibility believes that once the organization does what is expected of it by the law, that it is socially responsible. They believe that the major role of business in the society is to make profit.

Once this objective is achieved within the ambit of the law, the business is socially responsible. Their target therefor4e is to meet government standards and not to exceed it even if it would benefit society more. The proponents of social obligation believe that the first obligation of business is to return high profit to its shareholders for whom it is primarily accountable. The also believe that the duty of executing social programmes is that of the government and not business. Organizations are socially responsible when they pay taxes to government to enable it embark on these programmes.

Furthermore, the cost of social responsibility will ultimately be added to the cost of the goods and services offered by the companies, thereby leading to higher prices. This then means that it is the people who are paying for social service and not the company. SOCIAL REACTIONS: This view of social responsibility believes that business must be concerned about the social costs of its activities. It should exceed legal set targets in its attempt to responsible behavior. In doing this, it is helping to solve some of the societal problems arising from activities and even those that are traceable to it.

Social reaction therefore according to Seithi (1976:66) means behavior in reaction to currently prevailing social norms, values and expectations to various groups in the society for it to be socially responsible. Consequently any business that does not react favorably to the demands of societal groups is not socially responsible even if it means its legal obligation to society. Business is socially responsible if its actions are anticipatory and preventive instead of reactive and restorative Seithi, (1976:70).

To this group, social responsibility means acting in anticipation of the future needs of society. A socially responsive organization sees itself as part of the society and as such takes stand on public issues and contributes its quota toward solving societal problems. It does not have to wait for groups to make demands on it before it acts rather, it initiates social programmes which it feels would help society and execute them without prompting from any quarters.

Globacom Limited is a Nigeria multinational telecommunication company. Glo is a privately owned telecommunication company that started operations on the 29th August, 2003 in Nigeria. Globacom is privately owned by Mike Adenuga Group which consists of Equitorial Trust Bank, Conoil Plc. , and a petroleum marketing company producing a crude exploration company. The sole aim of introducing and lunching Globacom in Nigeria on the 29th of August, 2003 was to provide telecommunication service to the people of Nigeria as a means of solving the problem of inadequate communication flow.

Although Glo Mobil was the fourth telecommunication operator in Nigeria, within seven years of the company’s operation, its subscriber base has grown to over 25 million. Glo has an estimate of over 25 million subscribers. It has a reputation as one of the fastest growing multinational carrier in the world and the vision for Glo is to be the biggest and best carrier in Africa. Globacom currently operates in four countries in West Africa namely Republic of Benin, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Nigeria. Its Headquarter is in Lagos, Nigeria because it is 100 percent a Nigerian owned company.

According to Globacom Annual Report: (2009:6). In August, 2003, Glo Mobile was launched in Nigeria and it introduced lower tariffs, pay per second billing and along other value added services. Glo Mobile is a subsidiary of Glo, its Glo Mobile Network Unit. Globacom ability to become the best telecommunication company in Africa and all over the world is due to the strategies they design in other to carry out their business smoothly. An example of their strategic business units are, Globacom Broad Access, Glo Gateway, Glo 1 Submarine cable, etc.

In 2005, Glo Mobile introduced Glo fleet manager which is the most comprehensive Vehicle Tracking solution offered to save time and money. Glo fleet manager helps managers, transporters fleet operator manage their fleet effectively and efficiently. They also introduced the Glo Mobile Internet Service which provides subscribers with speed access to all popular Internet sites which have been customized for mobile phone browsing. The company in 2006 introduced Black Berry (A) which is the leading wireless solution that keeps mobile professionals around the world connected to people and information.

In 2009, Globacom launched Blackberry prepaid service which gives subscribers options to pay daily, weekly or monthly for the service The company now provides coverage to over 85 cities and towns and well over 5000 communities and villages spinning every geo-political zone and 36 of Nigeria’s States. Globacom products and services are available at its friendship centers which have a structure and some departments. It also have nationwide network of dealership, banks and convenience channels where its products are sold. Under the chairmanship of Otunba Michael Adeniyi Ishola Adenuga Jr. Globacom has turned out to become the fastest and best telecommunication industry in West Africa. Recently, in June, 2008, Glo mobile was launched in Republic of Benin. Glo Mobile showed unprecedented growth through sales of 600,000 Sim Cards in the first ten days of operation. Glo acquired an operating license through its Glo Mobile division in Ghana and currently has about 11 millions subscribers in Ghana, and in 2009, the company acquired submarine cable landing rights and international gateway services in Ivory Coast.

Globacom Nigeria Limited is a leading telecommunication company in Nigeria, which has been at the forefront of promoting sustainable development and high standards of corporate governance and is one of the few signatories that keep date to the convention of business integrity. According to Frank Nweke, (2006. 5. guardian newspaper) “Glo is an authentic Nigeria Company. What is has achieved in the past years demonstrates great potentials, great opportunities, drive for excellence and commitment to Nigeria”.

The Nigeria Communication Commission awarded the company as the second national operator driven by the success of Globacom in Nigeria. The concept “Corporate Social Responsibility” has been defined in many ways – Most writers on social responsibility see the concept as a disposition of an organization to exhibit “Missionary rather than “Mercenary” attitude towards the society. Holmes and watts (2000:19) on behalf of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development provide a reasonable representative definition as:

The continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and other families as well as Those of the local community and society at large. Caroll (1979:96) proposed a four-part definition of corporate social responsibility. It consists of Economic, Legal, Ethical and Altruistic or discretionary corporate social responsibility. “The social responsibility of business encompasses the economic, legal, ethical and discretionary expectations that the society ask of organization at a given point in time”. Caroll (1979:98).

An organization’s economic responsibility to the society entails producing goods and services that society wants and setting them at a fair price that society wants and accepts. The goods and services must be of quality standard. The Legal responsibility that a company has to its society is to comply with the law and “play by the rules of the game”. (Lantos 2001:6). Ethical responsibility embraces the range of norms, standards and expectations that reflect a concern for what consumers, employees, share-holders and the community regard as fair, just or in keeping with respect for or protection of stakeholders moral rights.

Caroll, (1997:100). Discretionary responsibilities are purely voluntary and often guided by the personal values of an individual within a company. They go beyond the legal and are not generally expected in ethical sense. Caroll definition remains a useful basis for analysis as it encompasses the crucial elements of a company’s responsibility to society. According to Andrews (1977:43), the concept of corporate social responsibility can be described as the intelligent and objective concern which constrain individuals no matter how profitable, and leads them in the direction of the positive contribution to human betterment.

Luttons and Hodget (1976: 24) noted it as the means to pursue those policies, to make decision, or to follow these line of action which are desirable in terms of objective and value of the society. Imoiseh (1985:27) noted that the major limitation of these conceptions about social responsibility is the failure to take into account:’ i. Who determines what action of an organization constitutes social responsibility? ii. Where should be the “arena” for the organization to perform social responsibility?

Corporate social responsibility can be best understood in terms of the changing relationship between business and society. The European Commission’s (2001. vol6:22) Green Paper on Corporate social responsibility defines CSR as “a concept whereby companies decide voluntarily to contribute to a better society and a cleaner environment”.. According to Caroll, (1979:56) corporate social responsibility is about businesses and other organizations going beyond the legal, obligations to manage the impact they have on the environment and society.

In particular, this could include how organizations interact with their employees, suppliers, customers and the communities in which they operate, as well as the extent they attempt to protect the environment. The notion of a company look beyond profit to their role in society is generally termed corporate social responsibility, involves a company linking itself with ethical, values, transparency, employee relations, compliance with legal requirements and overall respect for the community in which the operate.

It goes beyond the occasional community service action, however, as CSR is a corporate philosophy that drives strategic decision making, partner selection, hiring practices and ultimately brand development Corporate social responsibility also known as corporate responsibilities, corporate citizenship, responsible business or corporate social performance, is a form of corporate self regulation integrated into a business model.

Lately, CSR policy would function as a business built-in, self regulating mechanism whereby business would monitor and ensure it adherence to law, ethical standards, and international norms. Business would embrace responsibility for the impact of their activities on the environment, consumers, employees, communities, stakeholders and all other members of the public sphere, furthermore, business would proactively promote the public interest by encouraging community growth and development, and voluntarily eliminating practices that harm the public sphere, regardless of legality.

Essentially CSR is the deliberate inclusion of public interest into corporate decision making and the honoring of a triple bottom line: People, Planet and Profit. The entirety of corporate social responsibility can be discerned from the three words obtained within its title phrase: ‘Corporate’, ‘Social’, and ‘Responsibility’. Therefore, in broad terms, corporate social responsibility covers the responsibilities corporations or other profit organizations have to the society within which they are based and operate.

More specifically, corporate social responsibility involves a business identifying its stakeholder groups and incorporating in their needs and values within the strategic and day-to-day decision-making process. Public relations scholars have classified corporate social responsibility into various categories. Sam Black’s four categories of corporate social responsibility are Enterprise, Education, Arts and Culture and environment. Of recent, many organizations added sports to their corporate social responsibility activities.

Again, Seithi (1987) provides what he calls a partial list of social responsibility categories to include being responsible for: Product Lines; not producing dangerous products, maintaining good product standard that are environmentally safe. ? Marketing Practices; responding to consumer complaints setting fair prices and maintaining fair advertising message contents. Employee Services; training, counseling, granting allowances for the welfare of employees. Corporate Philanthropy; contributing to community development activities and involving social projects.

Environmental Activities; embarking on pollution control projects, adherence to federal standards and evaluation procedures of new packages to ensure ease of disposal or possible recycling. Employee Safety and Health; setting effective work environment policies, accident safeguard, food and medical facilities. Through these categories of corporate social responsibility, a company is able to provide a healthy business environment for its operations and contribute to the well-being of the community.

The most eminent personality against social responsibility is the late Milton Friedman who argued against social responsibility on social and economic ground. Milton Friedman in his word said that “there is one and only one social responsibility of business – to use resources and engage in activities design to increase its profit so long as it stays within the rules of the game, which is to say, engage in open and free competition without deception or fraud”.

He argues that managers are agents to stakeholders but if they spend corporate funds for social purpose they are essentially stealing from stakeholders. David Henderson puts it as follows – companies will best discharged the responsibilities which specifically belong to them by taking profitability as a guide, subject always acting within the law, and that they should not go out of their way to define and promote wider self chosen objective. Some arguments are stated thus: The primary task of business is to maximize profit by focusing strictly on economic activities. This school of thought believes that concentrating resources in the social area could lead to less economic efficiency and therefore actually become detrimental to the society. It holds that when business organization concentrates resources that suppose to be used for other meaningful economic activities on social arrears, the tendency is that, it will reduce the economic efficiency of the organization which may not argue well for the society at large.

Cost incurred in undertaking some of these social responsibility programmes are higher than the benefits society will derive from them and business organization knows the way of passing this burden to society in terms of raising prices of their product or services to excessive levels to the detriment of the consumers. Invariably, society still bears the burden. There is a believe that undertaking some social responsibility activities violates sound economic business decision making that should rightfully concentrate on earning profit. Managers are neither trained nor do them posses the skills and knowledge of resources to determine which social desirable project to support. Even where they have the knowledge, it may not be easy as they think because of the technicality involved.

Consequently, disagreements among groups with different viewpoints will cause friction. However, it should be noted that Friedman criticism was directed solely against the introduction of corporate social responsibility within profit-making business organizations in the private sectors. The arguments for social responsibility rest on the notion that accepting social responsibility is the correct moral position of the firm.

People who argue in favour of social responsibility claims that our modern industrial society faces many serious social problems brought by larger corporations such as water, land and air pollution and resources depletion, they should play a major role in solving this problem. They also argued that because businesses are legally defined entities with most of the same privileges as private citizens, business should not try to avoid its obligation as citizens.

Advocates of social responsibility points out that while government organizations have stretched their budget to their limit many large businesses often have surplus revenue that could potentially be used to help solve social problems. Another more general reason for social responsibility is profit itself. It may be easier to help hardcore unemployed than to cope with social unrest. ? Social responsibility actions may increase profit in the long-run. There are certain actions of the business in relation to social responsibility which may increase the company’s profitability.

For example, identifying consumer needs and wants, producing goods tailored to these needs may not produce desired result in the short run but on the long run. More profit can be realized with increase in productivity. Social responsibility makes business organization have more concern for society. Businesses must be concerned about society’s interest and needs because society is affected by business operation. Business operates in a global market where companies are increasing in the public eye.

It is difficult for companies to hide in discrepancies as they are highly visible and vulnerable to attacks from stakeholders. Companies need to be sensitive to societal anxiety if they are to avoid damage to their reputation. These anxieties changes over time as different issues come into the public eye. So companies must be dynamic in the way they respond. The main factors that may motivate companies to carry out social responsibility are stakeholder management, financial performance, consumer pressure, risk management, attracting employees and personal values.

Stakeholder management is a generally accepted concept in the business community. Stakeholders have been discarded as “the groups and individual who benefit from or are harmed by, and whose rights are violated or respected by, corporate actions (Freeman 2006:20). Increasingly, corporations are motivated to become more socially responsible because their most importantly stakeholders expect them to understand and address the social and community issues that are relevant to them. Understanding what causes are important to employees is business benefits that can be derived rom increased employee engagement that is, more loyalty, improved recruitment, increased retention, high productivity and so on. Greater media exposure, environmental and health related incidents resulting from site management or planning decisions have ensured that effective management of stakeholders has risen up the list of priorities for company managers.

Society today consists of a wide range of people who have interests, expectations and demands as to what companies and organizations ought to provide, and the ways in which they should behave. Companies are increasingly embracing these stakeholder groups and individuals, whether by considering or including them in decision-making. The motivation here is for business to become involved in corporate social responsibility by addressing the wide range and constant set of demands made by stakeholders.

Since the early 1980s a significant body of corporate social responsibility research has centered on the debate over the relationship between corporate social responsibility and strong financial performance. Government agencies and organizations promoting the corporate social responsibility agenda seems to be convinced that, assuming a social responsibility role will bring financial gain to the business world. Social responsibility is a powerful way of making sustainable competitive profit and achieving lasting values for the shareholders as well as for the stakeholders.

Therefore being involved in social responsibility is a win- win opportunity not just for companies and financial investors but also for the society at large. Research carried out has shown that there is a good relationship between social performance and financial benefit. That is, organizations that are involved in social responsibility activities stands out to gain financial reward at the long-run and this has been a motivating factor to the organization adoption of corporate social responsibility.

Furthermore, McWilliams and Siegel (1979:88) predict that there is a neutral relationship between social responsibility activities and company’s financial performance. In their study, they investigated this relationship using a theory of the firm’s perspective, economic scale and cost benefit analyses. Their main conclusions were: – The neutral relationship exists because the company that carries out social responsibility activities will have higher cost but higher revenue. While the company that has no social responsibility activities sill have lower cost and lower revenue, thus, profit is equal. Large firms will have lower average cost for providing social responsibility activities than small companies. – There are optimal levels that will maximize profit while satisfying the demand for social responsibility from multiple stakeholders. The ideal levels of social responsibility can be determined by cost benefit analysis. Consumer’s pressure and damage to the global image of a popular brand is one of the reasons why companies may be motivated to assume the mantle of social responsibility.

Much recent pressure has centered on the protection of the environment, example campaign against water pollution (Niger Delta Regions), road maintenance, consumers protection, protection of human rights, safeguarding jobs, etc. In Nigeria, organizations and agencies like National Food and Drug Administration Campaign, Standard Organization of Nigeria and National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, has been an advocate for consumer’s protection especial in the current climate of concern about public health.

It is high profile consumer related concern such as these that will force more and more companies into adopting principles of social responsibility. Risk management centers on problems that can be caused by consumer’s pressure. However, today’s management encompasses a wider range of stakeholders, each of which must be considered if a company is to avoid variety pitfalls and protect its reputation. Companies often conduct business in areas where they can be at low risk especially working in a densely populated area or with companies with irresponsible practices.

Social responsibility activities can be use to mitigate this risk. The increased exposure of companies to the glare of public scrutiny has encouraged business to increase transparency in their environmental and social disclosures. This has led to a growing trend reporting and a commitment of sustainability of social performance. Many studies has shown that investing in employees can bring direct benefits to a company both financially and in terms of increased employee loyalty and productivity.

Such investment can include schemes like provision of healthcare services to employees, childcare facilities, flexible work hours and job sharing. Employee’s investment is an essential aspect of social responsibility as the workforce is also the community, especially in companies where a substantial portion of employees are likely to come from the local community. Involving employees in social responsibility activities is another way in investing in them. Good social performance also provides companies with a competitive advantage when attracting a skilled force.

Applicants are more likely to pursue jobs from socially responsible companies than companies with poor social responsibility performance reputation; they feel that they will have a higher self image when working for responsible companies. Companies and individual within an organization may be motivated to carry out social responsibility for moral reasons. Managers of organization may carryout social responsibility activities because of the respect accorded to them for being involved in such activities by members of the society.

This approach to corporate social responsibility is described in literature as voluntary or philanthropic social responsibility. But this approach has been questioned by a number of commentators famously Milton Friedman (1970:30) who argued that, “the social responsibility of business is to increase its profit”. And even more recently by Lantos (2001:56) who argues that voluntary social responsibility lies outside the scope of business responsibility.

The answer lies in the personal values and principles of some individuals in business who argues that it is fundamentally the right thing to do. Drucker emphasizes the importance of the exercise of social responsibility by business and by managers. This responsibility can no longer be based on the assumption that the self-interest of the owner of property will lead to the public good, or that self-interest and public good can be kept apart and considered to have nothing to do with each other.

On the contrary, it requires of the manager that he assume responsibility for the public good, that he subordinate his actions to an ethical standard of conduct, and that he restrains his self-interest and his authority wherever their exercise would infringe upon the common weal and upon the freedom of the individual. An enlightened business recognizes that it is in its own interest to be socially responsible, since an enhanced public image is more likely to be attractive to investors – employees, customers, consumers, suppliers and most community and government.

Companies addressing issues related to the right of indigenous people have reaped a lot of benefits. Some of the benefits accruing to business organization that is involved in social responsibility include the following. Good company performance in relation to sustainability issues can both build reputation while poor performance when exposed can damage brand value. In the course of this research work, it was noted that Globacom Nigeria Limited has a very good reputation in the community where it exists.

These can be direct or indirect. The 1999 business Ethics study found that employees are more likely to be loyal when they believe their workplace has ethical practices. An organization that engages in corporate social responsibility will have dedicated and productive employees. The formal and informal license to operate is a key issue for many companies looking to extend their business. Diligence in meeting social and environmental concerns can result in a reduction in red tape and a more cooperative relationship with government departments.

A good relationship with government can give a company significant competitive benefit in terms of gaining a social license to operate from local community, particularly in the resource sector with regard to gaining access to scarce reserves. Given the opportunity to choose among several bidders for a potential project, some governments are more likely to choose a company with the best reputation with respect to indigenous relations and human rights practices.

For instance, Globacom Nigeria has gained a lot of good reputation in the government circle and these are shown by the different award that the management has received both nationally and internationally. When companies take a strategic approach to corporate social responsibility, it would have a positive effect on mainstream business performance. Records have shown how benefits go beyond performance and also how benefits go beyond the long-term intangible measures of success to include direct financial measures (mostly in developing countries).

Service industries such as the banking; insurance retail and telecommunication industries are generally perceived as corporate ‘bodies’ and have an image of modern and clean business. Although, their direct social and environmental foot print is often relatively small; their role as market gatekeepers means that they can have substantial influence. Corporate social responsibility leaders in these sectors tend to be motivated by the strategic need to innovate in fast moving industries as well as the competitive “war for talent”.

The telecommunication industry is the fastest growing sector in Nigeria. As such, corporate social responsibility is a strategy used by these companies to gain their ground and to provide sustainable development to the country and to their host community. They focus on the potentials of information communication technologies to empower enterprise development, educational opportunities and the capacity to respond to emergencies. Developments such as tele-banking, internet trade and others has the potential to save energy, paper and the need to travel, reducing air pollution, and resources waste.

However, despite these opportunities, there are a number of problematic issues such as: i. Concerns about the environment and health implication of new technologies ii. The emergence of a “bridge” between those who have access to educational, health and opportunities through information communication technology and those who do not. iii. Tension between the drive for efficiency and profitability and the need to meet legislated “universal service obligation” to provide access for all. Many companies in the telecommunication industry are aligning themselves towards the commercial opportunities that sustainable devel

Universal Journal of Marketing and Business Research Vol. 1(1) pp. 017-043, May, 2012 Available online http://www. universalresearchjournals. org/ujmbr Copyright © 2012 Transnational Research Journals Full Length Research Paper An assessment of the impact of corporate social responsibility on Nigerian society: The examples of banking and communication industries Adeyanju, Olanrewaju David Department of Financial Studies Redeemer’s University, km 46, Lagos Ibadan Expressway Mowe, Ogun State E-mail: davfol@yahoo. om, Tel No. : 07037794073 Accepted 30 January, 2012 In the Nigerian society, Corporate Social Responsibilities [CSR] has been a highly cotemporary and contextual issue to all stakeholders including the government, the corporate organization itself, and the general public. The public contended that the payment of taxes and the fulfillment of other civic rights are enough grounds to have the liberty to take back from the society in terms of CSR undertaken by other stakeholders.

Some ten year ago, what characterized the Nigerian society was fragrant pollution of the air, of the water and of the environment. Most corporate organizations are concerned about what they can take out of the society, and de-emphasized the need to give back to the society [their host communities]. This attitude often renders the entire community uninhabitable. A case in mind is the Niger Delta area of Nigeria.

This translated to negative integrity and reputation on the part of corporate identity as people perceived this as exploitation and greed for profitability and wealth maximization within a decaying economy of Nigeria. However, the general belief is that both business and society gain when firms actively strive to be socially responsible; that is, the business organizations gain in enhanced reputation, while society gains from the social projects executed by the business organization.

In modern day however, having seen the benefits and average favorable pay-back period of their investment in CSR, corporations are now seriously involved in this project, which had impacted in the society wonderfully and profitably. This study is therefore, intended to consider the imperative and benefits of CSR on the Nigeria society. The perceived gap supposedly created is harnessed and investigated for possible resolution, using the banking and communication industries as a case study. The research approach is both descriptive and analytical.

Data collected for this study are from both primary and secondary sources, relying heavily on the relevant information available from both banking and communication sectors, and other sources. Tests were conducted using both regression and correlation analysis. The regression result reveals a strong and significant relationship between CSR and Societal Progress such that the relationship between CSR and Societal Progress is statistically significant. It is thus conclusion that CSR plays a significant role in Societal Progressiveness in terms of environmental and economic growth.

The study recommends that, while improvement in the depth of participation by banking and telecommunication industries in economic and environmental development is desirable, they are encouraged to close ranks and forge common interest in addressing certain social responsibilities, especially those bothering on security and technological advancement of the polity. Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility, societal Progressiveness, Banking, Communication, Environment.

INTRODUCTION At an earlier point in history, societal expectations from business organizations did not go beyond efficient resource allocation and its maximization. But today, it has changed and modern business must think beyond profit maximization toward being at least socially responsible to its society. Today’s heightened interest in the role of business in society has been promoted by increased sensitivity to the 018 Univers. J. Mark. Bus. Res. awareness of environmental and ethical issues.

It means our society has become increasingly concerned that greater influence and progress by firms has not been accompanied by equal effort and desire in addressing important social issues including problems of poverty, drug abuse, crime, improper treatment of workers, faulty production output and environmental damage or pollution by the industries as it has overtime been reported in the media. It is therefore very essential for all to realize that public outcry for increased social responsibility will not disappear if business organizations fail to respond to the challenges these had posed for the society.

In view of the perceived information gap, it is therefore worthwhile collating and aggregating in a more organized manner, the contributions of Nigerian corporations [using banking and communications industries as a focus] to the well-being of the society. This is necessary if only to show, in a graphic and mathematical ways that the industries seriously identify with the aspirations of the communities and the general public. In the early years of this century, two Americans independently and without knowing of each other were among the first businessmen in the world’s history to initiate major community reforms.

Andrews Carnegie preached and financed the free public library. Julius Rosenwald fathered the country farm agent system and adopted the infant 4-H CLUBS. Carnegie was already retired from business and one of the world’s richest men. Rosenwald who had recently bought a near bankrupt mail order firm called Sear Roebuck and Company, was only beginning to build both his business and fortune. The two held basically different philosophies. Carnegie believed that the sole purpose of being rich is to be a philanthropist, that is, the “social responsibility of wealth”.

Rosenwald believed that you have to be able to do good to do well, that is, the “social responsibility of business”. J. Irwin miller of the Cummins Engine Co. Ltd in Columbus, Indiana, has systematically used corporate funds to create a healthy community which, at the same time is a direct, though intangible investment in a healthy environment for his company. Miller specifically aimed at endowing his small industrial town with the ‘quality of life’ that would attract to it the managerial and technical people on whom a big high-technology business depends.

Only if business and particularly Nigerian business learns that to do well it has to do good, can we hope to tackle the major challenges facing developing societies today. The economic realities ahead are such that ‘social needs’ can be financed increasingly only if their solution generates commensurate earning which precisely is what business is known for. We can actually say firms involved in Corporate Social Responsibility are actually not regretting because of the increase it has made on their sales leading to profit and how they have impacted the environment.

The significance of corporate social responsibility as a vital tool for the societal progressiveness cannot be over emphasized. This can be seen from the points of view of showing concern for the welfare of the community in order to reap peace, competent and cheaper manpower, a platform for a better community; by making the host community worthy of livelihood in terms of infrastructural development; and by boosting their image, reducing advert cost, gaining an edge over competitors, and making your name as a firm an household name in the society.

Theoretical and Conceptual Framework Overview of The Concept of Corporate Social Responsibility The Bali Roundtable on developing countries in 2002 recognized the business sector as a primary driver of economic development and the World Summit For Sustainability identified business involvement as critical in alleviating poverty and achieving sustainable development. Corporate social responsibility has to do with an organization going out of his way to initiate actions that will impact positively on its host community, its environment and the people generally.

It can be seen as a way of acknowledging the fact that some business fall outs have adverse effects on the citizens and society and making efforts to ensure that such negative impact are corrected. Posk, et al (1999) as a matter of fact, believe that corporate social responsibility means that a corporation should be held accountable for any of its actions that affect people, communities, and its environment. It implies that negative business impacts on people and society should be acknowledged and corrected, if possible.

It may require a company forgoing some profits if its social impacts are seriously harmful to some of its stakeholders or if its fund can be used to promote a positive social good. Definition of Corporate Social Responsibilities There are a myriad of definitions of Corporate Social Responsibilities [CSR], each considered valuable in their own right and designed to fit the specific organization. The majority of definitions integrate the three dimensions to the concept, that is, economic, environmental and social dimensions.

CSR had also been commonly described as “a demonstration of certain responsible behavior on the part of public and the private [government and business] sectors toward society and the environment”. Business for Social Responsibility (BSR), a leading Global Business partner, in a Forum held in 2006 defined Olanrewaju 019 CSR as achieving commercial success in ways that honors ethical values and respect people, communities, and the natural environment. For BSR, CSR also means addressing the legal, ethical, commercial and other expectations society has for business, and making decisions that fairly balance the claim of all key stakeholders.

In its simplest terms, it is: “what you do”, “how you do it” “and when and what you say”. In this sense, CSR is viewed as a comprehensive set of policies, practices and programmes that are integrated into business operations, supply chain, and decision making processes throughout the company and wherever the company does businesses that are supported and rewarded by top management. It also includes responsibility for current and past actions as well as future impacts. The issues that represent a company’s CSR focus vary by business, size, sector and even geographical region.

It is seen by leadership of companies as more than a collection of discrete practices or occasional gestures or initiatives motivated by marketing, public relations or other business benefits. Also, the World Business Council on Sustainability Development, 1998 described CSR as “the continuing commitment by Business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as of the local community and society at large”. CSR is the concept that an enterprise is responsible or accountable for its impact on all relevant shareholders” [European Union, 2006]. According to Macmillan [2005], “CSR is a term describing a company’s obligation to be accountable to all its stakeholders in all its operations and activities. Socially responsible companies will consider the full scope of their impact on communities and the environment when making decisions, balancing the need of stakeholders with their need to make a profit”. “CSR is concerned with treating the stakeholders of the firm ethically or in a socially responsible manner.

Since stakeholders exist both within a firm’s and outside a firm, hence, behaving socially and responsibly will increase the human development of stakeholders both within and outside the corporation” [Clarkson, 1995]. A reputable author, Kenneth Andrews Steiner (1977) defined Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR) “as the intelligent and objective concern for the welfare of the society that retains the individual and corporate behavior from ultimately destructive activities, no matter how immediately profitable nd leads to the directions of positive construction of human betterment”. As an improvement on the above definitions, Koontz and O’Donnell (1968) defined social responsibility as the personal obligation of everyone, as he acts in his own interests, but he must always have due regard that his freedom does not restrict others from doing the same thing. He further noted that a socially responsible individual or organization will obey the laws of the land because the rights of others are at stake.

In emphasizing the ecological conceptualization of social responsibility, Buchholz (1991) noted that any good definition of social responsibility must contain if not all, most of the following; Responsibility that: • goes beyond the production goods and services at a profit. • helps in solving important social problems those that the organization are responsible for creating. • makes corporations have greater constituency than stockholders alone • makes corporations have great impacts that goes beyond marketplace transactions, and • makes corporations serve a wider range of human values that can be captured by a sole focus on value.

CSR can therefore be referred to as decisions and actions taken by organizations for reasons at least, particularly beyond the organization’s direct economic or technical interest. For many corporate bodies giving to charities is a struggle really, their objective do not usually build-in the strategic need to support the communities that they serve. The focus totally is to maximize profit or financial returns. The thrust of their arguments centre around balancing their obligations to stakeholders, especially the shareholders.

Corporate social responsibilities should be strategic no doubt. Engaging in strategic philanthropy is done by even the best corporate bodies in the world. It should however have an underlying compassionate foundation. There should be a symbiotic relationship between corporate organization and the host communities, a sort of on-going reconciliation between the organization’s economic orientations. There should be an unwritten “social contract”, so that it should not be forced responsibility like Education Trust Fund tax but a voluntary social service based on the needs of the community.

Socially responsible business practice implies that CSR is the social practice where the corporation adapts and conducts discretionary business practices and investments that support social causes to improve community well-being in order to protect the environment. Key distinctions include focus on activities that are discretionary, not those that are mandated by laws or regulatory agencies or are simply expected, as with meeting moral standards.

Community is interpreted broadly to include employees of the corporation, suppliers, distributors, non-profit and public sector partners as well as members of the general public. And well-being can be referred to health and safety as well as psychological and emotional needs. It is also about capacity building for sustainable livelihoods, respect for cultural difference and finds a business in building the skills of employees, the community and the government. Indeed it is about business giving back to society. 020 Univers. J. Mark. Bus. Res.

Generally speaking, Corporate Social Responsibility, whether in the banking sector or otherwise refers to: A collection of policies and practices linked to relationship with key stakeholders, values, compliance with legal requirements, and respect for people, communities and the environment. The commitment of business to contribute to sustainable development According to the European Commission, CSR involves companies integrating “social and environmental concerns into business operations and in their interaction with stakeholders on a voluntary basis”.

The key to this definition lies in the word “voluntary”. According to Nigeria Social Enterprise Reports Vol. 2, CSR is generally understood to be the way a company achieves a balance or integration of economic, environmental and social imperatives while at the same time addressing shareholders and stakeholders expectations. It went further to say that CSR is generally seen as the contribution of business to sustainable development which has been defined as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs”.

In Nigeria, the federal Executive Council (FEC) on Wednesday May 2008 approved the development of a CSR policy for the country, to instill ethical behavior in Nigerian Businesses. The minister of National Planning Commission, Dr Sanusi Daggash, who gave details of the memorandum, said it referred to the adoption of responsible business practices by organizations, to improve the society at large’’. He said the policy would include “beyond law commitment” and activities that would necessitate an expectatation to ‘give back’ to the society.

He reiterated that the policy would ensure corporate governance and ethics, health and safety, human rights, human resource management, anti-bribery and anticorruption measures. One reckons that the policy formulators will take note of similar global policies that might point Nigeria in the direction of developing a viable CSR policy. Carrol’s Pyramid of Corporate Social Responsibility Although no single commonly accepted definition had been ascribed to the subject, which had evolved since 1970s, Archie B.

Carroll had said that “there had been economic, ethical, legal and philanthropic aspect to the subject”. Therefore, one of the most used and quoted model is the Carroll’s pyramid of CSR, 1991. Carroll considers CSR to be framed in such a way that the entire range of business responsibilities is embraced. These four responsibilities can be illustrated as a pyramid. The economic component is about the responsibility to profit which serves as the base for the other components of the pyramid. With regard to the legal aspect, society expects organizations to comply with the laws and regulations.

Ethical responsibilities are about how society expects organization to embrace values and norms even if the values and norms might constitute a higher standard of performance than required by law. Philanthropic responsibilities are those actions that are expected from a company as a good corporate citizen. Implicit Versus Responsibility Explicit Corporate Social Matten and Moon (2004) presents a conceptual framework for understanding corporate social responsibilities the, ‘implicit’ versus the ‘explicit’ corporate social responsibilities.

Explicit CSR is about corporate policies with the objective of being responsible for what the society is interested in. Explicit CSR can for example be voluntary, self-interest driven corporate social responsibilities policies and strategies. Implicit CSR is a country’s formal and informal institutions that give organizations an agreed share of responsibility for society’s interests and concerns. Implicit CSR are values, norms and rules which result in requirements for corporations to address areas that stakeholders consider important. Business associations or ndividual organizations are often directly involved in the definition and legitimization of this social responsibility requirement. The Three Components of Sustainability – The Triple Bottom Line Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (World Commission on Environmental and Development, 1987) The triple bottom line is considering that companies do only have one objective, profitability, but that they also have objectives of adding environmental and social value to society (Crane and Matten, 2004).

The concept of sustainability is generally regarded as having emerged from the environmental perspective is about how to manage physical resources so that they are conserved for the future. Therefore, economic sustainability is about the economic performance of the organization itself. A broader concept of economic sustainability includes the company’s impact on the economic framework in which it is embedded. The development of the social perspective has not developed as fast as the environmental and economic Olanrewaju 021 perspectives. The key issue in the social perspective on sustainability is that of social justice.

It can be seen from above that economic and environmental sustainability involved in the concept of externalities is mostly engendered in the importance placed by comparatives in the concept of social responsibilities. The European Foundation for Quality Management [EFQM] defines CSR as “a whole range of fundamentals that organizations are expected to acknowledge and to reflect in their actions. It includes among other things respecting human rights, fair treatment of the workforce, customers and suppliers, being good corporate citizens of the communities in which they operate and conservation of natural environment”.

These fundamentals are seen as not only morally and ethically desirable ends in themselves and as part of the organization’s philosophy; but also as key drivers in ensuring that society will allow the organization to survive in the long term, as society benefits from the organization’s activities and behavior” (The EFQM Framework For Social Responsibility, 2004). CSR is the concept that an organization needs to consider the impact of their operations and business practices on not just the shareholders, but also its customers, suppliers, employees, members of the community it operates in, and even the environment.

It is a way of saying thank you and expressing appreciation to all stakeholders in the business. It is a conscious effort to give back to the society in which the corporation has benefitted immensely. Characteristics of Corporate Social Responsibilities The European Foundation for Quality Management [EFQM] presents some common characteristics for CSR which are: • Meeting the need of current stakeholders without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own demand. • Adopting CSR voluntarily, rather than as legal requirement, because it is seen to be in the long-term interests of the organization. Integrating social, environmental and economic policies in day to day business • Accepting CSR as a core activity that is embedded into an organization’s management strategy. The three dimension of CSR with specific examples of areas particular to each dimension are: Economic Responsibility Integrity, corporate governance, economic development of the community, transparency, prevention of bribery and corruption, payments to national and local authorities, use of local suppliers, hiring local labour and similar areas.

Social Responsibility Human rights, training and developing local labour, contributing expertise to community programs and similar areas. Environmental Responsibility Precautionary approaches to prevent or minimize adverse impacts support for initiatives, promoting greater environmental responsibility, developing and diffusing environmentally friendly technologies and similar areas. Lohman and Steinholtz (2004) view the CSR concept as a combination of three separate agendas, namely Corporate Sustainability, Accountability and Governance.

Corporate Sustainability derives from the United Nation meeting in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 and the Agenda 21. This refers to how we address and balance the social, economic and environmental areas in the world so that our long term survival is not threatened. Corporate Accountability focuses on the credibility of the organization and is used in situations where discussions are held about the ability of the organization to manage. Corporate governance is used in the discussion about how an organization is being run. It deals with transparency and in the long run trustworthiness.

Bowen (1953) defined it as the obligation of business men to pursue those policies, to make those decisions, or to follow those lines of action which are desirable in terms of objectives and values of the society. A number of studies have been carried out on CSR since the idea was floated in the twentieth century. For, example, a Business week/Harris poll (1993) revealed that U. S. top-level corporate executives (69% of those polled) and MBA students (89%) believed that corporations should be more involved in solving crucial problems.

Also in a study of 107 Europeans corporations, majorly of the chief executives cadre surveyed agreed that addressing social issues, such as substance abuse, health care and education, was needed (Mathison, 2003). Business in any society needs to take responsibility, for every decision that is made, every action that is taken, must be viewed in the light of that kind of responsibility. Social responsibility requires business organizations to balance the benefits to be gained against the costs of achieving those benefits.

There is the general belief that both business and society gain when firms actively strive to be socially responsible. While business organizations gain in enhanced reputation, society gains from the social projects executed by the business organization. In the early 1970s, companies began to appreciate community service as a way to improve their images, internally and externally, as well as to serve the 022 Univers. J. Mark. Bus. Res. communities in which the business operates. A study carried out by the National Volunteer Centre in U. S. n 1977 shows that more than 1,100 major U. S. corporations had established structured activities to involve their workers in community volunteerism by 1990. A survey of 180 leading U. S. companies found that 79% of them had volunteer programmes. Also, a study conducted by IBM and the graduate of School of Business at the University of Columbia in 1994 showed a clear link between volunteerism and return on assets, return on investments and employee productivity. A company with a strong community involvement programme is likely to score high in profitability and employee morale.

Social responsibility should, in fact, reflect cultural values and may differ in forms from one society to the other. What is socially acceptable in Japan may differ in forms from that of Germany, Brazil or Indonesia. Japanese firms have proved themselves models citizens on many dimensions of Corporate Social Responsibility. Their support of local community activities and other philanthropic endeavours have led to increased goodwill in the communities where they operate.

The firms help society in areas directly related to the operations of the business. A survey conducted by the Japanese External Trade Organisation (JETRO) in 1997 shows that approximately 80% of Japanese affiliated operations in the United State which were covered by the survey engaged in corporate philanthropy. Making cash contributions was the most common form of philanthropy (about 91%). Community development and education were the primary beneficiaries of cash donations and encouragement of employee volunteerism was up to 36% from 1992.

Over 95% of responding organizations maintained or increased both cash donations and other philanthropic activities since the last survey in 1992. Being socially responsible by meeting the public’s continually changing expectations requires wise leadership at the top of the organization. Miles (1987) observed that “corporate leaders who possesses this kind of social vision believe that business should help create social change rather than block it. With such attitude, they know that their own company will have a better chance of surviving in the turbulent social currents of today’s world”.

Frooman (1997) further observed that companies which are socially responsible are guided by enlightened selfinterest, which means that they are socially aware without giving up their own economic self interest. Profit are the reward for the firm as it continues to provide true value to its customers, to help its employees to grow, and to behave responsibly as a corporate citizen. An emphasis on social responsibility can attract customers. A poll conducted by Opinion Research Corporation shows that 89% of purchases by adult are influenced by a company’s reputation. Social responsibility also benefits ompanies by enabling them to recruit a high quality labor force. The reputation of the firm and the goodwill associated with socially responsible actions attract talented prospective employee, that is, people seeking an employer for whom they would be proud to work. At Cadbury Nigeria plc, the concept of CSR is seen as a continuing commitment by business to behave ethically in ways that will contribute to economic development of the nation. It is also expected to improve the quality of life of not only the company’s workforce and families but also that of the local community as well as the society at large. Business Day, Newspaper, 13th October, 2003) Over the last decades there has been an apparent shift from adopting more responsible business practices as a result of regulatory citations, consumer complaints and special interest group pressures, to proactive research exploring corporate solutions to social problems and incorporating new business practices that will support these issues. This shift has been due to: • increasing evidence being documented and shared, demonstrating that socially responsible business practices can actually increase profits. the fact that in our global market place, consumers have more options and can make choices based on the criteria beyond product, price and distribution channels. Research emphasized that consumers are also basing their purchase decisions on reputation for fair and sustainable business practices and perceptions of commitment to the community’s welfare. • the fact that Investors and other stakeholders may also be the driving force with increased public scrutiny and use of more sophisticated pressure tactics, including use of technology and power of internet. Interest in increased worker productivity and retention which has turned corporate heads towards ways to improve satisfaction and well being. (Cocacola bottler in South Africa launching an HIV/AIDS prevention program in the work place). • Technology and increased third party reporting having been given increased visibility and coverage of corporate activities, especially when things go wrong, as with current corporate scandals that have made the public more suspicious of business creating the need for business to put a positive shine on their activities.

This is even more critical today with instant access to twenty four (24) hours news channel such as CNN outline news articles and e-mail alerts. • The bar for full disclosure appears have been raised, moving potential customers from a “consumer beware” attitude to an expectation that they will be fully informed as regards practices including product content, sources of raw materials and manufacturing processes. Advocate of CSR argues that companies with good social and environmental records will perform better in the long run than those that do not behave responsibly. This is because customers will like to patronize any

Olanrewaju 023 company with good social and environmental records more than companies without such records as they will be seen to have identified with the community. It has been argued that since Corporate Social Responsibility can enhance a company’s image, it raises the question of whether or not CSR was embarked upon solely for corporate self interest, company or their chief executives may be politically motivated when making corporate donations. But Black (1989) objecting to this self interest motive maintains that in CSR, the company giving funds does not attempt to gain any advertising benefit or undue identification.

The company is contented with the belief that CSR is good business. Responsibilities of a firm To achieve set objectives, every firm owes various duties to all the stakeholders, and these must be fulfilled. These responsibilities are discussed below: • Duty to protect the well-being of people in its environment. A firm’s primary duty is to protect the well being of those living in its environment; its operations or practice. For example, a firm wishing to carry out banking business must first be incorporated under the Companies and Allied Matter Act (CAMA), 1990 and then valid licence from the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Its operations should be in line with the provisions of the Bank and Other Financial Institutions Acts (BOFIA), 1991, the CBN Act, the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporations (NDIC) Acts, the Money Laundry Act 2004 and other banking laws. • The firm should produce goods and services that are not harmful to the people. A manufacturing company should not produce goods that may cause death to people. Similarly, in the course of maximizing profit, a bank should not finance illegal projects, say, provide finance for the illegal purchase of ammunition, or abeit illegal transfer by unpatriotic citizens or politicians. A firm should not deceive others. Deception, in this way, can take various forms, namely; failing to include all the required quantities and quality materials for producing a particular product, but may still indicate on the package that the normal quality were involved; colluding with the external auditor to render false financial statements to shareholders, regulating authorities and members of the public, with a view to declaring false profit; preparing two sets of accounts or returns, i. e. ccurate and false accounts, and sending the false one to the regulatory authorities and the accurate one to the shareholders, to conceal some facts in the course of bank supervision and examination. • An organization should enter into fair binding contract with its customers, creditors, employees, suppliers etc. all terms and conditions of the contract should be well stated by the firm and well understood by the parties concerned. It is important for a firm to discharge its duties under the contract at all times.

For example, a customer granted credit facility should be allowed to repay under the agreed terms and conditions for which the loan was granted. • Duty to make reasonable return to shareholders in accordance with the level of investment. The ordinary shareholder takes the highest risk in business, hence it is the duty of management of a company to utilize the resources of the company effectively to generate profit, the bulk of which should go to the ordinary shareholder.

The firm should ensure that the market price of the company’s share is attractive to the public. When this is done, the owner’s economic welfare is maximized through high return on capital usually reflected on the market price of shares of the company. • Duty to minimize harmful effect of substance. In the course of doing business, firms are bound to engage in activities whose effects may be harmful or distasteful to the members of the organization and the public.

For example, hospital, police, radio, and television stations, telecommunication business provide twenty-four hours service to their customers and client, an indication that the employees of these organizations must be on duty every hour of the day. To be effective and efficient, there is need for shift duty. Although coming to work at night or very early in the morning might not be palatable with all employees, this is in evitable; thus, a fair compensation, in terms of shift hazards and inconvenience allowances, should be paid to the employees concerned. This will strengthen their commitment.

Similarly oil and gas industries should pay high compensation to the people living in the area where oil and gases are produced, as this could compensate for the environment degradation of the area and other problems encountered by the people living in the community. Also bank staff that work outside the normal banking hours should be paid compensation allowance. • Duty to pay reasonable salaries and wages to the employees. It is the duty of the firm to use the revenue generated from its business activities to pay fair and reasonable compensation in the forms of salaries and allowances to workers.

This should be commensurate with the services rendered. However, it will be unethical, unfair and an act of irresponsibility for a firm to ask the workers to perform task that will expose them to serious danger, risk, or unprofessional practices, all in the interest of robust salaries and allowances. For example, a situation where banks set unachievable deposit targets for staff by employing ‘beautiful’ ladies and ‘handsome’ men to run after money-bags to attract deposits. This encourages fraud and prostitution.

A staff that fails to meet the target knowing full well that he would be sacked might resort to stealing to raise more funds or resort to prostitution. In like manner, a firm that pays reasonable returns on capital will enjoy continuous investment of shareholders. • Duty to use part of the firm’s profit to provide 024 Univers. J. Mark. Bus. Res. amenities that promote the common good of the community in which it operates. • Duty to embark on projects that brings about the expansion and improvement in the company’s operations.

Firms that expand create additional employment opportunities to the community, and this will lessen crime rates. Similarly goods are made available at affordable prices, thereby meeting the needs and satisfaction of the consumers. This encourages good standard of living of people in the community. • Duty to honor obligations to the government in terms of payments of taxes an levies, thereby making fund available to the government to provide infrastructure facilities and meet the recurrent expenditures with a view to promoting national development.

Social responsibility to stakeholders An organization should fulfill its social responsibilities to the following stakeholders for it to achieve its set objectives. For instance, using a Bank as a case study, the stakeholders will include: a. Customers market prices of the shares of the bank in the stock market; • Ensuring safe investments through good and sound management to prevent distress; • Issuing bonus share from time to tome; • Keeping the shareholders informed of the bank’s performances through annual general meetings, newsletters and information bulletins. . Employees • Offer efficient services • Make savings and withdrawals of money less time consuming by reducing the waiting time; • Ensure adequate liquidity so that cash withdrawals is met promptly; • Pay competitive rate of interest on saving and deposit, in line with the CBN‘s credit and monetary guidelines; • Charges reasonable interest rates and commissions; • Ensure safety of deposit so much so that the customers can deposit his money in the bank and go to sleep; • Provide a conducive environment for banking activities, e. g. pacious and well ventilated banking hall, security for valuables and vehicles within the bank premises’ and • Make secret of the affairs between the bank and customers to protect the interest of the customers. b. Shareholders • Provide a conducive working environment i. e. make available modern working tools and equipment, ventilated offices, good infrastructure, decent and official cars, health and safety equipment at the workplace etc; • Pay competitive salary remuneration commensurate with the level of commitment • Offer opportunities for career development, e. . inducement for taking professional examination; • Train and develop employees through continuous learning at seminars, conferences, workshop, with the view to update their knowledge base, to meet rapid changes in the banking environment. ; • Keep employees adequately informed on the policies, procedures and rules relating to day-to-day banking operations. This can be done through newsletters, bulletins, meetings, etc; • Involve employees in decisions affecting them, to ensure their total commitment and loyalty; • Maintaining equal opportunities among employees, i. . there should be no preferential treatment or favourism; • Establish clear cut bargaining and grievance procedures that will be known and followed by all employees. d. Government • Being a responsible corporate entity or citizen, provide credit facilities to various sectors of the economy, with a view to ensuring the economic development of the country; • Comply with the laws and regulations rescribed by regulatory authorities like the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporate, etc; • Assist government in funding and promoting social activities, such as sponsoring sports programmes, contributions towards combating diseases e. g. AIDS, etc. e. The Public If banks are to guarantee continuous investment of their shareholders, they have the duty of: • Ensuring effective performance by utilizing the capital invested in the bank to maximize profit. • Paying good dividends, i. e. reasonable returns commensurate with the capital investment.

Maximizing the owner’s wealth by ensuring good . Banks are socially responsible to the banking public, in general, and members of the community in which they are situated, in particular, in the following ways: Olanrewaju 025 • Development of the environment through provision of basic facilities like good drinking water, donations to development associations, bringing banking services to the rural areas, indigenous lending, etc. • Creation and maintenance of employment opportunities to qualified members of the community. This encourages loyalty, commitment and cooperation from the community. Participation in community activities, such as donations to community to celebrations, awarding scholarship to deserving members of the community, etc, and • Using the skills of employees to develop charitable goods and services. MODERN CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY Modern CSR was born during 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro when United Nations sponsored recommendations on regulation were rejected in favour of a manifesto for voluntary self-regulation put forward by a coalition of companies called the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD).

Its version of events was endorsed by the US, the UK and other Western governments. The British government for example, is still a vocal supporter of voluntarism. Such resistance to regulation seem to have left the worst corporate abusers effectively unrestrained and the victims of their actions adequate means of redress. Whatever responsible initiatives companies choose to carry out on their own behalf binding international standards of corporate behavior must be established to guarantee that the rights of people and the environment in developing countries like Nigeria are properly protected.

It is hence recommended that there should be international regulation backed up by national legislation, to ensure the enforcement of real social responsibility on the corporate world. Introducing the threat of prosecution and legal action with resulting detailed disclosure of company documents would create powerful incentives for companies to behave responsibly.

At a national level, Government should • Adopt new laws to make corporate social and environmental reporting and disclosure mandatory for British companies including the disclosure of payments to overseas government, information on the social and environmental impact of overseas operations and details of legal actions against companies. • Frame new responsibilities for companies directors to give them a ‘duty of care’ for communities and their environment, making them legally accountable for the actions of their companies overseas. Change the law to enable people harmed by British companies’ overseas operations to seek redress in UK court and to provide the resources to enable them do so. What Drives Corporate Social Responsibilities Defending public image If companies behave improperly, they can be got at through the court of international public opinion. The first CSR initiatives were a response to public pressure and media exposure of poor company behavior. CSR was supposed to show that companies were capable of cleaning up their act. Prof.

Michael Porter of the Harvard Business School argues that CSR is all defensive effort, a PR games in which companies primarily react to deal with the critics and the pressure from activists. Attracting investors companies that proactively engage with sustainable development agenda and its advocate in the investment world should generate support, interest and understanding among investors. This will ultimately ascribe a premium to share price. CSR makes companies attractive to both mainstream investors and to the fast growing ethical-investment sector.

Many investors now believe that social and environmental riskmanagement improves a company’s market value in the long term. Permission to operate CSR has, of late become a vital component in companies’ effort to gain approval for projects carrying significant political and social risks. Lobbying against regulations “one of the key functions of CSR is to enable further deregulations by pointing to the involvement of business in ethical and sustainable activities and to indicate that multi-stakeholder dialogue with civil society obviates the need for binding regulation” (David Miller, Sterling Media Research Institute).

I believe that companies’ voluntary measures can help improve private-sector behavior. But voluntary activity is no substitute for regulation and there is evidence that companies that espouse voluntary approaches to meeting social and environmental standards are also involved in resisting external regulation, especially by government. Concept of corporate social responsibilities in Nigeria To be able to understand CSR from a Nigerian perspective it is of value to explore the drivers for, and 026 Univers. J. Mark. Bus. Res. the history and development of CSR in Nigeria.

The World Business Council for sustainable Development has discussed CSR with business and non-business stakeholders in a number of countries in the world with the objective of understanding local perspectives better and to get different perceptions of what CSR should mean from a number of different societies. (http:www. cecodes. org. co). One important finding in this study was that people were talking about the role of the private sector in relation to a social agenda and they saw that role as increasingly linked to the overall well-being of society.

Therefore the chosen priorities differed according to the perception of local needs. The key CSR issues identified in the study included Human rights, Employee rights, Environmental protection, Community involvement and Supplier relations. The book “Corporate Citizenship in Developing Countries” (Pedersen and Huniche, 2006) contains a chapter about revisiting Carroll’s CSR pyramid from a Nigerian perspective. Most of the research on Carroll’s CSR pyramid has been in an American context and in this report an attempt is made to look on how CSR manifests itself in a Nigerian context.

In Nigeria, economic responsibility still get the most emphasis while philanthropy is given second highest priority, followed by legal and then ethical responsibilities. According to the report there are many reasons for this. Firstly, the socio-economic needs of the Nigeria societies in which companies operate are so huge that philanthropy has become an expected norm. Companies also understand that they cannot succeed in societies that fail. Secondly, many Nigerian societies have become dependent on foreign aid and there is an ingrained culture of philanthropy in Nigeria.

A third reason, according to the report, is that CSR is still at an early stage in Nigeria, sometimes even equating philanthropy. It is important to stress that in Nigeria philanthropy is more than charitable giving. HIV/AIDS is an example where the response by business is essentially philanthropic but clearly in companies own economic interests. The low priority for legal responsibilities is, according to the study, not due to the fact that Nigeria companies ignore the law but the pressure for governance and CSR is not so immense.

Ethical perspective seems to have the least influence on the CSR agenda. This is not to say that African businesses are unethical. For example, the King Report in 2003 (http://www. corporate compliance. org) was the first global corporate governance code to talk about ‘stakeholders’ and to stress the importance of business accountability beyond the interests of shareholders. Ajadi (2006), in a conference paper on Corporate Social Responsibility in Nigeria delivered at British Council conference on CSR in Nigeria, 2006, specifies some additional specific drivers for CSR in Nigeria: The failure of centralized, government controlled economy to develop the country • The extraordinary transaction cost to business of corruption and other failures of social capital • The history of conflict and waste in the extractive industry exemplified by the Niger Delta saga • The Nigerian population whose majority is under the age of 25 and is largely ignored despite the fact that they are critical to the survival and future prosperity of business and the country at large. • The potential benefit of a commercially active and productive country of over 140 million potential consumers.

The drivers for CSR in the west are to be found within areas such as increased brand value, greater access to finance, a healthier and safer workforce, stronger risk management and corporate governance, motivated people, customer loyalty, enhanced confidence and trust of stakeholders as well as enhanced public image. These drivers may not necessarily be applicable to Nigerian companies. Most indigenous companies in Nigeria are privately held, family owned and operated. Local consumer and civil society pressures are almost nonexistent and law enforcement mechanisms are weak. (Amaeshi, Adi, Ogbechie and Amao. 006). There are numerous ways of implementing CSR in an organization. CSR practices can address environmental issues, social issues or both. The implementation can be done by integrating CSR in the business or it can be run as a project. Sometimes there are CSR strategies and policies framing the CSR agenda, sometimes there are not. According to world Business Council for sustainable Development (Lohman and Steinholtz, 2003) an active CSR work might include areas such as: • The management of the organization clearly declares its views and obligations towards the society and its stakeholders. The organization develops and implements clear policies. • The organization has rules for purchasing including social and environmental concerns. • The organization reduces its “ecological footprints”, both in production and in the process of production. • The organization has objectives with regard to environmental and social concerns. • The organization shows an active engagement with regard to the development of its local society. • Consumers are educated on how products ought to be used. • The organization informs about all its different business areas in a transparent manner.

For most businesses operating in Nigeria whether small or large, local or national, the transaction cost of operating is often unpredictable. At the heart of this difficulty is the obvious problem of operating in a low trust Olanrewaju 027 economy. For many businesses the cost of paying upfront on cash flow or delayed payment; the difficulty of investing in people development; the challenge of high volume cash transactions are all part of a severely eroded social capital. At the core of this issue is the role of business partnership with government and others to exemplify and model behaviors that restore optimism and improves trust.

The challenges that face a business in Nigeria are unique because CSR can probably not be optional in such a climate. In a country where the social, health, education and environmental needs are so prevalent, where government resources are so stretched, where everyday people live on the breadline, business any other way is not only unethical, it is most probably not sustainable. Implementation of corporate social responsibilities in Nigeria Annually, limited liability companies in Nigeria give reports of their social responsibility efforts. These are in four major identifiable areas; viz: a.

The immediate environment of the company where the interest of the neighbours of the given companies are taken care of as much as is practicable (Bello, 1988) b. Locating worthy national or state activities to support. In this respect, educational, sporting and cultural activities are sponsored by companies as forms of social responsibility. Also, scholarships, training facilities, and other forms of support are often provided for students. c. Responding to major disasters. Such disasters may originate from nature or it may be accidental like the bomb explosion at the Ikeja cantonment on Sunday, January 27, 2002.

In the oil industry, there had been several reported cases of oil spills damage farmlands, crops, forests and water. Others like fire, flood, drought and erosion are also responded to. Various types of materials are made available to victims of such disasters. d. Diversification of activities to areas of importance in the nation’s economic development. For example, Guinness plc invested funds in two major eyeclinics in Nigeria, and Texaco Oil Producing and Marketing Company diversified into agricultural activities of cultivating cassava and processing Garri [Cassava flour].

Before the United Kingdom developed its CSR policy, Gordon Brown, prior to becoming the prime Minister said; today CSR goes far beyond the old philanthropy of the past, donating money to good causes at the end of the financial year and is instead an all year round responsibility that companies accept for the environment around them… now we need to move towards a challenging measure of corporate responsibility, where we judge results not just by the input but by its outcomes: the difference we make to the world in which we live, and the contribution we make to poverty reduction” (Corporate Social Responsibility – A Government Update: www.

Csr. gov. uk). There is no doubt the committee saddled with the responsibility of developing a CSR policy for Nigeria will learn from the countries (especially developing ones) that have adopted and are implementing such policies successfully. Prior to the above declaration of the Federal Government, Nigeria did not have a CSR policy. Several companies operating here took the initiative to develop a CSR guideline or code for themselves.

It is not out of place for a study to have found that indigenous firms perceive and practice CSR as corporate philanthropy aimed at addressing socio-economic development challenges in Nigeria. This finding confirms that CSR is a localized and socially embedded construct, as the ‘waves’, ‘issues’ and ‘modes’ of CSR practices identified amongst indigenous firms in Nigeria reflect the firms’ responses to their socio-economic context” (Amaeshi et al: 2006) One of the leading telecommunication companies in Nigeria, MTN Nigeria, developed a CSR policy direction document in 2004 in conjunction with a consulting outfit.

The company has since gone ahead to establish MTN Foundation to lead its CSR policy implementation locally. A search for Best Practices in Corporate Social Responsibility by indigenous firms in Nigeria by Dotun Atilade, mentioned that elements of social responsibility include investment in community outreach, employee relations, creation and maintenance of employment , environmental responsibility, human rights and financial performance.

It is about producing and / or delivering socially and environmentally responsible products and /or services in an environmentally and socially responsible manner while openness, accountability and transparency are some of the new key words covering a vast range of issues. A sustained bench mark for studying CSR practice, as suggested by Moon (2002), emphasizes waves, issues and modes; ‘waves (1) community involvement (2) socially responsible production process and (3) socially responsible employee relations, issues CSR practices emphasizes e. g. nvironmental , education, employee welfare , health and safety and modes through which they are implemented e. g. philanthropy foundation and codes. The result of these activities has been discovered to be shaped by Nigerian corporate Governance framework and socio-economic conditions as reported in some research on the CSR activities of indigenous companies. The European Union’s Green Paper on CSR defines it as a concept whereby companies integrate social and environment concerns in their business operations and in 028 Univers. J. Mark. Bus. Res. heir interactions with their stake holders on a voluntary base. Mark Maxwell and Siegel (2001) as actions that appears to further some social groups beyond the interest of the firm and that which is required by law while the CSR constructs is a new coinage, it is not a new practice. It could be traced back to such example as the th th Quakers in 17 and 18 Century whose business philosophy was not primarily driven by profits maximization but to add value to the society at large. Business was framed as part of the society and not separate from it.

The resurgent interest in the practice provides a fertile ground for different discourses and actors which lends it to multiple and contested. (Moon, 2002). A common strand that runs through most of these studies suggests that meaning and practice of CSR is social culturally embedded. CSR in Nigeria would be aimed towards addressing the peculiarity of the social economic development challenges of the country (poverty alleviation, health care provision, infrastructure development, structure, education, etc and would be informed by social cultural influences (e. g. communalism and charity).

This might not necessarily reflect the popular western standard/expectations of CSR (e. g. consumer protection, fair trade, green marketing, climate change concerns, and social responsible investments) etc. At Zenith Bank, Corporate Social Responsibility is not just a buzz word; it’s a way of life. To emphasize this belief Zenith Bank set up Zenith philanthropy, a fully functional department responsible for identifying areas, sectors and causes of the serving of philanthropic aid. Zenith philanthropy is the channel through which Zenith bank gives back to the society.

Zenith bank sees giving back to society as a serious and passionate cause. Today CSR goes far beyond the old philanthropy of the past donating money to good causes at the end of the financial year, but rather, an all year round responsibility that companies accept the environment around them for the best working practices for their engagement in their local communities and for their local communities and for their recognition that brand names depends not only on quality, price and uniqueness but on how cumulatively they interact with companies work force community and environment.

There are a lot of damages these companies are doing to the environment like local air pollution such as particulates, and the damage caused by the over-use and pollution of fresh water, the “social impacts” such as the migration of people driven out of affected areas , the toxic waste heavy waters users like food, drink and clothing companies are releasing into the environment. The aim of this study is to encourage and help investors lobby companies to reduce their environmental impact before concerned governments act to restrict them through taxes or regulations.

The companies can give up the excess profit now, if they want a world in which it’s possible to make any money at all, later. If we go on failing to put a price on the environment, we’ll make the planet uninhabitable. The entire basis for freedom and for a sound economy is that if you want something, you have to pay for it. And right now, we’re not paying for the environment, we’re taking from it. What happens when the resources we have effectively doled out for free run out?

We’re already getting an idea with the oceans, where CO2 pollution is making them so acid that it is literally dissolving the shells of shellfish and killing them off. Literally, Nigerian banking industry and telecommunication industry today operate in what can be described as the “enemy’s territory”, with hardly any identifiable friend in the polity. Everyone has an axe to grind with them, the fact that they are needed to foster individual and collective business growth notwithstanding.

While government sees them as being selfish and responsible for most of the problems of the economy, the regulatory authorities look at them and their operators with suspicion. To the public, employees of banking industry and telecommunication are privileged, over-pampered and over-paid “cheats” and “liars” who thrive at the expense of the rest of the society. Banking industry and the telecommunication industry are seen as making “huge“ profits in a depressed economy. In effect, they are milking the economy dry instead of growing it.

This perception is in fact miles away from the impression of renowned economist of yester-years. They are believed to foster economic growth in any economy. Adams Smith (1910) left no doubt as to what the role of banks in economic growth should be. However, the allegations leveled against banking and telecommunication industries can never be wished away and these are impacting negatively on

Executive Summary

Automotive Industry is one of the biggest economic sectors in the world and the impact they have to the communities in their best practices has a huge advantage promoting corporate social responsibility. We looked and discussed various issues of CSR in the report not limited but including: Investing in the Future, Technology Drives Change Electric cars, Materials and Workforce Implications. Global Automotive Industry

The global automotive industry involves the manufacture and sales of automobiles and other retail activities, such as gas-station retail and the sale of car parts. The industry’s yearly growth rate is expected to exceed 5. 5% from 2010 to 2015, reaching a value of more than $5,132 billion by 2015, according to research from MarketLine. The industry is a leading employer throughout the world, with 9 million people involved in making 60 million vehicles, or 5% of global manufacturing jobs. Indirect employment from automotive activity is fivefold, representing 50 million jobs connected indirectly to the auto industry.

Regional Market Share * US vehicles sales and production account for around 40% of the global automotive industry, according to Global Automakers, whose members have contributed close to $45 billion to US automotive activity. The investment represents 300 facilities and employment for around 80,000 people with a combined yearly payroll of $6 billion. Leading US manufacturers include Ford, General Motors and Chrysler Group. * The European automotive market is led by production in Germany, Italy and France. In the EU, the industry employs 2. million people directly and almost another 10. 5 million indirectly, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association. The region produces more than 17 million vehicles a year, representing a quarter of overall global production. * Overall, Japanese market share fell around 4% year-on-years to just under 35% in August 2011. Japan holds around a 45% share in both the compact car and compact crossover markets, and 48% in the mid-size car market, according to a Kelly Blue Book report AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY CSR ISSUES|

Human Rights| * Commitment to HR and the UNGC, respect human rights delineated in the International Bill of Human Rights * Ensuring that HR and WC are met throughout the supply chain * Vehicles have to meet high quality and safety standards before being available for the public * Companies have to be committed to educational and health programs and work close with governments and NGO’s in this direction| Labor Standards| * Rejection of forced labor and child labor * Rejection of discrimination in employment and occupation * Low-Cost Labor and bad working conditions in developing countries * The manufacturing of vehicles is concentrated in developing countries due to the cheap labor and unskilled workers * Respecting the freedom of associations and unions * The companies should consider the flexibility and stability of employee’s job security when they shift from well-trained, high-skilled work force to low skill and wages job| Environment| * Reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHS) * Developing advanced vehicle technologies * Hybrid vehicles and advanced diesel * Reducing the environmental impact of the plants * Reducing the impact of waste by recycling the products * Commitment to decrease global water use * Providing road safety in developing countries * The objective of these projects is reducing car accidents * Trainings aimed at increasing usage of seat belt and helmet * Ensuring that Green Supply Chain Management incorporating ecological aspects into the whole value chain| Anti-Corruption| * Expanding of automotive industry in BRIC countries, as well as Indonesia, Mexico and other developing countries * Auto companies may be vulnerable to bribery demands by custom clearance, government officials and third party agents * Transparency * Introducing mandatory online training courses for employees with focus on ethics, conflicts of interests, gifts and favors|

Consumers complained about situation but Toyota did not take responsibilities. After investigations were done, Toyota understood the big mistaken they have made and finally apologize to its consumers. Second, Toyota as s group has not signed the 10 principles of the UNGC. Particularly in China, Toyota has not respected workers in different factories. At the same time, there has been different complains in regards to the lack of respect towards labor unions. As mentioned previously, Toyota is one of the leaders for the development of friendly environmental innovative technology TATA Tata in general has poor performance regarding CSR issues discussed. There are many problems in all areas.

Though environment sustainability drive is in the core business plan of Tata motors and CSR is incorporated in their article and memorandum, it is strongly recommended that monthly reports to be shared with public and also the ways how they measure GHG and other gases emission and what steps they are taking in future to reduce water and air pollution. Finally though Tata is transparent company in her act and it’s a visionary company, but in few instances employees of Tata found involved in some unethical trade practices just to get benefit out of it, i. e. in singur land acquisition case it is claimed that Tata motors are involved in bribery to west Bengal government machinery. Also in big government tenders or military purchases Tata motors involved in bribery to get that order. Tata is signatory to UNGC but there is no means to control and check anti-corruption reputation of Tata. DAIMLER Daimler gets a high ranking in human rights and CSR pillars implementation.

Promote Daimler’s sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR) agenda in every country they have operations is by serving as liaison to UN Global Compact; organize Daimler’s annual Sustainability Dialogue to increase visibility as a leader in CSR and exchange ideas on innovation and environmental stewardship, strategies for community engagement, and CSR in the supply chain.? Support EAPP sponsorships and events by ensuring compliance with corporate regulations, i. e. draft sponsorship agreements, oversee communications initiatives, monitor progress, and ensure contract provisions have been carried out as agreed upon; Daimler, the owner of Mercedes-Benz, admitted to paying tens of millions of dollars of bribes to foreign government officials in at least 22 countries. The company said it had now reformed the way it did business. FORD Low ranking on environment and high ranking on human rights.

Working with industry companies, governments to establish effective frameworks for reducing GHG emissions; In Europe since 1995, Ford has reduced CO2 emissions from passenger cars by 31 percent Ford-Firestone issue happened in 2000 when Firestone recalled 6. 5 million tires, mostly original equipment on Ford Explorer, the world’s top-selling sport utility vehicle. The lack of safety in supply chain – a report by the Institute for Global Labor and Human Rights said that a 21-year-old worker lost three fingers in a stamping machine at one of Ford’s suppliers in China and was inadequately compensated. Ford continues making and marketing its SUV line vehicles which are fuel-thirsty. Conclusion Investing in the Future: Automakers have announced billions in “green” investment in the US, Europe and BRICs industries.

But despite that huge investment a rebound in sales management appears to concerned management hence the slow pace of green about the rebound’s permanence. Technology Drives Change: The pace of vehicle technology change is accelerating. Vehicles are changing in response to consumer taste and expectations, higher safety standards, and the drive toward a low-carbon future. Greening of automotive transportation should focus the three sectors: Hybrid and electric cars, materials and electronics. Electric cars: The most noteworthy change is the re-emergence of the electric vehicle. The development of alternative forms of energy storage (primarily batteries) is rapidly progressing as is the case with the new Mercedes Benz E-class electric car.

Materials: The focus on green supply chain management will make vehicles lighter for improved fuel economy is a major driver in the development of automotive materials and forming. Workforce Implications: Today’s auto industry workers need systems thinking. That means that individuals must possess the soft skills that enable cross-cultural communication, collaboration and teamwork. Production and skilled-trades workers must adapt to an increasingly fast cadence of new product, process and technology introductions. Many of the workers displaced? from the auto sector will? need to transition to alternate occupations and we recommended that companies be flexible and provide stability to this issue particularly where there is a high practice of “contract workers”.

Narrative reporting and introduction of OFR is an important development in corporate responsibility. The introduction of mandatory OFR made several companies race to meet with the requirements of the law. Subsequently, the OFR was made non mandatory again but awareness has been created. Every investor knows that he should look at the OFR of a company he seeks to invest in. If the OFR is missing it raises doubts about the credibility and the intentions of the company .In future even though the mandatory clause has been withdrawn, companies are likely to produce more comprehensive and informative OFR than ever before.

Narrative reporting concentrates on presenting events and actions in certain order so that complications and problems are understood. Narrative reporting concentrates on the descriptions, events and facts that pertain to events, identifying the personnel who are involved and the manner in which the sequence of events took place. The OFR (Operating and financial review) is a report included in a company’s annual report and accounts that is published to meet the requirement of corporate governance that enumerates the operating activities and financial affairs of the company.

In the UK the Operating and Financial Review was introduced with the purpose of increasing corporate responsibility. The purpose of this requirement was that social and environmental issues would be described in the OTR and this would provide a wider level of information to the shareholder. In addition, it was expected that the OTR would in a way compel companies to carry out external audit of these issues. Specifically it was intended that the OFR would provide better information to the investors on the likely performance of the companies during the financial year.

The contents of the OFR should have an overview of the capital structure of the company and the financial characteristics of the company. In addition, the OFR was required to provide the main risks and uncertainties that faced the company. Further, the OFR was required to have descriptions of the brand strength, market strengths, company reputation and R&D, that is the resources that the company enjoyed in the market. Most importantly, the OFR required the companies to disclose the objectives and strategies of the company (Financial Reporting Council 2007).

The OFR also required the companies to disclose its relationships with suppliers, customer and employees. In other words the company was required to disclose its relationship with the stakeholders of the company. The company was also required to comment on the reputation of the company, especially in relation to the society and the environment. Moreover, the company was required to comment on the impact the reputation would have on the future performance of the company (Yeldar. R. 2007).

In the UK the OFR disclosures have been left to an extent to the directors of the company. Their views on the different points are critical in making the disclosure useful to the company. Moreover, the government has focused on the OFR to fill the lacunae in reporting that traditional financial statements left in the annual reports (Morris. G, McKay. S & Oates. A, 2006). If the board is so inclined, then the OFR can simply be relegated to a public relations activity of the company.

The point is that if companies choose not to include corporate responsibility issues in their OFR then there may be a need for a mandatory inclusion of corporate responsibility indicators in the OFR. Even though OFR is driving the companies to disclose corporate responsibility issues, the final decision to disclose remains with the companies (Gee. P, 2006). The OFRs are required to honestly disclose the performance, development and the position of the company to help the investor make better decisions. In addition, the OFRs are required to provide the salient factors and the important trend that affect the present financial performance and the future status of the company. It is believed that not too many boards of directors will be eager to make an honest disclosure of these trends.

To assess the current state of narrative reporting in the UK let us take a look at the review of narrative reporting published by the ASB on January 15, 2007. The report gives some areas of improvement that is the key performance indicators are missing in narrative reporting, the companies are not careful in their description of the principal risks and uncertainties and do not mention their approaches in mitigating these risks and uncertainties. What is most important is that forward looking information is not disclosed in the narrative reports.

The review lauds the companies for reporting an increasing number of environmental, employee and social issues, the companies are giving good description of current developments and present performance and that the companies are providing more or less good descriptions of their current business, markets, strategic plans and objectives (Ploix. H, & Charkham. J 2005). The auditors are currently required to comment on whether the OFR is consistent with their knowledge of the Annual Report and accounts. However, it is often seen that currently the companies in their OFR often give spin over substance.

The companies over emphasize their favorable performance and avoid mentioning their areas of weaknesses. It is expected that now the companies will be required to product a broader annual report and specify their non financial performance and plans for future. For example, Shell is the biggest emitter of greenhouse gases in the UK and has a share of 23% of all emissions from FTSE 100 companies but this is not mentioned in the OFR of the company. There are no specific plans either to reduce emissions. Similarly, BP and Scottish Power are responsible for 17% of the emissions but this is not clearly mentioned in their annual reports.

The lacuna in the law is that the auditor is required to compare the OFR statements with the financial reports and accounts and check if the statements in the OFR are in agreement with financial reports and accounts. This does not require the auditor to mention the omissions that have been made from the OFR nor does the audit of the narrative statement require the board of directors to make statements that disclose the weaknesses of the company. It is clear that in case of Shell, BP and Scottish Power if their emission levels of greenhouse gases are mentioned and the weaknesses in their future plans of reducing these emissions are clearly delineated in their annual reports, then several ethical investors may decide to stay away from these companies (Cowan. N, 2006, p 137).

The recent history of the OFR is that the OFR was first introduced in 1993 by the ASB. At that time it was not mandatory. The Companies Act 1985(Operating and Financial Review and Directors’ Report etc.) Regulations 2005 required quoted companies to prepare a compulsory OFR and other companies to include in their Directors’ Reports a business review. Small companies were exempt from the requirements of this regulation.

The Accounting Standards Board issued an accompanying Reporting Standard that those companies that complied with the Reporting Standard 1 would be presumed to have met the OFR Regulations. In November, 2005 the Chancellor announced that the government wanted to do away with the need for quoted companies to prepare an OFR. In January 2006 the Repeal Regulation of 2005 came into force that did away with the need for quoted companies to make an OFR.

The Reporting Standard 1 was converted into a Reporting Statement. This remains just as a guiding statement for companies that decided to produce an OFR (Vilers. C, 2006). In the next month that is February 2006 the government requested suggestions and comments on improving the narrative reporting requirements. In May 2006 the government publicized amendments to the Business Review legislation. Finally, in November 2006, The Companies Act was given the final assent. and the Business Review requirements are now given legal sanction.

Gordon Brown’s decision to abandon the mandatory nature of the OFR has been supported by two arguments. First, the government claims it wants to reduce bureaucracy. Second, government feels that the new requirements for business review meet the EU requirements for narrative reporting. This is the official line of the government.. However, there are other reasons that are being given as the reason for the abolition of the compulsory clause. It is claimed that the abolition of the mandatory requirement is offered as an incentive to business to remain in the UK and to attract new businesses to the UK. It is a part of the race to make UK attractive to business investors.

Several environmental organizations like Friends of Earth and NGOs have decided to file a law suit against the government to force it to see reason. They see the withdrawal of the mandatory clause as signal to the business sector to continue with their environmentally baneful expansion plans. These organizations had been earlier clamoring for mandatory social and environmental reporting for businesses. From this perspective it seems that Gordon Brown’s decision is not a good one.

There are other reasons given to support Gordon Brown’s decision. The claim is that more than 80% of the listed companies will voluntarily comply with the requirements of Reporting Statement and generate OFR statements. Those that do not will face investor reaction and comply with the Reporting Statement requirements. Those that persist in not producing an OFR voluntarily will be perceived as not transparent by the investing public. In addition, the proponents of the abolition of mandatory OFR aver that the size and the complexity of the annual reports daunting to most investors. In 2005 the average length of the annual reports was 71 pages. Adding to this only confuses the shareholders.

Finally, the materiality get out clause has made the compulsory OFR ineffective. This has also allowed companies to get out of the need to report their weaknesses. However, we should not write off the OFR as dead. Every business knows that it should have an OFR to inform its shareholder. The need for qualitative, non-financial information has been created in the investors. If a company does not produce an OFR the investor may suspect it several faults. The end result will be that the shareholders will find it prudent to stay away from companies that do not produce a comprehensive OFR. There will be reputed persons who will stay away from the boards of companies that do not produce an OFR that meets the standard prescribed by the ASB.

The OFR lives in the business review. The government is not compelling the companies to produce an OFR but the shareholders, investors and other stakeholders will compel the companies to produce and OFR. Environmental organizations and NGOs will take up the matter with companies that do not report on social and environmental issues. Companies that refuse to make OFRs may be shunned by ethical investors, high profile employees and environmentally conscious business partners. The awareness has been created, guidelines have been drafted and the importance of corporate responsibility has been emblazoned. The OFR has taken on a life of its own and even without compulsion it will feature in the annual reports of most UK companies.

As the consciousness of investors increases, as the top employees become choosier and as corporations become more environmentally sensitive, OFR will continue to thrive. There is no need to revive the mandatory clause. Enough consciousness has been created to make the corporate sector aware and alive to its reporting responsibilities, the Business Review is adequate for this purpose. Those companies that do not behave in a responsible manner will suffer because they will not be able to sustain the interests of stakeholders that matter.

To sum, there are a number of reasons given in support of the abolition of the mandatory clause and a number of reasons are being given for the reintroduction of mandatory requirements for OFR However, the importance of the OFA has been driven home to the companies, the investors and other stakeholders. Financial reporting alone does not give enough information to make a decision and he knows that an OFA is important. The OFA continues to live in the UK corporate world even after the mandatory clause has been abolished.

References:

Cowan. N, 2006 Risk Analysis and Evaluation, Lessons Professional Publishing..

Financial Reporting Council 2007 ‘ASB Publishes Review of Narrative Reporting’. Retrieved on January 30, 2007 from http://www.frc.org.uk-

Gee. P, 2006 UK GAAP for Business and Practice, Elsevier

Morris. G, McKay. S & Oates. A, 2006 Finance Director’s Handbook, Elsevier.

Ploix. H, & Charkham. J 2005 Keeping Better Company: Corporate Governance Ten Years on, Oxford University Press.

Vilers. C, 2006, Corporate Reporting and Company Law, Cambridge University Press. 205 -209

Yeldar. R. 2007 Accounting Standards Board Publishes Review of Narrative Reporting, Retrieved on January 30, 2007 from: http://ry.com/news/news/?id=3345

Friedman invented new footings for our 21th century. Hot is Global Warming, Flat is Globalization, and Crowed is Turning completion for resources. The convergences of these 3 tendencies are energy supply and demand, climate alteration, energy poorness, and biodiversity loss. Our American lifestyle utilizations nature recourses prodigally. If all of human being uses the same ingestion as American, the demand will be exaggerated and the Earth will non be able to supply resources to all. As a consequence, it will be intense completion for resources which will take to conflict. As energy demand exceeds supply, oil monetary values rises to maintain up with the demand which gives OPEC earn a batch of hard currency. When oil monetary values goes up, the lupus erythematosus freedom in non-oil bring forthing states. As we consume more oil, clime alteration have affected dramatically to nature, wildlife and us. Average sea degree worldwide is projected to lift up to two pess by the terminal of this century. This rise would extinguish about 10,000 square stat mis of land in the United States. As a consequence, it destroys biodiversity. We have to halt biodiversity now. Otherwise, following coevals will non cognize what is the bird of Jove or elephant expression like but lone presentation from computing machine graphic. Greater energy efficiency and new engineerings hold promise for cut downing nursery gases and work outing this planetary challenge. 1.6 billion Peoples in developing states do non hold entree to electricity. Without energy, they have no entree to instruction, communicating and medical specialty to populate in sustainable life. However, American needs a clean energy to power the grid. Clean energy will hike economic growing as new occupations are created and inducements are given to renewable companies. Current energy markets are dominated by oil, coal and gas companies. We need to follow clean energy. Price signal is requires to do investors put in clean tech companies and merchandises. It will non go on if authorities is non involved by regulate new policies for clean company or giving revenue enhancement inducements to excite invention for energy efficient merchandises. He uses many instances of how tighter ordinance criterions which leads to efficient energy uses such as GE ‘s transit EVO train or revenue enhancement inducements to advanced merchandises such as intercrossed auto or clean Diesel auto. However, these will non work if we do non hold moralss of preservation to alter our life styles to something that has less consequence on the Earth.

We are extinguishing population of species faster than we can detect new one. We cut down 1000s of estates of forest before we have clip to analyze or paperss what was at that place. We are fouling environment faster than the nature cans response. We are worry about the loss of species when it is excessively late when we can make nil about it. The loss of a individual species can hold drastic effects for many species and get down a concatenation reaction of devastation as radiating lines of dependence are severed. Relationships between the species on Earth are correlated. The saga of Yangtze elephantine darn is non merely threatened wildlife and biodiversity in China but besides people economically and environmentally in Mekong river country. ( Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam ) Since the Three Gorges Dam ( Yangtze River ) was operated, countries in Laos and northern Thailand have experienced many major inundations. For this ground, ecological systems have been destroyed. The impact of dam building of the dike is non merely in alteration the H2O rhythm but most of animate being species have vanished. In the rainy season, during the spawning season inundations. Fish will be encouraged from the rain that falls and so flows into the Mekong River and subdivisions. When the prohibitionist season, H2O will diminish, so fish ballad eggs. Uncertain of H2O from the dike are non merely dry down Natural nutrient supply of fish was severed but the accretion of dirt foods. The Lower Mekong is quickly losing foods. In add-on, it is impacting straight piscaries every bit good as agribusiness along dependent food flow with the tides accumulated in the dirt as fertiliser. Furthermore, Erosion of coastal eroding, the Mekong River happened every twelvemonth but normally in the last 5 old ages, villagers along the Mekong observed that the fast eroding of the seashore and more serious. It is expected that it may come together from assorted causes such as the building of port and gap of floodgate of dike has changed way of H2O flows. In the past old ages the Mekong River Commission has stated that Chinese dikes affect the drouth more terrible. However, Chinese governments did non unwrap a clear out. In add-on, China is non allowed to analyze the impact of the dike by a group of independent. With such issues placed on the national security. The Beijing ever emphasized that China developed the Upper Mekong part. Therefore, no duty for what happened to the Lower Mekong River. Damagess to those citizens in lower Mekong parts who are affected frequently been ignored. In Chinese eyes, at present the Mekong River is a resource for energy production. However the Chinese did non fall in the Mekong River Commission. The multi-party reappraisals that if China does non take part, committee is the lone paper. If China becomes a member, China besides must follow with many regulations. Therefore, these regulations would hinder barrier to the development of freedom in China. China is unacceptable. We all try to continue biodiversity but if the ace power authoritiess like China and United States are non involved. It is hard to go on when we all think about ourselves non biodiversity loss.

Energy poorness is the deficiency of electricity in developing states. That means they have to utilize biomass such as wood or droppings as their primary beginning of cookery and warming fuel. Lack of entree to sustainable energy services and merchandises constrains cardinal facets of human development and growing. When it comes to planetary heating, hapless people is affected the most. Because they do non hold they do have electricity to refrigerating nutrient or medical specialty or desalting H2O in hot universe. Without electricity, these developing states do non hold entree to machines and communicating such as entree to libraries online or competes, connect and collaborate to people in level universe. Energy can non merely do developing states hotter but besides affected developed states. As information centres and naming services outsources to seek for low cost of labour, blackout energy could take to miss of connectivity to the crowed universe. The solution for these developing states is developed states and UN should give finance new undertaking for sustainable economic growing. The World Bank claims that it is now financing more low-carbon energy undertakings in the underdeveloped universe, yet carbon-intensive energy undertakings continue to have more than five times every bit much World Bank support as low-carbon and energy efficiency undertakings. They are in the procedure of supplying a $ 3.75 billion loan to South African public-service corporation Eskom to construct a “ supercritical ” coal-burning works. The World Bank says such supercritical coal undertakings are more energy efficient than traditional coal-burning workss, but these power workss still contribute massively to planetary heating compared to alternative or renewable energy-powered plants.2 Recent surveies show that particulates from air pollution and carbon black are the 2nd prima cause of planetary warming behind C dioxide. Residents of developing states, peculiarly in Asia, breathe in the environmental contaminations of coal ‘s pollution every twenty-four hours. Smog visibly hangs over major urban centres and soot covers villages doing terrible respiratory diseases.

In this book, Friedman proposes a Code Green Plan and foreground the demand for a whole new system to power the economic system growing. We need to replace full end product of the soiled fuel systems such as coal. The constituents of the program are Clean Electrons, Energy Efficiency, and Conservation. We need to excite invention to beginning of negatrons that is abundant, clean, dependable and inexpensive. In short clip, we must cut down the demand of energy because Clean Energy will non be here shortly. I believe that authorities policies, ordinances, research support and revenue enhancement inducements would excite a system for introducing, bring forthing, secretory organ deploying clean negatrons, energy sufficient and resource productiveness. As we have experienced economic sciences in recession in past old ages, most of people have lost their occupations. However, fabricating occupations in Green renewable energy have played a cardinal function in contending unemployment. With unemployment at highest record in decennaries, and oil and energy monetary value volatility driving concerns into the land, we can non afford to wait any longer. It is clip for a legislative for a comprehensive clean-energy investing program. In my sentiment, if we have attractive policies to concerns, it would drive the growing of renewable industries. For illustration, extends the Advanced Energy Manufacturing Tax Credit ( as it is done with intercrossed vehicles ) , Increases the sum of credits available, or Offers a hard currency grant in stead of the Manufacturing Tax Credit ( as is presently done with the Investment Tax Credit ) Since its debut in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 20093, the Manufacturing Tax Credit has proven to be an effectual tool to reinvigorate our fabrication base, but demand for support still exists. A greater than expected figure of companies applied for the plan, ensuing in an oversubscription of this plan by a ratio of 3 to 1.4 Increasing the sum of support, and the clip that such support is available, will supply inducements for more companies to do the passage to clean energy production. This will assist America construct up a green fabrication sector that can both make occupations at place and increase America ‘s competitory border in the green energy economic system. There ‘s another benefit to back uping supply companies over assembly companies. Both types of companies promote economic development, but workers in the supply concatenation, such as tool and die workers, welders, and mechanics, are by and large paid more than workers in the assembly concatenation. A noteworthy exclusion is in the car fabrication sector, where corporate bargaining contracts can ensue in higher-paid assembly jobs.5 Despite these of import benefits, Congress, non the Department of Energy, should be responsible for clearly saying the intent in legislative linguistic communication. Given that the federal authorities has decided to pass through the revenue enhancement codification, I support the attempt to increase the effectivity of the Manufacturing Tax Credit. And significantly, smart policies that strategically and expeditiously beforehand precedence authorities policies.

I am impressed by how much China polluted our planet. They are taking the same way of soiled industrialisation as the West done. Five of the 10 most contaminated metropoliss worldwide are in China because air and H2O are polluted. That leads China to the record-high temperature for 11th twelvemonth in a row. Back so Chinese people can swim in the Yangtze River but they can no longer see because the toxic pollution has poisoned so many China ‘s rivers and lakes. Furthermore, wellness issues are one of serious issues Chinese is sing. One 4th of Chinese citizens do non hold entree for clean H2O. For this ground, 70 per centum of all deathly malignant neoplastic disease instances are related to the environment. The authorities has realized this and has been taking little stairss to travel green while more refering about economic growing. However, put to deathing a green program is non easy because of the big inactiveness and the deficiency of control over authoritiess. As I mentioned above, authorities more concern about GDP and make non care about the effects of environmental as they are making with Yangtze River dike. However, The U.S. demand to take moral land in taking clean energy because China will follow us as it has no pick but to follow universe criterion. Meanwhile, America has been discoursing greening for excessively long with no action. Decision devising is being lobbied by traditional energy companies that oppose inducements to renewable energy. Furthermore, Congress is allowing funding to the incorrect undertakings alternatively of scientific discipline and development. It took 11 old ages to link a air current farm 275 stat mis to LA, comparing to the velocity at China is constructing power workss of one every 2 hebdomads. So, we need U.S. authorities to take our planet to be a better for our following coevals before it is excessively late. ” If America becomes the illustration of a state that takes the lead in developing clean power, energy efficiency, preservation systems, so grows more productive, healthy, respected, comfortable, competitory, advanced, & A ; secure as a consequence, many more states will emulate us voluntarily ”.