I started the lecture with an introduction to Dow Jones Sustainability Index.
The index is based on the stock values of the top 20 % of the Dow Jones Index companies which have been assessed as the best in their sector in terms of their performance in economic, environmental and social dimensions.
The assessment is based on how the companies address opportunities and risks in all the three dimensions, especially through startegy, management and industry specific initiatives. For example, under the economic dimension the following criteria are assessed: (a) Strategic Planning (opportunity), (b) Organizational Development (opportunity) and (c) Corporate Governance (risk). Similarly in the environmental dimension the following are assessed: (a) environmental charter, (b) environment, health & safety reporting, (c) environmental profit and loss accounting, (d) eco-design, (e) eco-efficient products (a -e Opportunities), (f) environmental policy, (g) responsible person for environmental issues, (h) environmental management system, (i) environmental performance, (j) hazardous substances, (h) environmental liabilities (f-h risks). In the social dimension the sub-criteria are: (a) stakeholder involvement, (b)social reporting, (c) employee benefit, (d) employee satisfaction, (e) remuneration systems, (f) community programmes (a - f opportunities), (g)social policy, (h) responsible person for social issues, (i) conflict resolution, (j) equal rights and non-discrimination, (k) occupational health& safety standardr, (l) Lay-offs and Freedom of Association, (m)standards for suppliers and (n) personnel training in developing countries.
The assessment is carried out based on the information received through (1) the filled questionnaire specific to each industry group circuated by the SAM group (www.sam-group.com, (2) company documentation (e.g. Sustainability Report, Annual Financial Report etc.), (3) publicly available information (e.g. from media, reports etc.) and (4) personal contact with the companies.
The above methodology aims to produce an investable index (DJS Index) in which all the component stocks are easily tradable.
For a company, the assessment provides two important inputs: one, it enables the company to benchmark itself in the three dimensions of sustainability with others in the sector and the other is that it enables shareholders to make their choices regarding trading in the company's stocks.
We then discussed one example, Philips Electronics, of the DJSI evaluation of a sector leader. The information (scores) in each element and each sub-element is provided, along with the average score in each (sub)element as well as the best scores in these elements. Also given is the information on the next best company and its overall scores compared to the leader. Information on companies which will be dropped from the DJSI next year is also given in the same report.
Next we discussed about the neighbourhood programmes; it is normally found that after the Johnesburgh conference, most of the corporate bodies have neighbourhood programmes in the area of Education, Health and Environment. There are quite a few corporate programmes on education, including educating the physically challenged and the poor, sholarships for higher education, education of the girl child, building of dispensaries and hospitals, providing clean drinking water to the village, conducting health camps, cataract operations, tree plantation etc. In order to effectively implementing these programmes in the society Corporates usually take the help from non-governmental organizations (NGOs) operating in the target areas. Many NGOs have now become partners to the Corporate bodies in improving the lives of people in the rural/ poor areas.
There are two types of NGOs; one the international NGO, like the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the other is a locally establsihed NGO, like for example, CRY, Helpage India etc. India is the country with the maximum number of NGOs (not for profit) running to about a million. Then we discussed about the types of NGOs based on their activity - there are NGOs which work on policy matters (e.g. PRAYAS), some take up specific causes and are actively involved in achieving their goal (e.g. Narmada Bachao Andolan) and some others are involved in developmental activities (e.g. Amarseva Sangam). There are NGOs who work in specific areas, like environmental areas, health areas, social areas, education areas etc. We briefly noted the following environmental NGOs active in India: Centre for Science and Environment (CSE, New Delhi), Greenpeace, Toxic Links, Kalpaviruksh (Pune); NGOs like Development Alternatives have slowly moved towards becoming social enterprises, between corporates and NGOs. They have programmes which earn profit to sustain the organization; but they work in areas (e.g. rural and appropriate technology) where corporates do not venture. We also talked about DHAN Foundation and PRADHAN, both NGOs with focus on improving the lives of rural poor - they are partially funded by aid agencies and partly by their own activities. See, for example, www.indianngos.com and www.karmayog.org for more details of Indian NGOs.
With this class we have completed studying all the subjects mentioned under the CSR syllabus, except the reading of all the mentioned papers. Those who are interested should read all the papers mentioned in the syllabus.
All the best to you in your examination and beyond.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Model Question Paper
Please be advised that this just a model; The marks, time etc., may vary when the actual examination takes place.
Type of Examination: Internal Examination – Feb 2008
Model: Multiple Choice Questions – Open Book
Subject: Corporate Social Responsibility
Distribution of Marks: Each question carries 1 mark (total 25) – 25 Marks are awarded for attendance
Total time for the examination: 60 minutes
Tick () the most appropriate Statement in the rectangular space provided for each of the questions below
1.
The following are the three pillars of Sustainability
a) Profits, Environment and Enterprise
b) Economic, Environment and Society
c) Environmental, Ecological and Philanthropy
d) Social, ecological and people
2.
Environmental conflicts arise because of the following:
a) Air Pollution, Water Pollution and Soil Pollution
b) Destruction of biodiversity and loss of flora and fauna
c) Excessive use of resources and increasing cost of non-renewable resources
d) Characteristics of the Physical environment, viz., common property, multiple use and uncovered cost
3.
Established methods for avoiding environmental conflicts include:
a) Dialogue with the stakeholder
b) Complying with legislation
c) Command & Control, Economic Instruments and Voluntary Initiatives
d) Establishing ISO-14001 and ISO-9001 Management Systems
4.
An organization’s stakeholders
a) are the employees and contractors of the organization
b) are the shareholders of the organization
c) are those interested in the organizations activities, products and services including flora and fauna and the Government
d) All the above
5.
Social Issues covered under CSR include
a) Poverty alleviation and social upliftment
b) Provision of clean drinking water, medical facilities and education to the population in and around the operational area of the organization
c) Issues related to inclusion, diversity, bribery, discrimination, donations, child labour etc.
d) All issues covered by UN Global Compact, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, ILO Guidelines, SA-8000, OHSAS-18001, AA-1000 , OECD Guidelines etc.
6.
Sustainable Development is defined as:
a) the development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs
b) the development the improves the lives of people who are under the poverty line
c) the development with a futuristic outlook on returns on investment
d) the development that can sustain the livelihood of people
7.
UN Global Compact addresses issues related to:
a) UN Development policies and programmes
b) Labour Rights and Occupational Health & Safety
c) Human Rights, Environment, Labour, Anti-corruption
d) None of the above
8.
Child Labour
a) is allowed under certain circumstances
b) is not allowed under any circumstance
c) is allowed if it is voluntary
d) is allowed in certain industries such as carpet industry and rag picking
9. OECD Guidelines are meant especially for
a) Multinational enterprises operating in / from developing countries
b) Multinational enterprises operating in / from developed countries
c) Multinational enterprises operating in / from OECD countries
d) All enterprises operating all over the world
10. UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights demands
a) Employment to everyone
b) Equal pay for equal work
c) Work with self-esteem
d) Right to livelihood
11. PDCA refers to:
a) Plan, Do, Check, Act cycles
b) Please Do Corrective Actions
c) Please Don’t Carry Anything
d) Programmed Demand Corrective Action
12. Environment according to ISO-14001 is:
a) The Physical environment which provides resources, which acts as sink for the waste generated and which provides the Amenity value
b) The bio-sphere consisting of all living species
c) Surrounding in which the organization operates, including air, water, land, natural resources, flora, fauna, humans and their inter-relations
d) All that is happening around us, including the natural phenomenon like earthquakes
13. Environmental aspect according to ISO-14001 is:
a) The element of the organization’s activity, product or service that can interact with the environment
b) That aspect of the organization that causes environmental problems
c) That aspect of the organization that is potentially dangerous to the environment
d) That part of the organization that can cause significant environmental impacts
14. Environmental impact according to ISO-14001 is:
a) The impact on the society arising out of the activities of the organization
b) Any change to the environment, whether adverse or beneficial, wholly or partially resulting from the organization’s environmental aspects
c) The environmental effect caused by the activities and products of the organization
d) The impact on the organization caused by the environmental activities of the organization
15. As per ISO-14001 the environmental policy shall commit the organization
a) To comply with applicable legal and other requirements
b) To prevent pollution
c) To continual improvement
d) All the above
16. Significant environmental aspects are addressed in the ISO 14001 by
a) Setting up objectives, targets and programmes
b) Establishing operational control procedures
c) Training employees on significant environmental aspects
d) All the above
17. Internal Environmental Management System (EMS) Audit is carried out to:
a) Ensure the continual improvement due to the EMS
b) Ensure that employees are well trained in environmental matters and that the environmental management programmes are carried out without fail
c) Inform the Management the non-conformances to ISO-14001
d) Ensure that the EMS conforms to ISO-14001, that the system is established and maintained and to report the results of the audit to the management
18. Inputs to the Management Review of the ISO-14001 Environmental Management System include:
a) The performance of the environmental management system
b) The economic environment and its effect on the organization
c) Quality of products and their sales during the period under consideration
d) Customer complaints and compensations given to customers based on field returns
19. Corporate Social Responsibility is defined as:
a) The responsibility of business enterprises to contribute to the GDP of the country and to improve the lives of millions who live below the poverty line
b) 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
c) The responsibility of the enterprise towards its employees, neighbours and populations in its area of operation towards better education, health and general life
d) The responsibility of the Corporation towards its social commitments including donations to the society and NGOs towards improving infrastructure and earning capacity of the populations.
20. Child Labour relates to employment of persons below the age of:
a) 14 years
b) 16 years
c) 18 years
d) None of the above
21. “Insider Trading” is about:
a) Trading in commodities that are dear to the enterprise
b) Trading in areas which were not catered to in the past
c) Trading in company’s stocks and other securities by officials of the company
d) Trading on raw materials used by the company by the officials of the company
22. The triple bottomline approach highlights the need to:
a) Maximize earnings, profits before tax, and profits after tax
b) Compromise between the necessity to meet the demands of the government officials and the demands of the shareholders while taking care of the interests of the employees
c) Address environmental performance, economic performance and health & safety of employees
d) None of the above
23. Occupational Health & Safety relates to:
a) Healthy use of products that are safe
b) Employee health and safety related to the operations of the organization
c) Health Security and Safe environment for the employees
d) None of the above
24. Discrimination at the workplace can take place, through:
a) Biases based on sex, creed, religion
b) Biases based on language, nationality
c) Biases based on colour
d) All the above
25. EcoDesign is about
a) Design for the environment
b) Design of economically sound products
c) Design of Green Buildings
d) None of the above
Part B: Case Studies (Please answer both B.1 and B.2 in the space provided)
B.1. Marks (12)
CEO Quits Amid Resume Questions
ABC Corporation's embattled president and CEO, Tejas Khanna, resigned on Monday following questions about his resume's accuracy. The major electronics retailer said that its board accepted his resignation and has promoted Makhrand Deshpande — executive vice president and chief operating officer — to acting CEO. Rohit Roy, ABC Corporation’s chairman and Khanna’s predecessor as CEO, said that the move was necessary to restore the company's credibility. "One of the most important things we have as a corporation is integrity and trust and we know we have to restore that back to the public," he said.
Khanna issued a brief statement on Monday but did not discuss his resume. "For the last 11 years, it has been my privilege to be associated with ABC," he said. "At this time the board and I have agreed that it is in the best interest of the company for new leadership to step forward so that our turnaround plan has the best possible chance to succeed, as I know it will."
Khanna’s troubles began last Tuesday when errors in his resume were reported by the Sunday News. The company's board said that it stood behind its CEO, a decision Roy said he now regrets.
On Wednesday, Khanna said that he took responsibility for the errors. Separately, ABC Corporation said that it would hire outside lawyers to investigate errors in Khanna’s resume, including claims that he earned two degrees for which the colleges he attended has no records. That investigation won't continue since Khanna quit, the company said.
Khanna, 46, joined ABC in 1994 and had been CEO since May, 2007. Khanna had claimed that he received degrees in Economics and Psychology from XYZ College in Chandigarh, which moved in 1998, due to shortage of space, to Jallundar and renamed itself Great Value College. The College Principal told this correspondent that records showed Khanna completed only two semesters in his course in economics and that the college never offered degrees in psychology.
Khanna said last Wednesday that he believed that he received a diploma in economics by attending two semesters, but not the three year bachelor of arts degree listed on his resume.
Roy said that the company background checks did not include academic verification in 1994 as it does today. Roy said that Khanna’s severance package would be less than Rs.10 lakhs in a cash payout, but said more details would be released on Tuesday in a regulatory filing.
The move did not surprise Ms. Devaki Kulkarni, an analyst for Fulcrum Global Partners Ltd., though she didn't think the change would come on a public holiday, as it did, when financial markets were closed. "If you think about his tenure, it's not as if he's led a turnaround of this company," she said. "That being said, it would be difficult for the board, considering the things that have come out, to find a reason to keep him."
The company has since removed biographical sketches of its executives, including that of Deshpande, and replaced it with the following statement: "We are currently updating and validating all of the biographical information for each of our senior executives."
For now, it will be Deshpande’s job to lead a turnaround that begins with closing 400 to 700 stores and two distribution centers as part of a campaign to fix its financial performance. This plan was announced on Friday, when the company also disclosed that its fourth-quarter earnings fell 50 percent. Its shares tumbled 8 percent, after sinking at midday to a three-year low of Rs. 119.
Roy said that Deshpande is also a candidate to become the permanent CEO; ABC Corporation has hired executive search firmer Au Foi to conduct a nationwide search. A representative of Au Foi said that Desphande, a former Sunrise Corporation executive hired last summer, would fit well as CEO, even if it is temporary. "He is the right candidate," she said. "I like his approach at how he looks at the business. He walks into a store and wants to see it through the consumer's eyes."
1. Write the summary of the above case in 5 sentences
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. What is/are the ethical issue(s) involved in this case ?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. What action would you have taken if you were Rohit Roy ?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. What are the ethical issues of your suggested action(s) ?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B.2. Marks (8)
Dilemma of Chandra
Chandrasekhar, the insurance surveyor, was playing with his 4-year-old daughter Chithra when the telephone rang. At the other end of the line was Chidambaram, the insurance agent, pleading for urgent help. Would Chandrasekhar please visit Mrs. Chitale in his neighborhood who had made claims for bodily and mental injury resulting from a car crash with a person insured by the Insurance company? Mrs. Chitale had consented to a visit from their surveyor to assess the injuries to her nose and her mental state. Apparently the crash had caused her to relapse into a condition of paranoia and manic depression, previously stabilized.
Chandrasekhar agreed readily, but said that he had to take his daughter Chithra along as there was no one in the house to take care of her in his absence.
When Chandrasekhar arrived at Mrs. Chitale’s house, he found no one at home, so he and his daughter Chithra waited in the car. Eventually, Mrs. Chitale arrived, parked, and emerged from her car, at which point Chithra shouted happily, "Miss Chitale!"
"Who is Miss Chitale?" asked Chandrasekhar with surprise. Miss Chitale turned out to be Chitra’s teacher. Chandrasekhar conducted a short interview with Mrs. Chitale on the front steps of her home, satisfying himself that she did indeed have some facial injuries and that she was taking prescription medicine for her mental problems.
Insurance ethics mandates that claims investigations are completely confidential. An insurance professional with knowledge of a claims case is expected to keep silent and to refrain from using the knowledge for personal benefit.
Chandrasekhar had a real dilemma. On one hand, to uphold his industry's code of ethics, he was not to discuss or act on the information he had received about Mrs. Chitale’s (mental) situation. On the other hand, he did not want his daughter under the care of a person who was undergoing treatment for mental illness and who might be dangerous. Chandrasekhar's wife was an insurance surveyor for another company. Even if Chandrasekhar told her, she was bound by the same code of ethics.
1. Give the summary of the case in five sentences
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. What are the ethical issues of this case ?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. What action(s) would you have taken if you were Chandrasekhar ?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. What are the ethical issues involved in your proposed action ?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Type of Examination: Internal Examination – Feb 2008
Model: Multiple Choice Questions – Open Book
Subject: Corporate Social Responsibility
Distribution of Marks: Each question carries 1 mark (total 25) – 25 Marks are awarded for attendance
Total time for the examination: 60 minutes
Tick () the most appropriate Statement in the rectangular space provided for each of the questions below
1.
The following are the three pillars of Sustainability
a) Profits, Environment and Enterprise
b) Economic, Environment and Society
c) Environmental, Ecological and Philanthropy
d) Social, ecological and people
2.
Environmental conflicts arise because of the following:
a) Air Pollution, Water Pollution and Soil Pollution
b) Destruction of biodiversity and loss of flora and fauna
c) Excessive use of resources and increasing cost of non-renewable resources
d) Characteristics of the Physical environment, viz., common property, multiple use and uncovered cost
3.
Established methods for avoiding environmental conflicts include:
a) Dialogue with the stakeholder
b) Complying with legislation
c) Command & Control, Economic Instruments and Voluntary Initiatives
d) Establishing ISO-14001 and ISO-9001 Management Systems
4.
An organization’s stakeholders
a) are the employees and contractors of the organization
b) are the shareholders of the organization
c) are those interested in the organizations activities, products and services including flora and fauna and the Government
d) All the above
5.
Social Issues covered under CSR include
a) Poverty alleviation and social upliftment
b) Provision of clean drinking water, medical facilities and education to the population in and around the operational area of the organization
c) Issues related to inclusion, diversity, bribery, discrimination, donations, child labour etc.
d) All issues covered by UN Global Compact, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, ILO Guidelines, SA-8000, OHSAS-18001, AA-1000 , OECD Guidelines etc.
6.
Sustainable Development is defined as:
a) the development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs
b) the development the improves the lives of people who are under the poverty line
c) the development with a futuristic outlook on returns on investment
d) the development that can sustain the livelihood of people
7.
UN Global Compact addresses issues related to:
a) UN Development policies and programmes
b) Labour Rights and Occupational Health & Safety
c) Human Rights, Environment, Labour, Anti-corruption
d) None of the above
8.
Child Labour
a) is allowed under certain circumstances
b) is not allowed under any circumstance
c) is allowed if it is voluntary
d) is allowed in certain industries such as carpet industry and rag picking
9. OECD Guidelines are meant especially for
a) Multinational enterprises operating in / from developing countries
b) Multinational enterprises operating in / from developed countries
c) Multinational enterprises operating in / from OECD countries
d) All enterprises operating all over the world
10. UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights demands
a) Employment to everyone
b) Equal pay for equal work
c) Work with self-esteem
d) Right to livelihood
11. PDCA refers to:
a) Plan, Do, Check, Act cycles
b) Please Do Corrective Actions
c) Please Don’t Carry Anything
d) Programmed Demand Corrective Action
12. Environment according to ISO-14001 is:
a) The Physical environment which provides resources, which acts as sink for the waste generated and which provides the Amenity value
b) The bio-sphere consisting of all living species
c) Surrounding in which the organization operates, including air, water, land, natural resources, flora, fauna, humans and their inter-relations
d) All that is happening around us, including the natural phenomenon like earthquakes
13. Environmental aspect according to ISO-14001 is:
a) The element of the organization’s activity, product or service that can interact with the environment
b) That aspect of the organization that causes environmental problems
c) That aspect of the organization that is potentially dangerous to the environment
d) That part of the organization that can cause significant environmental impacts
14. Environmental impact according to ISO-14001 is:
a) The impact on the society arising out of the activities of the organization
b) Any change to the environment, whether adverse or beneficial, wholly or partially resulting from the organization’s environmental aspects
c) The environmental effect caused by the activities and products of the organization
d) The impact on the organization caused by the environmental activities of the organization
15. As per ISO-14001 the environmental policy shall commit the organization
a) To comply with applicable legal and other requirements
b) To prevent pollution
c) To continual improvement
d) All the above
16. Significant environmental aspects are addressed in the ISO 14001 by
a) Setting up objectives, targets and programmes
b) Establishing operational control procedures
c) Training employees on significant environmental aspects
d) All the above
17. Internal Environmental Management System (EMS) Audit is carried out to:
a) Ensure the continual improvement due to the EMS
b) Ensure that employees are well trained in environmental matters and that the environmental management programmes are carried out without fail
c) Inform the Management the non-conformances to ISO-14001
d) Ensure that the EMS conforms to ISO-14001, that the system is established and maintained and to report the results of the audit to the management
18. Inputs to the Management Review of the ISO-14001 Environmental Management System include:
a) The performance of the environmental management system
b) The economic environment and its effect on the organization
c) Quality of products and their sales during the period under consideration
d) Customer complaints and compensations given to customers based on field returns
19. Corporate Social Responsibility is defined as:
a) The responsibility of business enterprises to contribute to the GDP of the country and to improve the lives of millions who live below the poverty line
b) 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
c) The responsibility of the enterprise towards its employees, neighbours and populations in its area of operation towards better education, health and general life
d) The responsibility of the Corporation towards its social commitments including donations to the society and NGOs towards improving infrastructure and earning capacity of the populations.
20. Child Labour relates to employment of persons below the age of:
a) 14 years
b) 16 years
c) 18 years
d) None of the above
21. “Insider Trading” is about:
a) Trading in commodities that are dear to the enterprise
b) Trading in areas which were not catered to in the past
c) Trading in company’s stocks and other securities by officials of the company
d) Trading on raw materials used by the company by the officials of the company
22. The triple bottomline approach highlights the need to:
a) Maximize earnings, profits before tax, and profits after tax
b) Compromise between the necessity to meet the demands of the government officials and the demands of the shareholders while taking care of the interests of the employees
c) Address environmental performance, economic performance and health & safety of employees
d) None of the above
23. Occupational Health & Safety relates to:
a) Healthy use of products that are safe
b) Employee health and safety related to the operations of the organization
c) Health Security and Safe environment for the employees
d) None of the above
24. Discrimination at the workplace can take place, through:
a) Biases based on sex, creed, religion
b) Biases based on language, nationality
c) Biases based on colour
d) All the above
25. EcoDesign is about
a) Design for the environment
b) Design of economically sound products
c) Design of Green Buildings
d) None of the above
Part B: Case Studies (Please answer both B.1 and B.2 in the space provided)
B.1. Marks (12)
CEO Quits Amid Resume Questions
ABC Corporation's embattled president and CEO, Tejas Khanna, resigned on Monday following questions about his resume's accuracy. The major electronics retailer said that its board accepted his resignation and has promoted Makhrand Deshpande — executive vice president and chief operating officer — to acting CEO. Rohit Roy, ABC Corporation’s chairman and Khanna’s predecessor as CEO, said that the move was necessary to restore the company's credibility. "One of the most important things we have as a corporation is integrity and trust and we know we have to restore that back to the public," he said.
Khanna issued a brief statement on Monday but did not discuss his resume. "For the last 11 years, it has been my privilege to be associated with ABC," he said. "At this time the board and I have agreed that it is in the best interest of the company for new leadership to step forward so that our turnaround plan has the best possible chance to succeed, as I know it will."
Khanna’s troubles began last Tuesday when errors in his resume were reported by the Sunday News. The company's board said that it stood behind its CEO, a decision Roy said he now regrets.
On Wednesday, Khanna said that he took responsibility for the errors. Separately, ABC Corporation said that it would hire outside lawyers to investigate errors in Khanna’s resume, including claims that he earned two degrees for which the colleges he attended has no records. That investigation won't continue since Khanna quit, the company said.
Khanna, 46, joined ABC in 1994 and had been CEO since May, 2007. Khanna had claimed that he received degrees in Economics and Psychology from XYZ College in Chandigarh, which moved in 1998, due to shortage of space, to Jallundar and renamed itself Great Value College. The College Principal told this correspondent that records showed Khanna completed only two semesters in his course in economics and that the college never offered degrees in psychology.
Khanna said last Wednesday that he believed that he received a diploma in economics by attending two semesters, but not the three year bachelor of arts degree listed on his resume.
Roy said that the company background checks did not include academic verification in 1994 as it does today. Roy said that Khanna’s severance package would be less than Rs.10 lakhs in a cash payout, but said more details would be released on Tuesday in a regulatory filing.
The move did not surprise Ms. Devaki Kulkarni, an analyst for Fulcrum Global Partners Ltd., though she didn't think the change would come on a public holiday, as it did, when financial markets were closed. "If you think about his tenure, it's not as if he's led a turnaround of this company," she said. "That being said, it would be difficult for the board, considering the things that have come out, to find a reason to keep him."
The company has since removed biographical sketches of its executives, including that of Deshpande, and replaced it with the following statement: "We are currently updating and validating all of the biographical information for each of our senior executives."
For now, it will be Deshpande’s job to lead a turnaround that begins with closing 400 to 700 stores and two distribution centers as part of a campaign to fix its financial performance. This plan was announced on Friday, when the company also disclosed that its fourth-quarter earnings fell 50 percent. Its shares tumbled 8 percent, after sinking at midday to a three-year low of Rs. 119.
Roy said that Deshpande is also a candidate to become the permanent CEO; ABC Corporation has hired executive search firmer Au Foi to conduct a nationwide search. A representative of Au Foi said that Desphande, a former Sunrise Corporation executive hired last summer, would fit well as CEO, even if it is temporary. "He is the right candidate," she said. "I like his approach at how he looks at the business. He walks into a store and wants to see it through the consumer's eyes."
1. Write the summary of the above case in 5 sentences
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. What is/are the ethical issue(s) involved in this case ?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. What action would you have taken if you were Rohit Roy ?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. What are the ethical issues of your suggested action(s) ?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B.2. Marks (8)
Dilemma of Chandra
Chandrasekhar, the insurance surveyor, was playing with his 4-year-old daughter Chithra when the telephone rang. At the other end of the line was Chidambaram, the insurance agent, pleading for urgent help. Would Chandrasekhar please visit Mrs. Chitale in his neighborhood who had made claims for bodily and mental injury resulting from a car crash with a person insured by the Insurance company? Mrs. Chitale had consented to a visit from their surveyor to assess the injuries to her nose and her mental state. Apparently the crash had caused her to relapse into a condition of paranoia and manic depression, previously stabilized.
Chandrasekhar agreed readily, but said that he had to take his daughter Chithra along as there was no one in the house to take care of her in his absence.
When Chandrasekhar arrived at Mrs. Chitale’s house, he found no one at home, so he and his daughter Chithra waited in the car. Eventually, Mrs. Chitale arrived, parked, and emerged from her car, at which point Chithra shouted happily, "Miss Chitale!"
"Who is Miss Chitale?" asked Chandrasekhar with surprise. Miss Chitale turned out to be Chitra’s teacher. Chandrasekhar conducted a short interview with Mrs. Chitale on the front steps of her home, satisfying himself that she did indeed have some facial injuries and that she was taking prescription medicine for her mental problems.
Insurance ethics mandates that claims investigations are completely confidential. An insurance professional with knowledge of a claims case is expected to keep silent and to refrain from using the knowledge for personal benefit.
Chandrasekhar had a real dilemma. On one hand, to uphold his industry's code of ethics, he was not to discuss or act on the information he had received about Mrs. Chitale’s (mental) situation. On the other hand, he did not want his daughter under the care of a person who was undergoing treatment for mental illness and who might be dangerous. Chandrasekhar's wife was an insurance surveyor for another company. Even if Chandrasekhar told her, she was bound by the same code of ethics.
1. Give the summary of the case in five sentences
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. What are the ethical issues of this case ?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. What action(s) would you have taken if you were Chandrasekhar ?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. What are the ethical issues involved in your proposed action ?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CSR - Question Bank
1. What are the elements of business that make up Corporate Social Responsibility ? Explain each of the elements.
2.What is the triple bottom-line approach ? Explain the three elements of this approach
3.What are the arguments against Corporate Philanthropy ?
4.What are the arguments for Corporate Social Responsibility ?
5.What are the causes for the environmental conflict between the society and business ?
6.What are the methods of resolving environmental conflicts ? Explain each.
7.Which are the UN human rights issues that apply directly to the business ?
8.What are the ten principles of Global Compact ? Explain each of these principles in two sentences
9.How does strategic philanthropy differ from philanthropy ?
10.What are the OECD Guidelines ? Explain the nine principles of OECD guidelines.
11.Child Labour – is this an issue in the Indian context? Discuss.
12.What is forced labour ?
13.What is discrimination at workplace ? Give examples
14.What is the gender bias ?
15.What is workplace harassment ?
16.Write a short note on ISO-26000.
17.What is Sustainable Development ?
18.What is insider trading ?
19.What is the purpose of “Audit Committee”?
20.What is the purpose of “Compensation Committee”?
21.Is product safety a CSR issue ? Discuss
22.Is the safety of workers a CSR issue ? Discuss
23.Identify at least ten areas of focus for ensuring employee safety
24.Who are the stakeholders of a business entity ? Identify five stakeholders of a business organization.
25.What is a PDCA cycle ?
26.What is a Management System ?
27.What is an environmental Management System ?
28.What are the requirements for an environmental policy according to ISO-14001?
29.What is an environmental aspect and how is it related to pollution ?
30.What are the essential inputs for setting objectives, targets and programmes under ISO-14001 ?
31.What are the ways in which significant aspects are addressed in ISO-14001 ?
32.What are operational control procedures under ISO-14001?
33.What is the difference between a potential “emergency” and potential “accident” ?
34.What are the difference between “corrective” actions and “preventive” actions ?
35.What is an environmental management system audit ?
36.What are essential inputs to a Management review under ISO-14001 ?
37.What is WBCSD ? Write a short note on WBCSD activities ? (see www.wbcsd.org)
38.Name five environmental NGOs operating in India
39.What are Core indicators as per GRI ? Give two examples
40.What are additional indicators as per GRI ? Give two examples
41.What are the main themes for the G-3 Report ?
42.How are NGOs classified ? Give a few examples
43.Name three subjects of neighbourhood programmes
44.What is the meaning of BOP ?
45.What are the characteristics of the products and services meant for the BOP market ?
46. How does a BOP project differ from Rural Marketing?
47. Name a few successful BOP projects running in India
48. What is DJSI ?
49. What are the different subjects on which a company is evaluated under DJSI ?
50. What are the developments that make Corporates to look at BOP differently now ?
2.What is the triple bottom-line approach ? Explain the three elements of this approach
3.What are the arguments against Corporate Philanthropy ?
4.What are the arguments for Corporate Social Responsibility ?
5.What are the causes for the environmental conflict between the society and business ?
6.What are the methods of resolving environmental conflicts ? Explain each.
7.Which are the UN human rights issues that apply directly to the business ?
8.What are the ten principles of Global Compact ? Explain each of these principles in two sentences
9.How does strategic philanthropy differ from philanthropy ?
10.What are the OECD Guidelines ? Explain the nine principles of OECD guidelines.
11.Child Labour – is this an issue in the Indian context? Discuss.
12.What is forced labour ?
13.What is discrimination at workplace ? Give examples
14.What is the gender bias ?
15.What is workplace harassment ?
16.Write a short note on ISO-26000.
17.What is Sustainable Development ?
18.What is insider trading ?
19.What is the purpose of “Audit Committee”?
20.What is the purpose of “Compensation Committee”?
21.Is product safety a CSR issue ? Discuss
22.Is the safety of workers a CSR issue ? Discuss
23.Identify at least ten areas of focus for ensuring employee safety
24.Who are the stakeholders of a business entity ? Identify five stakeholders of a business organization.
25.What is a PDCA cycle ?
26.What is a Management System ?
27.What is an environmental Management System ?
28.What are the requirements for an environmental policy according to ISO-14001?
29.What is an environmental aspect and how is it related to pollution ?
30.What are the essential inputs for setting objectives, targets and programmes under ISO-14001 ?
31.What are the ways in which significant aspects are addressed in ISO-14001 ?
32.What are operational control procedures under ISO-14001?
33.What is the difference between a potential “emergency” and potential “accident” ?
34.What are the difference between “corrective” actions and “preventive” actions ?
35.What is an environmental management system audit ?
36.What are essential inputs to a Management review under ISO-14001 ?
37.What is WBCSD ? Write a short note on WBCSD activities ? (see www.wbcsd.org)
38.Name five environmental NGOs operating in India
39.What are Core indicators as per GRI ? Give two examples
40.What are additional indicators as per GRI ? Give two examples
41.What are the main themes for the G-3 Report ?
42.How are NGOs classified ? Give a few examples
43.Name three subjects of neighbourhood programmes
44.What is the meaning of BOP ?
45.What are the characteristics of the products and services meant for the BOP market ?
46. How does a BOP project differ from Rural Marketing?
47. Name a few successful BOP projects running in India
48. What is DJSI ?
49. What are the different subjects on which a company is evaluated under DJSI ?
50. What are the developments that make Corporates to look at BOP differently now ?
Lecture 12: 10 February, 2009
We started the lecture with the Video on e-choupal by ITC. This is one of the best and well appreciated interventions by a corporate body to improve the lives of people at the BOP.
Immediately after the Video, we started discussing the Question Bank questions, total of 50 questions (see the next blog for all these questions).
After the Question bank we also discussed a model question paper, including the two cases to be studied and responded to. This model question paper is posted after the Question bank in this blog.
We then discussed two dilemma cases.
Immediately after the Video, we started discussing the Question Bank questions, total of 50 questions (see the next blog for all these questions).
After the Question bank we also discussed a model question paper, including the two cases to be studied and responded to. This model question paper is posted after the Question bank in this blog.
We then discussed two dilemma cases.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Lecture 11: 09 February, 2009
We started with the dicussion on Bottom of the Pyramid (BOP) triangle, with over 4.5 billion people at the Bottom of the Economic Pyramid form the BOP market. They live on a daily earning of about US $ 2 (based on purchasing power parity). Prof. C.K. Prahalad and Prof. Stuart Hart brought out a theory in the late 1990s that the poor at the BOP can be a potential market for appropriate products that satisfy their needs. With business models appropriate for this market, multinational companies can expand their market to BOP and potentially to products that are not necessarily for the BOP. Later their ideas have been presented in the book "Fortune and Bottom of the Pyramid" by Prahalad and "Capitalism at the Crossroads" by Sutart Hart. While Prahald still considers BOP as a market (consumer), Stuart Hart considers the BOP not only as a consumer, but also as a producer and partner. Both the books have many examples of BOP Models successfully applied in developing countries. These examples include case studies on Arvind Eye Hospital, Hindustan Lever's Anna Poorna Salt, Velvetr Shampoo in small sachets etc.
Then I explained my own experience, as a member of the global team of Philips Lighting BOP project. We all know that in villages electricity is not available for most part of the day/night. Many houses do not have electricity connection. Poor in these villages use Kerosene lamps, called Dibri (an ink bottle with a hole in the cap through which a cotton wick is inserted into the bottle of kerosene). The light coming out of this dibri is too low to carry out any economic activity or for study. Poor villagers spend on an average about Rs.100/= per month for Kerosene for lighting these lamps (i.e. approximately Rs.3 per day) for a short period. Philips Lighting's project SMILE (Sustainable Method in Lighting Everyone) was to provide a product that could give sufficient lighting (say about 400 lux at the user's point of use) for about 5 hours a day (three hours in the evening and two hours in the morning, say from 6.30 pm to 9.30 p.m and 3.30 a.m to 5.30 a.m) beyond the Sun light hours, in an affordable way. We know that the poor can afford about Rs.100/= per month for kerosene for lamp. If we can provide better lighting at this price, then we will have a win-win-win situation, where the corporate body can sell its products for a long period with sufficient profits, the poor get to work for longer period on their vocation, thereby earning more than what they earn otherwise, kids can play till the Sun set and do their home work later and the house-wife can assist her husband till she goes for cooking (otherwise she has to complete cooking before Sunset); if the product is eco-designed, then environment also gets benefited. We came out with such a product and started pilots all over India. One of the pilots was in Madurai district of Tamil Nadu. In those days Tamil Nadu had plenty of electricity and critics told us that the project would be a failure in Tamil Nadu. To our surprise we found that Madurai sold the maximum number of products during the pilot. The products were sold through a NGO, through its network of Self-Help Groups and the buyers were, apart from normal households, mostly street vendors. They found that the lantern could be used to sell their produce much beyond the Sunset hours. They extended, with the help of the lantern, their sale period by at least three hours a day; in the bright light products looked attractive, bringing in more customers. In a way, the lantern (UDAY) helped the BOP customer to earn more to enable him to pay back the loan taken by him for buying the lantern.
Such approaches are not new to India. Way back in 1960s, V.G. Panneerdas & Co., used to sell Murphy transistors to Narikuravas (a type of nomads) at a very low daily EMI. Narikuravas used to earn their living by selling needle, beads and forest produce and their major assets used to be the tin vessel that they used to carry to pick up food, colourful beads around their neck and the loin cloth for the men and patched dress for the women. They used to live in temporary thatched mud huts and move from one place to another for selling their produce to customers. These are really those who are the bottom of the bottom of the economic pyramid. VGP & Co., could cater to this segment of the society with sufficient profits; in fact, their efforts made Murphy radios the number one brand among the audio products beating even Philips in Chennai. There may be many such examples from the past where the BOP was addressed by proactive entreprenuers. Recognition of their method as unique came in only after Prahalad and Huart "theorized" this model.
The late 1990s provided the right environment for proposing such models. The world had changed quite a lot with Globalization; the economic focus has turned towards the so called BRICA countries, which have more than 80 % of the population of the world - India and China alone account for more than 40 % of the population. More than 2.4 billion of this population is made of children and teens. 98 % of the population in the next twenty years will be in devleoping countries; 85 % of the population in 2025 will be in developing countires. 70 % of the population in developing countries in 2020 will be in their working age. This situation attracts more to understand issues related to developing countries and specially poverty; that explains the new enthusiasm and expectation on these so called Emerging Markets.
Businesses that support stable employment and supply people with products and services that meet their basic needs, that are affordable, accessible, are culturally appealing (aspirational) and are available are likely see that their business grow in these markets.
The following trends do help multinational companies to look at the BOP differently than before:
Many companies see a need to break out of mature market sectors - Most attractive growth opportunities in emerging markets with young, dynamic populations and economies
Framework conditions in many developing countries are improving - Many countries are improving their governance, legal structure and investment infrastructure – the average risk score has improved
Communications are faster and cheaper, making the world a smaller place - Most geographically dispersed production to lower the labour and material cost…should help equitable development and maximize reciprocal benefits to the society
New and better partners are available - Not-for-profit, foundations, citizen’s groups, and multilateral organizations understand that companies can help them to realize their goals of improved sanitation, water supply, health-care, housing and business opportunities in the developing world
Aid and investment are beginning to reinforce one another - FDI flow to developing countries in increasing and bilateral and multilateral agencies adjust their aid to improve the FDI flow.
Public expectations of corporations are changing - Communities and civil society expect companies to become involved in social issues
The opportunity then is: Companies can stimulate local markets and enable the poor to become active participants in these markets as customers and entrepreneurs.
BOP models are different from Rural Marketing in the sense that the BOP models do have a social performance component, either economic, environmental or social improvement along with profits for the seller. BOP model is about improving the lives of people while improving both the top line and the bottom line.
Three main recommendations for BOP projects are:
1) Focus on your Core Competencies when adapting your Business Model (Innovate around key strengths; Re-examine your product line or service – to adapt to the emerging markets; Focus on what the company does well)
2) Partner with local resources that offer complimentary expertise (companies can benefit from the on-the-ground expertise and additional resources; create partner network that off-sets potential risks; involve partners at the very beginning; let them help you to decide on products and process changes; work together to align goals, defining the agenda between company and partners; ensure that expectations on both sides is clearly set, understood and managed over time; design strategies holistically and bring in each others strength; ensure that managers stay at sites long enough to foster good relationships, partnerships and trust)
3) Localize the value creating by harnessing the local intelligence and capabilities (local network and local knowledge to get marketing intelligence, manufacturing capabilities and distribution channels; think of ways to harness local capabilities;
consider how local entrepreneurs and SME can add value to the Company’s value chain; assessment of demand for the new product and service is a key area; franchising is an attractive way of involving local people – grass-root marketing; invest some time and effort in building the capacity of local partners)
The following questions may be asked before embarking on a BOP projecet:
1) What are our drivers and motivation ?
2) How do we shift the mindset ?
3) Do we understand the real needs of the market ?
4) Do we have the right product/service to offer ?
5) How do we finance the investment ?
6) How do we ensure demand for our products and services ?
7) How do we ensure that our customers can afford it ?
8) How do we reach our customers ?
9) How do we collect revenues ?
10) How can we improve our supply chain ?
11) How do we stimulate related economic activities downstream ?
12) How do we scale up or replicate ?
13) How do we measure success ?
We can also build up the project on the work done so far; for example, the following are a few areas where BOP projects my be set up.been identified for work at the BOP:
1) Photo-voltaic generators and renewable energy for small scale applications
2) Fuel efficient stoves
3) Water sanitation and personal hygiene products
4) Mobile communications
5) Internet access in low income country markets
6) Improving access to health-care
7) Improving health education and family planning services
8) Providing Clean Water and widespread immunizations
ITC's e-choupal is an excellent example of how (5) above (ICT Kiosks) has been fulfilled which has reduced the risk taken by Indian farmers. We could not project the Video; we will try tomorrow if time permits.
In the passing, I also mentioned about NGOs like PRADHAN and DHAN Foundation and the work they do with Self-help groups in villages. We also touched upon as to how these self-help groups help village women to be economically independent.
I also informed you that your examination is on 2 March, 2009. Quite a few of you were quite upset and decided to leave the class. At least about ten of you had downloaded the folder on Codes and Standards from my Lap top. Hopefully you share that with those who did not have access to this folder.
The second hour was almost a disaster, with only six attending the Paper Reading. We did read the paper up to page 131 last para starting with "How can..."
Then I explained my own experience, as a member of the global team of Philips Lighting BOP project. We all know that in villages electricity is not available for most part of the day/night. Many houses do not have electricity connection. Poor in these villages use Kerosene lamps, called Dibri (an ink bottle with a hole in the cap through which a cotton wick is inserted into the bottle of kerosene). The light coming out of this dibri is too low to carry out any economic activity or for study. Poor villagers spend on an average about Rs.100/= per month for Kerosene for lighting these lamps (i.e. approximately Rs.3 per day) for a short period. Philips Lighting's project SMILE (Sustainable Method in Lighting Everyone) was to provide a product that could give sufficient lighting (say about 400 lux at the user's point of use) for about 5 hours a day (three hours in the evening and two hours in the morning, say from 6.30 pm to 9.30 p.m and 3.30 a.m to 5.30 a.m) beyond the Sun light hours, in an affordable way. We know that the poor can afford about Rs.100/= per month for kerosene for lamp. If we can provide better lighting at this price, then we will have a win-win-win situation, where the corporate body can sell its products for a long period with sufficient profits, the poor get to work for longer period on their vocation, thereby earning more than what they earn otherwise, kids can play till the Sun set and do their home work later and the house-wife can assist her husband till she goes for cooking (otherwise she has to complete cooking before Sunset); if the product is eco-designed, then environment also gets benefited. We came out with such a product and started pilots all over India. One of the pilots was in Madurai district of Tamil Nadu. In those days Tamil Nadu had plenty of electricity and critics told us that the project would be a failure in Tamil Nadu. To our surprise we found that Madurai sold the maximum number of products during the pilot. The products were sold through a NGO, through its network of Self-Help Groups and the buyers were, apart from normal households, mostly street vendors. They found that the lantern could be used to sell their produce much beyond the Sunset hours. They extended, with the help of the lantern, their sale period by at least three hours a day; in the bright light products looked attractive, bringing in more customers. In a way, the lantern (UDAY) helped the BOP customer to earn more to enable him to pay back the loan taken by him for buying the lantern.
Such approaches are not new to India. Way back in 1960s, V.G. Panneerdas & Co., used to sell Murphy transistors to Narikuravas (a type of nomads) at a very low daily EMI. Narikuravas used to earn their living by selling needle, beads and forest produce and their major assets used to be the tin vessel that they used to carry to pick up food, colourful beads around their neck and the loin cloth for the men and patched dress for the women. They used to live in temporary thatched mud huts and move from one place to another for selling their produce to customers. These are really those who are the bottom of the bottom of the economic pyramid. VGP & Co., could cater to this segment of the society with sufficient profits; in fact, their efforts made Murphy radios the number one brand among the audio products beating even Philips in Chennai. There may be many such examples from the past where the BOP was addressed by proactive entreprenuers. Recognition of their method as unique came in only after Prahalad and Huart "theorized" this model.
The late 1990s provided the right environment for proposing such models. The world had changed quite a lot with Globalization; the economic focus has turned towards the so called BRICA countries, which have more than 80 % of the population of the world - India and China alone account for more than 40 % of the population. More than 2.4 billion of this population is made of children and teens. 98 % of the population in the next twenty years will be in devleoping countries; 85 % of the population in 2025 will be in developing countires. 70 % of the population in developing countries in 2020 will be in their working age. This situation attracts more to understand issues related to developing countries and specially poverty; that explains the new enthusiasm and expectation on these so called Emerging Markets.
Businesses that support stable employment and supply people with products and services that meet their basic needs, that are affordable, accessible, are culturally appealing (aspirational) and are available are likely see that their business grow in these markets.
The following trends do help multinational companies to look at the BOP differently than before:
Many companies see a need to break out of mature market sectors - Most attractive growth opportunities in emerging markets with young, dynamic populations and economies
Framework conditions in many developing countries are improving - Many countries are improving their governance, legal structure and investment infrastructure – the average risk score has improved
Communications are faster and cheaper, making the world a smaller place - Most geographically dispersed production to lower the labour and material cost…should help equitable development and maximize reciprocal benefits to the society
New and better partners are available - Not-for-profit, foundations, citizen’s groups, and multilateral organizations understand that companies can help them to realize their goals of improved sanitation, water supply, health-care, housing and business opportunities in the developing world
Aid and investment are beginning to reinforce one another - FDI flow to developing countries in increasing and bilateral and multilateral agencies adjust their aid to improve the FDI flow.
Public expectations of corporations are changing - Communities and civil society expect companies to become involved in social issues
The opportunity then is: Companies can stimulate local markets and enable the poor to become active participants in these markets as customers and entrepreneurs.
BOP models are different from Rural Marketing in the sense that the BOP models do have a social performance component, either economic, environmental or social improvement along with profits for the seller. BOP model is about improving the lives of people while improving both the top line and the bottom line.
Three main recommendations for BOP projects are:
1) Focus on your Core Competencies when adapting your Business Model (Innovate around key strengths; Re-examine your product line or service – to adapt to the emerging markets; Focus on what the company does well)
2) Partner with local resources that offer complimentary expertise (companies can benefit from the on-the-ground expertise and additional resources; create partner network that off-sets potential risks; involve partners at the very beginning; let them help you to decide on products and process changes; work together to align goals, defining the agenda between company and partners; ensure that expectations on both sides is clearly set, understood and managed over time; design strategies holistically and bring in each others strength; ensure that managers stay at sites long enough to foster good relationships, partnerships and trust)
3) Localize the value creating by harnessing the local intelligence and capabilities (local network and local knowledge to get marketing intelligence, manufacturing capabilities and distribution channels; think of ways to harness local capabilities;
consider how local entrepreneurs and SME can add value to the Company’s value chain; assessment of demand for the new product and service is a key area; franchising is an attractive way of involving local people – grass-root marketing; invest some time and effort in building the capacity of local partners)
The following questions may be asked before embarking on a BOP projecet:
1) What are our drivers and motivation ?
2) How do we shift the mindset ?
3) Do we understand the real needs of the market ?
4) Do we have the right product/service to offer ?
5) How do we finance the investment ?
6) How do we ensure demand for our products and services ?
7) How do we ensure that our customers can afford it ?
8) How do we reach our customers ?
9) How do we collect revenues ?
10) How can we improve our supply chain ?
11) How do we stimulate related economic activities downstream ?
12) How do we scale up or replicate ?
13) How do we measure success ?
We can also build up the project on the work done so far; for example, the following are a few areas where BOP projects my be set up.been identified for work at the BOP:
1) Photo-voltaic generators and renewable energy for small scale applications
2) Fuel efficient stoves
3) Water sanitation and personal hygiene products
4) Mobile communications
5) Internet access in low income country markets
6) Improving access to health-care
7) Improving health education and family planning services
8) Providing Clean Water and widespread immunizations
ITC's e-choupal is an excellent example of how (5) above (ICT Kiosks) has been fulfilled which has reduced the risk taken by Indian farmers. We could not project the Video; we will try tomorrow if time permits.
In the passing, I also mentioned about NGOs like PRADHAN and DHAN Foundation and the work they do with Self-help groups in villages. We also touched upon as to how these self-help groups help village women to be economically independent.
I also informed you that your examination is on 2 March, 2009. Quite a few of you were quite upset and decided to leave the class. At least about ten of you had downloaded the folder on Codes and Standards from my Lap top. Hopefully you share that with those who did not have access to this folder.
The second hour was almost a disaster, with only six attending the Paper Reading. We did read the paper up to page 131 last para starting with "How can..."
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Lecture 10: 03 February, 2009
We started with a brief introduction to EICC (Electronics Industry Code of Conduct) which has been endorsed by companies like HP, Panosonic, Sony, Philips etc. Since the code is applicable to the suppliers of these giant electronics companies, it is imperative that it is applicable to them as well. The EICC code elaborates the minimum requirements in five dimensions, viz., (1) Labour, (2) Health & Safety, (3) Environmental, (4) Management Systems and (5) Ethics. Suppliers to the electronics industry are assessed based on the sub-clauses of these five main clauses and generally they cease to be the suppliers if they exhibit any major non-conformance over a long period. Certain issues like Child Labour, Forced Labour, Extended working hours, discrimination, bribery, corruption are strict NOs for these major companies; any non-conformance in these areas warrant an immediate cessation of business with the supplier.
We also quickly went through the ten principles of Global Compact; Global Compact is an initiative of the United Nations for the business and industry urging them to follow the principles:
Human Rights
Principle 1: Businesses should support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights; and
Principle 2: make sure that they are not complicit in human rights abuses.
Labour Standards
Principle 3: Businesses should uphold the freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining;
Principle 4: the elimination of all forms of forced and compulsory labour;
Principle 5: the effective abolition of child labour; and
Principle 6: the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation.
Environment
Principle 7: Businesses should support a precautionary approach to environmental challenges;
Principle 8: undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility; and
Principle 9: encourage the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies.
Anti-Corruption
Principle 10: Businesses should work against corruption in all its forms, including extortion and bribery.
We studied all the above principles under different headings throughout the present lectures. I explained to you as to what is the meaning of the "Precautionary Principle" - i.e. extreme caution is required in introducing new substances, technologies or activities that may affect the environment and Health & Safety of people, when decisions are taken with limited scientific data; precautionary principle is mostly applied when chemical and radio-active substances are involved. This also needs to be applied when questions about the eco-system stability arise due to activities or projects. At the same time, lack of scientific knowledge should not come in the way of preventing pollution.
We then moved to the third part of the syllabus - regarding the results of implementing Sustainability in organizations and the evaluation of organizations by stakeholders for their sustainability performance. The first topic taken up was Sustainability Reporting as per GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) G-3 guideline (i.e. the third revision of the GRI reporting guideline).
The following trends are responsible partly for organizations going for publicly reporting their sustainability performance:(1) Expanding Globalization (2)Search for new forms of global governance, (3) Reforms of Corporate governance, (4) Global role of emerging economies (BRICA), (5) Rising visibility and expectations for organizations, (6) Measurement of Progress toward Sustainability, (7) Governments’ interest in Sustainability Reporting, (8) Financial Markets’ interest in Sustainability Reporting, (9) Emergence of next generation accounting etc.
Like the Financial Accounting, Environmental Accounting also has two major disciplines, viz, environmental financial accounting and environmental management accounting. Environmental Financial Accounting deals with accounting for and reporting on environmental transactions and events that affect, or will likely to affect, the financial position of the business. It ensures that environmental costs and liabilities are accounted for by following relevant accounting standards or, in their absence, generally accepted accounting practices and meaningful disclosure of the environmental performance of the business is provided to the stakeholders.
Environmental Management accounting deals with Identification, Collection, Estimation, Analysis, Use, reporting of material & energy flow information, environmental & other cost information for internal purposes. It ensures that appropriate management accounting procedures are, where necessary, developed, and used, for instance, to cost out pollution controls, to compare alternative materials that can be used in manufacturing, and to investigate recycling alternatives etc.
We discussed about the usefulness of environmental accounting in decsion making using two examples, one on energy consumption ($/unit and GJ/unit or Kg of CO2 per unit) and another on waste generation (value in $ or % of cost of material or cost of disposal of hazardous waste generated). We discussed how environmental accounting information in combination with the financial data can help managers to take appropriate decisions.
Environmental Accounting helps the organization to: (1)encourage defensive and prudent operations and waste reduction, (2 improve manufacturing, waste disposal and shipping practices, (3) negotiate and settle disputes with insurance carriers, (4) influence regulators and public policy makers, (5) determine suitable levels of financial resources, (6) reassess corporate strategy and management practices (think green), (7) articulate comprehensive risk management programme, (8) improve public citizenship, (9) identify hidden risks in take-overs and acquisitions etc.
Environmnental reporting is the disclosure by an entity of environmentally related data (verified or not) on environmental risks, impacts, policies, strategies, targets, costs, liabilities, or performance to those who have an interest in such information as an aid to enabling / enriching their relationship with the reporting entity. Compare this with the objective of the Financial reporting: "to provide information about the financial position, performance and changes in financial position of an enterprise that is useful to a wide range of users in making economic decisions". Environmental (Sustainability) reporting has the objective of enabling/enriching RELATIONSHIP with ALL STAKEHOLDERS, not for taking economic decisions alone. Hence such reports should be prepared to REACH all types of stakehodlers - local, internationa, educated, not so well educated, NGOs, Government etc. The structure of the Sustainability Report therefore is expected to be different from that of a Financial Report. Normally the Sustainability report has 33 % text, 33 % pictures/photos and 33 % tables and graphs to appeal to majority of the stakeholders.
GRI G-3 provides a framework for such a report. Important subjects to note are: (a) Report content - dealing with materiality, Stakeholder Inclusiveness, sustainability context & completeness, (b) Quality - dealing with balance, comparability, accuracy, timeliness, clarity and reliability and (c)boundary setting. Three different kinds of disclosures (strategy and profile, management approach and performance indicators) of the organization should appear in the report. Indicators are of two types - Core Indicators and Additional indicators.
Core Indicators are those Indicators identified in the GRI Guidelines to be of interest to most stakeholders and assumed to be material unless deemed otherwise on the basis of the GRI Reporting Principles (e.g. EC1- Direct economic value generated and distributed, including revenues, operating costs, employee compensation, donations and other community investments, retainedearnings, and payments to capital providers and governments; EN1 - Materials used by weight or volume; EN19 - Emissions of ozone-depleting substances by weightEC5 Range of ratios of standard entry level wage compared to local minimum wage at significant locations of operation.; LA1- Total workforce by employment type,employment contract, and region; HR4 Total number of incidents of discrimination and actions taken etc.)
Additional Indicators are those Indicators identified in the GRI Guidelines that represent emerging practice or address topics that may be material to some
organizations but not generally for a majority (e.g.EC5- Range of ratios of standard entry level wage compared to local minimum wage at significant locations of operation; EC9 - Understanding and describing significant indirect economic impacts, including the extent of impacts; EN5- Energy saved due to conservation and efficiency improvements; EN18 - Initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reductions achieved; EN30 - Total environmental protection expenditures and investments by type; LA3 - Benefits provided to full-time employees that are not provided to temporary or part-time employees, by major operations;SO6 - Total value of financial and in-kind contributions to political parties, politicians,and related institutions by country etc.). We also referred to ISO-14031 for more environmental indicators.
The GRI reports are classified as A, B or C and if verified by a third party A+, B+, C+. A, B & C refer to beginner, between beginner and the advanced and the advanced reporters. (+) is an indication of the verification by an independent third party verifiers.
Note: Two students have copied the folder containing all the codes and standards relevant to this lecture. I request them to share the documents with other students. If you have a pen-drive, we can download these documents to your pen drive before or after the next class (i.e. 09 February, 2009)
In the second hour we continued with the reading of the paper Green and Competitive by Porter and Linde. We have completed up to Good Regulation vs. Bad (p.129). We will continue with the reading this paper in the next class (09 Feb 2009).
We also quickly went through the ten principles of Global Compact; Global Compact is an initiative of the United Nations for the business and industry urging them to follow the principles:
Human Rights
Principle 1: Businesses should support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights; and
Principle 2: make sure that they are not complicit in human rights abuses.
Labour Standards
Principle 3: Businesses should uphold the freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining;
Principle 4: the elimination of all forms of forced and compulsory labour;
Principle 5: the effective abolition of child labour; and
Principle 6: the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation.
Environment
Principle 7: Businesses should support a precautionary approach to environmental challenges;
Principle 8: undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility; and
Principle 9: encourage the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies.
Anti-Corruption
Principle 10: Businesses should work against corruption in all its forms, including extortion and bribery.
We studied all the above principles under different headings throughout the present lectures. I explained to you as to what is the meaning of the "Precautionary Principle" - i.e. extreme caution is required in introducing new substances, technologies or activities that may affect the environment and Health & Safety of people, when decisions are taken with limited scientific data; precautionary principle is mostly applied when chemical and radio-active substances are involved. This also needs to be applied when questions about the eco-system stability arise due to activities or projects. At the same time, lack of scientific knowledge should not come in the way of preventing pollution.
We then moved to the third part of the syllabus - regarding the results of implementing Sustainability in organizations and the evaluation of organizations by stakeholders for their sustainability performance. The first topic taken up was Sustainability Reporting as per GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) G-3 guideline (i.e. the third revision of the GRI reporting guideline).
The following trends are responsible partly for organizations going for publicly reporting their sustainability performance:(1) Expanding Globalization (2)Search for new forms of global governance, (3) Reforms of Corporate governance, (4) Global role of emerging economies (BRICA), (5) Rising visibility and expectations for organizations, (6) Measurement of Progress toward Sustainability, (7) Governments’ interest in Sustainability Reporting, (8) Financial Markets’ interest in Sustainability Reporting, (9) Emergence of next generation accounting etc.
Like the Financial Accounting, Environmental Accounting also has two major disciplines, viz, environmental financial accounting and environmental management accounting. Environmental Financial Accounting deals with accounting for and reporting on environmental transactions and events that affect, or will likely to affect, the financial position of the business. It ensures that environmental costs and liabilities are accounted for by following relevant accounting standards or, in their absence, generally accepted accounting practices and meaningful disclosure of the environmental performance of the business is provided to the stakeholders.
Environmental Management accounting deals with Identification, Collection, Estimation, Analysis, Use, reporting of material & energy flow information, environmental & other cost information for internal purposes. It ensures that appropriate management accounting procedures are, where necessary, developed, and used, for instance, to cost out pollution controls, to compare alternative materials that can be used in manufacturing, and to investigate recycling alternatives etc.
We discussed about the usefulness of environmental accounting in decsion making using two examples, one on energy consumption ($/unit and GJ/unit or Kg of CO2 per unit) and another on waste generation (value in $ or % of cost of material or cost of disposal of hazardous waste generated). We discussed how environmental accounting information in combination with the financial data can help managers to take appropriate decisions.
Environmental Accounting helps the organization to: (1)encourage defensive and prudent operations and waste reduction, (2 improve manufacturing, waste disposal and shipping practices, (3) negotiate and settle disputes with insurance carriers, (4) influence regulators and public policy makers, (5) determine suitable levels of financial resources, (6) reassess corporate strategy and management practices (think green), (7) articulate comprehensive risk management programme, (8) improve public citizenship, (9) identify hidden risks in take-overs and acquisitions etc.
Environmnental reporting is the disclosure by an entity of environmentally related data (verified or not) on environmental risks, impacts, policies, strategies, targets, costs, liabilities, or performance to those who have an interest in such information as an aid to enabling / enriching their relationship with the reporting entity. Compare this with the objective of the Financial reporting: "to provide information about the financial position, performance and changes in financial position of an enterprise that is useful to a wide range of users in making economic decisions". Environmental (Sustainability) reporting has the objective of enabling/enriching RELATIONSHIP with ALL STAKEHOLDERS, not for taking economic decisions alone. Hence such reports should be prepared to REACH all types of stakehodlers - local, internationa, educated, not so well educated, NGOs, Government etc. The structure of the Sustainability Report therefore is expected to be different from that of a Financial Report. Normally the Sustainability report has 33 % text, 33 % pictures/photos and 33 % tables and graphs to appeal to majority of the stakeholders.
GRI G-3 provides a framework for such a report. Important subjects to note are: (a) Report content - dealing with materiality, Stakeholder Inclusiveness, sustainability context & completeness, (b) Quality - dealing with balance, comparability, accuracy, timeliness, clarity and reliability and (c)boundary setting. Three different kinds of disclosures (strategy and profile, management approach and performance indicators) of the organization should appear in the report. Indicators are of two types - Core Indicators and Additional indicators.
Core Indicators are those Indicators identified in the GRI Guidelines to be of interest to most stakeholders and assumed to be material unless deemed otherwise on the basis of the GRI Reporting Principles (e.g. EC1- Direct economic value generated and distributed, including revenues, operating costs, employee compensation, donations and other community investments, retainedearnings, and payments to capital providers and governments; EN1 - Materials used by weight or volume; EN19 - Emissions of ozone-depleting substances by weightEC5 Range of ratios of standard entry level wage compared to local minimum wage at significant locations of operation.; LA1- Total workforce by employment type,employment contract, and region; HR4 Total number of incidents of discrimination and actions taken etc.)
Additional Indicators are those Indicators identified in the GRI Guidelines that represent emerging practice or address topics that may be material to some
organizations but not generally for a majority (e.g.EC5- Range of ratios of standard entry level wage compared to local minimum wage at significant locations of operation; EC9 - Understanding and describing significant indirect economic impacts, including the extent of impacts; EN5- Energy saved due to conservation and efficiency improvements; EN18 - Initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reductions achieved; EN30 - Total environmental protection expenditures and investments by type; LA3 - Benefits provided to full-time employees that are not provided to temporary or part-time employees, by major operations;SO6 - Total value of financial and in-kind contributions to political parties, politicians,and related institutions by country etc.). We also referred to ISO-14031 for more environmental indicators.
The GRI reports are classified as A, B or C and if verified by a third party A+, B+, C+. A, B & C refer to beginner, between beginner and the advanced and the advanced reporters. (+) is an indication of the verification by an independent third party verifiers.
Note: Two students have copied the folder containing all the codes and standards relevant to this lecture. I request them to share the documents with other students. If you have a pen-drive, we can download these documents to your pen drive before or after the next class (i.e. 09 February, 2009)
In the second hour we continued with the reading of the paper Green and Competitive by Porter and Linde. We have completed up to Good Regulation vs. Bad (p.129). We will continue with the reading this paper in the next class (09 Feb 2009).
Friday, January 30, 2009
Lecture 9: 02 February, 2009
If something has to happen, it will !!! That is what happened on 02 February, 2009. The Laptop had some problems and refused to open documents for projection. We tried another Laptop with limited results.
We started with OHSAS 18001 (2007). The stanard was issued first in 1999 and revised in 2007. The revision is mostly to emphasise the "Health" aspect of OH & S and align with ISO-14001. The standard, again, is based on PDCA. The standard helps the organization to improve its Occupational Health & Safety performance in a systematic way. Occupational Health and Safety issues can arise from various causes like: (a) moving (e.g. circular, linear or angular) machine parts, (b) use of transportation mechanisms like lifts, tackles etc., (c) use of electricity, (d) use of chemical substances (e.g. toxic, inflammable, corrosives, explosives etc), (e) plant layout, (f) Light levels, (g) sound levels, (h) ergonomics, (j) falling objects, (k) working at heights, (l) radiation (e.g. ultraviolet, nuclear), (m) working in hot areas, (n) working with compressed gases etc.
Legal requirements related to OH & S are available in (a) Factories Act (and the Maharashtra Factories Rules, (b) Petroleum Act (and Petroleum Rules), (c) Explosives Act (and Explosives Rules), (d) Gas Cylinders Rules, (e) Static and Mobile Pressure Vessel Rules etc.
Once significant hazards and legal requirements are identified programmes, procedures, training etc., can be initiated to improve the OH & S performance. Checking and Acting Phases are similar to ISO-14001.
The OHSAS 18001 Management System established by an organization can be certified by external certification agencies (similar to ISO-9001 and ISO-14001)
(Please collect a soft copy of OHSAS 18001 from me)
We also discussed SA 8000 which focusses on (a) Child Labour (Child Labour is defined in India as those whose age is less than 14 years) (b) Forced Labour, (c) Collective Bargaining, (d) Occupational Health and Safety, (e) working hours and holidays, (f) wages etc.
Organizations can establish a SA 8000 management system and get it certified by external certification agencies.
(Please collect a soft copy of SA 8000 (2007) from me)
We also discussed very briefly AA 1000 (one of the best documents on the subject for learners) and ISO - 26000 (draft guideline). Both these documents will be useful reading materials.
(Please collect a soft copy of the above documents from me)
We ended the lecture with a quick scan of the OECD Guidelines for the Multinational Enterprises (You may collect a copy from me for your reference)
In the second hour we started to read a classic paper : Green and Competitive - Ending the Stalemate, by Michael E. Porter and Claas van der Linde, Harvard Business Review, Sep-Oct 1995, pp.119-134 - this is a classic paper linking environmental performance to business competitiveness. We had covered reading up to ...."annual saving of more than $ 200,000." - page 126. So far we have read many examples of how environmental issues / problems provide opportunities to innovate, improve and derive economic benefits. We will continue reading tomorrow from "Many Chemical Production Processes...."
We started with OHSAS 18001 (2007). The stanard was issued first in 1999 and revised in 2007. The revision is mostly to emphasise the "Health" aspect of OH & S and align with ISO-14001. The standard, again, is based on PDCA. The standard helps the organization to improve its Occupational Health & Safety performance in a systematic way. Occupational Health and Safety issues can arise from various causes like: (a) moving (e.g. circular, linear or angular) machine parts, (b) use of transportation mechanisms like lifts, tackles etc., (c) use of electricity, (d) use of chemical substances (e.g. toxic, inflammable, corrosives, explosives etc), (e) plant layout, (f) Light levels, (g) sound levels, (h) ergonomics, (j) falling objects, (k) working at heights, (l) radiation (e.g. ultraviolet, nuclear), (m) working in hot areas, (n) working with compressed gases etc.
Legal requirements related to OH & S are available in (a) Factories Act (and the Maharashtra Factories Rules, (b) Petroleum Act (and Petroleum Rules), (c) Explosives Act (and Explosives Rules), (d) Gas Cylinders Rules, (e) Static and Mobile Pressure Vessel Rules etc.
Once significant hazards and legal requirements are identified programmes, procedures, training etc., can be initiated to improve the OH & S performance. Checking and Acting Phases are similar to ISO-14001.
The OHSAS 18001 Management System established by an organization can be certified by external certification agencies (similar to ISO-9001 and ISO-14001)
(Please collect a soft copy of OHSAS 18001 from me)
We also discussed SA 8000 which focusses on (a) Child Labour (Child Labour is defined in India as those whose age is less than 14 years) (b) Forced Labour, (c) Collective Bargaining, (d) Occupational Health and Safety, (e) working hours and holidays, (f) wages etc.
Organizations can establish a SA 8000 management system and get it certified by external certification agencies.
(Please collect a soft copy of SA 8000 (2007) from me)
We also discussed very briefly AA 1000 (one of the best documents on the subject for learners) and ISO - 26000 (draft guideline). Both these documents will be useful reading materials.
(Please collect a soft copy of the above documents from me)
We ended the lecture with a quick scan of the OECD Guidelines for the Multinational Enterprises (You may collect a copy from me for your reference)
In the second hour we started to read a classic paper : Green and Competitive - Ending the Stalemate, by Michael E. Porter and Claas van der Linde, Harvard Business Review, Sep-Oct 1995, pp.119-134 - this is a classic paper linking environmental performance to business competitiveness. We had covered reading up to ...."annual saving of more than $ 200,000." - page 126. So far we have read many examples of how environmental issues / problems provide opportunities to innovate, improve and derive economic benefits. We will continue reading tomorrow from "Many Chemical Production Processes...."
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