Business Management Assignment Help

Business Management Assignment Help 

1. Chapter 14: The Inclusive Workplace—Level II Inclusion through Corporate-Community Collaborations
2. Chapter 14: The Inclusive Workplace—Level II Inclusion through Corporate-Community Collaborations
3. Chapter Overview
4. The second level of the Inclusive Workplace, inclusion and corporate-community collaborations, relates to the organization’s sense of being a part of its surrounding community and the reciprocity embedded in this relationship. It reflects the “mezzo” system level of organizations and communities. An exclusionary workplace sees minimal or no connection to its community. An inclusive workplace, on the other hand, recognizes the economic and non-economic consequences of its presence in the community. It acknowledges the responsibility it has to ameliorate the adverse effects of this presence and to make a positive contribution to the community’s well-being.
5. Corporate Social Performance. An emerging construct in the business literature is that of corporate social performance (CSP), currently used as one of the criteria to assess Fortune 500’s most admired companies. Another commonly used term is corporate social responsibility (CSR). Both constructs expand a company’s responsibilities beyond its traditional economic shareholders to that of multiple stakeholders, including the community.
6. The constructs of CSP and CSR include more than just the corporate-community collaborations referred to in this level of the inclusive workplace. They apply to a whole host of activities that are socially beneficial and in some respects apply to levels III and IV of the model as well. The notions of corporate social performance and corporate social responsibility stem from the recognition that economic actions of business entities have noneconomic consequences, and that business organizations have an impact on other institutions of society above and beyond their economic sphere. With all this to take into consideration, corporations today do not have the luxury of waiting for government instructions and regulations that would force them into action; the public expects them to be active and proactive in responding to the needs of the community.
7. Inclusive Policies and Practices
8. Given their economic power, corporations can step in to provide essential resources to groups and communities that would not be otherwise provided by governmental agencies. A wide range of activities fall under the title of CSP, such as supporting educational or cultural institutions in the community, providing mentorship to youth, and tutoring children in local schools. See Box 14.1, “A Company’s Community Inclusion Program (Level II)—The Case of Nestle Switzerland).”
9. Barriers and Benefits of Implementing the Inclusive Approach at Level II
10. See Figure 14.2 The Inclusive Workplace Model: Barriers and Benefits for Level II
11. Barriers. The main obstacle to initiating and maintaining activities that benefit the company’s social environment are economic pressures to demonstrate profitability on a short-term basis (e.g., quarterly), which makes it difficult to allocate the money necessary for long-term commitments to social goals. Businesses often perceive the relationship between social responsibility and financial performance as a trade-off. A secondary, but important, barrier is that of finding the right leaders to be champions of such programs, people who command authority and respect in the organization and who can initiate and maintain these activities. Often, even when a commitment has been made and money allocated for a social cause, there is no steady leadership to sustain such an effort beyond the initial stages of excitement and self-congratulations.
12. Benefits. In addition to the moral and ethical importance of such actions, recent research provides evidence that companies draw tangible benefits from socially responsible activities. These include positive benefits such as advantages in recruitment and increased employee as well as financial benefits. There is accumulating empirical evidence for the link between corporate social performance and financial performance. Also, social programs generate good will from employees and customers alike which may result in fewer labor problems and a more favorable customer view of the company’s products. Lastly, community oriented programs may bring additional economic benefits by improving the company’s standing with important constituencies such as bankers, investors, and government officials. Reputations have potentially favorable consequences because they enable companies to improve their standing by charging premium prices, and by enhancing their access to capital markets.
13. Social programs generate goodwill from employees and customers which can result in fewer labor problems and more favorable customer views of the company’s products.
14. Community collaboration efforts by the University of Southern California endeared the university in the eyes of the community and in 2000, it was named College of the Year by the Time/Princeton Review College Guide. Compared to local Shell gas stations in the greater Los Angeles, California area failed to endear themselves to the local community. In a 1992 urban uprising, most of the Shell gas stations near USC were burned to the ground and the campus of USC itself was spared.
15. Continued on the next page…
16. Case Illustration: Level II—Inclusion through Corporate-Community Collaboration Unilever
17. Unilever and Palm Oil. Unilever has had a long history in the palm oil industry. In the 1850s, when the UK repealed a tax on soap, the lower prices of soap drove William Lever’s entry into the soap business. In 1930, Lever’s UK-based company merged with a Dutch margarine producer to form the Unilever group. Since then, Unilever has evolved into one of the world’s largest consumer goods companies. Unilever specializes in food as well as home and personal care products.
18. Importance of Palm Oil. Palm oil, derived from the fruit and seeds of the oil palm tree, is one of the more common raw ingredients (e.g., palm oil is found in soap, margarine, snack foods, cosmetics, and cooking oils) that Unilever uses throughout its product line. Palm oil offers two major benefits to manufacturers and growers. First, the yield of palm oil is higher than that of any other edible vegetable oil source. Second, the properties of palm oil allow for its use with less processing, saving both time and money.
19. The Palm Oil Tree Industry. Oil palm trees, used to produce palm oil, grow best in wet tropical conditions. Therefore, commercial plantations are usually found in countries within ten degrees of the equator. Although the palm industry originated in Africa, Asia now dominates world production. Malaysia is the world’s largest grower of oil palms, followed by Indonesia. Because oil palm trees are viewed as a cash crop by governments with large foreign debts or struggling economies, many governments are encouraging the growth of palm plantations in order to increase the country’s income and reduce its debt. The expectation is that plantations will double in acreage within 20 years, primarily in West Africa, South America and South East Asia. Some countries, such as Malaysia, are already running out of expansion room.
20. Impact of Palm Plantations. People living in oil palm plantation areas have felt the impact of the industry in numerous ways. First, many environmental influences have directly affected the local people. The environments that support palm plantations typically support rainforests as well. In many countries, rainforests have been converted into palm plantations. The impact of such forest conversion includes a rise in pests, changes in the flow of ground surface water, increased land erosion, and pollution of rivers and drinking water due to the use of fertilizers and pesticides. Second, social issues such as indigenous people involuntarily relocated to make room for plantations. Additionally, widespread use of indigenous people in forced labor with no pay. Finally, the local people have been impacted economically. Wages for palm plantation workers are notoriously low, typically being determined by several factors: world prices for palm oil, weather, size of the fruit, and yields. Additionally, large nonlocal companies are noted for failing to promote the local economy.
21. Unilever’s Sustainability Development. In 1995, Unilever commissioned two studies on sustainable development. The studies revealed a complex set of criteria for sustainable agriculture. From these criteria, a Sustainable Agriculture Mission Statement was formally adopted in 1998, which included the following principles:

1. Output must be high enough to meet demand.
2. Negative environmental impacts on soil, air, water, and biodiversity must be minimized.
3. Quality and safety of products must be guaranteed.
4. Changing consumer demands must be met.
5. Profitability must be competitive with other industry sectors.
6. Agriculture must offer an attractive livelihood to workers (Vis & Standish, 2000).
7. Unilever’s Sustainable Development plan has led to several honors. Dow Jones ranked Unilever number four on its sustainability index and Fortune magazine listed Unilever among Fortune’s 50 World’s Global Most Admired Companies.
8. Sustainable Agriculture Initiative. Unilever used its Sustainable Development commitment and experience to facilitate a broader impact. They were one of the three founding companies of the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative (SAI). SAI was created to actively support the development and communication of sustainable agriculture practices worldwide. Like Unilever’s Sustainable Development plan, SAI’s initiatives target the triple bottom line—economics, environment, and society.
9. Implementation of the Sustainable Development Plan. Unilever introduced pilot projects to test its sustainable development plan. It employed five sustainable practices. Additionally, Unilver undertook numerous social programs in numerous countries. Unilever was awarded the top ranking in the 2015 Sustainability Leaders survey for the fifth consecutive year. In March 2015, Unilever received a 71% score (only the world’s largest food and beverage companies receive a score) for its agricultural sourcing policies.
10. Unilever’s Current Involvement in Palm Oil. Unilever’s Current Involvement in Palm Oil includes:
11. Divesting of Plantations. Unilever has undertaken a refocusing of its business, with the intention of focusing solely on promoting its core brands. As a result, the company is divesting all non-core businesses, such as its oil palm plantations.
12. Helping Ghana Grow Oil Palm Plantations. Unilever has a longstanding relationship with Ghana, investing in the country’s economy and the skills of its employees. Unilever has also been active with numerous community activities through organizations such as the Unilever Ghana Foundation for Education and Development. The foundation, which launched in 1999, contributes to education to help Ghana reach its goal of being a middle-income economy by 2020. In addition to the foundation, Unilever recently pledged its expertise to help the Ghana government implement its oil palm tree initiative.
13. In 2012, Unilever announced the launch of the Unilever Foundation, created to improve the quality of life through changes in hygiene, sanitation, access to clean drinking water, basic nutrition, and enhanced self-esteem.
14.  
15.  
16. Questions for Discussion and Further Analysis
17. 1. What was Unilever’s motivation to undertake such ambitious programs for sustainability development?
18. 2 What can Unilever do to improve the wages and living conditions of the oil palm workers worldwide? What impact would such actions have on the triple bottom line of Unilever’s Sustainable Development plan?
19. 3. How can Unilever use its influence over the government of Ghana to improve worldwide conditions? Should Unilever encourage or discourage Ghana from entering the oil palm industry?
20. 4. What are the impacts of Unilever’s divesting of oil palm plantations? Will Unilever still have influence over the triple bottom line of the oil palm industry? Why or why not?
21. Summary and Conclusion
22. This chapter describes the second level of the inclusive workplace, inclusion and corporate-community collaborations, which relates to the organization’s sense of being a part of its surrounding community and to the reciprocity embedded in this relationship. Relevant to level II of the inclusive workplace model is the term CSP, an emerging construct in the business literature that expands a company’s responsibilities beyond its traditional economic shareholders to that of multiple stakeholders, including the community. A wide range of activities falls under the title of CSP, such as supporting educational or cultural institutions in the community, providing mentorship to youth, or tutoring children in local schools. The main obstacles in initiating and maintaining activities that benefit the company’s social environment are economic pressures to demonstrate profitability on a short-term basis, limited corporate vision, and lack of leaders who could champion and sustain such initiatives. The benefits include advantages in recruitment, goodwill from employees and customers alike, and improved corporate image.
23.  Chapter Outline
24. 1.      Introduction to Level II: Inclusion through Corporate-Community Collaborations
25. 1.      The second level of the Inclusive Workplace, inclusion and corporate-community collaborations, relates to the organization’s sense of being a part of its surrounding community and the reciprocity embedded in this relationship.
26. 2.      It reflects the “mezzo” system level of organizations and communities.
27. 3.      The difference between an exclusionary workplace and an inclusive workplace is as follows:
28.                                                i.     An exclusionary workplace sees minimal or no connection to its community.
29.                                              ii.     An inclusive workplace recognizes the economic and noneconomic consequences of its presence in the community. It acknowledges the responsibility it has to ameliorate the adverse effects of this presence and to make a positive contribution to the community’s well-being.
30. 4.      An emerging construct in the business literature is that of corporate social performance (CSP).
31.        i.     This construct is currently used as one of the criteria to assess Fortune 500’s most-admired companies.
32.     ii.     Another commonly used term is corporate social responsibility (CSR)
33.    iii.     Both terms expand a company’s responsibilities beyond its traditional economic shareholders to that of multiple stakeholders, including the community.
34.   iv.     CSP and CSR in relation to level II of the model:
35. 
    
36. 1.     Both include more than just the corporate-community collaborations referred to in this level of the inclusive workplace.

1. 2.     They apply to a whole host of activities that are socially beneficial and in some respects apply to level III and IV of the model as well.

1.     v.     Both CSP and CSR stem from the recognition that economic actions of business entities have noneconomic consequences, and that business organizations have an impact on other institutions of society above and beyond their economic sphere.
2. 2.      Inclusive Policies and Practices
3. 1.      Given their economic power, corporations can step in to provide essential resources to groups and communities that would not be otherwise provided by governmental agencies.
4. 2.      A wide range of activities fall under the title of corporate social performance, such as supporting educational or cultural institutions in the community, providing mentorship to youth, and tutoring children in local schools. Two examples of CSP activities are identified below.

1.       i.     The University of Southern California (USC), the largest private employer in the city of Los Angeles, initiated a series of community outreach programs in the early 1990s as part of its strategic plan. These programs included:
2. 1.     The Family of Five Schools—a public–private partnership that provides special educational, cultural and developmental opportunities for approximately 8,000 children who live close to USC’s University Park campus;
3. 2.     The Joint Educational Project—sending 1200 mentors, teaching assistants, and mini-teams into the local schools and agencies; and,
4. 3.     Civic and Community Relations—encouraging more entrepreneurs, and especially minority entrepreneurs, to establish businesses in the immediate vicinity of the university’s campuses.
5.    
6.   ii.     Another example is the Shell Youth Training Academy (SYTA) and the similar Nigerian Shell Intensive Training Programme (SITP), both sponsored by the Royal Dutch/Shell Corporation a global group of energy and petrochemical companies.
7. 1.     The academy opened in February 1993 to provide high school students in the Los Angeles Unified School District with post-secondary career opportunities and training.
8. 2.     Two similar programs were opened in Chicago and Oakland with more than 1,000 students taking advantage of the program since its inception.
9. 3.     The program covers consumer service occupations, career planning, job search skills, assessment of personal interests and aptitude, interpersonal skills, effective communication, and other elements of successful career development.
10. 3.      Barriers and Benefits of Implementing the Inclusive Approach at Level II
11. 1.      Barriers at Level II
12.       
13. 
    
14.    i.     The main obstacle for initiating and maintaining activities that benefit the company’s social environment is economic pressure to demonstrate profitability on a short-term basis (e.g., quarterly), which makes it difficult to allocate the money necessary for long-term commitments to social goals.
15. 1.     When companies are under pressure to demonstrate short-term profitability, it is difficult for managers to justify the allocation of resources necessary for commitments to social causes that may yield results only in the long run.
16. 2.     Businesses often perceive the relationship between social responsibility and financial performance as a trade-off.
17. 3.     They view the costs incurred from socially responsible actions as an economic disadvantage compared to other business activities.
18.                                              ii.     A secondary, but important, barrier is that of finding the right leaders to be champions of such programs, people who command authority and respect in the organization and who can initiate and maintain these activities.
19. 2.      Benefits
20.                                                i.     Recent research now shows that companies draw tangible benefits from socially responsible activities, in addition to the moral and ethical importance of such actions, most notably in the following areas:
21. 1.     recruitment
22. 2.     creating goodwill among users
23. 3.     increased employee loyalty
24. 4.     improved corporate image
25.                                              ii.     Social programs generate good will from employees and customers alike that may result in fewer labor problems and a more favorable customer view of the company’s products.
26.                                             iii.     Community-oriented programs also bring additional economic benefits by improving the company’s standing with important constituencies such as bankers, investors, and government officials.
27. 4.      Case Illustration: Level II—Inclusion through Corporate-Community Collaboration Unilever
28. 1.      Unilever and Palm Oil
29.                                                i.     In 1850, the UK repealed a tax on soap, which was previously considered a luxury item. The resultant lower price of soap led to William Lever’s entry into the soap business.
30.                                              ii.     In 1930, Lever’s UK-based company, known as Lever Brothers, merged with Margarine Unie, a Dutch margarine producer, to form the Unilever group.
31.                                             iii.     Unilever has evolved into one of the world’s largest consumer goods companies, with operations in approximately 100 countries, sales in over 150 countries, and revenue of $45.6 billion in 2002.
32.                                             iv.     Unilever specializes in food as well as home and personal care products, owning some of the most-widely recognized brand names, such as Hellmann’s, Knorr, Lipton, Bertolli, Slim-Fast, Ben & Jerry’s, Dove, Pond’s, and Wisk.
33.                                              v.     Despite the 1930 merger, Unilever is still a joint venture between Unilever PLC (UK) and Unilever N.V. (Netherlands), trading separately on the stock market, but acting as one company with a single board of directors.
34. 2.      Importance of Palm Oil
35.                                                i.     Palm oil, derived from the fruit and seeds of the oil palm tree, is one of the more common raw ingredients that Unilever uses throughout its product line (such as in soap, margarine, snack foods, cosmetics & cooking oils)
36.                                              ii.     Because of the ubiquitous use of palm oil, Unilever’s search for a large, constant supply has a long history.
37. 1.     Lever Brothers started looking for palm oil sources in Africa in the early 1900s and then began operating its own oil palm plantations in Malaysia in the 1950s.
38. 2.     Today, Unilever buys over one million tons of palm oil—6-8% of the total world production—each year.
39.                                             iii.     Palm oil offers two major benefits to manufacturers and growers.
40. 1.     First, the yield of palm oil is higher than that of any other edible vegetable oil source.
41. 2.     Second, the properties of palm oil allow for its use with less processing, saving both time and money.
42. 3.      The Palm Oil Tree Industry
43.                                                i.     Oil palm trees, used to produce palm oil, grow best in wet tropical conditions.
44.                                              ii.     Asia now dominates world production. Malaysia, followed by Indonesia, is the world’s largest grower of oil palms.
45. 4.      Current Trends.
46.                                                i.     Oil palm trees are viewed as a cash crop by governments with large foreign debts or struggling economies. As a result, many governments encourage the growth of palm plantations in order to increase the country’s income and reduce its debt.
47.                                              ii.     Plantations are expected to double in acreage within 20 years, primarily in West Africa, South America and South East Asia.
48. 5.      Impact of Palm Plantations
49.                                                i.     Environmental
50. 1.     The environments that support palm plantations typically support rainforests as well. In many countries, rainforests have been converted into palm plantations. The exact number of converted acres is hard to determine and the topic is rather controversial.
51. 2.     The impact of such forest conversion includes:
52. a.     a rise in pests
53. b.    changes in the flow of ground surface water
54. c.     increased land erosion
55. d.    pollution of rivers and drinking water due to the use of fertilizers and pesticides
56.                                              ii.     Social
57. 1.     The entry of large plantations has often triggered conflict between local communities and estate investors.
58.                                             iii.     Economic
59. 1.     Despite governmental desire to encourage palm plantation growth because of the financial opportunities, plantations rarely benefit the indigenous people.
60. a.     Wages for palm plantation workers are notoriously low, typically being determined by several factors—world prices for palm oil, weather, size of the fruit, and yields.
61. b.    As demand increases, governments and plantation investors increase production even further to maintain their necessary income levels. The resulting cycle keeps constant pressure on prices, resulting in consistently low wages for the workers.
62. 2.     Large nonlocal companies are noted for failing to promote the local economy.
63. 6.      Unilever’s Sustainability Development
64.                                                i.     In 1995, Unilever commissioned two studies on sustainable development that revealed a complex set of criteria for sustainable agriculture. From these criteria, a Sustainable Agriculture Mission Statement was formally adopted in 1998, which included the following principles:
65. 1.     Output must be high enough to meet demand.
66. 2.     Negative environmental impacts on soil, air, water and biodiversity must be minimized.
67. 3.     Quality and safety of products must be guaranteed.
68. 4.     Changing consumer demands must be met.
69. 5.     Profitability must be competitive with other industry sectors.
70. 6.     Agriculture must offer an attractive livelihood to workers.
71.                                              ii.     In 1997, two Unilever employees worked to translate sustainable development into terms that related to Unilever’s business; hence the concept of the triple bottom line that related to the following areas:
72. 1.     economic,
73. 2.     environmental, and
74. 3.     social assets.
75.                                             iii.     Unilever’s Sustainable Development plan has led to several honors.
76. 1.     Dow Jones ranked Unilever number four on its sustainability index.
77. 2.     Fortune magazine listed Unilever among Fortune’s 50 World’s Most Admired Companies.
78.                                             iv.     Sustainable Agriculture Initiative (SAI)
79. 1.     Unilever was one of the three founding companies of the SAI, which was created to actively support the development and communication of sustainable agriculture practices worldwide.
80. 2.     SAI initiatives target the triple bottom line—economics, environment, and society.
81. 7.      Implementation of the Sustainable Development Plan
82.                                                i.     Unilever introduced pilot projects to test its Sustainable Development plan.
83.                                              ii.     They started with five of their strategically important crops—palm oil, peas, spinach, tomatoes, and black tea.
84.                                             iii.     In addition to Unilever’s agricultural programs, the company has undertaken numerous social programs in India, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Brazil, Kenya, and Ghana.
85. 8.      Unilever’s Current Involvement in Palm Oil
86.                                                i.     Divesting of Plantations—Unilever is divesting all non-core businesses, such as its oil palm plantations to focus solely on promoting its core brands.
87. 5.      Helping Ghana Grow Oil Palm Plantations—Unilever has a longstanding relationship with Ghana, investing in the country’s economy and the skills of its employees. Unilever has also been active with numerous community activities in Ghana as well.
88. 6.      Questions for Discussion and Further Analysis
89.                                                i.     1. What was Unilever’s motivation to undertake such ambitious programs for sustainability development?
90.                                              ii.     2 What can Unilever do to improve the wages and living conditions of the oil palm workers worldwide? What impact would such actions have on the triple bottom line of Unilever’s Sustainable Development plan?
91.                                             iii.     How can Unilever use its influence over the government of Ghana to improve worldwide conditions? Should Unilever encourage or discourage Ghana from entering the oil palm industry?
92.                                             iv.      What are the impacts of Unilever’s divesting of oil palm plantations? Will Unilever still have influence over the triple bottom line of the oil palm industry? Why or why not?
93.  VII.         Summary and Conclusion
94. a.     This chapter describes the second level of the inclusive workplace, inclusion and corporate-community collaborations, which relates to the organization’s sense of being a part of its surrounding community and to the reciprocity embedded in this relationship.
95. b.    Relevant to level II of the inclusive workplace model is the term CSP, an emerging construct in the business literature that expands a company’s responsibilities beyond its traditional economic shareholders to that of multiple stakeholders, including the community.
96. c.     A wide range of activities falls under the title of CSP, such as supporting educational or cultural institutions in the community, providing mentorship to youth, or tutoring children in local schools.
97. d.    The main obstacles in initiating and maintaining activities that benefit the company’s social environment are economic pressures to demonstrate profitability on a short-term basis, limited corporate vision, and lack of leaders who could champion and sustain such initiatives.
98. e.     The benefits include advantages in recruitment, goodwill from employees and customers alike, and improved corporate image.
99.