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Rethinking the social responsibility of business summary
Social responsibility of business essay summary
Essay on social responsibility of business
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Paul Hawken has had many accomplishments throughout his lifetime. He has been called an environmentalist, entrepreneur, journalist and author. From the time he was twenty years old he has spent his life trying to change the relationship between business and the environment. Paul Hawken has spent over a decade researching organizations dedicated to restoring the environment and becoming more socially responsible. This goal had led him to start and run a very successful ecological business, write and teach about the impact of commerce on living systems, and consult governments and corporations about economic development, industrial ecology, and environmental policy.
Hawken has authored and co-authored books such as The Next Economy published in 1983, Growing a Business published in 1987, The Ecology of Commerce published in 1993, and Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution published in 1999. These books have influenced many people all across the world and been commented on by people such as Bill Clinton. Currently he is working on a book entitled Blessed Unrest. Along with these books, Hawken has written dozens of articles, op-eds, and other papers concerning the responsibility of business to the natural environment, and our social and ethical obligations to others around the world. Hawken is a man who wants to share his thoughts with the world in hopes that it will make people aware of many of the things which he feels so strongly about.
He has co-founded a software company called Metacode where he worked until 2000. Metacode specialized in propriety content management tools. He also started a company called Groxis, a graphic information delivery provider used by search engines, libraries, scientific repositories, and databases. Groxis can rapidly guide the user to landscapes or islands of data that are relevant to their purpose or task, or it can simply retrieve specific information more quickly. One of his more well known companies, Smith and Hawken, is a garden and catalog retailer specializing in horticultural products. Currently he is the head of PaxIT, PaxTurbine, and PaxFan, three companies associated with Pax Scientific. Pax Scientific is a California-based research and development corporation focused on proprietary technologies involving fluid dynamics, convection, flow form geometry, propulsion, and thermodynamics. Pax designs provide the information technology sector with patented fan technologies that greatly reduce noise and energy while dramatically improving system and component cooling. He also heads the Natural Capital Institute, a research group located in Sausalito, California. Natural Capital Institute (NCI) conducts research in diverse areas including socially responsible investing (SRI), global civil society, environmental funding, and water.
John Dallas Costa, Ethical Imperative wrote: "Not long ago the concerns of ecologists were as irrelevant to business planners as those of ethicists are today. “Green” has gone from being a disparagement to becoming a badge that no smart company would risk being without. Ethics are similarly en route to becoming a strategic imperative."
Though Mohr doesn’t expressly say so, I believe it is safe to assume that Mrs. Hamma is a white woman of at least moderate wealth. This immediately alienates her from her students, most of whom are Hispanic, speak poor English, and are doing menial tasks for little pay. In fact, there are only two students in the class of twenty-eight who are from Europe, one Italian and one Polish. Another obvious difference between Mrs. Hamma and most of her students is gender. When she is calling on the students to speak about themselves, the text says, “There were more men than women and Mrs. Hamma called two or three men for each women. It was her way of maintaining a balance.” Much of this story is focused on using education as a means to changing social status. This is a very American idea, the thought that one can change much of their life and lifestyle by educating themselves, getting a higher paying job, and working hard.
With forward movement in society, it is important to consider not just what will propel most toward success, but also what will help to sustain the environment along the way. What may have been considered appropriate decades ago, may no longer be socially acceptable due to the changes observed in both the business world and the environment (Fiske, 2010). Therefore, it is important for organizations thriving in today?s economy to consider how they may capitalize most effectively from their product or service of choice while minimizing or eliminating any damages along the way (Knoke, 2012).
Zsolnai, L. (2011). Environmental ethics for business sustainability. International Journal of Social Economics, 38(11), 892-899. doi: 10.1108/03068291111171397
Yvon Chouinard is an environmentalist, entrepreneur, and philanthropist, legendary climber, and surfer. He is also a writer, writing essays on outdoor climbing issues and ethics, and more recently publishing a book about mixing environmentalism and sound business practice in corporate policies (Green Economy Initiative, 2011). Chouinard is most noted for his clothing and gear company, Patagonia, Inc., where he has constructed a culture that strives to create an ideal working environment where employees thrive and become more productive at the same time. Patagonia’s environmental ethic is outstanding, having founded 1% For the Planet, an alliance of businesses that contribute at least 1 percent of their net annual sales to approved environmental organizations, and is working to revolutionize supply chain transparency in their company. Sustainable business practices have been at the core of the company since it was founded in the late 1950s – long before sustainability and being “green” became buzzwords. Yvon Chouinard is not only a successful business person, but a leader with discipline, vision, and influence.
The environment in America today is far from Eden, but there is a valiant battle being fought by many to return the earth to a more "natural" state. Green and clean is the preferred vision of the future1. This trend towards environmental awareness, or environmentalism, is a prominent theme in today’s American society. Politics, industry, marketing, and media all use the environment as a means to sell themselves. With such a high profile, it seems almost unbelievable that there was a time when the word environment was little known or not used. However, the period was not so long ago. Even before World War II nature was referred to as wilderness and wilderness existed to serve humans2. The shift from nature existing to serve humans to humans protecting the environment was not a very complex project, but rather one of many small influences and their resulting effects. Hence, the rise of environmentalism in American society is the result of gradual social changes, which created a shift in social values.
Nordhaus, Ted, and Michael Shellenberger. Break Through: From the Death of Environmentalism to the Politics of Possibility. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2007. Print.
Rudel, K. Thomas, J. Timmons Roberts and JoAnn Carmin. 2011. “Political Economy of the Environment.” Annual Review of Sociology 37: 221-238.
Wackernagel, M. & W. Rees. (1996) Our Ecological Footprint. Stony Creek, CT: New Society Publishers.
With rising sea levels, CO2 emissions, and global temperatures, climate scientists and researchers alike are left to wonder how the global climate was allowed to progress to its present state, as well as how to stop this progression in the future. The main topic of debate in this paper will be the relationship between the free market and the environment, and if such a relationship even exists in the first place. In assessing the works and positions of both Naomi Klein and Ronald Bailey, I find Klein’s view of the negative relationship between capitalism and environmentalism to be more convincing, overall.
...ms Shrink Our Ecological Footprint." Redefining Progress: For People, Nature, and The Economy 1 (2003). https://blackboard.syr.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_3_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_285766_1%26url%3D (accessed March 26, 2014).
Jeff Butcher and Rachel Hill pointed out the impacts of businesses on environments, by stating “The more of a product that is consumed or produced, the more of an externality that results” (Butcher, Jeff, & Hill, Rachel, 2006). Obviously, we can see that one product produced will bring benefit to consumer, sellers, and manufacturers. Meanwhile, one produced and consumed will cause negative externalities for environment. There is one fact we cannot deny that the more social life develops, the more externalities will be produced to the society. Daily living garbage, industrial wastes, carbon dioxide from factories are most outstanding examples to describe negative externalities to environment (Butcher, Jeff, & Hill, Rachel, 2006). In “The tragedy of the Commons”, Hardin showed us causes of negative externalities. He proved that people assume a...
Thesis Statement: Consumerism is destroying our planet through its excess, but with the help of reducing we may be able to slow the negative change happening in our environment.
This case involves a corporate response to AIDS in the workplace. The return to work of Paul Cronan, a person with AIDS, after a much publicized law suit, led to a walkout of his coworkers. This case documents the circumstances which preceded the work stoppage. Analyzing this case from Paul Cronan’s supervisors point of view there are three main ethical issues to be considered: duty to protect the interests of the company, New England Telephone (NET); obligation to maintain the rights of the other employees; and duty to provide for the safety and privacy of Paul Cronan.
Kneidel, Sally, and Sadie Kneidel. Going Green: A Wise Consumer's Guide to a Shrinking Planet. Golden, CO: Fulcrum Pub., 2008. Print.