Category Archives: Ethics

These posts will be added to our Student Work menu item. This category should be used for submitting posts for our Unit #2 Assignment.

Social responsibility and ethics

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For this unit, I chose Ben and Jerry’s as the company to research their social responsibility and business ethics .

We have all heard of Ben and Jerry’s. A business dedicated to the manufacturing of ice cream,frozen yogurt, and sorbet. But, they are much more than that! They are a business that has the responsibility of giving back to it’s community as Ben Cohen states. Since the year !985, The Ben and Jerry’s foundation has funded 7.5% of it’s annual per-tax profits to community organizations across the country. That amounts 1.8 million dollars annually, not including the hundreds of thousands of dollars donated to progressive causes over the years such as racial justice,climate change, peace-building and more, as it states in an article by “chuckjoe”.

We may be all asking ourselves, How did this company become one of the best social impact companies in the world? Is it because of the way that they  give back to their communities? Or is it because of the way they stand up on progressive social and environmental issues? Or is just because of the way that they make their delicious ice cream? Well, the answer is yes to the questions just mentioned.  Ben and Jerry three-part product,economic and social mission is a great model for capitalism done right!

Ben and Jerry business Ethics

Ben and Jerry’s is one of the most ethical and social responsible companies in existence!

Design: The boxes used for ice cream bars are made 100% post consumer recycled paperboard. They create packaging that will reduce the negative impacts on the environment.

production: they have invested in heavily in energy efficient technology, to minimize the waste of resources.

destruction: the waste is put into methane digesters along with other farm waste where it produces  energy to power the farm.

Social Responsibility:

Social: In the united Kingdom they have a bus that sells ice cream and the profits that they make go towards supporting charities in local communities such as ” trees for cities”.

product: They use certified humane cage-free eggs in their ice cream products in Europe. In the US,their ice cream products are 99% cage free. 1% existing in their novelty ice cream bars sold in US and Asia.

prompt questions:

1: Some recommendations that I have to create a more ethical,social, and sustainable business is to establish a social mission, educate their employees,encourage volunteering because this gives participation to the community. Also, to think about the concerns about communities, and environmental issues.

2: I believe that the company should pursue volunteer because it helps get to know the communities as well as their concerns and because it also encourages   local communities find ways to solutions .

https://www.benjerry.com/

https://www.benjerry.com/whats-new/2014/corporate-social-responsibility-history

https://opsmgt.edublogs.org/2012/07/01/ben-jerrys-the-ethical-approach/

How Ben and Jerry’s Incorporates Social Responsibility Through Conscious Capitalism

 

Amazon

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Amazon is a platform where Business, Individual sellers and manufacturers sell their inventory through its platform by giving it ownership. Amazon then markets and sells the products to buyers. Once the order is placed amazon fulfillment centers ship it out to the customers. Amazon takes a percentage from the sales price to provide its services.

Amazon is working on a lot of different projects to help with corporate social responsibility, Amazon has launched a program called The Climate Pledge and has partnered with Global Optimism to achieve a net-zero annual carbon emission by 2040.To promote this program amazon has paid $2 billion to help companies make products that would help in supporting a low carbon economy. Amazon has hired over 200 scientist, engineers, and product designers to help reduce the carbon imprint. Amazon is working on many projects that are in progress to help sustain a low carbon economy which include adopting 100% renewable energy program by 2025, Ensuring that 50% of all shipments reach net zero carbon by 2030.Amazon is also going to replace its 100,000 gas vehicles with electric vehicles.

Amazon is also helping to promote a diverse and equality workplace by reaching out to students that go to diverse colleges like the Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Hispanic Serving Institutions. Amazon is also providing work from home opportunities to people with disabilities. Along with hiring the candidates they also provide training programs in 2019 amazon had paid $700 million to train its employees for the next six years. Amazon also provides reimbursements up to 95% for employees who are seeking or expanding their in-demand skills. Amazon has also donated $50 million to promote STEM education in 2020 of which it donated $2 million to the Carnegie Mellon Universities Computer Science Academy to provide free computers to students.

Amazon is also helping the homeless people by providing them shelters. Amazon had opened The Mary’s place Family Centering the downtown Seattle Campus where shelter is provided for the needy and support for hundreds of families in a year. In 2020 Amazon started its new project called the Housing Equity Fund which was funded with $2 billion to build 20,000 homes in Virginia, Washington, and Tennessee.

There are Amazon centers where water is being stored and then recycled, this water is then used to cool their data centers which reduces the energy and the amount of water being consumed if the water center was not available.

Based on my understanding I think that Amazon should build buildings instead of the 20,000 houses because you can add more floors to it which would be more beneficial than the houses, for example if a building has four floors and has eight apartments on each floor that means there are 40 residential apartments which can be used by 40 families instead of a house which will only be occupied by one family. Another suggestion is that instead of Amazon spending $700 to train its employees in the next six years, Amazon can focus on training the new hires instead of the current employees so that the new hires can excel and perform better at their jobs.

References:

https://www.thomasnet.com/articles/other/amazon-csr-sustainability/

https://www.aboutamazon.com/planet

 

Tencent social responsibility and Ethics.

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Tencent Holdings Ltd

Tencent is the largest internet company in China. Tencent also is the world’s largest video game vendor, as well as one of the most financially valuable companies. Therefore, Tencent should assume greater social responsibility and ethics

Tencent companies divide social responsibility into four dimensions: Business dimensions, User dimension, social dimension, and environmental dimension.

  • Business dimensions: Tencent established the social responsibility department in 2010 in order to implement the strategy of Tencent social responsibility. And, Tencent also set up corporate social responsibility liaisons in every department to comprehensively promote corporate social responsibility work. Tencent also will  safeguard the rights and interests of employees and ensure that employees receive long-term promotion and development opportunities in addition to income benefits
  • User dimensions: Tencent will listen to the user and keep improving the service. Tencent also promises to be honest with the users and protect the rights and interests of users.
  • Social dimensions: Provide necessary financial support and resource support to public welfare organizations to help them develop, expand their social influence, and create more and greater social value.
  • Environment dimensions: Establish the principle of environmental priority, strategies for sustainable investment, and make a commitment to ecological sustainability.

(https://gongyi.qq.com/a/20150517/009644.htm)

Guardian Project: In order to appeal to the whole society share attention and participate in Anti-telecom network fraud and raise awareness of anti-fraud, Tencent jointly launched police in six different province anti-fraud public welfare special actions. (http://www.dzwww.com/xinwen/jishixinwen/202109/t20210923_9195425.htm)

99 Public Interest Day: The Tencent Charitable Foundation has announced it will invest 5 billion yuan for supporting public benefit items. (https://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1709503692732183665&wfr=spider&for=pc)

Social responsibility is always separated into 2 types, one is internal responsibility and the other is external responsibility. So, for creating a more ethical, socially responsible, and/or sustainable business, people have to do both of these things.

  1. Ethics should start at the top. Managers can help instill corporate values in employees. Trust between workers and managers must be based on fairness, honesty, openness, and moral integrity, and overly ambitious goals and incentives can create an environment in which unethical actions can occur. Then, the company should set corporate ethical standards, Integrity-based ethics codes, and Compliance-based ethics codes.
  2. Social responsibility, the company should have a responsibility to employees, customers, investors, society, and the environment. For doing this, the company should create jobs and provide a chance for upward mobility, treat employees with respect. The company needs to provide funds to nonprofits for doing commonweal to make company with good ethical reputations.

 

ethics and social responsibility (IBM)

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Most of companies, had changed their strategies toward their workers and communities, by focusing on ethics and social responsibility, and we have noticed a huge progress on this norm, as an example of IBM the company that I’m going to talk about:

Based in New York, IBM is an American multinational technology corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, with operations in over 171 countries. The company began in 1911, founded in Endicott, New York by trust businessman Charles Ranlett Flint, as the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company (CTR) and was renamed “International Business Machines” in 1924. IBM is incorporated in New York, produces and sells computer hardware, middleware and software, and provides hosting and consulting services in areas ranging from mainframe computers to nanotechnology.

This year, IBM is celebrating 30 years of strong corporate policy on environmental affairs, a rich career in engagement with the communities where they operate.

The company requires its first-tier suppliers to create their own systems for establishing quantifiable goals for waste, energy, greenhouse gas emissions and making their results available to the public. As follow:

*Product energy efficiency: Product energy efficiency was formalized as one of the company’s corporate objectives when IBM established its product design for the environment program in 1991. Through the collaboration of IBM Research and the product development teams, they have combined hardware and software technologies to improve the energy efficiency of IT equipment and in turn, data centers.

*Product recycling programs:  IBM’s voluntary environmental goal is to reuse or recycle end-of-life products such that the amount of product waste sent by their operations to landfills or to incineration for treatment does not exceed a combined 3 percent by weight of the total amount processed.

In 2020, IBM processed more than 16,900 metric tons of end-of-life products and product waste, with 96.5 percent (by weight) reused, resold or recycled, 3.0 percent sent to waste-to-energy for final disposition, and 0.5 percent sent directly to landfills or incineration for treatment.

*Water and materials conservation:  Preserving water resources and safeguarding watersheds are important environmental protection priorities. IBM’s first water conservation goal was established in 2000 and has evolved over time as the company has transformed into a hybrid cloud and AI platform company. The current water use is primarily associated with cooling and humidity control at offices and data centers, domestic consumption at the workplace, testing of building fire protection systems, and landscape irrigation.

Also, IBM has set some ethical norms for their workers and society, by infusing a long-standing principles and ethical thinking, the Board is one mechanism by which IBM holds the company and all IBMers accountable to their values.

*Greening the blue economy: “World Ocean Day celebrates how amazing and fantastic oceans are but it’s also a rallying point for action to protect our oceans” said Mhairi McCann, founder & CEO of Youth STEM 2030 and a member of the World Ocean Day Youth Advisory Council. As the UN Decade of Ocean Science kicks off “we’re at a key point to be able to make the difference that we need to be able to protect this valuable resource for generations to come.”

*2,000 U.S. Students Start Summer Workplace Learning with IBM: on the summer of 2021 IBM has hosted nearly 2,000 U.S. students for an invaluable workplace learning experience because they believe that student work experiences are still crucial for career development and addressing the global skills gap.

Finally, the recommendations that I have to create a more ethical, socially responsible, and/or sustainable business are:

  1. Establish a social mission.: by creating a social mission. All companies have their own mission and vision statements, but you should incorporate a third one that emphasizes how your company will actively seek to help the community.
  2. to Establish realistic goals: After you set up your mission, you should start thinking about what you are going to do and exactly how the company will help by creating a list of goals that you are going to achieve in the next three to six months. The goals should be realistic objectives that can be accomplished without causing major disruptions to your day-to-day operations.
  3. Educate the employees: is one of the best ways to encourage such feelings, because people simply become more confident when they have more to offer. They can even use some of that knowledge in their personal lives (increased digital literacy, a new language, etc.), which leads to both personal satisfaction and improved work morale.

4- Ethical labor practices:  by treating your employees with respect and dignity, Value their work and give them opportunities within your company, also Provide fair compensation for their services and create a safe and healthy work environment.

Reference:

https://www.ibm.com/us-en?ar=1

https://www.ibm.org/?lnk=hpmex_buab&_ga=2.265364232.626884080.1632448453-1334337714.1632448453&_gac=1.72459521.1632448453.c148ad0b25f01eb669a8cc460a4e1e7b

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/294421

 

 

 

 

 

Honda’s Corporate Social Responsibility

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It was great learning about the Social responsibility and ethics of a business. By watching the videos and the materials assigned for this unite so many ideas become more clear and some actions are more understood. Before this unit I couldn’t make the difference between the ethical and legal behavior. I had many issues explaining what is good and what is bad on my personal opinion to my previous boss.

Now lets return to the assignment. Honda’s Social Responsibility in term of Environment stand for four term:

  1. Honda takes “Green Path”: Honda strives to find new ways to minimize the impact of it business on the environment. Every Honda product is designed and built with the goal of having the smallest environmental footprint possible. Honda strive every day to reduce the emissions of CO2. Honda launched a Green Dealer Program in 2012 to help independently owned and operated dealers in the U.S reduce their environmental impact. The program recognizes dealers who implement sustainable practices. The last target on the Green Path is the waste management. Honda continues to keep waste out of landfills using a variety of different recycling and re-purposing measures.        American Honda’s Total Green Process | Corporate Social Responsibility
  2. Blue Skies for Our Children: More than 40 years ago, the Honda engineers who embraced the challenge of developing the revolutionary CVCC engine had simple vision- they wanted to ensure blue skies for our children. Today that vision continues to inspire the advancement of sustainability and reduce of CO2 emissions in their product and manufacturing plans.          Environmental Sustainability | Blue Skies For Our Children | Honda
  3. Renewable Energy: Turning wind into energy, Honda became the first U.S automaker to drive a significant amount of power from wind turbines on its own property when two turbines began operation at their transmission plant in Russell’s Point, Ohio.    Renewable Energy, Solar Power & More | Honda

Reading Honda’s Corporate Social Responsibility via environment from the link: Environment | Honda Corporate Social Responsibility  was a good chance to know what this company stand for. I went over three subject only : The green path, Blue skies for our children and Renewable Energy. I invite the  readers to read  about other responsibility in the link : What We Believe | Honda Corporate Social Responsibility

Ethics: H&M Group

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H&M group is a family of brands which consist of Cos, Weekday, & Other Stories, ARKET, Monki, Afound, H&M HOME, and the most Famous H&M. Each brand has its own unique identity. However, they all have the same goal; to offer fashion, design, and services assessable to everyone while having a positive impact on the global community and environment. As an employee of H&M, I witness this being implemented every shift.

H&M group has seven values in which we all live and work by to ensure overall goal is met.

 

  1. We are one team – All employees collaborate by sharing skills, knowledge and experience. Everyone is helped and encouraged to achieve goals, while keeping both the company’s and customers best interest at mind.
  2. We Believe in people – The workplace is built on integrity, respect, trust, and inclusiveness. Everyone can make a difference. (Most corporate level positions started at store level)
  3. Entrepreneurial spirit – No matter what role or job title, everyone is encouraged to take on and look for new opportunities to boost business through innovation and creativity.
  4. Constant improvement – H&M group never wants to be complacent. “Never stop, never settle, redefine the limits.
  5. Cost-Conscious – All employees are expected to keep an eye on expenses and make smart, sustainable choices even in small task.
  6. Straightforward and open-minded – Keeping an open. Everyone is encouraged to give and receive feedback.
  7. Keep it simple – Most times the solution to a challenge is a simple one. Don’t over analyze.

H&M group focuses heavily on the environment. “H&M Group has had a dedicated team working with climate-related issues. Our ambition is to reduce our impact within and outside our own operations while driving change in the industry. As a global company and employer, we want to be part of the solution — not the problem.” (https://hmgroup.com/sustainability/circular-and-climate-positive/climate/) H&M Group has committed to becoming climate positive by 2040. Some actions they have taken to achieve this are:

  • Upcycling and Recycling – about 60% H&M garments are made from recycled textiles. They have a program in all H&M stores where a customer can bring in any old garment or textile and get 15% of their purchase. Packaging is also made from recycled and sustainable materials.
  • Only working with suppliers who fall in line with H&M group’s ethics – Suppliers must comply with all applicable environmental, health & safety, labor and social laws and regulations.
  • No endangered and/or vulnerable species* may be used in the production of our products.

I originally started working at H&M because I enjoyed the fashion they provided. However, the work environment and culture has kept me there.  Working there honestly does not feel like work most of the times. I also see first-hand the steps taken to improve the environment. For example, all the stores in the U.S. are on energy saving timers. We hardly trash anything. When we are done with window props such as rugs, furniture, lights, etc., they are donated to schools, churches, community theaters.  The benefits and invectives for employees are also enticing. Health care, dental, transportation, legal assistance, and housing are you a few things available to H&M group employees. I may be bias, but H&M group is one of the most ethical company to date.

Emirates Airline social responsibility and Ethics.

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Emirates Airline

Emirates’ “Fly Better” means the drive to innovate and be better.
This motto from Emirates has been incorporated into their daily operations to be able to deliver an air experience like no other.

I have traveled with Emirates since 2012 – and each time I fly with them my experience just gets better with each flight. They go above and beyond for their customers and their employees are just the friendliest. What they have been thriving on is having the youngest fleet in the industry. However, they also have a very diverse fleet and cater to passengers around the world.

Emirates has been taking up the social responsibility of making the most eco-friendly investments in their aircrafts by placing the most modern and eco-friendly technology in their planes. Also, on most flights, I have a donation envelope at my seat and any currency is accepted. This goes towards wildlife, environment, and other nonprofit organizations to help children around the world.

The company has found numerous ways which they are able to save fuel and be more efficient. When taking off for example, pilots use idle reverse thrust instead of using full reverse thrust. This means they switch off one engine while taxing. All these measures are put in place to help save fuel emission and cut down on noise.

Onboard long haul flights, Emirates blankets are made from 100% recyclable plastic and each blanket is made with 28 plastic bottles; this is an initiative to prevent plastic waste ending up in landfills. Emirates is based in Dubai and they practically have sun throughout the year, which gives them the opportunity to use sun energy at their hubs and energy saving products on top of that. Emirates has used 60% less energy electricity consumption each year.

I have some friends working for Emirates and I did some research. Other than being a globally recognized brand, Emirates gives their employees a range of discounted tickets to housing and even an accommodation allowance – but all of this depends on your seniority. So, the growth within the company is slow, based on time and performance. It makes it still very difficult to move up the ranks, which is something that needs to be changed. More of the young should be able to observe and to take on some of the senior position. Ethically, I think this is very old tradition that needs to change within business, since all seniors are seen as more capable or educated – the young should be more involved in these changes so the company can grow with the times.
https://www.emirates.com/us/english/about-us/our-planet/
https://www.emirates.com/us/english/about-us/our-planet/sustainability-in-operations/

Toyota social and ethical responsibility

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Toyota Motor North America, Inc.

 

Toyota has corporate social responsibility strategies targeting environmental goals. The main interests regarding the environment include business sustainability and environmental conservation. Toyota addresses these interests through the Toyota Environmental Activities Grant Program. Through this corporate social responsibility program, the firm donates automobiles and funds for environmental conservation. In 2020, Toyota donated five hybrid cars and more than $1 million to support Everglades National Park.

Toyota is working on initiatives that contribute to the sustainable development of society and the world through all its business activities in cooperation with global society. Toyota is creating vehicles that are safe, practical, and fun to drive while at the same time working to ensure their cars and trucks are at the forefront of environmental engineering by making more hybrid cars than ever.

How to reduce carbon is on of Toyota main concern worldwide. Toyota reduce carbon by improving fuel efficiency and use hybrid technology to reduce CO2   emissions from our vehicles. Toyota also partner with the electrochemical society (EGS) to encourage young professors and scholars to pursue research in green energy technology that may promote the development of next generation vehicles capable of utilizing alternative fuels

Toyota is also using less and less water every year. They’re finding more ways to conserve, especially in their manufacturing processes. Each year, they use fewer and fewer gallons to produce a vehicle, which is important in water stressed areas, such as California, Texas, and Mexico.

But this isn’t all Toyota archives Top 10 ranking for diversity. Here are some of the reasons why Toyota is rated a top company for diversity:

  1. the company values the importance of a diverse workforce.
  2. LGBTQ+ inclusive culture.
  3. Learning from others to incorporate best practices 
  4. Robust veterans’ program
  5. Diverse executive leadership

Toyota is a big automotive company therefore they should unionize all their employees worldwide.

 References:

https://www.toyota.com/usa/environment/

https://global.toyota/pages/global_toyota/sustainability/report/sdb/sdb19_en.pdf

https://www.toyota.com/usa/our-story/index.html

 

 

 

Ethics

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For this topic, I will be talking about H&M’s corporate social responsibility. H&M’s social corporate responsibility is based on their participation in social activities which helps improve the quality of life of the communities that are around. They have a sustainability vision which means that they put effort into fixing the needs of the communities in which they are located. 

Water & Sanitation, Education & Environment, Empowerment and Livelihood are the activities the company mainly focuses on to make/create the most of their value. In India H&M focuses on water and sanitation because India is known as the most water stressed region. The way they help make this situation better is they raise awareness, they also provide access to clean water. 

H&M values the education of their employees as well as the environment. They make sure to use everything in their power to create projects that focus on environmental issues/education and their next level focus is on refusing, reducing, and recycling. As well as promoting quality education. 

Additionally, H&M is aware of unemployment being a major problem affecting our society, for that reason their focus is on livelihood enhancement as well as empowering the youth including women and girls. I find this to be very encouraging. 

H&M does not profit off of these corporate social responsibility activities/programs. They state, “Surplus arising out of the CSR projects or programs or activities shall not form part of the business profit of the Company.” In other words, H&M truly shows that they stand by what they care for and they won’t let money control their moves for their company.

All of H&M’s focuses are very good for their company because overtime it will make them grow/expand even more than how it is now. I believe H&M’s focus on Water & Sanitation, Education & Environment, Empowerment and Livelihood are amazing social corporate responsibility. I believe they should keep focusing on the environment because we are facing a climate crisis at the moment. Although H&M has some sustainable/conscious clothing/products, the majority of their clothing is still fast fashion and they have to change that part of their company. It will affect us majorly if they don’t find a solution.

Even though H&M promotes environmental issues, they need to come forward and be more truthful than how they think they are. This is the only way that they will be able to make an impactful change to our only home meaning our Earth.

And that will ultimately help improve their company as well as making an impact on other clothing companies. If H&M makes these moves and other companies see it, they will feel the need to change as well. H&M has to keep improving their corporate social responsibility. 

H&M has an animal welfare and material ethics policy. They care about animals because they don’t condone animal testing nor the use of animal skin/fur. This is an important ethical choice from H&M because there are still big companies that condone animal testing. H&M making this a priority is impactful to the rest of the clothing companies.

H&M should keep expanding their ethical policy of animal welfare. In other words they should promote animal welfare. This will make them a better company compared to a company that doesn’t have an animal welfare policy.

Sources:

https://www2.hm.com/en_in/customer-service/corporate-social-responsibility/corporate-social-responsibility-csr-policy.html

https://about.hm.com/content/dam/hmgroup/groupsite/documents/masterlanguage/CSR/Policies/HM%20Group%20Animal%20Welfare%20and%20Material%20Ethics%20policy%20-%20April%202019.pdf

Is H&M Ethical and Sustainable?

Visa’s Ethics, Social Responsibility, and Employee Relations.

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Before working for a business , we should consider ethical and social responsibility issues. This allows us to assess if the company’s ideology matches our own. A company’s employees should always be treated with respect. They should feel valued and respected.The business should provide you with resources to help you grow and and improve your economic livelihoods

A company such as Visa has a lot of social impact by giving back to businesses and communities. They give back to businesses by providing them with resources to help enable them skills and access to networks and financial services to help them grow their business. Small and micro businesses have priorities like Financial education and digital skill building.

Not only is the company giving back but Visa strongly supports its employees to make a difference in their communities in ways that inspire them, whether via volunteerism, philanthropy, or empowering individuals and communities who need it. They support them by giving their employees up to 16 hours off for volunteer work and matching gifts to $10,000 annually per employee.

Some of the best things that Visa did was contribute more than $23.5 million to charities and the visa foundation funded $22.7 million in grants. Also that the employees get time off for volunteering, that seems really cool and the small business owners get to network so that they can build their business. I think I might work for Visa in the future.

As a network that I only use when I use my debit card I think they are doing great on social responsibility. I don’t think that Visa should change what they are doing. This is exactly what companies and networks should be doing.

Soure(s)
https://usa.visa.com/about-visa/social-impact.html