How organisations can become better managers of cultural diversity on the global market

How organisations can become better managers of cultural diversity on the global market Introduction The purpose of this article is to demonstrate how organisations can become better managers of cultural diversity on the global market. This paper argues that organisations can achieve success with diversity environment by finding and accepting visible and non- visible differences between values and factors in the workforce (Kandola and Fullerton, 1998). Consequently, individual organisations need to have their own theories and ideas about management and development diversity environment in the context of social-economic conditions, national legislation, culture, demography, history factors (Jones, Pringle and Shepherd, 2000; Syed 2008a). There is plenty of evidence which highlights cases of diversity management and its inputs into organisations. A significant part of the discussion in this paper is based on the framework of micro-, macro- and meso-level analysis relevant to PO Ferries as a multicultural organisation, while creating their strategy of working culture, respect and values around different level of diversity (Schneider, 2001: 27). In other words, the issue of diversity involved diverse personal characteristics, such as gender, race, culture and disability (Cox 1993; Ottaviano Peri, 2006; Thomas 1991), but also social discourses, national structures, institution and organisational processes and behaviours in the development of a multicultural workplace. This paper is structured as follows. The next section has been divided into three smaller sections in which each of them deeply explain diversity management levels based on PO Ferries examples and some of criticisms. Those sections highlight aspects and approaches which need to be taken into concern in professional management decisions if organisations want to become better in a cultural diversity market. Background Diversity management is a cultural change process (Singh, 2002) of set values and recognises the difference between people and organisations. An integrated approach to managing diversity means understanding differences which has been created by environment, adopts an opportunity, improved employee motivation (Beaver stock, 1991) and at the same time meet organisation objectives. Globalisation, migration from developing countries and a shift away from economic barriers (Hill, 2009: 3) is extremely challenging for HRM in the context of human rights laws, limitation on employment opportunities, culture influences or organisational approaches towards managing diversity. According to researches, the phenomenon of managing diversity has taken into account the framework of multilevel factors, macro-national level, micro-individual level (Syed, J. Ozbilgin, M. 2009) which can improve rules of diversity legal organisation policies and respond to a power of different circumstances in the workp lace (Johns, 2001: 39). The micro level Diversity based on individual attributes and aspirations which are part of the micro- level analysis. It is crucial to understand the individual- level factors if organisations want to achieve success and minimalism conflict and lower job satisfactions which can become the potential future problems (McMillan- Capehart, 2005). People should be treated equally regardless of race, ethic, gender, sexual, orientation or other social rewards (Jewson and Mason). For example, PO Ferries employ over 35000 employers around the world of which 34% of them are non- British and that includes 65% of men and 35% of women. Average age is 19-55 years old for man and 23- 57 years old for woman. Over 25% of non- British employees are working in highest positions like: managers, officer or team leaders (56% woman, 44% man), about 40 % are working in PO offices as call advisers and translators and the rest 35% are working as customer service stewards on boats (HRM- PO, 2009) . Previous statistics suggest that culturally diverse backgrounds do not block their career and activities because of the separation from their home country. There is a limited evidence of companies where diversity management is well- organised like PO Ferries. Organisation as a global institution need to take into concern national culture influences and design their jobs, values and multiple identities to effectively promote outcomes but also individual relationships and interaction within an organisation. Thus, Sign (2002) explain that by developing peoples opportunities to the best of their ability will be paid by commitment, innovation and creativity to organisations by employees. Managers, who manage diverse teams must adopt mix perspectives and make sure that diversity contributions are integrated into organisational objectives. Only by personal contact, face to face interactions or indirect electronic interactions, the organisation is going to build strong micro- level relationship where employees will fe el that their contributions are influenced and noticed by employers. According to PO Ferries, micro- level of analysis is representing by face to face communication between managers and employees. All ideas, problems or suggestions which involved organisation performance or sometimes even some employee private problems are discussed carefully with managers attentions and ideas to help. The literature review criticises many organisations around the world in which the opportunity for foreign woman to achieve better positions are not the same as foreign men. This can be classified as sexual discrimination which is part of micro- level diversity recruitment. UK statistics show that womens gross individual income is on average 51 per cent less then men (ECO, 2009). Employers still forget about relevant legislations and the fact that organisations need to play by the rules which cause controversial problems and criticisms. PO Equal Opportunities Policy covers all legislations which deal with discrimination (EOP, 2007). Furthermore, women who work for PO Ferries have the same respect as men and sex has no influence on the position they have. The company has 35% women working as a manager or a team leader which is 7% more and 27% in customer service which again is 12% more compared to men (PO, 2009). The macro level In management- orientation, focus should be not only on organisation benefits but also on people performances from difference of capital, labour, skills, knowledge, behaviours, communications and other cultural differences which are keys of organisations improvement and positive action (Bratton and Gold, 2004). The local phenomenon of managing diversity cannot be separate from its social- cultural, social- economic, social-political and institutional contexts (Syed and ÃÆ'-zbilgin, 2007). Professional diversity management offered by organisations needs to be universal and flexible for cultural changes. The multicultural, multilingual and multidisciplinary nature of the professional workplace has to take responsibility for cross- culture communication, corporate and dimensions. According to National Statistics (2007), Great Britain has 507,000 non- British which constitute 87% of all UK population on the end of 2007. This means that diversity is more usual than it was before and it is giving organisations opportunities to be competitive and flexible on the global market. For example PO Ferrys staff come from different countries like: Scotland (34%), Poland (20%), Spain (3%), Slovakia (9%), Italy (5%), Ireland (10%), France (15%) and other (4%). Those differences are building high performance and quality customer services compared to other subsidisers (PO, 2009). If diversity management is prepared to take organisational culture into the company environment, their success will be higher. The key point is to understand social difference codes in the workplace. Ridgeway (2006) explain social difference codes as the widely shared cultural beliefs that delineate the socially significant distinctions among people on the basis of which a society is structured and inequality is organised (p.180). In other words people can be categorized based on individual attributes and dimensions of diversity which has been mentioned as a part of micro- level but also adopted into macro- level analysis where focus is on social stratification and stereotypes as a persons status or ethnicity (Syed and ÃÆ'-zbilgin, 2007). The diversity management effort must integrate both micro- and macro- diversity awareness to make organisations effective and a friendly place for employees with different backgrounds. Management should design a polycentric strategy for managing diverse environments. There are lots of literatures which criticise the ethnocentric ways of looking on diversity. There are still many organisations where staff have not been trained to work in a diversity environment and cannot recognise the potential of cultural diversity. It is hard for them to accept the fact that changes can be good and an ethnocentric strategy will cause many problems and will not bring any improvements into the organisation. There are evidences which criticises how the host market ignored and stayed closed for changes. For example, being a foreign employee can be a disadvantage because English is not their first language (Bertone, 2004) and some employers cannot understand that foreign qualifications are as good as home ones. As a result, an immigrants education is less important as a home citizens and the possibility to find a job in their profession becomes mission impossible. PO is not allowed to discriminate anyone who has got international qualifications, because that company focuses on knowledge and training their staff to make sure that performance and high quality of service is competitive compared to other similar companies. PO is quite happy to train those people who are open for development and improvement in qualifications as long as those qualifications are relevant to job. Diversity management should in their behaviours and decisions appropriate international standards not ethnocentric mentality and go forward to improve all the time. This paper also argues that national or organisational laws, labour policies and social- economy issues can affect diverse workers. Nowadays, there are many organisations which have designed their own diversity- oriented policies. Indeed, as a result of human rights and equal opportunity laws, those policies create anti-discrimination rules in the context of micro- and macro- levels. PO in their policies clearly explain that discrimination on those levels is not allowed (EOP, 2007). Management in their responsibility must ensure that they do not engage in any form of discrimination and that they are fair with their decisions. The management strategy should not only provide rivalry (Porter, 1990) but take opportunities to embrace the high- performance based on high trust, commitment and productivity and at the same time not forgetting about employment social relationships (Godard, 2004). The meso level The last but as important as micro- and macro- level is the meso- level of analysis which highlights relationships between organisational context and component behaviour in the aspect of organisation outcomes (McCarthy, 2002: 59). In other words, social capital (Bourdieu Wacquant, 1992) is a resource which is important for a diversity managers work through organizational levels and networks between companies and employees. Most organisations expect from foreign employees to assimilate to the domestic culture. It is the management responsibility to make that happen and help a diverse workforce to achieve that access (Thomas and Ely, 1996). Being a multicultural workplace is compromised when they give employees opportunities to make their own choices based on cultural backgrounds and by not playing organisational rules. Thomas and Ely (1996) calls that approach multiculturalism. The work environment is not involved in only multiculturalism but also in the context of diversity circumstances. Bourdieu said that diversity habits like: what the worker eats, their practices, political opinions and all other individual activities are principles in the workplaces for employees. Professional organisations create friendly environments for those values, beliefs which in some points are responsible for organisational improvement and success (Syed and ÃÆ'-zbilgin, 2009). Because PO have employees from different pa rt of the world, some of the diversity habits have been taken into concern in management decisions. Food and drinks which are served for different cultured staff included French, Polish and Spanish meals. The same is with customers. The Dover- Calais route offers French and English menus. So, everyone can find something nice in the menus that the company offers. Konrad (2003) notes that it is important for managers to have focus on power relations between various identity groups in organisations and in all dissimilar individuals behaviours to avoid misunderstanding. Stone, Stone-Romero Ã…Â ukaszewski (2007) recommended that HRM processes and practices must change to be more flexible on increasing cultural diversity and HRM as a modernist project (Legge 2005: 337) should support diversity management with improvement in their decision making within the working environment. Conclusion This paper explains a framework through which diversity management can be understood from different perspectives. That framework not only brings together micro-, macro- and meso- level analysis but also helps better understand how important each of those approaches is for multicultural organisations. Both multinational businesses and multinational management need to learn how to recognize the significant of multidimensional investment in human resource development which approaches the need to develop strategy, collaborative and cross- culture competence to improve business and employees performance (ÃÆ'-zbilgin, Tatli 2008: 65). Managers need to understand that a diverse workforce can improve organizational productivity and creativity. Managing a diverse workforce is a challenge. When people from different backgrounds come together in the workplace, there is a potential for great improvement, but also a possibility for conflict. This paper has highlighted the diversity efforts on different levels and PO Ferries is an example of a company where diversity management is still developing on all micro-, macro- and meso- levels. The paper has also argued that organisations still have to change in their structures, strategy and management knowledge about diversity. Improvement and understanding is needed to become better employers, managers or leaders of diversity teams. The implications of the paper is that managers need to do more then just manage people, they have to take into account the above framework and try to do the right things (Druckers, 2001) because managing people is a challenge but also a compromise. References: Drucker, P. (2001), The essential Drucker: selections from the management works of Peter F. Drucker. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann. Konrad, A. (2003), Defining the Domain of Workplace Diversity Scholarship, Group and Organization Management, 28, 1, 4-17. Bourdieu, P. (1998), Practical Reason: On the Theory of Action, p.8, Cambridge: Polity Press. Stone, D., Stone-Romero, E., Ã…Â ukaszewski, K. (2007), the impact of cultural values on the acceptance and effectiveness of human resource management policies and practices. Human Resource Management Review, 17, 152à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢165. Jones, D., Pringle, J., and Shepherd, D. (2000), Managing Diversity Meets Aotearoa / New Zealand, Personnel Review, 29, 364-380. Syed, J. (2008a), A Context specific Perspective of Equal Employment Opportunity in Islamic Societies, Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 25, 1, 135-151. Cox, T. (1993), Cultural Diversity in Organisations. San Francisco, CA: Barrett- Koehler Publishers Inc. Ottaviano, G.I.P. and Peri, G. (2006), The economic value of cultural diversity: Evidence from US cities, Journal of Economic Geography 6(1): 9-44. Thomas, R. Jr. (1991), Beyond Race and Gender: Unleashing the Power of Your Total Workforce by Managing Diversity. American Management Association, New York: AMACOM. Hill, Ch. (2009), International Business. Competing in the Global Market, 7th Edition, Irwin McGraw- Hill and London. Beaverstock, J. (1991). Skilled international migration: an analysis of the geography of international secondments within large accountancy firms. Environment and Planning, A23, 1133à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢1146. Syed, J., ÃÆ'-zbilgin, M. (2009), A relational framework for managing diversity. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, December 12, 2435-2453. Syed, J., ÃÆ'-zbilgin, M. (2007), A relational framework for managing diversity. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, August 3-8, Philadelphia, PA. Johns, G. (2001), In praise of context, Journal of Organizational Behaviour, 22:31-42. Thomas, D., and Ely, R. (1996), Making Differences Matter: A New Paradigm for Managing Diversity, Harvard Business Review, 74, 5, 79-90. National Statistic 2007, (online). Available at: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/CCI/nugget.asp?id=260 (Accessed 24th November 2009) Ridgeway, C. (2006), Social Relational Contexts and Self-organizing Inequality, in Relational Perspectives in Organizational Studies: A Research Companion, eds. O. Kyriakidou and M. ÃÆ'-zbilgin, Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar, pp. 180-196. EOP, (2007), Equal Opportunities Policy- PO Ferries Limited, Dover. Porter, M. E. (1990), The Competitive Advantage of Nations, Macmillan, London McCarthy, (2002), System trump program- Organizational Components and External Influence, Chapter 6, p.59 Bertone, S. (2004), From factory fodder to multicultural mediators: A typology of NESB immigrant work experiences in Australia. PhD Thesis. Sydney: University of Sydney. ÃÆ'-zbilgin, M.F., Tatli, A. (2008), Global Diversity Management: An Evidence-Based Approach. London: Palgrave Macmillan. Parker, C. (1999) Singh, V. (2002), Managing Diversity for Strategic Advantage. London: Council for Excellence in Management and Leadership. McMillan- Capehart, A. (2005), A configurational framework for diversity: socialization and culture. Personnel Review, 34(4): 488-503. Jewson, N. and Mason, D. (1986), The theory and practice of equal opportunities policies: liberal and radical approaches. Sociological Review, 34(2): 307-34. Legge, K. (2005), Human Resources Management: Rhetoric and Realities (anniversary edn). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan: 337. Godard, J. (2004), A critical assessment of the high-performance paradigm. British Journal of Industrial Relations, 42(2): 39-78. Schneider, R. (2001), Variety performance. People Management, 7(9): 26-31. Bratton, J. and Gold, J. (2007), Human Resources Management: Theory and Practice. Palgrave Macmillan, (4th edition). Kandola, R. and Fullerton, J. (1998), The Diversity Mosaic in Diversity in Action: Managing The Mosaic, (2nd Edition) London: Institute of Personnel and Development. Bourdieu, P., Wacquant, L. J. D. (1992), An invitation to reflexive sociology. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press. Equality Human Rights Commission, 2009, (online). Available at: http://www.equalityhumanrights.com (Accessed 26th November, 2009) HMN- PO PO (2009), PO Performance for 2009, Dover.

Corporate Social Responsibility in Banks

Corporate Social Responsibility in Banks S. Kavitha[1] Abstract Corporate social responsibility stands for business contribution to sustainable development and covers company’s active participation in different fields, human rights, human resources, relations with clients, suppliers, and other stake holders, corporate governance, environment and contribution to community and society. The social responsible attitude is integral part of the identity of financial institutions like banks, and it is one of their distinctive features. The Reserve Bank of India has asked the banks to pay special attention towards integration of social and environmental concerns in their business operations. Many of the newly formed private and foreign banks are aware of the importance of such a step and therefore are having an active CSR department in their banks. This paper is an attempt to explain the concept of corporate social responsibility and the different CSR practices followed by banks in India. Key Words: CSR – Corporate Social Responsibility, Friedman’s View, Carroll’s View, Discretionary Responsibility Corporate Social Responsibility in Banks S. Kavitha[2] Introduction Corporate social responsibility stands for business contribution to sustainable development and covers company’s active participation in different fields, human rights, human resources, relations with clients, suppliers, and other stake holders, corporate governance, environment and contribution to community and society. The concept of social responsibility proposes that a private corporation has responsibilities to society that extend beyond making profit. Social responsibility is the way of life for most business organizations. It enables all such activities ranging from providing safe products and service to giving a portion of company’s profit to welfare organization. The social responsible attitude is integral part of the identity of financial institutions like banks, and it is one of their distinctive features. The Reserve Bank of India has asked the banks to pay special attention towards integration of social and environmental concerns in their business operations. Many of the newly formed private and foreign banks are aware of the importance of such a step and therefore are having an active CSR department in their banks. Concept of Social Responsibility: Corporate social responsibility is the sense of obligation on the part of companies to build social criteria in to their strategic decision-making. The concept implies that when companies evaluate decision from an critical perspective there should be presumption in favor of adopting course of action that enhance the welfare of society at large. The goals selected might be quite specific. To enhance the welfare of communities in which company is based. – To improve the environment – To empower employees to give them a sense of self worth. Different views on social responsibility Friedman’s Traditional View of Business Responsibility Urging a return to a laissez-faire worldwide economy with a minimum of government regulations, Friedman argues against the concept of social re sponsibility. Adam Smith and Milton Friedman, economists, according to them the only responsibility of business is to perform its economic functions efficiently and provide goods and services for society and earn maximum profits. By doing so business performs its economic functions and leaves the social functions to other institutions of society, such as the government. A businessperson who acts responsibly by cutting the price of the firm’s product to prevent inflation or by making expenditures to reduce pollution, or by hiring the hard-core unemployed, according to Friedman, is spending the shareholder’s money for general interest. Even if businessperson has shareholder permission or encouragement to do so, he or she is still acting from motives other than economic, in the long run; it may harm the society the firm is trying to help. Friedman referred o the social responsibility of business as ‘fundamentally subversive doctrine’ and stated that â€Å"There is one and only one social responsibility of business, to use its resources engage in activities designed to increase its profits so long as it stays within the rules of the game, which is to say, engages in open and free competition without deception of fraud. But this view is severely criticized on several grounds. On the other extreme, there is opposite view, which favors the position that it is imperative for businesses to be socially responsible. This is based on the argument that business organizations are a part of society and have to serve primarily societal interests rather than narrow economic objectives such as profit maximization. In doing so they have to deal with social concerns and issues and have to allocate resources for solving social problems. Carroll’s four responsibilities of business. Archie Carroll proposes that the managers of business organizations have four responsibilities Economic Responsibilities Economic responsibilities of a business organization’s management are to produce goods and services of value to society so that the firm can repay for its creditors and shareholders. Legal Responsibilities Legal responsibilities are defined by governments in laws that management is expected to obey. For eg, U. S. business firms are required to hire and promote people based on their credentials rather then to discriminate based on non-job-related characteristics such as race, gender or religion. Ethical Responsibilities Ethical responsibilities of an organization’s management are to ollow the generally held beliefs about behavior in a society. E. g. , Society generally expects firms to work with the employees and the community is planning for layoffs, even though no law may require this. The affected people can get very upset if an organization’s management fails to act according to generally prevailing ethical values. Discretionary Responsibilities Discretionary responsibilities are the purely voluntary obligations a corporation assumes. Examples are philanthropic contributions, training the hard-core unemployed, and providing day care centers. The difference between ethical and discretionary responsibilities is that few people expect an organization to fulfill discretionary responsibilities, whereas many expect an organization to fulfill ethical ones. Carroll lists these four responsibilities in order of priority. Social responsibility includes both ethical and discretionary but not economic and legal responsibilities. A firm can fulfill its ethical responsibilities by taking actions that society tends to value but has not yet put into law. When ethical responsibilities are satisfied, a firm can focus on discretionary responsibilities. The discretionary responsibilities of today can become the ethical responsibilities of tomorrow. E. g. , Provision of day care facilities, is moving rapidly from being discretionary to ethical responsibility. Benefits received from being socially responsible 1. Being known as a socially responsible firm may provide a company a competitive advantage. Programs to reduce pollution can actually reduce waste and maximize resource productivity. 2. Their environment concerns may enable them to charge premium prices and gain brand loyalty. (Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Inc. ) 3. Their trustworthiness may help them generate enduring relationships with suppliers and distributors without needing to spend a lot of time and money policing contracts. (Maytag) 4. They can attract outstanding employees who prefer working for a responsible firm (Procter & Gamble) 5. They are more likely to be welcomed into foreign country (Levi Strauss) 6. They can utilize the goodwill of public officials for support in difficult times (e. . Minnesota supported Dayton-Hudson’s fight to avoid being acquired by Dart Industries of Maryland) 7. They are more likely to attract capital infusions from investors who view reputable companies as desirable long-term investments (Rubbermaid). CSR in India India has been named among the top ten Asian countries who are paying an increasing importance towards corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure nor ms, a survey says. According to social enterprise CSR Asia’s Asian Sustainability Ranking (ASR), India was ranked fourth in the list, which was topped by Australia. The other countries in the list include China (second), Hong Kong (Third), Japan (fifth), Malaysia (sixth), Pakistan (seventh), Philippines (eighth), Singapore (ninth) and Thailand (tenth). The 2009 ASR list was dominated by Australian companies, with eight out of the top ten companies analysed coming from there, followed by India, the survey said. However, the report further said although there are increasing levels of disclosure in the Asian region, it still is generally poor compared with Europe and North America. In India we find surprisingly high levels of disclosure, particularly from large companies with recognised brands such as Tata and Infosys. Leading oil companies (such as ONGC and the Indian Oil Corporation) also have reasonable levels of disclosure,† the report said. CSR initiatives in banks The benefits of CSR for companies include increased profit, customer loyalty, trust, positive brand attitude and combating negative publicity. CSR strategies have been embrace d by the international banking community. 0 Major international private banks have signed the Equator Principles agreement which supports socially responsible development. (Eg of such banks are Citigroup, JPMorgan, Bank of America, ABN Amro, Barclays, HSBC and ING). Research suggests that dissatisfaction is the major reason why customers switch banks this arises mainly because of rising fee. Normally to get more favorable price, customers try to switch banks. Most of the customers have accounts in more than one bank so they find it very easy to compare the services and accordingly they do their transactions. So, customer turnover has become an important issue for the banks. The customer loss may have an adverse effect on bank market share and profit. So if the banks concentrate more on CSR and spent more for this that will create a good image for the banks which in turn will bring many new customers to the banks and also the customer loss can be reduced. RBI guidelines on CSR The Reserve Bank of India is now rooting for environment conservation and fair social practices. The central bank has asked banks to put in place a suitable and appropriate plan of action towards helping the cause of ‘sustainable development’, with the approval of their boards. Spurred on by the worldwide momentum in sustainable development and the initiative being taken on various fronts by different organisations, including all major banks globally, Indian banks have been encouraged to actively look at corporate social responsibility, sustainable development and non-financial reporting. Among banks in India, ABN Amro Bank was the first to put out a ‘sustainability report’ recently. It includes key indicators on the bank and its subsidiaries’ environmental (like paper, water and electricity usage) and social governance performance. Other companies, which issue sustainability reports, include ITC, Tata Tea, Dr Reddy’s and Reliance. Sustainable development essentially refers to the process of maintenance of the quality of environmental and social systems in the pursuit of economic development. Non-financial reporting is basically a system of reporting by organisations on their activities, which includes environmental, social and economic accounting. Best CSR practices in Banks – Some Examples SBI – State Bank of India Apart from the normal banking operations, the Bank, as a responsible and responsive corporate citizen, seeks to reinvest part of its profit in various community welfare projects to improve the quality of life of the poor, neglected, weaker and downtrodden sections of society. In the financial year 2007-08, the Bank made donations aggregating Rs. . 11 crore to various Relief Funds and also to NGOs / Trusts / Societies for their projects with social orientation. In recognition of its contribution to Rural Community Development, the Bank was awarded the prestigious Reader’s Digest Pegasus Corporate Social Responsibilities Award 2007. Infact, it was the only Bank to have received this recognition. Under a new scheme named ‘Adoption of t he Girl Child’ over 8,300 poor girl children have been adopted by various branches throughout the country to meet their personal and educational expenses. This is not merely a financial assistance scheme but offers emotional and psychological support to the ‘adopted girls’ due to the active involvement and care of the SBI Ladies Clubs. From the Research and Development Fund, the Bank has so far extended Rs. 6. 61 crore as research grants to 71 chairs / research projects at various Universities and Academic institutions. For the current year SBI has extended 100000 Sterling Pounds to London School of Economics for establishing an India Observatory and I. G. Patel Chair at their Asia Research Centre in participation with RBI. ICICI Foundation An example for CSR practices by banks is the ICICI foundation. ICICI Bank runs a very active and well known foundation in India but there is no clearly visible link of the ICICI Foundation on the website. ICICI is also very active in its support of government programs to improve the livelihoods of people. ICICI Bank has joined hands with NGOs to reach out to children in ten states helping them have better access to education Standard Chartered Bank The HIV/AIDS pandemic is a global challenge faced by Standard Chartered as a business. In different developing countries HIV has a significant impact and they respond to this programme through Living with HIV programme, , a global policy aimed at protecting basic human rights, promoting the health of their employees and keeping the business costs associated with HIV/AIDS to a minimum. The programme is well established and focuses on the following areas: †¢Raising awareness with their employees through training Educating local people about the prevention and treatment of HIV †¢Strengthening their position as thought leaders in HIV/AIDS †¢Sharing their knowledge with other organisations Standard Chartered, which happens to be one of the country’s largest international banks, is involved in real partnerships with local community organisations, involving active participation of its employees in their community projects. It is the human face of banks. Or what is call ed corporate social responsibility, the new term devised for the social service that companies do with some of their profits. The global community programme of the bank is called ‘Believing in Life’. Part of this is the internal initiative ‘Living with HIV’. An extension of the programme in Africa, it seeks to create awareness about this deadly disease and thus help prevention by educating all its staff across the different countries from where the bank operates. Banks like HDFC, SBI, ICICI, HDFC, Standard Chartered Bank are now active in a host of areas including primary education, women empowerment, rehabilitation of poor, and aged environmental issues Future of CSR The Corporate Social Responsibility has increased in importance around the world. The world becomes a global village in the information technology era. Sharing and accessing of information become very easy. All big companies are expanding their business opportunities all over the world. Simultaneously the CSR activities also expanding speedily where company initiatives started. Now these days every company feels CSR is unavoidable and responsible thing. Moreover companies allocating separate budget and deploying professionals for CSR initiatives. It shows that it is emerging as a powerful thing in social development sector. The Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is high on every corporate agenda. Social commitment is an essential part of every company. Corporate social responsibility involves the aspiration to make a positive contribution to the progress of the company and society. If a company initiates CSR wing the company concerned need to work hard consequently on a formal, coherent and transparent policy in this field. Then only the CSR will become a potential area for development of the society. Conclusion The rapid information technology innovations are changing the face of Corporate Social Responsibility. The concept of CSR is still debatable in democratic countries. There is a major criticism in all over the world is corporate companies are utilizing this concept to build their business expansion. Through this concept corporate companies are liaison and lobbying with higher bureaucracy in the government to get permissions/licenses to their companies easily. Many companies are getting tax exemptions by carrying out these social development activities. The increased awareness of CSR has also come about as a result of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, in which a major goal is the increased contribution of assistance from large organizations, especially Multi-National Corporations, to help alleviate poverty and hunger, and for businesses to be more aware of their impact on society. There is a lot of potential for CSR to help with development in poor countries, especially community-based initiatives. CSR can be very much useful for the financial institutions like banks to get good reputation in the society. Banks should do the CSR activities to the fullest benefit to the society and not just for the sake of doing it. References Sen, S. , Bhattacharya, C. B. , Korshun, D. (2006), â€Å"The role of corporate social responsibility in strengthening multiple stakeholder relationships: a field experiment†, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Vol. 34 pp. 158-66. Bhattacharya, C. B. , Sankar Sen and Daniel Korschun (2008), â€Å"Using Corporate Social Responsibility to Win the War for Talent,† MIT Sloan Management Review, 49 (2), 37-44; â€Å"The Good Company†, The Economist (2005-01-20). Retrieved on 2008-25-07 Financial Express, Wednesday, Oct 28, 2009 at 1541 hrs IST http://www. karmayog. org/csr501to1000/csr501to1000_21878. htm http://www. csbanking. com. au/ http://economictmes. indiatimes. com/News http://www. deccanherald. com/deccanherald/july202004/spt9. asp; http://www. financialexpress. com/fe_full_story. php ———————– [1] S. Kavitha, MBA,MCA. ,MPhil. ,NET. , Asst. Prof, MBA, Vivekanandha Institute of Information & Management Studies, Tiruchengode, Namakkal Dt. , – 637 205, Research Scholar, Anna University, Coimbatore Phone:99421-60277, email: [email  protected] om [2] S. Kavitha, MBA,MCA. ,MPhil. ,NET. , Asst. Prof, MBA, Vivekanandha Institute of Information & Management Studies, Tiruchengode, Namakkal Dt. , – 637 205, Research Scholar, Anna University, Coimbatore Phone:99421-60277, email: [email  protected] com ———————– Economi c Legal Ethical Discretionary (Must do) (Have to do) (Should do) (Might do) Social responsibilities

Determinants and Consequences of Early Marriage in Java Essay

This study analyzes the determinants and patterns of early marriage and explores its consequences on marital dissolution, work status and occupation, migration, and contraceptive use in Java, Indonesia. Data from the 1991 Demographic and Health Survey are obtained on 5816 ever married women, 15-49 years old, living on Java. Early marriage occurs among women before age 20. Subjects are grouped as residing in Jakarta, Bandung, Semarang, Jogyakarta, and Surabaya; residing in townships and other urban areas; and residing in rural areas. Findings indicate that 70% of ever married women in Java married early. Almost 80% of women who were reared in villages married early. 81.2% who still live in rural areas married early. 20% had no formal education. 74% of Muslim women married early. 79% without work before marriage married early. Dissolution was more common among women living in rural areas. 31% of women in rural areas, 20% living in big cities, and 23% living in towns were no longer in their first marriages. Women who married early were 3 times more likely to experience dissolution than women who married later. The percentage of women whose first marriages ended was highest among women who were married the longest. The effect of marriage age on current working status and the pattern of working status between early and late marriage were not significant. 80% had ever used contraception. Women who married late were more mobile and were more likely to have a higher occupational status. Logistic findings indicate that women’s education, work status before marriage, husband’s education, and current residence were significant predictors of early marriage. Education was the strongest predictor. The probability of dissolution was highest among uneducated, early married, Muslim women living in big cities. The lowest probability was among later married women, living in small cities, and with a tertiary level of education.

Tuesdays With Morrie By Morrie - 1882 Words

Tuesdays with Morrie tells the real story of Morrie Schwartz. Morrie was a university professor who was dying of ALS (Lou Gehrig s disease). Instead of being afraid of death, he faced it head on and decided to make the most of his time left. After seeing a Nightline episode featuring his old professor, Morrie, the author, Mitch, decides to pay his old professor a visit. Mitch is intrigued by Morrie s attitude towards death and his life lessons, so he decides to visit Morrie again next Tuesday and record what Morrie has to say. This turns into a weekly meeting between Mitch and Morrie and eventually these meetings were turned into the book, Tuesdays with Morrie. Mitch - the author of the book and Morrie s old student. Mitch is distracted in his life and focusing on things that Morrie feels are unimportant (work, fame, and success). Though focused on the wrong things, Mitch has a good heart and Morrie helps him find himself again â€Å"The most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love, and to let it come in. 2. Forgive yourself before you die. Then forgive others. 3. Death ends a life, not a relationship. 4. Once you learn how to die, you learn how to live. 5. Sometimes you cannot believe what you see, you have to believe what you feel. And if you are ever going to have other people trust you, you must feel that you can trust them too-even when you are in the dark. Even when you re falling. 6. As you grow old, you learn more. If you stayed at twenty-two, youShow MoreRelatedTuesdays with Morrie: Mitch and Morrie887 Words   |  4 PagesTUESDAYS WITH MORRIE â€Å"A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops† -HENRY ADAMS- Tuesdays with Morrie was all about the life story of Mitchell â€Å"Mitch† Albom, and his favorite college professor, Morrie. After graduation, Mitch promised Morrie that he would keep in touch. But Mitch forgot his promise because he was busy with his career being a sports newscaster. Then one night, Mitch saw Morrie on a TV show being interviewed. And that’s where Mitch knew thatRead MoreTuesday with Morrie2551 Words   |  11 PagesAlbom, and Morrie who is the main subject. Their relationship starts when Mitch is in college while Morrie is his sociology professor. Morrie seems to be a man who wants to leave a legacy behind after he dies since he has been told by the doctor that his life is coming to an end. Mitch considers it a privilege meeting someone who teaches about life and offers solutions to life challenges. As Morrie happens to meet with Mitch, his past student and friend, they plan to start meeting on Tuesdays and MitchRead MoreReview Of Tuesdays With Morr ie By Morrie907 Words   |  4 PagesReview of Tuesdays with Morrie Initial Reaction The purpose of this paper is to review the video of Tuesdays with Morrie. The video focuses on a relationship between a graduated college student named Mitch, and his professor, Morrie. Morrie is diagnosed with ALS and is progressively getting worse. Mitch is a busy sports writer who makes little time for anyone in his life. Mitch has not seen Morrie for several years and learns of his fate on an evening news interview. Mitch finds the courage to visitRead MoreReflection Of Tuesdays With Morrie1232 Words   |  5 PagesReflection of Tuesdays with Morrie Death is often viewed differently among individual lifespan and development. How death is perceived, its morals to life and its key values, changes as the end of life approaches. 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The path each person takes towards death is a very different path with very a different meaning. For the elderly, and sometimes the young, death may be looming close by. How does one prepare for death? The elderly will surely have had more time to prepare for death, but even the elderly may not know how to plan for this journey. Some people refer to this plan or journey as the spiritual journey. The book, Tuesdays with Morrie, follows MorrieRead MoreTuesdays With Morrie Analysis771 Words   |  4 Pageshad kept hidden†(Albom 64). This quote is from Tuesdays with Morrie, It is talking about how the main character Mitch Albom puts himself in Morries Schwartz’s shoes. Morrie had a disease called Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, a nervous system disease that weakens muscles and impact physical functions. Morrie is Mitch’s old college professor. They meet on tuesdays at Morries house to talk about his life lessons that he has learned over hi s lifespan. Morrie teaches people to live through loving what heRead MoreTuesdays with Morrie Essay1149 Words   |  5 PagesTuesdays with Morrie. The symbolic interactionism is an excellent sociological perspective that allows us to focus on micro activities and to analyze our society which is the product of everyday’s life. Tuesdays with Morrie is more than a simple book, more than a romance one; it is a great book that teaches us many of life’s greatest lessons. An analysis of this book using the SI perspective and concepts such as meaning making, status, impression management, looking-glass self, role taking, roleRead MoreTuesdays with Morrie Essay812 Words   |  4 PagesThe focus throughout Tuesdays with Morrie was on life. Many might see it as the story of death, but it is actually the story life. Morrie might talk a little on how he meets death, but what he is talking about is living at the end of his life. Mitch writes, â€Å"Now here we were . . . . . . Dying man talks to living man, tells him what he should know.†(Albom, 133) When a timer is placed on Morrie’s remaining days, he obtains a dying man’s perspective on what is truly important in life, and how to incorporateRead MoreSummary Of Tuesdays With Morrie1487 Words   |  6 PagesTuesdays with Morrie was awakening, yet, heartbreaking and I couldn’t put the book down. It was a story of friendship that turned to love, a story of family, a story of trust, and a story of death. As I read each page, I felt closer to Morrie Schwartz as if I knew him personally. Morrie, the main character in the book, was a kind, sensitive soul. He believed in humanity, and enjoyed sharing his wisdom with others. As a sociology professor at Brandeis University he taught and mentored many student