It's sad to say, but it's true. Nothing lasts forever. As the term is nearing it's inevitable end, it's time for me to bid farewell to this course that has helped me a lot not only in business but in myself, as well.
Corporate Social Responsibility and Corporate Governance thought me so much. Despite the fact that some lessons were similar to those that I have learned in other courses, I could say that it is still quite unique compared to those others in a way that those courses taught me to help others as a Lasallian achiever while CSRGOVE taught me to help as a Lasallian business leader. I gave emphasis on business because I'm a business student and I am being trained on being a business leader in the future as well.
There are a lot of things I have learned in this course but the ones that I loved the most would have to be the business model canvas, and the 3Es and 3Ps. These two are actually related. These two would always remind me that doing business isn't only about the money but also about giving back to society and to the world. With these, I could tell if our key activities would be efficient, effective and equitable for every stakeholder.
CSRGOVE has been a great experience for me and the things that I have learned in this class shall always be cherished.This may be the end of this class but I know that this isn't the end of my learning. I know that I will encounter these things again in the future and it'll be like saying hi to an old friend.
For our final paper for the term in CSRGOVE, we were tasked to analyze an article and formulate a solution to the problem given, while at the same time, integrating what we have learned throughout the past sessions, namely the business model canvas and the 3Ps and 3Es.
The article, entitled Easy on the
Wallet or Easy on the Earth: A Business
Case on Sustainability, focuses on Carly LeBlanc, a student intern who was hired by Fashionforward!, an online auction site,to look for individuals who may be interested to be a member of the said bargain site by paying the $30 registration fee. Now, LeBlanc was able to register 300 new members after promoting the company in her campus. She was able to attract more people by telling them that they would receive free shirts after registering. The dilemma here is that Carly now needs to choose on which company to buy the shirts she would be giving. The first one would be a low-cost company in China that would sell the shirts to Carly for $1,100 ($5.50 per shirt) with the delivery free of charge. However, the disadvantages of this sale would be that the workers of this company are suffering from low wages, harsh working conditions,and poor safety regulations. On the other hand, the fair-trade company located in San Francisco produces shirts that are organic, eco-friendly, and are of high quality. The workers here are well-paid and are working in conditions that are suitable for them. The shirts produced however, would cost $28.65 per piece and $8,595 in total. So, which company should our heroine pick?
Our group's stand in this is that Carly should choose the fair-trade company to supply the shirts since we believe that it is the most ethical thing to do. By choosing this supplier, the business model canvas would be aligned with the principles we have formulated, which means that it would yield an eco-friendly, socially responsible and sustainable output.
Another benefit from this decision would be that it satisfies the triple bottom line. Choosing the Fair Trade suppliers is beneficial
to the first P, which is Planet, since the utilization of eco-friendly
materials, along with eco-friendly based operations will lessen wastes and
eventually help restore the environment. It also benefits the second P, People
since the employees who are producing these Fair Trade shirts are treated well,
they are provided with safe working environments, and are compensated
sufficiently; this ensures that their physical as well as mental well-being is
kept optimal. The employees are not the only ones benefitting from this, the
customers are as well, since they will be provided with high quality, well-made
shirts that are eco-friendly. Lastly, this decision also satisfies the third P,
Profit since our brand’s eco-friendly or ‘green’ reputation will contribute to
Fashionforward!’s brand equity. Once consumers are aware of that reputation, we
believe that this will help in making our operations profitable in the
short-term, as well as the long-term.
A lot of people go into business for the sole purpose of earning profit. However, is this supposed to be the main purpose of businesses? Numerous businessmen think of it this way but I believe that there is something more to business instead of profit.
Actually, we discussed this topic in one of our class sessions. We compared business to one's life. In analogy with the person, profit is like food, water, and air which supplies our body with nutrients but, a person's goal in life isn't to eat, drink, or breathe. There's something more to a person's life and that's the same when it comes to business.
The income obtained isn't the main objective of companies. It shouldn't be. There are different goals for every company but I believe that the main objective should be to help give back to the community and to the environment which would in turn, help make the world a better place to live in.
The triple bottom line is a framework in business which considers the social and environmental stakeholders in making decisions while taking into account the financial aspect as well.
As a business student, I have encountered the three terms which make up the triple bottom line a lot - People, Planet, and Profit or in short, the 3Ps. These were mentioned numerous times in my classes and I could really see their significance in the business world.
In one of our sessions in CSRGOVE, our professor further discussed on this topic and he even told us about his thesis which is related to this. His team proposed a new framework that go hand-in-hand with the triple bottom line. They called it the 3Es which consists of efficiency, effectiveness, and equity.
Efficiency could be accomplished when activities done by businesses reduce/eliminate harm in the environment, follow ethical and social responsibility, and are cost-efficient.
Effectiveness gives emphasis more on the restoration on the environment, solution to the root problems of society, and the development of activities into investments for the 3Ps.
Equity, on the other hand, focuses on how operations today could still yield enough resources and benefits to the future stakeholders, and ensure that the costs to be incurred will not be a hindrance to the business's growth.
Courtesy of Google Images
I believe that this framework would be a great aid when it comes to analyzing problems and making decisions in the business industry when it comes to sustainability because of its relevance to the triple bottom line.
Enron was a well-known company in the 1900s. In fact, it was even
named as “America’s Most Innovative Company” numerous times back then.
However, due to a certain scandal, the company just fell apart, bringing
majority of its stakeholders down with them.
Courtesy of Google Images
Enron’s downfall was mostly due to the greed and corruption of its
higher ups. All they thought of was to increase their money without
thinking of what may happen to the future of the company. They altered
their financial statements making others believe that they were actually
still performing well, but in fact, their debts were already exceeding
their assets which wasn’t really good. Their devious plan actually
worked but it didn’t last long. So when the time came when they got
busted, numerous stakeholders got affected including their employees and
other large companies.
Their desire to attain more money through defrauding left a negative
impact to their stakeholders and the company itself and sadly, this
craving still exists in most businesses today. To solve this problem, we
as future business leaders, should not focus too much on profit. We
should learn how to manage our businesses well and remember that there
are other stakeholders involved whenever we make certain decisions. So
whenever we plan on making business decisions, we also have to think
about the other parties involved.
I used to think that CSR was only practiced by a few businesses but it turns out, there are actually numerous companies who practice this, both inside and outside the country. One company I would like to advertise would be the well-known Japanese clothing enterprise, Uniqlo.
Uniqlo offers a lot of CSR Programs as of the moment. One of these would be the "All-Product Recycling Initiative" wherein the company would accept shirt donations previously purchased by their old customers for the purpose of sorting and delivering to the people in need throughout the world.
Photo courtesy of Uniqlo.com
Another program they focused on was the formation of social businesses to help alleviate poverty, with support from the Grameen Bank of Bangladesh. This initiative seems really promising for I believe that those in need may be given jobs and may provide for themselves as time passes by.
Finally, their major project would have to be Clothes For Smiles, a CSR initiative which aims to bring smiles to children's faces and giving them tools for a brighter future. Together with professional tennis player Novak Djokovic and UNICEF, the company provided a $10 million fund so that the children who would be the recipients of the benefits could follow their dreams in the future.
To learn more about their CSR initiatives, you could visit the official Uniqlo website:
http://www.uniqlo.com/ph/corp/csr.html
There are times when we would buy a certain gadget - a phone perhaps, then we'd find out that a year later (or even less!), a new model with slightly modified specifications has been released. As a result, we could get that feeling of eagerness to buy the latest one in spite of already owning the previous model. This is how companies would want us to feel! When they discover that they could improve the gadget's specs, they would segregate these improvements into different models at different times which would lead consumers to buy more and more and at the same time throw more as well. This is not good for the community and the environment. These products are as what the people behind The Story of Stuff Project would refer to as built for the dump.
The video regarding this was shared during our Corporate Social Responsibility and Corporate Governance class and I would like to share my insights on this topic and how this affects me as a stakeholder.
Hundreds of companies around the globe are doing this for the sake of earning more profit. But then again, they don't see that what they're doing affects not only the wallets of the consumers but a lot of other stakeholders as well, such as the employees who are in close contact with the materials used for these electronics, the workers in different countries who extract valuable components from disposed gadgets, and the environment. How, you may ask? Well, most electronics are filled with chemicals and toxins which could be harmful for the people and environment. These may bring diseases(especially to the workers) and if it worsens, it may even cause death.
There is a proposition however. Instead of keeping our e-waste or delivering them to places where they are being 'recycled', we return them to the companies where it would be their problem instead of ours. This is called product take back. The higher ups would be thinking of ways to lessen these e-waste which could result to the benefit of the majority. In fact, it is possible for them to make their products built to last.
Courtesy of Google Images
Right now, companies such as Acer, Canon, and HP are starting this product take back system which is quite nice to hear. These efforts by these large companies would help us in our goal to lessen waste and damage to our environment, to ourselves, and even to our wallets. This idea isn't farfetched. In fact, this idea wouldn't just remain an idea if we take some action.
Through this video, I was able to learn that even as a student, I know that I could still do my part in this endeavor. Just as I mentioned a while ago, responsible disposal would be a great help. Another thing to do is to choose eco-friendly appliances as much as possible. I'm guessing that you're thinking that's it's just a small thing, that it wouldn't change a thing, or that it's a losing cause. Well, if that's how your mind works, then I have to disagree. In my opinion, every step counts and every steps brings us closer to achieving our purpose. Also, it isn't a losing cause, for you only lose when you give up - and I ain't giving up.
In one of our meetings, our professor in our CSRGOVE class,
instructed us to make a business model presentation for a fictitious company which
is said to be a rival of Nestle, while at the same time considering a problem
which involves CSR. The problem is that the company’s waste management is no
longer reaching federal standards. They would have to purchase a new plant to
keep up with these standards. However, this would mean additional expenses.
So, my group and I brainstormed and we agreed on the
business model shown below.
We decided to use ice cream as our value proposition for we
wanted to keep it simple and also because Nestle is well known to produce ice
cream so it’ll be quite logical to use ice cream as well.
Regarding our cost structure, we decided to purchase the new
plant and even if it may be considered a cost at first, we also found it as a
long term investment for this will help not only the company but the
environment and the rest of the stakeholders as well.
Our customer relations would include advertisements which would feature our part in helping the community and the environment. This is so that our market would be encouraged to buy our products knowing that at the same time, they're also able to help others.
The modes of distribution of our goods to the customers would include eco-trikes (which are basically just tricycles powered by pedalling) , convenience store, sari-sari stores, and grocery markets).
Our target market would be the B, C, and D classes, ages 5 - 18. We also stated that it is open to other age segments because there may be some people older than 18 who would want to buy our products for it makes them feel nostalgic and they may want to relive the moments they had when they were young.
Courtesy of Google Images
At the end of our presentation, Sir Patrick Aure told us that we had great ideas and we presented it well. However, there was a flaw in the model. He said that having sari-sari stores as a channel may not be that good for it would cause expenses for the community's electricity(freezers) to rise.
This activity made me realize that business operations go through a lot of processes and every action may affect the company's stockholders. So, I learned that in making decisions, one must thoroughly consider the welfare of everyone involved and try his/her best to minimize damage.
Last February 7,
we had our first visit to the community we were assigned to namely the St. Luke’s
Reach Out Foundation. While we were there, I saw a few disabled individuals
being cared for by the community members. I found it really reassuring to know
that there are angels in disguise who would care for these individuals and even
treat them as if they were part of their own family.
Courtesy of Google Images
Fr. Luke Moortgat,
the President of the foundation was the one who conducted the speech to us
students. The talk began as soon as everyone had settled down. The speech was
rather long yet at the same time, informative and fun to hear. The main point
was that we, future business leaders could do something to help the community even
at our early age. It could be small, but every effort helps. We have the
ability to improve the lifestyle of the homeless and the impaired if we put our
hearts into it. In fact, Fr. Luke shared to us some stuff which were amusing
and at the same time, quite surprising. We had this little multiple choice game
on the invention/establishment of some things and the profession of the
founders of these objects. One of these is the establishment of the Red Cross.
It wasn’t a doctor or a medical physician who found this organization. It was a
banker! The foundation was made by this banker for he cared for the soldiers
during a certain war. He didn’t have to be a doctor to help these people. The
other examples given also led to the point that if we care for someone or
something so much, we could find a way to help them.
After the talk,
we bid Father farewell and we had a discussion on what we could do to help the
community. There were three suggestions: 1. Make a tarpaulin, showing the
unfortunate and ways on how we could help them, 2. Construct a website for the
community, and 3. Produce a prayer book book to be used by the community. The
group was divided into three and was assigned of these tasks, however we made a
few changes to the second suggestion for none of us knew how to make a website
in a limited amount of time. So, instead of a website, we decided to make a
blog instead. After discussing the division of tasks, we went on our way home
filled with new knowledge and enthusiasm as we await our next visit.
"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step..."
Well hello there.
... and this is mine. This marks the start of a blog - a blog where I share my ideas and opinions when it comes to business, csr, economics, and probably my random thoughts as well.
Originally meant to be just a requirement for my CSRGOVE class, I also thought that this could also be a good medium where I could share my thoughts and all that.
I'm a beginner when it comes to these kinds of stuff so I may not know if what I post may please you and all, but I hope it is still worth your attention.
So, that's basically it for the introduction. Enjoy reading!
