Civil Right Act Of 1968 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Civil Right Act Of 1968 - Essay Example Before the civil rights era, the situations regarding the racial discrimination were very worse. White race was considered supreme and white Americans have the power to consider the black (Afro-Americans) as the underprivileged race. There was no equal education of the Black Americans, no equal employment, no equal housing. Black people were unable to buy a home even if they have the money to buy it. For this reason, black Americans demanded equal rights as that of the White Americans. Fair housing act was one of the demands that were debated and signed in 1968.Senator Edward Brooke of Massachusetts was the first African-American ever elected to Senate. He was unable to buy a home due to his race. After that issue, the fair housing act was debated in the Senate strongly. Senate Leader, â€Å"Everett Dirksen†, strongly supported the bill in the senate. It was thought at the earlier stage that the House of Representative would not gain a higher ratio of votes. However, the House of Representatives passed the bill due to urban unrest and militancy of African Americans movements.On 4th April 1968, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated and African Americans movements played part in riots, burning and looting in most cities. President Lyndon B. Johnson emphasized to pass the new civil rights bill to cool down the African Americans movements. On April 10, the fair housing act was passed and signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson to become a law the very next day.

Excel Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Excel - Essay Example But if the average is considered, then S & P 500 is a better company to invest in. Mean and median are two types of averages and are the most common. Mean is the average which is realized when you add up all the numbers and then divide by the count of the numbers, in this case after calculating the mean value for each of the firms, we realized the following data outputs, Abbots Laboratories 34.51503, Unilever realized a mean of 37.05433 while S & P500 realized a mean of 1654.891. The median is the middle value in the list of various numbers, to obtain median the numbers are listed in numerical order, after calculations we realized the following data, Abbotts Laboratory a median of 34.75, Unilever realized a median of 38.11 and S&P 500 realized 1649.6. The range on the other hand is the difference between the largest and the smallest values in a group of data, the range of the firms were as follows, Abbotts Laboratory realized a range of 21.14, the Unilever realized a range of 16.57 and finally S&P 500 realized a range of 810.96. Median =where L is the lower limit of the interval containing the median, N the total number of scores, FW is the frequency or the number of scores within the interval containing the median, and I is the range of the interval. In finance and accounting, variance is a term used to measure the degree of risk in an investment. It is obtained by calculating the average of the squared deviations from the mean rate of return. The standard deviation is the representation of the risk associated with a given security (stocks, bonds) or the risk of a portfolio of securities and it is obtained by taking the square root of the variance. Table below shows the report on the mean, median, range, variance and Standard deviation based on the weekly returns of each of the three assets. Statistically these value returns helps investors understand he financial market

Truth in Literature Essay Example for Free

Truth in Literature Essay The truth provides different functions to different people. Truth to some people is simply boring so they choose to alter it as much as possible. This is also known as lying. Others try to run away from it, they simply cannot deal with reality. Some even go to the extreme by living their while life as a lie, while trying to deceive others. The truth in literature, as I perceive it, is something that only the reader can decide as being fact or fiction. There is neither right nor wrong to the information you obtain. The option is in your hands, and you are the one who should decide eventually if what you read or hear is fact, fiction, valuable, important, or useful for your future. Marta Martin may have omitted certain emotions or occurrences in order to appear stronger and more heroic to a reader. Richard Rodriguez lied to himself throughout his life in order to make himself believe he was better than his past. Finally, W. D. Snodgrass lied to everyone around him and even to himself, while chasing female students, in order to maintain an appearance of an upstanding professor. The story of Marta Martin can be very strange to some, but others can see her as a hero. Marta Martin was a pregnant woman who found herself caught in a terrible storm in the middle of Alaska. She was forced to survive on her own and there was no one else to help her. Marta kept a diary where she described how she managed to survive. In her diary she described a day when she killed a sea otter with an ax, peeled his skin, and ate his liver and heart. When you read her story you try to imagine a woman doing all that, but it gets harder when you realize that most pregnant women find even the smallest chores difficult. I tried to imagine a woman, but all I could invision was a man. What is even more interesting is that there was no emotion mentioned in the diary. There were no complaints, or pain, and she never mentioned the fact that she might be scared staying at the house all alone with her baby due very soon. She wrote about events that required emotional strength and physical characteristics not common to a young pregnant woman. Marta never once mentioned fear or apprehension that I feel even a man might feel in those circumstances. Many who read her story would be astonished to think that she accomplished all that alone. Many others will consider her a liar. In the beginning of her story she mentioned the reason as to why she choose to tell her story I can hardly write, but I must. For two reasons: first I am afraid I may never live to tell my story, and second, I must do something to keep my sanity. (martin,301) I believe she wrote the story not because she wanted to keep her sanity. Clearly she had plenty of work to do before the baby came, but she chose to write her story so that no one will forget her, so that everyone who will read this story sees her as a hero. A woman who did what would be impossible for most women out there. I dont know Marta Martin, though somewhere in my heart I believe that the truth is quite different. The truth is, that as a woman, she must have been scared and lonely. Im sure that she had many nights she found herself crying and praying for help. The truth, as I see it , is that there is no woman in this world who can kill an animal , get trapped in snow storm, live all by herself pregnant, and not mention a word of fear . However, it is not up to me to tell the truth. I’m simply the person who read it, and chooses to accept it, or interpret it differently. Marta Martin wanted to remain a hero. She wanted everyone to remember her as a hero. And with all that she did, that woman is a hero with or without mentioning a word or two of fear. The truth might be far different than what she chose to portray in her diary, but the fact is that she did survive, she did kill the sea otter and peel his skin, and she did have her baby. Thats the truth. What happened in between is her choice to tell us, and it is our responsibility to accept it or not. Richard Rodriguez altered the truth in a different way than Marta Martin and for a different purpose. Rodriguez was boy who wanted to be different from his middle class immigrant family. As a child Richard read as many books as he could, he used to always be the one to answer teacher’s questions and soon became smarter then his siblings and even his parents. His family couldnt really understand why he was so fascinated in reading books all the time and his brothers and sisters used to make fun of him. Even the other pupils in the class did not like him since he was the smart one. Later on, when it came time to choose a college, he chose the one far from home, far from his family. By then, he was embarrassed by his family’s lack of education and attempted to isolate himself as much as possible. In college he did very well and when he used to come back home he had nothing to share with his family. He thought that they would not understand anyhow, so why even bother. In the end the author wrote the truth about the typical school boy, in the end Rodriguez came to face the painful truth. He realized that in attempting to run from the past, run from his family, he lost something so profound and important that no matter how hard he would attempt to restore it, he would not succeed. He became more nostalgic for what was never really there, and for the thoughts of what might have been. Rodriguez was attempting to escape his family, but in doing so he faced the truth that in his heart he actually desired to be closer to his family. His goal was to become educated and felt that educated people were more admired. What he learned was all memorized; he did not learn intuition, creativity, interpretation, or how to solve complex problems. â€Å"Faithfully I wrote down all that they said. I memorized it:† I heard it all. But there was no way for any of it to mean very much to me. † (Rodriguez,670) W. D. Snodgrass lied to everyone around him and even to himself and reflects on this in a poem called â€Å"April inventory†, where an old man give the reader a glance of his life as a teacher. Through that window we discover information that some will consider as inappropriate, or even disturbing. His reality is far from been normal to me, yet he consider it as been of his everyday life. Through his poem, he demonstrates how he becomes older. He loose his hair at some point and also his teeth. At the same time he describe the way he sees the girls he is teaching . to him they are always young and slender and pinker every year. He also, creates a big scandal in our society, which he hides from the authorities. I have not learned there is a lie Love shall be blonder, slimmer, younger: That my equivocating eye Loves only by my bodies hunger That I have forced true to feel Or that the lovely world is real Eventually when I read the poem more carefully I discover that the truth is far more disturbing that just the way he sees himself comparison to the girls he is teaching. I realized that by saying† †¦love should be blonder slimmer younger â€Å" he implies that his goal is to sleep with the girls in his class. His only goal was sexual and not educational in purpose, and teaching was the last thing on his ‘to do list’. Therefore, he was lying and deceiving everyone into believing he was a teacher who was concerned about the education his students receive. While the awful truth is that he cared more about his looks and that fact that he is getting old and not the education. The truth is that he cared more to the fact that he can not sleep with them anymore for he is too old now. The truth as I see it in this poem is that he knows the truth but he choose to live a fantasy. â€Å"I have not learned how often I can win, can love, but choose to die. † (Snodgrass, 7) . He as an adult, authority figure knows very well the consequence to his actions. He is well aware of what he has done; he can part from right and wrong, yet he chooses a life of a lie. I feel he was also lying to himself to ignore that he was growing old; he was trying to convince himself he was still young and attractive by sleeping with younger girls. From these stories, and many others, truth can mean different things to different people. Truth can be very hard to deal with and is part of personal growth, as we see in Rodriguez’s story. Truth may be simply boring or make a person appear less heroic as in Marta Martin’s story. In other cases the truth is extremely exaggerated to the point when the author is living his whole life as a lie, as seen in the poem â€Å"April Inventory†. Truth, to me, is essentially the most important virtue in our life. But I won’t judge those who choose to change it for literature. I won’t point a finger and call them liars, for I might embellish the truth sometimes too.

Corporate Social Responsibility In Mauritius Accounting Essay

Corporate Social Responsibility In Mauritius Accounting Essay ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to scrutinize the current practice of CSR that firms in the financial sector and the tourism sector, more precisely banks and hotels, have to engage themselves in CSR activities and to investigate the relationship between CSR and financial performance. In Mauritius Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has gained much popularity and has become a subject of concern, after that the government has introduced an innovative legislation about CSR. Previous research on the topic is reviewed, the engagement of Firm in CSR. This study by means of questionnaires, also tries to investigate their motivations behind investing in CSR. Data collected was then analyzed using SPSS. The results highlighted that there are no differences between banks and hotels in the motives to engage in CSR activities. The results also highlighted that there is a relationship between CSR and Financial performance. Also the implications of other findings are discussed and the study conclud es with its limitations and directions for future research. CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION OVERVIEW OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (CSR) Mauritius since Post- colonial independence, the country over the last four decades have seen the mono-crop sugar island, our first pillar of the economy has significantly moved from the Sugar industry to Financial services industry on large scale offshore financial institutions from multinational companies to local industries, such as the Giant of Rogers Group, Air Mauritius, Island Blyth, Floreal Textile, Mauritius Commercial Bank (MCB), Barclays Bank, HSBC and others. The field of Corporate Social Responsibility has developed exponentially in the last decades. In the past two decades, CSR appears to have become more omnipresent and perceived as being actually pertinent to companies all over the world (Aras and Crowther, 2008). It is at the forefront of strategic outlook of contemporary organisations of all kinds. A larger number of companies than at any time before are engaged in a serious efforts to define and incorporate CSR into all facets of their businesses. In recent years a great deal of time and attention has been devoted to the concept of corporate social responsibility. This basis has considered it necessary to take notice not only of the economic and financial transactions in a company, but also the social and environmental consequences a business places on its shareholders and society as well as the ecological footprint in all aspects of their operations, which extends beyond their statutory obligation to comply with legislation. CSR has variously been described as a motherhood issue (Ryan 2002, p. 302) the hot business issue of the noughties (Blyth 2005, p. 30) and the talk of the town in corporate circles these days (Mees Bonham 2004). In fact, the last few decades have seen a rise in awareness on behalf of corporate bodies, on the issue that they have a moral duty to give something back to the society. This rise in awareness is plausibly the effect of the recent corporate scandals involving well reputed companies, such as Enron, Parmalat and WorldCom as well as the growing impact of climate change on the environment. One of the fundamental questions still to be answered concerns the effect of corporate socially responsible behavior on profitability. The answers one finds in the specialized literature are numerous and often contradictory. Views emerging from Corporate Social Responsibility can contribute to the financial performance of a company. This approach, has been described as enlightened shareholder approach, believes that corporate decision makers must consider a range of social and environmental matters if they are to maximize long term financial returns. Even if they sometimes can be, CSR initiatives are certainly not always compatible with other organizational strategic goals (namely growth and money-making).(McWilliams, Siegel, Wright, 2006). Even though the link between CSR and corporate performance remains tenuous (Lindgreen, Swaen, Johnston, 2009), companies are following to CSR principles and practices and incorporating CSR principles and aims into their overall corporate strategy in exponential numbers (Godfrey Hatch, 2007; Lee, 2008; C. Smith, 2003). Similarly, as those major scandals have undeniably raised the view of greediness among senior managers, CSR is also seen as a tool for counteracting allegation of corporate greed (Deloitte report, 2008). Each company integrates Corporate Social Responsibility differently. The differences depend on factors such as companys size, the specific industry involved, the firms culture, stakeholder demands, and how progressive the company is in engaging CSR. Some companies concentrate on areas which they consider more important for them, for example human rights or environment while others incorporate CSR in all aspects fields of their operations. CSR IN MAURITIUS CSR initiatives go quite a long way in corporate Mauritius up to 20 years back. According to a report by Deloitte et al. (2008), it was found that the contribution in CSR has ongoing at varying period for the companies surveyed. Many enterprises are involved in CSR initiatives for the welfare of their employees and the society. Due to Government limited means to handle todays social problem, an appeal was made to the private sector in July 2009 to spend 2% of their profits to CSR activities. Government suggested that all gains from various companies regardless of their size should invest part of their profit into non profitable organization such as charity, scientific research and wild life to restore and preserve nature in order to maintain a good balance in the ecological system which means to give back to nature. Moreover, the government has set up a national CSR committee comprising of representative members from the public sector, private sector and the civil society. Additional ly, the companies need the approval of the CSR committee before the application or investment in any CSR activity. In the occurrence that a company has not spent the total amount of the compulsory two per cent of its profit, it should remit the remaining amount to the MRA. PROBLEM STATEMENT CSR is nowadays gaining more and more importance especially after the major corporate scandals and due to changes in norms held by the general public. Such changes have given rise of the interest in the field of CSR. However, most studies have concentrated mostly on the consequences or end results of engaging in CSR activities. Furthermore many researchers have worked to find any empirical relationship between CSR and financial performance. Various Studies have identified different kinds of relationship (positive, negative, no relationship), but currently there is no clear empirical relationship. CSR is problematic as it is often perceived that there is a contrast between CSR activity and  ¬Ã‚ nancial performance with one being harmful to the other and companies having an authoritative to follow shareholder value. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY The main goal of the study is to scrutinize the current practice of CSR and what are the motivations that lead firms to engage in CSR activities. The study also aims at evaluating the relationship between turnover and level of CSR activities undertaken. This is an issue which has been the subject of an ongoing debate and has become a topic of concern, in the Mauritian context, especially after that the local government revised legislation making investment in CSR activities compulsory. Objectives of the study: Objective 1: To investigate the current practice of CSR conducted by banks and hotels. Objective 2: To investigate what factors motivate firms to increase their involvement in CSR Objective 3: To investigate how these firms benefited from conducting CSR Objective 4: To investigate the differences between firms in different sector of operation in the reasons to engage in CSR activities. Objective 5: To investigate whether there is a relationship between level of CSR activities undertaken and Financial performance. OUTLINE OF THE STUDY Chapter One: Introduction This chapter consists of general overview of CSR. It provides a brief overview of the growing importance of CSR in a general as well as in the context of Mauritius. It consists the problem statement along with the aims and objectives. Chapter Two: Literature Review This chapter consists of reviewing the existing literature by examining diverse articles pertaining to the subject matter. The literature review helps to have a better understanding of what different researchers found on CSR. Chapter Three: Research Methodology This particular chapter describes who are the target population for this survey, what is the sample size, what are the procedures and techniques used for data collection, the methods used to analyze the data to get results and limitation of the study. Chapter Four: Results and Discussions This chapter shows how the collected data is analyzed by carrying out various tests. Chapter Five: Conclusions and Recommendation In this chapter, conclusions are derived from the study and some recommendations are mentioned forward. CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBLE A DEFINITION Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a fast-growing facets of organizations. The European Commission defines CSR as a concept whereby companies decide voluntarily to contribute to a better society and a cleaner environment. (Simms 2002). Adams and Zutshi (2004) define it as the integration of business operations and values whereby the interest of all stakeholders including customers, employees, investors and the environment are reflected in an organisations actions and policies. In present concept of CSR states that the business enterprises is in their usual process of business decision making should pay due attention to the social interests of the people in the community. A company is not only an economic entity but a social and political entity also. Most of the decisions taken by businesses not only affect the stockholders but also the stakeholders namely, creditors, debtors, employees and the society at large in one way or the other. ( Kapoor and Sandhu, 2010). CSR is nowadays gaining more and more importance especially after the major events such as the collapse of Enron and the James Hardieasbestos scandal in Australia and due to changes in norms held by the general public. The argument about the place of CSR in the global economy continues with Solomons opinion that multinational corporations should take responsibility for the improvement of world-wide social and environmental conditions. (Scherer and Smid in Windsor 2001, p. 245). CSR is also looked upon as an umbrella term, including many other business concepts and social practices. Synonymous with some and overlapping a few others, CSR indicates the concept of common relations between businesses and society the world over. Businesses, however small or large, are governed by their place in society and have to take into account the responsibility they bear to the society, people and environment within which they operate. Economist Theodore Levitt criticizes in the Harvard Business Review that is no longer fashionable for the corporation to take gleeful pride in making money. What fashionable for the corporation to show that it exists to serve the public (Time, 2008). It is now being more and more realized world over that a firm cannot afford to function and continue in the long run unless it performs in a legitimate and socially responsible way. Moreover, many recent definitions draw attention to the financial benefits gained through CSR. For example, Vaaland et al (2008, p. 931) explain CSR as management of stakeholder concern for responsible and irresponsible acts related to environmental, ethical and social phenomena in a way that creates corporate benefit. While Mittal et al (2008, p. 1437) define the concept as a business approach that views respect for ethics, people, communities and the environment as an integral strategy that improves the competitive position of a firm. Hence, it is important to understand the point that, whether corporations appreciate it or not, herein lies the idea of CSR. The matter is not that of profit earning alone for a corporation, but that of looking beyond the profit-making attitude. This awareness has made corporations identify the need of CSR and its application along with their particular businesses (Gupta and Saxena, 2006). Economics drivers of CSR Researchers have identified different method in which CSR approach to business decision making may lead to better financial performance. The following economic drivers have been viewed by the World Economic Forum and Business in the Community that have explained the adoption of the concept corporate social responsibility by companies around the world (ADL 2003). It is advocated that these drivers do not operate in isolation, and that different companies may have different drivers. Several drivers may also be stronger in different areas and for different companies. An alteration to adopt corporate social responsibility may arise from a combination economics of drivers. Employee recruitment, motivation and retention Recent studies show that corporate social responsibility is more and more an important factor in attracting and retaining a brilliant and diverse workforce (Globescan Inc 2005). Companies that cater for the interests of their employees by offering good working conditions will attain better performance in terms of quality and delivery, and, thus, experience higher levels of productivity. Learning and innovation Learning and innovation are serious to the long-term survival of any business. Corporate social responsibility can be a vehicle for business to respond to environmental and social risks and turn these into business prospects. Reputation management Businesses function in a market of opinion. Depending on the judgment by customers, suppliers and the broader community on companies will have an impact on their profitability and achievement. Corporate social responsibility offers a means by which companies can manage and influence the attitudes and opinions of their stakeholders, building their trust and enabling the benefits of positive relationships to deliver business advantage. Risk profile and risk management Corporate social responsibility offers more effective management of risk, helping companies to reduce unnecessary losses, identify new emerging issues and use positions of headship as a means to gain competitive advantage. Investor relations and access to capital The investment community is increasingly viewing corporate social responsibility as similar to long-term risk management and good governance practices. Recent studies show that analysts place as much emphasis on corporate reputation as they do on financial performance (Hill Knowltown 2006). Licence to operate A Global Outlook Companies that fail to accomplish their duties to society as a whole risk losing their licence to operate a concept whereby a companys stakeholders grant the company an unwritten authority to do business. This may be supported by favoring competitors, refuses or calls for deregistration. THEORETICAL PERSPECTIEVS OF CSR IN PRACTICE CSR activities and practice used are not intended to be exactly the same in different companies. Companies have diverse resources and all cannot take responsibility to the same extent. According to Lantos (2001), organizations may practice three different forms of CSR namely: Ethical CSR It means going beyond the firms economic and legal obligations and take actions that is morally mandatory. A corporation is morally responsible towards any individual or group that might be harmed or injured by a particular course of action. For example; reduce shareholders profits and used the money to decrease pollution. Ethical CSR may in the long-run generate goodwill by building the publics trust in the company. This will probably minimize the cost of fines and also bad publication that otherwise may prevail from unethical behaviour. Strategic CSR It is an activity where there is a win-win situation. Both the company and some of the stakeholder will benefit. This type of CSR actions implies short-run sacrifices which will usually result in long-run gains. For example, Ford campaigned that children should be seated in booster-seats and gave away millions of such seats. This generated goodwill among customers and government regulators. They believe that the investment will be profitable in the end. Altruistic CSR. It is when organizations are contributing to the common good and making the Society a better place on some sort of expense of the firm, involving corporate competences of the company to societal and community needs. Altruistic CSR goes beyond ethics and are actions that are not necessary for the company to take. The company does not expect any financial gain from it. Examples of altruistic CSR are activities that aid the society to fight drug and alcohol problems, poverty, crimes and chronic unemployment. The three approaches are mutually exclusive and based on the activities nature (required or optional) and the purpose (stakeholders good, firms good), or both. Today businesses are facing high competition which many firms want to perceive as best quality or valuable in customer perception. Moreover, the number of multinational companies has been increasing each year and it demanded a higher responsibility for social, environmental and economic. As the result, the influence of Sustainable Development is growing and accepted from all people. Moreover, due to the environmental issue, many researchers are concerned about environment that many natural resources can be run out if we do not use it wisely. CSR emphasizes the concern of corporate action and accomplishment in the social sphere with a performance perspective, it is clear that firms must formulate and implement social goals and programs as well as integrate ethic sensitivity into decision making, policies, and actions(Carrol,1991). As in the present time, CSR turns peoples attention to be the perception of the corporate engagement, in terms of how well corporate is able to engage with stakeholders. Current practice of CSR worldwide In practice much of the business activity that has been labeled as CSR has been determined by the concerns of investors, companies and consumers based in the worlds richest countries. National CSR agenda in middle and low income countries have been less viewed internationally. For the past five years or so, governments, companies and NGOs in many middle and low income countries have implemented CSR program from developed countries through greater direct engagement. CSR activities have developed in countries such as China, India, South Africa, the Philippines, Brazil and others. Governments in middle income countries have pressed companies to engage in summiting these tasks, as with Black Economic Empowerment in South Africa encouragement of business efforts to reduce poverty in the Philippines. CSR has also potential link with government strategies aiming at ensuring better access of certain categories of citizens to the economy. One example of such strategy is the Citizen Economic empowerment in Zambia, which aims in particular at increasing local participation in economic activities. With detail to developing countries, one major CSR concern is that government will ignore corporate irresponsibility or refuse to enforce protective efforts or environmental criteria in the law as an incentive to foreign investment (Aman, 2001). China for instance, has heavy-duty to collective negotiations, by law, and yet many people in jail for trying to use those rights (Diamond, 2003). Yet some developing country governments are transmitting laws requiring higher standards of responsible environmental or social ways in order to compete for foreign capital and institutional investment, in addition to competing on the more familiar rule of law issues of contract and property law rights, financial transparency and reduced government corruption (Hebb and Wojcik, 2004). Comparing these legal improvements in different emerging countries would be further helpful in understanding the contribution of CSR. Chapple and Moon (2005), have found that CSR in Asia is unrelated to preexisting levels of economic development but is related to the extent to which domestic companies engage in international trade, even where that trade is with other Asian nations. THE CURRENT PRACTICE OF CSR BY BANKS AND HOTELS IN MAURITIUS Mauritius is the first country in the world to require businesses to donate a portion of their profits to NGOs or government projects in the name of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).  Apparently recognising the poor level of corporate citizenship in Mauritius, in 2009, the Ministry of Finance introduced the CSR Fund. A company using a Corporate Partner to implement its CSR programme will be allowed to spend only an amount not exceeding 25% of the CSR Fund. A company implementing CSR programme is eligible to administrative costs not exceeding 15% of the CSR value. The company is provided a 12 months period from the end of its financial year to fund project from its CSR fund. If it has not given the 2% CSR fund then they will have to submit it to the MRA. The corporate programme form and Declaration by Applicant is presented below in Appendix D. Banks in Mauritius especially the leading one such as Mauritius Commercial Bank (MCB), State Bank of Mauritius (SBM), HSBC, Barclays and such that, invest huge amount of money in CSR. Not only Banks but also in the Hotel sector invest in CSR. The role plays by some Banks and Hotels in CSR are briefly described below; Mauritius Commercial Bank (MCB) J.Francois (2012), of the MCB Forward Foundation, in the Mauritius lexpress Journal talk about A CSR Budget of Rs 45 millions. The creation of the MCB foundation in 2010 was a step in the development of CSR activities of the group. Since its creation, MCB has always affirmed as a bank with a heart. The foundation gather dedicated professionals concentrated only on CSR and handle projects in medium and long terms. Moreover in 2007-2008, Rs23 millions have dedicated to CSR. In 2008-2009, it has been increased up to Rs30 millions. According to J. Francois (2012) the CSR budget varies with their profits. For the Financial year of 2009-2010, they predicted about Rs45 millions. They invest the money of CSR mainly in Eradication of Poverty, Vulnerable Children, Education, and Environment. The value proposition of the Foundation is described below. MCB Forward Foundation Why the Foundation To help meet the social and environment challenges of the country Mission To develop and support sustainable initiatives for the benefit of the community in which we live and work Vision To be instrumental in the creation of sustainable value for the social, environmental and economic well-being of the community HSBC Mauritius HSBC Mauritius has continued to invest in education, poverty alleviation and environmental sustainability. In the year ending December 2011, the HSBC group in Mauritius has spent 6 million Rupees on community investment. In addition to sustaining communities, HSBC has been continuously involved in environmental sustainability. It also has a long partnership with The Mauritian Wildlife Foundation, engaged in preventing rare species. Sun Resort (including La pirogue, le Tousserouk, Long beach hotel and such that) Sun Resort Company has commitment towards corporate social responsibility programmes at both local and national level has proved to be a very influential tool for the advancement of local communities and unprivileged circles of the population. In 2010, the Sun Resorts Cancer Trust helped a number of children and their families in their fight against cancer. The company also has opened a four-bed Cancer Unit at Victoria Hospital in May 2009. Corporate Social Responsibility donations made by Sun Resort Ltd during the year 2010 amounted to Rs3.9 million. Apart from Hotels and Banks, there are other private companies such as Terra, Ireland Blyth Limited (IBL), Omnicane and such that, they invest much in CSR projects. For instance, the IBL Foundation has financed 80 projects costing Rs17, 9 million. Rs6, 7 million for the socio economic development, Rs6,4 million for education and Rs1,2 million for sports. Moreover, there is the Omnicane Foundation which have spent Rs11, 1 million for vulnerable children, Health care, Education, Eradication of Poverty and on environment. MOTIVATIONS FOR FIRMS TO ENGAGE IN CSR ACTIVITIES THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES The motivations for firms to engage themselves in CSR activities can thus be broadly viewed from two main perspectives which are strategic perspective and the moral perspective. Strategic motive linked with Agency theory Agency theory put emphasis on the point that managers are recruited in order to work for the company that employs them, thus their major duty is to maximize the value of the firm and therefore the wealth of those who possess the company. Moreover, from an agency theory perspective, engagement in CSR activities is often viewed as a misused of companys resources which could instead be used invest in projects where profits are maximized. Nevertheless, managers will invest in CSR activities only if such investment will help them to improve the reputation of the firm or simply help them to increase shareholders wealth (Jones, 1995). However an agency problem may occur because of concern that the agent (e.g, the internal or external recipients of funds) will not follow the interests of the principal (e.g., the donor) who wishes to pursue CSR activities (Husted Allen, 2007). Very often, managers are motivated by their self- interest and therefore cannot be relied on to work in the best int erest of shareholders. Strategic motive linked with the Resource-Based View Theory The Resource- Based View (RBV) theory regards CSR as a resource that firm must know how to exploit in order to gain competitive advantages over its competitors. According to Branco and Rodrigues (2006) the firm in this model, is viewed as a unique bundle of resources and capabilities that is developed overtime as the firm interacts with all its stakeholders. This theory assumes that firms are a set of various resources and competences that are not exchangeable among firms. THE MORAL MOTIVE LINKED TO THE NORMATIVE STAKEHOLDER THEORY The moral motive is also linked to the normative stakeholder theory, which is commonly known as intrinsic stakeholder commitment. Success of an organization, according to the stakeholder theory, depends on the ability of the firm to handle and manage its relationships with a number of constituents, such as financers, shareholders, customers, employees, suppliers and then community at large (Donaldson and Preston, 1995). According to Freeman (1984), managers also bear a fiduciary relationship to stakeholders instead of having solely fiduciary duties towards owners of the firm. Similarly, Donaldson and Preston (1995) defined stakeholders as persons or groups with legitimate interests in procedural and or substantive aspects of corporate activity. Thus, CSR is viewed as a means of fulfilling the duties that the company has towards its stakeholders, and therefore it is crucial that the firm engage itself in CSR activities that are significant to the stakeholders. However, the more influential stakeholders are, the more the company has to adjust itself to their demands and this has given rise to questions whether firms engage themselves in CSR activities because they really want to assume their social and moral responsibilities or this is done only to get strategic advantages such as to prevent any stakeholder from withdrawing their support to the firm. Meijer, Bakle, Smith Schuyt (2006) argued that despite the fact it is rational to presume that companies want to do good for the society, it is also true that managers of those companies realize that this will benefit their organizations as well. Thus, put in simpler terms even though reporting pure unselfish intentions, firms engage themselves in CSR from strategic perspectives. On the other hand, Graafland and Van de Ven (2006) exposed through their study that despite some firms strongly believed that engaging in CSR activities might lead to improvement in profitability, enhancement of reputation and more employee commitment, they were also much concerned with making the world a better place to live. BENEFITS OF ENGAGEMENT IN CSR ACTIVITIES This section will try to examine what are those advantages firms get by investing in social activities which, as many academics found, ultimately leads to improvement in the firms financial performance. According to Galbreath (2009), there are only three main benefits a firm can derive from investing in CSR activities and they are namely: increased customer satisfaction; reduced employee turnover and improved reputation; and. It is these benefits that will consequently lead to improvements in the financial performance of the company. Increased customer satisfaction Customers are one of the most important stakeholders of a firm and by meeting justice needs of customers, CSR is likely to increase customer satisfaction (Galbreath, 2009). Hence, customer satisfaction may lead to brand loyalty and consequently improve and increase future sales of the firm. Reduced employee turnover Employee turnover is of the essence since the loss of human capital in companies can have dramatic effects on competitive advantage of a company (Barney, 1991; Huselid, 1995). A key potential gain from CSR initiatives involves establishing the situation that can contribute to increasing the dedication and incentive of employees to become more innovative and dynamic. Galbreath (2009) found that, owing to demonstrated justice, socially responsive activities appear to be a means to reduce employee turnover. Turban and Greening (1997) found that demonstrating CSR is essential for attracting potential employees. In their study on French firms, Maignan and Ferrell (2001) found that CSR is positively linked with employee commitment. Companies employing CSR related perspectives and tools tend to be businesses that provide the prerequisite for increased loyalty and commitment form their staffs. Such conditions can facilitate recruitment of employees, retaining and motivating them to develop skills, reduce absenteeism, and may also translate into marginally less demands for higher wages (Deloitte Report, 2008). According to Galbreath (2009), firms that are unjust, that does not exhibit comportments that match with employees moral or ethical frameworks are prone to obtain negative results that affect profitability. Therefore, reducing employee turnover is crucial so that a firm can improve its performance. Improved reputation Moreo

Angelas Ashes Essay -- essays research papers

Although life presents you with many obstacles, if you continue to persevere, eventually you will achieve success. Angela’s Ashes, by Frank McCourt, is a good example of this. Frank is constantly limited by his poverty. We watch him stick with his goals and eventually accomplish them in the end. He also watches his mother continually try to stretch the family budget in order to get meager amounts of food. Death is also very prevalent in this book as Frank and his family have to adjust to the death of loved ones.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  People always say, you can’t judge a book by it’s cover, and Frank McCourt is certainly an example of this. Throughout the book, he is constantly denied access to opportunities that will help to better his life because of his indigent appearance. His failed attempt to become an alter boy is one example of this. Yet he keeps fighting and striving to succeed, instead of just giving up. He also had to deal with the fact that his brother, Malachy, who he was closest to, was better looking and received more attention than him. Although this confused Frank as a young child, he coped very well, and was able to believe in himself, even as the less attractive brother. Because he had to deal with all of this, he appreciated his minor achievements, like when his team, â€Å"The Red Hearts of Limerick†, beat a team of wealthy boys in a soccer game. Frank scores the winning goal, and thinks this can only mean good things because â€Å"God or the blessed V irgi... Angelas Ashes Essay -- essays research papers Although life presents you with many obstacles, if you continue to persevere, eventually you will achieve success. Angela’s Ashes, by Frank McCourt, is a good example of this. Frank is constantly limited by his poverty. We watch him stick with his goals and eventually accomplish them in the end. He also watches his mother continually try to stretch the family budget in order to get meager amounts of food. Death is also very prevalent in this book as Frank and his family have to adjust to the death of loved ones.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  People always say, you can’t judge a book by it’s cover, and Frank McCourt is certainly an example of this. Throughout the book, he is constantly denied access to opportunities that will help to better his life because of his indigent appearance. His failed attempt to become an alter boy is one example of this. Yet he keeps fighting and striving to succeed, instead of just giving up. He also had to deal with the fact that his brother, Malachy, who he was closest to, was better looking and received more attention than him. Although this confused Frank as a young child, he coped very well, and was able to believe in himself, even as the less attractive brother. Because he had to deal with all of this, he appreciated his minor achievements, like when his team, â€Å"The Red Hearts of Limerick†, beat a team of wealthy boys in a soccer game. Frank scores the winning goal, and thinks this can only mean good things because â€Å"God or the blessed V irgi...

Second World War Essay -- American History Great Powers Essays

Second World War My generation has already witnessed a day of infamy, less than two short years ago (or so CNN tells us). My grandfather would remember a different day, a morning marked by another surprise attack on America. That ambush, said Japanese General Yamamoto, awakened a â€Å"sleeping giant.† Analysis of American foreign policy begs the question: what if the giant had spurned its peaceful slumber? Instead, the behemoth could have chosen to lumber about. Odds are that the footsteps would not have fallen lightly, the reverberations spreading across the globe- all this, only had Wilsonians been at the helm of American foreign policy. The Jacksonian tradition steered the United States to victory in the Second World War. Once lulled from the comfort of its isolationism, the Americans sealed the fate of the Axis powers. But had the Wilsonian tradition, a formidable current here at Swarthmore and among today’s democrats, directed American foreign policy leading up to and during the war, it seems likely that history would tell a different tale. As it stood in 1941, the United States was undoubtedly entrenched in the Jacksonian camp (here at Swarthmore, I can count their sympathizers on one hand). Jacksonian policies of the United States in the 1930s and 1940s proved decisive for the Allied victory, yet reflection on a reorientation of these policies toward the Wilsonian camp reveals that the Second World War could have been avoided. In this context, German domestic and foreign policy- a brutish, perverted mix of the Jacksonian and Wilsonian traditions- will then be discussed. An understanding of the Jacksonian doctrine clarifies the reasoning of the United States leading up to the war. This tradition was, and remains, stron... ...h: do we really want to provoke the Jacksonians of this world? Works Cited Bell, P.M.H. The Origins of the Second World War in Europe. 2nd edition. NewYork: Longman, 1997. Cà ©saire, Aimà ©. "Discourse on Colonialism." Colonial Discourse and Post-Colonial Theory. Ed. Patrick Williams and Laura Chrisman. New York: Columbia University Press, 1994. Kennedy, Paul. The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers. New York: Random House,1987. Kindleberger, Charles P. The World in Depression 1929-1939. 1973. Kurth, James. "The American Way of Victory: A Twentieth-Century Trilogy," The National Interest, Summer 2000, pp. 5-16. Kurth, James. â€Å"War, Peace, and the Ideologies of the Twentieth Century,† Current History, January 1999, pp.3-8. Mead, Walter Russell. "The Jacksonian Tradition and American Foreign Policy," The National Interest, Winter 1999/2000, pp. 5-29.

Counterinsurgency in WWII and Vietnam

The counterinsurgencies in World War Two and Vietnam are strikingly different precisely because the insurgencies they fought were different. Every insurgency is unique. Some feel that an insurgency carries advantages that make it inherently unbeatable. Because the superior force is rarely prepared for an insurgency they are at a disadvantage from day one. The primary lesson learned from the experiences of World War Two and Vietnam is that counterinsurgency must entail more than just the deployment of superior military forces. An insurgency is not unbeatable.For a counterinsurgency campaign to be successful a carefully devised comprehensive strategy that integrates military, political and humanitarian goals must be devised. Insurgency and Counterinsurgency Defined Insurgency is a broadly defined term. An insurgency can take many forms. Generally speaking, it is an uprising of a smaller, weaker military and political force against the force that occupies power. Because insurgents are a lmost always outnumbered and lack military equipment, they fight a guerrilla-type war. Their goal is not to defeat the opposing force militarily, but instead to erode it while inflicting as many losses as possible.Insurgents often look for â€Å"soft targets† to attack rather than facing the enemy head-on. The ultimate goal is to fight a low intensity war that drains the opposing side of resources and public support. Robert Smith, in The Utility of Force, describes a common process through which insurgencies begin. First, one political wing separates from a larger party. After arming itself, this wing initiates a low intensity conflict against a larger power. Over time, the larger force is persuaded to cut its losses and withdraw. The insurgent party then goes about establishing a dominant force of its own (Smith, 2007).This cycle is evident in the 1980s insurgency of the Afghans against the Soviet Union and the eventual emergence of the Taliban. In recent years, the term â⠂¬Å"insurgency† has also been used to describe any conflict in which groups of foreign fighters enter a country to oppose a larger force. In either case the tactics of insurgency are similar. Counterinsurgency, in turn, is more than just military opposition to the insurgent force. Broadly defined, Counterinsurgency is the attempt by a political power or occupying force to tamp down rebellion.In the late 20th and early 21st century the effectiveness of insurgent tactics has been rediscovered. Media and technological advances have been integrated effectively and, as a result, insurgencies have become more complex. In response, counterinsurgency tactics have been revised and modernized. It is generally recognized that a more comprehensive military, political, economic and cultural effort is now required. Between World War Two and the present day, the nature and scope of counterinsurgency programs changed dramatically. The Vietnam conflict represented a halfway point in that evolu tionary process.The learning curve has been irregular, though. As each new insurgency surfaces new lessons must be learned and old lessons re-learned. World War Two: The emergence of modern insurgency and counterinsurgency Insurgency and counterinsurgency are not terms typically used in relation to World War Two. The seeds for the modern usage of both were sown during this era, however. The French resistance is sometimes described as an insurgent campaign. The tactics used by the Germans to counter this insurgency were brutal but ultimately ineffective.In fact, the French Resistance is credited with â€Å"coordinating sabotages and other actions which contributed to the success of Operation Overlord† (Smith, 2007). Allied forces even then were aware of the need to work with assets of â€Å"various political colors† (Smith, 2007). In working with insurgents in the early years of the war the Allies gained some knowledge about how to defeat an insurgency. This knowledge, in part, would be capitalized on at the end of World War Two and twenty years later in Vietnam. Meanwhile, the Germans faced a second insurgency from the Soviet Partisans.These were pro-communist Soviets most active in the border regions between Germany and the U. S. S. R. Like in the French resistance, these fighters sabotaged and harassed any vulnerable areas of the German occupiers they could find. Unlike in France, the Germans were never able to install a puppet regime to help them quell the population. The German counterinsurgency strategy was to stamp out any resistance as quickly as possible. The Germans and the Partisans for that matter executed thousands of civilians in this region. Counterinsurgency tactics in World War Two were somewhat primitive.Primarily, the goal was to use overwhelming military force before installing a puppet government favorable to the more powerful force. Terror was the tool for holding on to that power. Tactical reviews after the war provided some valuable information, but were also tainted by the political atmosphere of the day. For example, U. S. reports may have overemphasized the effect of partisans terrorizing the local population into supporting them. The effect of the terror caused by German counterinsurgency forces and other possible ideological reasons for local support were not studied fully enough.In the waning days of the war, remnants of the Nazi SS launched an insurgency of their own. Initial public support kept the insurgency afloat for nearly two years as various sabotages and political assassinations harassed the occupying forces. Eventually â€Å"Operation Werewolf† was defeated when the German public became assured that the Allies were committed to rebuilding their nation, through such programs as the Marshall Plan. This stands in sharp contrast to the terroristic methods of counterinsurgency that had been employed in earlier years.While not specifically part of the counterinsurgency program, media control assisted the allies in a way it would not during Vietnam. The greater threat posed to the American nation itself during World War Two led the public to accept tight military control of what was released through newspapers or other media. The media blackout was perhaps more successful for the Germans. Since the German public heard little or no negative news from the front, the Partisans and The French Resistance were never able to erode support for the war within Germany.In this sense, a totalitarian state with vast resources and complete media control has a certain advantage in counterinsurgency over free nations. When World War Two was over, the template of a successful insurgency had been advanced farther than that if a successful counterinsurgency. In the words of U. S. General Robert Smith: By the end of the Second World War, the defining characteristics of the antithesis of industrial war had been established, as a combination of basic guerilla and revolutionary warfare . (Smith, 2007) None the less, Allied knowledge increased from having been on both sides of irregular conflicts.Allied forces would put much of what they had learned about counterinsurgency into action during Vietnam. As always, some lessons had to be re-learned under difficult circumstances. Vietnam: Hard Lessons Researchers are still debating the effectiveness of the counterinsurgency effort in Vietnam. There is no doubt that operations such as â€Å"Market Time† and â€Å"Phoenix† were more sophisticated than any such efforts in World War Two. Militarily, they were at least partially successful. Efforts such as these combined elements of Allied experiences with what they had learned by studying German methods during World War Two.The military began to create â€Å"strategic hamlets† throughout South Vietnam. In order to do so, though, entire villages of civilians would often be relocated. Air assets also sprayed chemical agents on large tracts of farmland gro wing crops that could be used to help the North Vietnamese. In some cases, large numbers of civilians only suspected of collaborating with the communists were killed. Ironically, at the same time a humanitarian effort was established. USAID personnel, who had 6 months of language immersion and training in nation building, spearheaded the effort.The Military Assistance Command for Vietnam also worked with the National Revolutionary Development Plan to help Vietnamese victims of the war. Even when pacification efforts within Vietnam itself were going well, the insurgents were winning the media war. The Tet offensive was a military defeat for the communists. After Tet â€Å"the flagging rural pacification program picked up momentum†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Chant, 1990). Despite its military success, the counterinsurgency failed in two critical ways. The Vietnamese Communists fought the â€Å"hearts and minds† battle better, giving the peasants promises that had real meaning to them.For i nstance; the communists promised land loans and lower taxes to peasants (Alexander, 2002). The coalition could never establish a trust relationship with the majority of the population. When Congress cut off funds and recommended that â€Å"ground forces should not be committed† the mistrust of the Vietnamese was confirmed (Chant, 1990). In Vietnam, the media was on the front lines of war as never before. Initially the Allies believed that this would be a showcase for the military and would help maintain support for the war. By the end of the war, the insurgents had turned this factor completely in their favor.The North Vietnamese capitalized on American broadcasts and broadcasts of their own, essentially communicating directly to the American people that the war was unwinnable. They rightly assumed that the American media could play a significant role in eroding public support for the war. When the American military tried to exert greater control over the media, distrust and opposition to the war only increased. Analysis and Conclusion Contrary to popular belief, insurgencies have a long track record of success. In fact; â€Å"irregular or guerrilla warfare is, in fact, the most successful form of conflict† (Alexander, 2002).It is the repeated failure of major powers to recognize this and anticipate it that itself are the major reasons for insurgent success. In World War Two, insurgencies were relatively contained. In Vietnam and in the 21st century they are not. They are sophisticated multinational operations in which the insurgents sometimes cannot even be identified. World War Two and Vietnam are evidence that insurgency can take many different forms. The overall lesson, however, is the same. The degree of success for a counterinsurgency is directly related to the degree the insurgency was anticipated and planned for.Another clear lesson is that a counterinsurgency employing only military means is destined to fail. The experiences in World War Two and Vietnam do give some clues as to how to deal with the insurgency in Iraq. A comprehensive strategy must be developed that separates the insurgents from those who support them. Then an effective intelligence network with ample numbers of human assets must be developed and maintained. As shown in Iraq the lessons of prior wars are forgotten and must be re-learned. For example, when insurgents were driven out of a town coalition forces would often leave that area undefended.It was not until at least three years into the war that coalition forces began to use the â€Å"take and hold† method used in Vietnam more than three decades earlier. The ability to defeat insurgencies in the future depends upon learning and capitalizing on lessons such as these. The first step to defeating an insurgency is to expect one. The second step is to plan a counterinsurgency. Beyond these simple steps the process is incredibly complex and there are no hard and fast rules. Sources Alexander, Bevin. (2002). How Wars are Won: the 13 rules of war from ancient Greece to the War on Terror. New York: Crown Publishers.Chant, Christopher. (1990). The Military History of the United States (Vol. 13). New York: Marshall Cavendish. Markel, Wade. (2006). â€Å"Draining the Swamp: The British Strategy of Population Control†. Parameters. Retrieved 1/7/2008 from: http://www. carlisle. army. mil/usawc/Parameters/06spring/markel. htm . McClintock, Michael. (2002). â€Å"U. S. Guerrilla Warfare, Counterinsurgency and Counterterrorism, 1940-1990†. Instruments of Statecraft. Retrieved 1/7/2008 from: http://www. statecraft. org/chapter3. html . Smith, Robert. (2007). The Utility of Force: the art of war in the modern world. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.