A person is able to choose their friends but not their family. Therefore, a person should do their best to try to manage family relationships. Of course, managing family relationships is difficult but truly that is just another part of life. This is why no one said life is easy.

If a person hates their family, then at some level they hate themselves. For a person’s family is where they came from, like it or not, family is a part of a person’s identity and history. A person can not erase or choose another family-they have to make the best of what family that they have.

There will always be disagreements and arguments in a family; however, it is how a family or person deals with the conflict. Sometimes, probably most times, a small disagreement can turn into a family war and the end result is that people stop talking to each other.

Of course, a person a cannot control another person’s behavior or actions, even though it can be difficult at times, a person should always try to forgive one another. A person only has one family and if a person cannot make the effort to love their relatives then who can they really love?

In an effort to more socially responsible, corporations are adopting ways to be more resource efficient. If a company wants to reduce their carbon footprint, then time should be spent in developing a green strategy. According to Olson, a green strategy “fundamentally helps an enterprise make decisions that have a positive impact on the environment.”[1]

Therefore, in developing a green strategy is much more than having a recycle bin; it involves creating a corporate culture and awareness this in turn would facilitates how business decisions are made and as result will beneficial to the bottom line.[2]

Building the green corporate culture is critical because without the commitment of the employees a company’s green strategy will only be a superficial maneuver. Employees could be taught conservationist practices as well as take part in activities that has a direct impact in the communities. For instance, employees volunteer to help pick up garage in residential areas and or parks.

By having a conservationist corporate culture, this would directly impact on how business decisions are made. For instance, companies how develop products and services that have an environmental impact. For example, in 2007, GE Money introduced their Earth Rewards Credit Card, where a portion of your net purchases go towards investing in projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

For corporations to have significant environmental impact and to truly be socially responsible then they must spend the time developing and planning an all encompassing green strategy because a recycling bin in the printer room is not enough.

[1] Olson, Eric (2008) Creating an enterprise-level ‘‘green’’ strategy  Journal Of Business Strategy  vol. 29 (2) pg. 22

[2] Ibid. pg 23

From a corporation to a SME, employees will not stay with a company if they have to deal or put up with incompetent managers. Incapable managers in the workplace make work much more stressful as they make uneducated decisions and create more work for others.

If an employee is unable to look up to their manager with respect and in turn be inspired by their manager, employees will not stay. Why should an employee be at the mercy of an irresponsible manager? If a manager does not know how to motivate or treat their employees well, the end result is that the business will have a revolving door.

Incompetent managers also underestimate the skills and abilities of employees which is another reason why employees will leave a company. Continually losing qualified staff puts a company in a precarious position. These qualified people will go onto to be successful with another company. Overall, mismanagement will lead to a company’s detriment. As long as a company allows to have unskilled managers, they will lose highly skilled and knowledge staff.

It does not take long for images and icons to be bought as Michael Phelps will adorn the boxes of both Frost Flakes and Corn Flakes. It is understandable that for athletes to succeed that sponsors are needed; however, shouldn’t athletes be careful of what they support?

Just as consumers are beginning to hold corporations accountable for types of charities or community events sponsor or support, athletes should be careful with the types of products or causes they support. For instance, Frosted Flakes or Corn Flakes are not the healthiest breakfast foods and by an Olympic athlete supporting gives the impression that the product is somewhat healthy. Because athletes need sponsor, does this mean that they should be willing to support any product, regardless if it is healthy are not just as long has the corporation gives them the sponsorship cheque.

If consumers want corporations to be “socially responsible”, then athletes should also consider being “socially responsible” with their sponsors.

Curious. Intriguing.  Enticement.

Flirt. Connecting. Attraction.

Excite. Relating. Share.

Mutual. Understanding. Bond.

Happy. Developing. Trust.

Openness. Communicating. Honest.

Unguarded. Binding. Commitment.

Unconditional. Loving. Scared.

Uncertainties. Embracing. Overcome.

Differences. Accepting. Heal.

Unguarded. Binding. Commitment.

Unconditional. Loving. Scared.

Challenges. Supporting. Conquer.

Disagree. Growing. Forgiveness.

Unguarded. Binding. Commitment.

Unconditional. Loving. Scared.

Deception. Forgiving. Mended.

Mistakes. Struggling. Together.

Unguarded. Binding. Commitment.

Unconditional. Loving. Scared.

Consumers are putting pressure on corporations to be “socially responsible.” Thus explains the surge corporate branded reusable shopping bags and biodegradable paper products that have proliferated in the marketplace; however, corporate social responsibility (CSR) encompasses more than just corporate branded eco-friendly products. Although there is no universal definition of CSR, amongst the numerous theories the common theme is that corporations should have social initiatives that improve the well-being of communities. Smith explains that profit motivations exist when engaging in CSR activities, which he refers to as the “business case” and he also emphasizes the increasing motivation of business leaders to do the right thing, which he refers to as the “normative case.”[1] From Smith, one can ascertain that CSR policies and activities are created from a mixture of both of these motivations. Therefore, corporations have to “understand and proscribe the nature and scope of its CSR activities while balancing the business and normative cases.”[2]

The question is that does this balancing act of motivations actually happen. Hess and Warren argue corporations that have CSR polices or activities can be meaningless. As Hess and Warren explain, “firms that long used philanthropic activity as a way to improve their reputations may be using community-based social initiatives in a manner akin to “greenwashing” in environmental performance. That is, the positive public relations coverage provided by social initiatives deflects attention away from corporate practices that are harmful to society.”

Does this mean that CSR just another public relations tool? Is it feasible for corporations to make legitimate CSR decisions? This brief discussion will use Carroll’s four part pyramid model, as it is the leading CSR model, to serve as the theoretical framework and the latter part of the discussion will explore how public relations professionals can be leaders of implementing and CSR policies and activities.

CSR: Carroll’s Pyramid Model

Designed to encompass the entire spectrum of CSR, Carroll’s theoretical pyramid-model is a theoretical foundation of the development CSR polices and activities.

According to Carroll, “[i]n summary, the total corporate social responsibility of business entails the simultaneous fulfillment of the firm’s economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic responsibilities. Stated in more pragmatic and managerial terms, the CSR firm should strive to make a profit, obey the law, be ethical and be a good corporate citizen.”[3]

The foundation of the pyramid is the corporation’s responsibilities, which makes sense as if the corporation is not profitable it is unable to contribute to the community. With that said, here is where the mixed motive comes into play. According to his model, it is within the corporation’s best interest to conduct business in a legal and ethnical matter and have philanthropic responsibilities. The model is inherently flawed as the underlying theoretical assumption is the corporations have CSR policies not of any genuine or authentic interest but purely to add to the corporation’s competitive advantage. As Geva argues, “..social responsibilities are accepted to the extent that they can serve a part of the firm’s competitive strategy. The underlying assumption of an expectations-based model such as the CSR pyramid is that companies do not pursue their humane policies for altruistic reasons alone. They do so because the nature of society is such that they could not behave any other way and expect to survive as viable entities.”[4]

This then leads to the “greenwashing” affect in environmental performance. Does this mean corporations are in a catch 22 situation? The central weakness of Carroll’s CSR pyramid is that it does not factor in the role of communication. As Clark states, “[t]he role that communication has in building these quality relationship is an important one; one that is largely unrecognized by CSR researchers.”[5] It is the role of communication that will prevent the catch 22 situation for corporations.

Public Relations Integrating with CSR:

CSR and public relations professionals should work together as a common objective of both is to enhance and strengthen stakeholder and public relationships. This view is echoed by Clark as she states, “it is critical that these disciplines acknowledge their similarities and work toward combining their efforts. Furthering the understanding of relationships and the effects of communication will continue to aid researchers and practitioners in the building of bridges between CSR and corporate public relations.”[6]

Public relations professionals are uniquely positioned to fill in the theoretical gap in the CSR model as they are skilled in developing appropriate communication strategies and the ability to analyzing relationships that affect the corporation’s reputation and business. Clark argues, “[c]ommunication managers have the ability to scan the political, social, and historical environment regarding a myriad of issues; likewise, business competitiveness rests on knowing who will be affected by a company’s decisions.”[7] Thus, it is critical for CSR to factor in the role of communication is developing CSR policy.

According to Macleod’s research data, communication about a corporation’s CSR activities are well received provided that the public relations effort complies with best practices.[8] Therefore, by engaging public relations management in the CSR policy development would ensure that communication plan is developed alongside CSR activities.

Public relations professionals would not only have the ability to effective communicate CSR policy but also advise whether a certain CSR activity or policy would be appropriate in a particular community. As Freitag argues that CSR needs “leaders with the experience and skills

to analyze community issues, identify potential points of tangency between the issues and the organization, and develop creative approaches and policies to address those issues in ways that benefit the organization and affected constituencies.”[9] Public relations professionals are able to provide this leadership to CSR. In the words of Freitag, “Public relations managers are uniquely positioned, experienced and qualified to guide that effort.”[10]

[1] Smith, N.C. (2003). Corporate social responsibility: Whether and how? California Management Review, 45(4),p.52

[2] Freitag, Alan (2008). Staking Claim: Public Relations Leaders Needed to Shape CSR Policy Public Relations Quarterly  52 (1) 2008 p.38

[3] Carroll, A. B. (1991) The pyramid of corporate social responsibility: toward the moral management of organizational stakeholders, Business Horizons 34(July-August): 39-48.

[4] Geva, Aviva. 2008 Three Models of Corporate Social Responsibility: Interrelationships between Theory, Research, and Practice”  Business and  Society Review 113 (1) Spring  pg. 14

[5] Clark, C.E. (2000) Differences between public relations and corporate social responsibility-an analysis. Public Relations Review, 26(3), pg. 376-7

[6] Ibid.5 pg 377

[7] Ibid 5 pg. 377

[8] Macleod, S. (2001) Why worry about CSR? Strategic Communication Management, 5(5), 8-9.

[9] Ibid 2 pg.40

[10] Ibid 2 pg 40.

There are many definitions of globalization. Neoliberals view globalization as a positive and inevitable force in the global political economy.  For the purpose of this discussion, the term “globalization is a package of transnational flows of people, production, investment, information, ideas and authority (not new, but stronger and faster).” (Brysk 2002:1) Despite its many meanings, there is a consensus that globalization has impacted states, markets and civil society. The goal of this brief analysis is to evaluate how globalization has impacted states, markets and civil society that both hinder and facilitate the implementation of global human rights.

From a neoliberal perspective, globalization is eroding both the significance and power of the state. Some would argue that the state is a decaying Westphalian structure in the current political, economic and social landscape. This erosion of state power as provided space for other organizations that can monitor human rights abuses. As Alison Brysk stated, “these (organizations) include not just the international human rights regime and movement but a broader range of international and non governmental organizations which monitor states, empower citizens and aid victims: from anti-corruption to election monitoring to the development organizations to transnational ethnic associations.” (Brysk 2002: 244-245) This diffusion of state power has allowed global governance structures to advance the implementation of human rights (e.g. International Criminal Court (ICC)).

At the same time, the state and its illegitimate use of state power is an obstacle to the implementation of human rights. The state, particularly state sovereignty is an obstacle for the enforcement of global human rights. Global governance structures such has the ICC lack enforcement capabilities, as ICC’s rulings are just recommendations and are not binding to the state. Also, state forms of repression have evolved along with globalization and the increased uncontrollable flow of transnational goods.  Transnational flows are perceived as positive goods; however, this is a misconception because globalization has increased goods such has drugs. To deal with the increase of drugs or migrants workers, the state employs repressive measures which either fuel or initiate civil conflicts. The repressive states support the numerous labor rights abuses committed by multinational corporations in exchange for foreign investment and trade. In the same vein, the relationship between multinational corporations and states can produce states polices that directly violate human rights which indirectly serve as catalyst for social conflicts where by a state administers repressive measures that directly violate civil and security rights of citizens.

The impact of globalization on markets has had a significant impact on markets. From neoliberal perspective, markets are seen as a mechanism to promote the rule of law and transparency. With the increase investment and trade, the requirement of states to have regulatory standards for trade, such as transparency, has also increased. In some cases, economic globalization can serve to increase the accountability of labor rights and social conditions. As Brysk stated, “new market mechanisms based in civil society, such has socially responsible investments and green marketing, seek to harness commodification to improve social conditions and promote empowerment.” (Brysk 2002:245)

At the same time, markets have increased human rights abuses, despite the increase in civic monitoring bodies. As mentioned before, the human rights violations committed by multinational corporations are covered up by states. International financial institutions have distorted global markets via structural adjustment programs that increase social inequality, violence and poverty. In Southeast Asia, the tourism sector directly violates human rights. As Brysk stated, “thus security forces in South East Asia can hardly be expected to protect young women from kidnapping, assault, rape, and slavery for the prostitution trade, when police and militaries are not only bribed by actual investors in the brothels.”(Brysk 2002:245) Essentially, the marketplace presents more opportunities for exploitation and abuses as it operates on free market principles, which is a direct opposite of the implementation of global human rights.

Given the so-called erosion of state power it has left organizational space for other groups or associations to be apart of the implementation of human rights.  Global civil society is regarded as a counterbalance of the state and markets as it can increase public awareness about human rights. Global civil society serves as tool to unite people from different parts of the world for a specific cause, which can create new potential for the pursuit of the implementation of human rights. Given the technological advances, global civil society can create massive public campaigns via the Internet.

Global civil society can increase public awareness however; there are other factors of global civil society that hinder the implementation of global human rights. As there are groups that promote human rights, there are groups that forming, who in some cases have more resources, which are against human rights (e.g. Neo-Nazis and terrorists groups). The information campaigns of those groups who support human rights can distort the plight of the poor in developing countries. Also, global civil society organizations that are organized for a particular cause can challenge human rights in certain situations; such has conflicts between indigenous groups and transnational environmentalists.

From this brief examination one can see that globalization is presents a myriad of threats and opportunities for the implementation of global human rights. One can also see that globalization is not an inevitable force that operates in the global political economy but it a constructed process that is shaped by states, markets and global civil society.

Source:

Brysk, Alison (ed), Globalization and Human Rights 2002 University of California Press.

Wedding planning is stressful because it is a life changing moment; however, that doesn’t me one has to spend a lot of money. A wedding is a personal event and it should be up to the couple how they want to celebrate it.

There are many event planners, bridal stores and bridal tradeshows advocate that one must have to the right type of décor, food, wine, party favors and chocolates to make their wedding memorable. In the end, the couple has gone into debt for an extravagant wedding, which puts a financial strain on the newlyweds. That is not a great start to one’s marriage.

A wedding can be whatever a couple wants it to be. A couple should do what they can afford and it is important not to concentrate too much on the wedding reception. A couple should concentrate on the vows that they pledge which their family and friends will witness. The vows of fidelity, trust, commitment and love are the essential of a marriage.

Wedding planning can less stressful if one chooses to concentrate on what is important. The wedding reception is about celebrating the fact that one has decided to devote their lives to another person. Therefore, it does not matter how much a couple spends on the reception but it does matter how much they spend on creating a strong marriage.

It is uncertain whether fame and fortune corrupts people and leads them to have drug and alcohol habits or if fame and fortune attract self destructive people.  In any case, why do people find drug addicted celebrities entertaining?

Shows like Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew and MuchMusic: Celebrity Rehab are exploiting vulnerable people for a profit. Celebrities do understand that with fame and fortune privacy is a limited; however, are there not boundaries?

Drug and alcohol addictions are complex personal issues which are very difficult for a regular person to battle; having the media and entertainment industry publicize the process adds unwarranted and unnecessary stress on the already complex situation.

Overall, the media and entertainment industry are exploiting vulnerable drug addicted celebrities to make a profit, which violates people’s rights and freedoms.

There are much more important things in the world then watching a Hollywood star go through rehab.

No one can explain how one get writer’s block; however, there are suggestions has to how one can rid of it but, it is puzzling as how a one gets it.

Without knowing how one gets writer’s block, it is impossible for one to take preventative measures. Moreover, there are no symptoms. Writer’s block happens without warning and cripples a person’s ability to compose a simple sentence. As a result, it leaves a person either staring a blank screen or piece paper hoping for clarity to adequately to explain a thought or concept.

It is an awful feeling. It is even worse if one has to meet deadlines. More importantly, it is awful because it robs a person the ability to communicate. A basic human need is for others to understand one’s thoughts and feelings. If a person can not find the words to express their perspective, frustration sets in and a person is left wondering if the words will ever come to their mind. It is like a person is entrapped in their mind because the person knows what they want to express but cannot communicate using words.

The right and appropriate words are the ingredients for every sentence in one’s article, paper or post. With well-composed sentences, each working together and woven correctly, the person’s thoughts, feelings or perspective come alive. People will reread well-composed articles, papers, books, posts thus explains the power of writing as a communication tool.

The power of the written word is underestimated or sometimes forgotten. Unlike oral communication, writing one’s thoughts, in turn, it gives the audience the power to reread, reflect what one is trying to communicate. In other words, writing provides longevity to one’s thoughts, feelings, perspective and beliefs.

With that said, the remedy of writer’s block is equally mysterious as its origin. People have recommended many ways to get rid of it; however, there is no vaccination. There is no vitamin, herb, exercise or pill to prevent writer’s block but maybe that is a good thing. Perhaps, the only thing good about writer’s block is that it makes a person appreciate the importance of not only communication but also the importance of writing.