Posts Tagged ‘Ethics’
One of the popular definitions of policy reads as “a statement by government – at whatever level – of what it intends to do about a public problem” (Birkland, 2010, p.9). Accordingly, the issues of policy process are mainly discussed in the literature in relation to government policies. Tesco packaging policy is based on the following five key principles: being fit for purpose, using the lightest materials in terms of weight, using materials from the most sustainable sources, maximising the opportunities for recycling and recovery, and designed in a way that the lowest carbon impact can be achieved (Waste and packaging, 2012, online). According to Peters (2009) the Stages Model of Policy Process consists of the following stages: issue emergence, agenda setting, alternative selection, enactment, implementation and evaluation. All of these stages can be analysed in an individual manner in relation to the packaging policy of Tesco. Issue emergence of the policy process is an initial stage when specific problems are identified that need to be dealt with. Issues that require the introduction of relevant policies may arise fuelled by a wide range of reasons such as disasters, or any other dramatic changes. In terms of Tesco packaging policy this stage corresponds with increasing role of corporate social responsibility (CSR) aspect of the business in general, and the level of ‘greennes’ in particular. In other words, defined as responsibilities of business towards society apart from profit maximisation (Blowfield and Murray, 2008), CSR has emerged as a crucial aspect of the business to be dealt with by Tesco. The agenda setting stage of policy process corresponds with the issue growing to an extent that it requires immediate and due attention. It has been stated that “agenda setting occurs when the key players focus on an issue problem, which can be…
January 2, 2013
By John Dudovskiy
Category: Corporate Social Responsibility
Tags: Ethics, Retail, Sustainability
Introduction Tourism has been one of the biggest and the most profitable industries in 20th century and this industry is moving towards the new level in 21st century with new variations and services included. Ecotourism is one of the variations of tourism that has been attracted mixed opinions from business academics and practitioners alike. Ecotourism can be defined as “travel to enjoy the world’s amazing diversity of natural life and human culture without causing damage to either” (Tickell, 1994, p.ix) On one hand, there are authors who argue that ecotourism is beneficial to tourists and local society in many levels pointing to learning opportunity for tourists and economic benefits to ecotourism destinations along with a range of other perceived benefits. On the other hand, there are others who point to the occasions were people were misplaced, local nature damaged, as well as socio-economic inequalities as the negative effects of ecotourism. Wearing and Neal (2009, p.6) mention two main facets of inequality as travelling to unspoilt natural environments and experiencing natural environment as the purpose of the travel. Emerging around 1980’s, ecotourism is believed to be related to nature-based, environmental education and sustainable development. However, there are some people who are highly sceptical about the benefits of ecotourism, and claim that it produces socio-economic inequalities. The Benefits of Ecotourism Development Ecotourism offers range positive impacts for tourists, host destinations, and the science and environment in general. The impact of ecotourism on the designated areas where ecotourism has been promoted is not only a marginal activity to finance the protection of the environment, but is also a major industry of the national economy. Tuohino and Hynonen (1991) mention the fact that due to rapid growth of the ecotourism in areas like Costa Rica, Ecuador, Nepal, the local communities are also benefiting…
What is the objective of any corporation or firm in business world? The obvious answer is that the objective of any business is to maximize its revenues and to make money for its shareholders. It is a very important objective and if a business corporation fails to achieve that objective of making money for shareholders its share prices will go down, it will have a bad reputation and unless radical changes are implemented in order to improve things the business corporation will not be around any more- it will go bankrupt. Corporate Social Responsibility- what is it? As Wikipedia.org defines it “Corporate social responsibility is an expression used to describe what some see as a company’s obligation to be sensitive to the needs of all of the stakeholders in its business operations”. Company’s stakeholders are its employees, customers, suppliers, community organizations, subsidiaries and affiliates, joint venture partners, local neighborhoods, investors, and shareholders (or a sole owner if the case is). “A business that accepts Corporate Responsibility will be prepared to be responsible for and willing to justify its actions. It will also consider the impact of its actions on a variety of individuals and groups, both inside and outside of the organization”. (Hall, Jones, Raffe p.789) A more simplified definition of CSR in this report is how businesses manage their operations to produce positive impact on society. Today, in a highly competitive business world it is extremely important for companies, especially big corporations to build up reputation of a company which cares about nature, problems of society in present day, environmental issues and which deals fairly with its customers, suppliers and employees. For example, a mobile phone business will try to provide as wide coverage as possible for its customers. However, in order to do so, it is likely…