Business Ethics
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Business ethics (also corporate ethics) is a form of applied ethics ethics or professional professional ethics ethics that examines ethical principles and moral or ethical problems that arise in a business environment. It applies to all aspects of business conduct and is relevant to the conduct of in individuals dividuals and entire organizations.
Business ethics has both both normative normative and descriptive dimensions. As a corporate practice and a career specialization, the field is primarily normative. Academics attempting to understand business behavior employ descriptive methods. The range and quantity of business ethical issues reflects the interaction of profit-maximizing behavior with non-economic concerns. Interest in business ethics accelerated dramatically during the 1980s and 1990s, both within major corporations and within academia. For example, today most major corporations promote their commitment to non-economic values under headings such as ethics codes and social responsibility charters. Adam Smith said, "People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raise prices." prices. "[1] Governments use laws and regulations to point business behavior in what they perceive to be beneficial directions. Ethics implicitly regulates areas areas and [2] details of behavior that lie beyond governmental control. control. The emergence of large corporations with limited relationships and sensitivity to the communities in which they operate accelerated acc elerated [3] the development of formal ethics regimes. regimes.
Contents History Business ethical norms reflect the norms of each historical period. As time passes p asses norms evolve, causing accepted behaviors to become objectionable. Business ethics and the resulting behavior [4][5][6] evolved as well. Business was involved in in slavery, slavery,[4][5][6] colonialism colonialism,,[7][8] and the the cold war .[9][10] The term 'business ethics' came into common use in the United States in the early 1970s. By the mid-1980s at least 500 courses in business ethics reached 40,000 students, using some twenty textbooks and at least ten casebooks along supported by professional societies, centers and journals of business ethics. The Society for Business Ethics was started in 1980. European business schools adopted business ethics after 1987 commencing with the European Business [11][12][13][14] Ethics Network (EBEN). (EBEN).[11][12][13][14] In 1982 the first single-authored books in the field [15][16] appeared.. appeared Firms started highlighting their ethical stature in the late 1980s and early e arly 1990s, possibly trying to distance themselves from the business scandals of the day, such as the the savings and loan crisis crisis..
The idea of business ethics caught the attention of academics, media and b business usiness firms by the [12][17][18] ][18] [12][17 However, legitimate criticism of business practices was attacked end of the the Cold War . for infringing the "freedom" of entrepreneurs entrepreneurs and critics were accused of supporting [19][20] communists. This scuttled the discourse of business ethics both in media and ac academia ademia..[21] communists.
Overview Business ethics reflects the the philosophy philosophy of business, business, one of whose aims is to determine the fundamental purposes of a company. compan y. If a company's purpose is to max maximize imize shareholder returns, then sacrificing profits to other concerns is a violation of its its fiduciary responsibility responsibility.. Corporate entities are legally considered as persons in USA and in most nations. The 'corporate persons' are legally entitled to the rights and liabilities due to citizens as persons. Economist Milton Friedman writes that corporate executives' "responsibility... generally will be to make as much money mone y as possible while conforming to their basic rules of the society, both those embodied in law and those embodied in ethical custom". custom".[22] Friedman also said, "the only entities who can have responsibilities are individuals ... A business cannot have responsibilities. So the question is, do corporate executives, provided they stay within the law, have responsibilities in their business activities other than to make as much money mon ey for their [22][23 [22][23][24] ][24]
A multi-country stockholders as possible? And my answer to that is, no, they do not." not. " 2011 survey found support for this view among the "informed public" ranging from 30 to as consequentialist consequentialist rather than than pragmatic, pragmatic, implying 80%..[25] Duska views Friedman's argument as 80% [26][27] Similarly author that unrestrained corporate freedom would benefit the most in long term. term. business consultant consultant Peter Drucker observed, "There is neither a separate ethics of business nor is one needed", implying that standards of personal ethics cover all business situations. situations .[28] However, Peter Drucker in another instance observed ob served that the ultimate responsibility of company [29] directors is not to harm — primum non nocere. Another view of business is that it must exhibit corporate social responsibility e thical business must responsibility (CSR): an umbrella term indicating that an ethical act as a responsible citizen of the communities commun ities in which it operates even at the cost of profits or [30][31][32][33][34] [30][31][32][33 ][34] other goals. goals. In the US and most other nations corporate entities are legally treated as persons in some respects. For example, they can hold title to property, sue and be sued and are subject to taxation, although their free speech speech rights are limited. This can be interpreted to impl imply y that they have independent ethical responsibilities. [citation needed ] Duska argues that stakeholders have the right to expect a business to be ethical; if business has no ethical obligations, o bligations, other institutions could make the same claim which would be counterproductive to the corporation co rporation..[26] Ethical issues include the rights and duties between a company and its employees, suppliers, customers and neighbors, neighbors, its its fiduciary fiduciary responsibility to its its shareholders. shareholders. Issues concerning relations between different companies include include hostile take-overs take-overs and and industrial espionage. espionage. entrepreneurship;; political political Related issues include include corporate governance; governance;corporate social entrepreneurship contributions;; legal issues such as the ethical debate over contributions o ver introducing a crime of corporate manslaughter ; and the marketing of corporations' ethics policies. [citation needed ]
Functional business areas
Finance
Fundamentally, finance is a social science discipline. discipline.[35] The discipline borders borders behavioral behavioral [36] economics,, sociology, economics sociology, economics, accounting and management. It concerns technical issues policy, the evaluation of alternative investment such as the mix of debt and and equity, equity, dividend policy, options,, futures, futures, swaps, swaps, and other derivatives, derivatives, portfolio portfolio diversification diversification and many others. projects, options projects, [who?] to be a discipline free from ethical burdens. burdens .[35] The The 2008 financial crisis crisis It is often mistaken caused critics to challenge the ethics of the executives in charge of U.S. and European financial institutions and financial regulatory bodies. bodies.[37] Finance ethics is overlooked for another reason — issues in finance are often addressed as matters of law rather than ethics. ethics.[38] Finance paradigm
Aristotle said, "the end and purpose Aristotle p urpose of the polis is the good life" life"..[39] Adam Smith Smith characterized the good life in terms of material goods and intellectual and moral excellences of character .[40] Smith in his his The Wealth of Nations commented, "All for ourselves, and nothing for other people, seems, in every age of the world, to have been the vile maxim of the masters of mankind."[41] Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: to: Adam Adam Sm Smith ith
However, a section of economists influenced by the ideology of neoliberalism, neoliberalism, interpreted the objective of economics to be maximization of economic growth growth through accelerated [42] consumption and production production of goods and services services.. Neoliberal Neoliberal ideology promoted finance consumption and from its position as a component of economics to its core.[citation needed ] Proponents of the ideology hold that unrestricted financial flows, if redeemed from the shackles of o f "financial [citation needed ] [43] best help impoverished nations to grow. repressions",, best repressions" The theory holds that open financial systems accelerate economic growth by encouraging foreign capital inflows, thereby enabling higher levels of savings, investment, employment, productivity and an d [44][45][46][47] [48] [44][45][46][47] along with containing corruption. corruption. Neoliberals Neoliberals recommended that "welfare",, "welfare" governments open their financial systems to the global market with minimal regulation over [49][50][51][52][53] ][53] The recommendations however, met with criticisms from various capital flows. flows.[49][50][51][52 ethicists,, found these claims to unfalsifiable and a schools of ethical philosophy. Some Some pragmatic pragmatic ethicists [54][55][56] priori, although neither of these makes the recommendations false or unethical per se. se.[54][55][56] Raising economic growth to the highest value necessarily means that welfare is subordinate, although advocates dispute this saying that economic eco nomic growth provides more welfare than known [57] alternatives.. Since history shows that neither regulated nor unregulated firms always alternatives alwa ys behave [58][59][60] ][60] [58][59 ethically, neither regime offers an ethical ethical panacea. panacea. Neoliberal recommendations to developing countries to unconditionally open up their economies [61][62][63][64 ][63][64][65] ][65] The to transnational finance corporations was fiercely contested by some ethicists. ethicists .[61][62 claim that deregulation and the opening up of economies would reduce corruption was also [66][67][68] contested..[66][67][68] contested
Dobson observes, "a rational agent is simply one who pursues personal material advantage ad infinitum. In essence, to be rational in finance is to be individualistic, materialistic, and competitive. Business is a game played by individuals, as with all games the object is to win, and winning is measured in terms solely of material wealth. Within the discipline this rationality concept is never questioned, and has indeed become the theory-of-the-firm's sine qua non". non".[69][70] Financial ethics is in this view a mathematical function of shareholder wealth. Such simplifying assumptions were once necessary for the construction of mathematically robust robu st models. models.[71] theory and and agency theory theory extended the paradigm to greater realism. realism.[72] However signalling theory Other issues
Fairness in trading practices, trading conditions, financial contracting, sales practices, consultancy services, tax payments, internal audit, external ex ternal audit and and executive compensation compensation [38][73] Particular corporate ethical/legal also fall under the umbrella of finance and accounting. accounting. abuses include: include: creative accounting, accounting, earnings management, management, misleading financial analysis analysis insider trading,, securities fraud, trading fraud, bribery/ bribery/kickbacks and and facilitation payments payments.. Outside of corporations, bucket shops and forex scams scams are criminal manipulations of financial markets. Cases include shops and accounting scandals, Enron, WorldCom WorldCom and and Satyam. Satyam.[citation needed ] scandals, Enron, Human resource management
Human resource management management occupies the sphere of activity of recruitment recruitment selection, orientation, performance orientation, performance appraisal, appraisal, training and development, development, industrial relations relations and and health and [74] safety issues. safety issues. Business Ethicists differ in their orientation towards labour ethics. Some assess human resource policies according to whether they the y support an egalitarian workplace and the [75][76][77] [75][76][77] dignity of labor . Issues including including employment itself , privacy, privacy, compensation in accord with with comparable worth, worth, [78][79] bargaining (and/or its opposite) can be seen either as inalienable rights rights or as collective bargaining [80][81][82][83 ][84] [80][81][82][83][84] Discrimination Discrimination by by age (preferring the the young young or the the old) old), gender /sexual negotiable.. negotiable harassment,, race harassment race,, religion religion,, disability, disability, weight and attractiveness. A common approach to remedying discrimination is is affirmative action. action. Potential employees have ethical obligations to employers, involving intellectual property whistle-blowing.. protection and and whistle-blowing Employers must consider workplace safety, safety, which may involve modifying the workplace, or providing appropriate training or hazard disclosure. policy,, globalization globalization and and trade unionism unionism Larger economic issues such as as immigration, immigration, trade policy affect workplaces and have an ethical dimension, but are often beyond the purview of individual [78][85][86] ][86] companies..[78][85 companies
Trade unions
Unions for example, may push employers emplo yers to establish establish due process process for workers, but may also cost [87][88][89][90 ][89][90][91][92 ][91][92][93][94 ][93][94][95][96] ][95][96] jobs by demanding unsustainable compensation and work rules. rules.[87][88 Unionized workplaces may confront confront union busting busting and and strike breaking breaking and face the ethical implications of work rules that advantage some workers over ove r others.[citation needed ] Management strategy
Among the many people management strategies that companies employ are a "soft" approach that regards employees as a source of creative energy en ergy and participants in workplace decision and Theory Z Z that emphasizes making, a "hard" version explicitly exp licitly focused on control control[97] and [99] [98] philosophy, culture and consensus. consensus. None None ensure ethical behavior . Some studies claim that [100][101][102] sustainable success requires a humanely treated and satisfied workforce. workforce.[100][101][102] Sales and marketing Main article: article: Marketing ethics ethics [103]
Marketing of age only as late as 1990s. 1990s. Marketing ethics was approached from ethical perspectives of virtue or virtue ethics ethics,, deontology deontology,, consequentialism consequentialism,, pragmatism pragmatism and [104][105] relativism.. relativism Ethics in marketing deals with the principles, values and/or ideals by which marketers (and marketing institutions) ought to act. act.[106] Marketing ethics is also contested terrain, beyond the previously described issue of potential conflicts between profitability profitability and other concerns. Ethical [107][108][109] marketing issues include marketing redundant or dangerous dang erous products/services products/services[107][108][109] transparency about environmental risks, transparency about about product product ingredients ingredients such as [110][111][112 [110 ][111][112][113] ][113] possible health risks, financial risks, possible risks, security risks, genetically modified organisms [114] [115] respect for consumer privacy and autonomy, autonomy, advertising advertising truthfulness and fairness in etc.,, etc. [116] pricing & distribution. pricing distribution. According to Borgerson, and Schroeder (2008), marketing can influence individuals' perceptions of and interactions with other people, implying an ethical responsibility to avoid distorting those perceptions and interactions. interactions.[117] Marketing ethics involves pricing practices, including illegal actions such as as price price fixing fixing and legal actions including including price price discrimination discrimination and and price price skimming skimming.. Certain promotional activities bait and switch, switch, shilling shilling,, viral marketing marketing,, spam have drawn fire, including including greenwashing, greenwashing, bait (electronic),, pyramid (electronic) pyramid schemes schemes and and multi-level marketing marketing.. Advertising has raised objections about attack ads ads,, subliminal messages messages,, sex in advertising advertising and and marketing in schools. schools. Production
This area of business ethics deals with the harm. du tiesSince duties of a company to and ensure that products pcan roducts and production processes dousually not needlessly cause few goods services be
produced and consumed with zero risk, determining the ethical course can be problematic. In products. Production some case consumers demand products that harm them, such as as tobacco tobacco products. may have environmental impacts, including including pollution, pollution, habitat destruction destruction and and urban sprawl. sprawl. The food and and mobile phones phones downstream effects of technologies technologies nuclear power , genetically modified food principle may prohibit introducing new may not be well understood. While the the precautionary precautionary principle technology whose consequences are not fully understood, that principle would have prohibited most new technology introduced since the the industrial revolution revolution.. Product testing protocols have been attacked for violating the rights of both both humans humans and and animals[citation needed ] Property Main article: article: Private property property,, and and Property rights rights
The etymological root of property is the the Latin Latin 'proprius' 'proprius'[118] which refers to 'nature', 'quality', 'one's own', 'special characteristic', 'proper', 'intrinsic', 'inherent', 'regular', 'normal', 'genuine', 'thorough, complete, perfect' etc. The word property is value loaded and associated with the personal qualities of propriety and respectability, also implies questions questions relating to ownership. A 'proper' person owns and is true to herself h erself or himself, and is thus genuine, perfect and pure. pure .[119] Modern history of property rights
Modern discourse on property emerged by b y the turn of 17th century within theological justified property property rights rights saying that God had discussions of that time. For instance, instance, John Locke Locke justified [120][121][122][123] [120][121][122][123] made "the earth, and all inferior creatures, [in] common to all men". men". Utilitarian Jeremy Bentham Bentham stated, "property and law are born together to gether and die In 1802 1802 Utilitarian [124][125] together".. together" One argument for property ownership is that it enhances individual liberty by extending the line of non-interference by the state or others around the person person..[126] Seen from this perspective, property right is absolute and property has a special and distinctive character that precedes its legal protection. Blackstone conceptualized property as the "sole and despotic dominion which one man claims and exercises over the external things of the world, in total exclusion of the right of any other individual in the universe". universe".[127] Slaves as property
During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, slavery spread to European colonies including America, where colonial legislatures defined the legal status of slaves as a form of property. property.[128] During this time settlers began the centuries-long process of dispossessing the natives of America of millions of acres of land. land.[129] Ironically, the natives lost about 200,000 square miles (520,000 km2) of land in the the Louisiana Territory Territory under the leadership of Thomas Jefferson, Jefferson, who [130][131][132] ][132] [130][131 championed property rights. rights. Combined with theological justification, property was taken to be essentially natural ordained by God..[133] Property, which later gained meaning as ownership and appeared natural to Locke, God Jefferson and to many of the 18th and 19th century intellectuals intellectuals[134] as land, labour or idea[135]
and essentialized essentialized and property right over slaves had the same same theological theological and [136][137][138][139 ][140][141] [136][137][138][139][140][141] It was even held that the property in slaves was a sacred justification [142][143] right.. right Wiecek noted, "slavery was more clearly and explicitly established under the Accordingly, US Supreme Court Court Chief Justice Constitution as it had been under the Articles". Articles".[144] Accordingly, Taney in his 1857 judgment stated, "The right of property in a slave is distinctly and Roger B. Taney expressly affirmed in the Constitution". Natural right vs social construct
Neoliberals hold that private property rights are a non-negotiable natural right. right.[145][146] Davies counters with "property is no different from other legal categories in that it is simply a consequence of the significance attached by law to the relationships between legal persons.""[147][148] Singer claims, "Property is a form of power, and th persons. thee distribution of power is a [149][150] Rose finds, "'Property' is only an effect, a political problem of the highest order". order". construction, of relationships between people, meaning that its objective character is contestable. Persons and things, are 'constituted' or 'fabricated' by b y legal and other normative [151][152] techniques.".. techniques." Singer observes, "A private property regime is not, after all, a Hobbesian Hobb esian state of nature; it requires a working legal system that can define, allocate, and enforce property propert y [153] Davis claims that common law theory generally favors the view that "property is not rights."" rights. essentially 'right to a thing', rather a and sep arable separable bundle of rights subsisting which may avary according to but the context the object which is at stake". stake" .[147] between persons In common parlance property rights involve a bundle 'bundle of rights' rights'[154] including occupancy, use and [155][156][157][158] enjoyment, and the right to sell, devise, give, or lease all or part pa rt of these rights. rights.[155][156][157][158] [159][160] Michelman writes, "A property Custodians of property have obligations as well as rights. rights . regime thus depends on a great deal d eal of cooperation, trustworthiness, and self-restraint among the [161][162] people who enjoy it." it." Menon claims that the autonomous individual, ind ividual, responsible for his/her own existence is a cultural construct moulded by by Western culture culture rather than the truth about the the human condition. condition.[163] Penner views property as an "illusion" — a "normative phantasm" without substance. substance .[164][165] In the neoliberal literature, property is part of the private side of a public/private dichotomy and acts a counterweight to state power. Davies counters that "any space may be subject to plural meanings or appropriations which do not necessarily come into conflict". conflict" .[166] Private property has never been a universal doctrine, although since the end of the Cold War is it has become nearly so. Some societies, e.g., Native American bands, held land, if not all property, appropriated the loser's in common. When groups came into conflict, the victor often often appropriated [167][168] property.. property The rights paradigm tended to stabilize the distribution of property holdings on the presumption that title had been lawfully acquired. acquired .[169] Property does not exist in isolation, and so property rights too too..[170] Bryan claimed that property rights describe relations among people and not just ju st relations between people and [171][172][173][174 ][173][174][175][176] ][175][176] [171][172 Singer holds that the idea that owners have no legal obligations to things others wrongly supposes that property rights hardly ever conflict with other legally protected
interests.[177] Singer continues implying that interests. that legal realists realists "did not take the character and structure of social relations as an important independent factor in choosing the rules that govern market life". Ethics of property rights begins with recognizing the vacuous v acuous nature of the notion [178] of property. property. Intellectual property Main articles: articles: Intellectual property property and and Intellectual property rights rights
property (IP) encompasses expressions of ideas, thoughts, codes and information. Intellectual property "Intellectual property rights rights"" (IPR) treat IP as a kind of real property, property, subject to analogous protections, rather than as a reproducible good or service. Boldrin and Levine argue that "government does not ordinarily enforce monopolies for producers produc ers of other goods. This is because it is widely recognized that monopoly creates many social costs. Intellectual monopoly is no different in this respect. The question we address is whether it also creates social benefits commensurate with these social costs." costs."[179] International standards relating to Intellectual Property Rights are enforced through through Agreement [180] on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Rights (TRIPS). (TRIPS). In the US, IP other than copyrights is regulated by the copyrights the United States Patent and Trademark Office Office.. The US Constitution The Constitution included the power to protect intellectual property, empowering empo wering the Federal government "to promote the progress of science and a nd useful arts, by securing for limited times to [181] authors and inventors the exclusive right to their th eir respective writings and discoveries". Boldrin and Levine see no value in such state-enforced monopolies stating, "we ordinarily o rdinarily think [182][183] of innovative monopoly as an an oxymoron. oxymoron. Further they comment, 'intellectual property' "is not like ordinary property at all, but constitutes co nstitutes a government grant of a costly and dan dangerous gerous private monopoly over ideas. We show through theory and example that intellectual monopoly is not necessary for innovation and as a practical matter is damaging to growth, prosperity, and liberty" .[181] Steelman defends patent monopolies, writing, "Consider prescription drugs, for instance. Such drugs have benefited ben efited millions of people, improving or extending their lives. Patent protection enables drug companies to recoup recou p their development costs because for a specific period of time they have the sole right to manufacture and distribute the products they against South Africa Africa''s 1997 have invented." invented."[184] The court cases by 39 pharmaceutical companies against Medicines and Related Substances Control Amendment Act, which intended to provide [185][186][187] affordable HIV medicines has been cited as a harmful effect of patents patents..[185][186][187] One attack on IPR is moral rather than utilitarian, claiming that inventions are mostly a collective, cumulative, path dependent, social creation and therefore, no one person or firm should be able to monopolize them even for a limited period .[188] The opposing argument is that the benefits of innovation arrive sooner when patents p atents encourage innovators and their investors to philosopher, observes, "Ethically, increase their commitments. Roderick Long, a a libertarian libertarian philosopher, property rights of any kind have to be justified as extensions of the right of individuals to control control their own lives. Thus any alleged property rights that conflict with this moral basis — like like the "right" to own slaves — are are invalidated. In my judgment, intellectual property rights also fail to pass this test. To enforce copyright laws and the like is to prevent people from making peaceful use of the information they possess. If you have acquired the information legitimately (say, by
buying a book), then on what grounds can you be prevented from using it, reproducing it, trading it? Is this not a violation of the freedom of speech spe ech and press? It may be o objected bjected that the person who originated the information deserves ownership rights over it. But information is not a concrete thing an individual can control; it is a universal, existing in other people's minds and other people's property, and over these the originator has no legitimate sovereignty. You cannot own information without owning other people". people" .[189] Machlup concluded that patents do not have Self-declared anarchist anarchist Proudhon, Proudhon, in his 1847 the intended effect of enhancing innovation. innovation.[190] Self-declared seminal work noted, "Monopoly is the natural opposite of competition," and continued, "Competition is the vital force which animates the collective being: bein g: to destroy it, if such a [191][192] supposition were possible, would be to kill society" abundanc e[193] because because it Mindeli and Pipiya hold that the the knowledge economy economy is an economy of abundance relies on the "infinite potential" of knowledge and ideas rather than on the limited resources of natural resources, labor and capital. Allison envisioned an egalitarian distribution of [195][196][197] ][197] knowledge..[194] Kinsella claims that IPR create artificial scarcity and reduce equality. knowledge equality.[195][196 Bouckaert wrote, "Natural scarcity is that which follows from the relationship between man and nature. Scarcity is natural when it is possible to conceive of it before any human, h uman, institutional, contractual arrangement. Artificial scarcity, on the other hand, is the outcome of such arrangements. Artificial scarcity can hardly serve as a justification for the legal framework that causes that scarcity. Such an argument would wou ld be completely circular. On the contrary, artificial [198][199] Corporations fund much IP creation and can acquire scarcity itself needs a justification" justification" [200] IP they do not create, create, to which Menon and others object object..[201][202] Andersen claims that IPR has increasingly become an instrument in eroding public domain domain..[203] Ethical and legal issues include: include: Patent infringement, infringement, copyright infringement, infringement, trademark infringement,, patent infringement patent and and copyright misuse, misuse, submarine patents, patents, [[biological patent]s, patent]s, patent, patent, copyright copyright and and trademark trolling, trolling, Employee raiding raiding and monopolizing talent, talent, Bioprospecting Bioprospecting,, biopiracy and industrial espionage espionage,, digital rights management management.. biopiracy and Notable IP copyright cases include include Napster Napster , Eldred v. Ashcroft Ashcroft and and Air Pirates. Pirates.
International issues While business ethics emerged as a field in the 1970s, 1 970s, international business ethics did not emerge until the late 1990s, looking back on the international developments of that decade. decade.[204] Many new practical issues arose out of the international internationa l context of business. Theoretical issues such as cultural relativity of ethical values receive more emphasis in this field. Other, older issues can be grouped here as well. Issues and subfields include:
The search for universal values as a basis for international commercial behaviour. behaviour. Comparison of business ethical traditions in different countries. Also on the basis of their respective GDP and [Corruption rankings]. Comparison of business ethical traditions from various religious perspectives. perspectives. Ethical issues arising out of international business transactions; e.g., e.g., bioprospecting bioprospecting and biopiracy biopiracy in the pharmaceutical industry; the the fair trade trade movement; movement; transfer pricing. pricing. globalization and and cultural imperialism. imperialism. Issues such as as globalization
labor.. Varying global standards—e.g., the use of child labor The way in which multinationals take advantage of international differences, differences, such as outsourcing production (e.g. clothes) and services (e.g. call centres) to low-wage countries. The permissibility of international commerce with pariah states.
The success of any business depends on o n its financial performance. Financial accounting helps the management to report and also control the business performance. The information regarding the financial performance of the company plays an important role in enabling people to take right decision about the company. Therefore, it becomes necessary to understand how to record based on accounting conventions and concepts ensure unambling and accurate records. Foreign countries often use dumping as a competitive threat, selling products at prices lower than their normal value. This can lead to problems in domestic markets. It becomes difficult for these markets to compete with the pricing set by b y foreign markets. In 2009, the International Trade Commission has been researching anti-dumping laws. Dumping is often seen see n as an ethical issue, as larger companies are taking advantage of other less economically advanced companies.
Economic systems Political economy economy and and political political philosophy philosophy have ethical implications, particularly regarding the Rawls and and Robert Nozick are both notable distribution of economic benefits. benefits.[205] John Rawls contributors. For example, Rawls has been interpreted as as offering a critique of offshore outsourcing on social contract grounds, whereas Nozick's libertarian philosophy rejects the outsourcing notion of any positive corporate social obligation.
Law and regulation Very often it is held that business is not bound by any ethics other than abiding by the law. Milton Friedman is the pioneer of the view. He H e held that corporations have the obligation to [206]
Friedman made it make a profit within the framework of the legal system, s ystem, nothing more more.. explicit that the duty of the business leaders is, "to make as much money as a s possible while conforming to the basic rules of the society, both those embodied in the law and those embodied in ethical custom". custom".[207] Ethics for Friedman is nothing more than abiding by 'customs' and 'laws'. The reduction of ethics to abidance to laws and customs however have drawn serious criticisms. Counter to Friedman's logic it is observed [by whom?] that legal procedures are technocratic, bureaucratic, rigid and obligatory where as ethical act is conscientious, voluntary choice beyond normativity..[208] Law is retroactive. Crime precedes law. Law against a ccrime, normativity rime, to be passed, the [209] Further, as per law, crime must have happened. Laws are blind to the crimes undefined in it. it. "conduct is not criminal unless forbidden by law which gives advance warning that such conduct [210] is criminal. Also, Also, law presumes the accused is innocent until proven guilty and that the state must establish the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt. As per liberal laws followed in most of the democracies, until the government prosecutor p rosecutor proves the firm guilty with the limited
resources available to her, the accused is considered to be innocent. Though the liberal premises of law is necessary to protect individuals from being persecuted by Government, it is not a [211][212 ][213][214] sufficient mechanism to make firms morally accountable. accountable.
Implementation Corporate policies This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help help improve this article article by sources. Unsourced material may be adding citations to reliable sources. be challenged challenged and and removed removed.. (March 2011)
As part of more comprehensive comprehensive compliance and ethics programs, programs, many companies have formulated internal policies pertaining to the ethical conduct of employees. These policies can be simple exhortations in broad, highly generalized language langu age (typically called a corporate ethics statement), or they can be more detailed policies, containing specific behavioural requirements (typically called corporate ethics codes). They are generally gen erally meant to identify the company's expectations of workers and to offer guidance on o n handling some of the more common ethical problems that might arise in the course of doing business. It It is hoped that having such a policy will lead to greater ethical awareness, consistency in application, and the avoidance of o f ethical disasters. An increasing number of companies also require employees e mployees to attend seminars regarding business conduct, which often include discussion of the company's policies, specific case studies, and legal requirements. Some companies even require their employees to sign agreements stating that they will abide by the company's rules of conduct. Many companies are assessing the environmental factors that can lead employees to engage in unethical conduct. A competitive business environment may call for unethical behaviour. Lying has become expected in fields such as trading. An example of this are the issues surrounding the unethical actions of the Saloman Brothers. Not everyone supports corporate policies that govern ethical conduct. Some claim that ethical problems are better dealt with by depending upon employees to use their own judgment. Others believe that corporate ethics policies are primarily rooted in utilitarian concerns, and that they are mainly to limit the company's compan y's legal liability, or to curry public favour by giving the appearance of being a good corporate citizen. Ideally, the company will avoid a lawsuit because its employees will follow the rules. Should a lawsuit occur, the company can claim that the problem would not have arisen if the employee had only followed the code properly. Sometimes there is disconnection between the company's code of ethics and the company's actual practices. Thus, whether or not such conduct is explicitly sanctioned by mana management, gement, at worst, this makes the policy duplicitous, and, at best, b est, it is merely a marketing tool.
Jones and Parker write, "Most of what we read under the name business ethics is either sentimental common sense, or a set of excuses ex cuses for being unpleasant. unpleasant.""[215] Many manuals are procedural form filling exercises unconcerned about the real ethical dilemmas. For instance, US Department of Commerce ethics program treats business ethics as a set of instructions and procedures to be followed by 'ethics officers'., officers'.,[31] some others claim being ethical is just for the sake of being ethical. ethical.[216] Business ethicists may trivialize the subject, offering standard answers that do not reflect the situation's complexity. complexity .[208] Ethics officers This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help help improve this article article by adding citations to reliable sources. be challenged challenged and and removed removed.. sources. Unsourced material may be (March 2011)
Ethics officers (sometimes called "compliance" or "business conduct officers") have been appointed formally by organizations since the mid-1980s. mid -1980s. One of the catalysts for the creation of this new role was a series of fraud, corruption, and abuse scandals that afflicted the U.S. defense industry at that time. This led to the creation of the Defense Industry Initiative (DII), a panindustry initiative to promote and ensure ethical business practices. The DII set an early benchmark for ethics management in corporations. In 1991, the the Ethics & Compliance Officer Association (ECOA) — Association — originally originally the Ethics Officer Association (EOA) — was was founded at the Center for Business Ethics Ethics (at Bentley College, Waltham, MA) as a professional association for those responsible for managing organizations' efforts to achieve ethical best be st practices. The membership grew rapidly (the ECOA now has over ov er 1,200 members) and was soon established as an independent organization. Another critical factor in the decisions of companies to appoint a ppoint ethics/compliance officers was the passing of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines for Organizations in 1991, which set standards that organizations (large or small, commercial and non-commercial) had to follow to obtain a reduction in sentence if they should be b e convicted of a federal offense. Although intended to assist judges with sentencing, the influence in helping to establish best practices has been far-reaching. In the wake of numerous corporate scandals between 2001 and 2004 (affecting large WorldCom and and Tyco) Tyco), even small and medium-sized companies have corporations like like Enron, Enron, WorldCom begun to appoint ethics officers. They often report to the Chief Executive Officer and are responsible for assessing the ethical implications of the company's activities, making recommendations regarding the company's ethical policies, polic ies, and disseminating information to employees. They are particularly interested in uncovering or o r preventing unethical and illegal actions. This trend is partly due to the the Sarbanes – Oxley Oxley Act Act in the United States, which was enacted in reaction to the above scandals. A related trend is the introduction of risk assessment officers that monitor how shareholders' investments might be affected by the company's compan y's decisions. The effectiveness of ethics officers is not clear. If the appointment is made primarily as a reaction to legislative requirements, one might expect little impact, at least over the short term. In part, this is because ethical business practices result from a corporate corporate culture that consistently
places value on ethical behaviour, a culture and climate that usually emanates from the top of the organization. The mere establishment of a position po sition to oversee ethics will most likely be insufficient to inculcate ethical behaviour: a more systemic programme with consistent support from general management will be necessary. The foundation for ethical behaviour goes well beyond corporate culture and the policies of any given company, for it also depends greatly upon an individual's early moral training, the other institutions that affect an individual, the competitive business environment the company compan y is in and, indeed, society as a whole.
Academic discipline As an academic discipline, business ethics emerged in the 1970s. Since no academic business ethics journals or conferences existed, researchers published in general management man agement journals, and attended general conferences. Over time, specialized peer-reviewed journals appeared, and more researchers entered the field. Corporate scandals in the earlier 2000s increased the field's popularity. As of 2009, sixteen academic journals devoted to various business ethics issues Ethics and and Business Ethics Quarterly Quarterly considered the existed, with with Journal of Business Ethics [217] leaders.. leaders The International Business Development Institute[218] is a global non-profit organization that represents 217 nations and all 50 United States. It offers a Charter in Business Development (CBD) that focuses on ethical business practices and standards. The Charter Ch arter is directed by Harvard, MIT Harvard, MIT,, and and Fulbright Fulbright Scholars, and it includes graduate-level coursework in economics, politics, marketing, management, technology, and legal aspects of business development as it pertains to business ethics. IBDI also oversees the International Business Development Institute of Asia Asia[219] which provides individuals living in 20 Asian nations the opportunity to earn the Charter.
Religious views law, followed by many many Muslims, Muslims, banking banking specifically prohibits charging interest on In In Sharia Sharia citation needed ] Traditional Confucian Traditional Confucian thought discourages profit-seeking. profit-seeking.[220] Christianity Christianity loans.[ Rule command, "Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do offers the the Golden Rule to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law aand nd the prophets." prophets."[221] according to the article "Theory of the real economy", econom y", there is a more narrow point of view from the Christianity faith towards the relationship between ethics and religious traditions. This article stresses about how capable is Christianity of establishing reliable boundaries for financial institutions. one criticism comes from Pope Benedict by describing the "damaging effects of the real economy of badly managed and largely speculative financial dealing." de aling." It is mentioned that Christianity has the potential to transform the nature of finance and investment but only if theologians and ethicist provide more evidence of what is real in the economic life. life.[222]
Related disciplines
Business Business ethics is part of the the philosophy philosophy of business, business, the branch of philosophy philosophy that deals with the philosophical, political, and and ethical ethical underpinnings of business and and economics. economics.[223] Business ethics operates on the premise, for example, that the ethical operation of a private business is socialists,, (who contend that possible — those those who dispute that premise, such as as libertarian socialists "business ethics" is an an oxymoron) oxymoron) do so by definition outside of the domain of business ethics [citation needed ] proper. The philosophy of business also deals with questions such as what, if any, are the the social responsibilities of a business; responsibilities business; business business management management theory theory;; theories of individualism individualism vs. collectivism;; free will will among participants in the the marketplace marketplace;; the role of self interest; interest; invisible collectivism hand theories; the requirements of social justice; hand justice; and and natural rights, rights, especially especially property property rights, rights, in [citation needed ] relation to the business enterprise. is economic analysis Business ethics is also related to to political economy, analysis from political economy, which is perspectives. Political economy deals with the distributive consequences of and historical and historical perspectives. economic actions. It asks who gains and who loses from from economic activity, activity, and is the resultant distribution fair or just, which are central ethical issues distribution
64 Tennyson St Elwood VIC 3184 T: +613 9531 4099 F: +613 9531 4799 E: [email protected] W: www.manallack.com.au – 0 –
Publication date? September 2006 Can you be ethical and successful? Definitely “yes”, and just look for proof at Infosys, descri described bed in “Beyond Branding” by the Medinge Group as “one of the top „brands with a conscience‟ in the world”. My exposure to India‟s Infosys began in 2005 when the Chairman and Chief Mentor, Mr N. R. Narayana Murthy, visited Australia and when speaking about corporate governance and morality in business he told the audience “We follow one principle – the softest pillow is a clear conscience”. Later, he was quoted on this many times by senior government ministers and business leaders - such was the impact of his communication of ethics and leadership. I cannot recall if at the same time he quoted Mahatma Gandhi who urged us to “be the change you want in the world” which is one of the great ethical exhortations of the modern era. Yet for Infosys to have a reputation almost equally strong for its success as it is for its ethics, is quite an achievement in a short time. It was only a little over 25 years ago that Murthy and his co-founders sat around the kitchen table and set out their business dream. Infosys is a relative newcomer to the world of corporate success, starting in 1981 but experiencing its strongest growth in recent years. For example, revenue in 1994 was US$9.5million but by 2004 had grown to US$1billion which became US$2billion the year after, a tribute to the 50,000 or so
employees of the business. Forbes Magazine has written “Infosys is a model of
transparency, not just for corporate India, but for companies everywhere…” Some of the values of this organisation are set out in simple language: “One should be humble, h umble, have respect for competitors and a healthy sense of paranoia, else we will disappear like dew on a sunny morning”. More from Infosys: “When in doubt, disclose” and “We would just like to be known as decent, honest and trustworthy t rustworthy people and then as smart people”. – in 1996 Of course, words and actions go well together – Infosys set up the Infosys Foundation which since then has funded medical facilities for remote rural areas, created pension schemes, provided aid for orphans and street children, adopted a “library for every school” campaign that so far has financed 5,500 libraries in rural Government schools and has paid for the reconstruction of old schools. The company truly “walks the talk”. That is why I would like to see Mr Narayana Murthy as a full time global ambassador for the Indian business message, spreading the goodwill of his powerfully ethical brand across the world of Indian business. As I have written before, India has given the world Ganesh, Krishna, the Upanishads, Buddha, the spirit of Diwali and in more recent times the wisdom of Mahatma Gandhi and others. Western business is ready to learn; what a communication opportunity for “brand India”. Why are Infosys and the example of Mr Murthy so important in
the west? It is important simply because many leading business schools and commentators are asking whether the moral value of honesty has gone missing among western business leaders. Almost daily we see court cases or media coverage and consistently the businesses and their leaders involved have tried to “cover up”, or disguise, some problem rather than perform the simple act of coming clean and telling the truth. Yet there is plenty of evidence of a connection between strong moral principles and business success (one of the best books is Moral Intelligence: Enhancing Business Performance and Leadership Success, Wharton School Publishing, by Doug Lennick and Fred Kiel). Take it even further, as a PR practitioner I have always believed that a policy of absolute honesty at all times should be at the top of corporate agendas, providing the best long term form of risk management. As we say in this industry, “you cannot carve rotten wood” and companies with a moral vacuum at the top find this out the hard way. Despite this reality and the healing power of truth, when business hits a tough spot too often there are teams of managers sitting around debating how we will “handle” the communication challenge - and it seems to be rare that anyone simply says “let‟s just tell the truth.” The authors of Moral Intelligence believe that good morality and high performance do not come together just by accident. They claim that successful leaders always attribute their accomplishments to a combination of their business savvy and their adherence to a moral code. This was graphically expressed by Ed Zore, CEO of Northwestern Mutual and he is quoted in the book as saying: “Being moral – which to me means being fair, predictable, upfront and not devious – all of this has been very important in my career. Everybody knows what I stand for. People know that we will never, ever be deceitful. We won‟t leave a nickel on the table, but in the end our word is our bond, and this is a real
advantage in business because people want to deal with us and want to deal with me.” The authors believe that intangibles such as either moral intelligence or emotional intelligence are “difficult for your competition to copy. Many corporate leaders ignore these differentiating competencies because they are soft skills that are difficult to measure. In recent years, however, an increasing
Ethics, success and leadership the Infosys way 64 Tennyson St Elwood VIC 3184 T: +613 9531 4099 F: +613 9531 4799 E: [email protected] W: www.manallack.com.au – 0 –
number of organizations have realized the performance benefits of emotional intelligence”. They point out that moral intelligence is new to the analytical playing field, and highlight four key principles that can sustain moral intelligence: Integrity; Responsibility; Compassion; Forgiveness. Integrity is creating harmony between what we believe and how we act, doing what we know is right (and this definitely includes telling the truth at all times). Responsibility is a person who is willing to take responsibility for their own actions, and the consequences – only by taking this responsibility do you stay true to core values. Compassion is broadened to include caring about others, which theneffect, showsbecause our respect for others. has a boomerang generally whenIt aalso compassionate person is in trouble, we return compassion to them. Forgiveness is a key principle because without a tolerance for mistakes and acknowledgement of human imperfection, we are likely to be rigid and inflexible, thereby reducing the common good. The authors describe the importance of moral intelligence this way: “Moral intelligence directs our other forms of intelligence to do something worthwhile. Moral intelligence gives our life purpose. Without moral intelligence, we would be able to do things and experience events, but they would lack meaning.” And they promise: “the more you devel develop op your moral intelligence, the more positive changes you will notice, not only in your work but in your personal well-being. Staying true to your moral compass will not eliminate life‟s inevitable conflicts. “The evidence is clearWithout – moralit,intelligence plays a risks big part in corporate success. your organisation devastating financial failure.” Wouldn‟t it be nice to see more leaders within corporations going for the truth as a core policy, with statements such as “our communication policy is total honesty”?
By Stephen Manallack
Stephen Manallack is a communication consultant, professional speaker and trainer. His training programs include creating a corporate communication culture, and how managers and leaders can create engaged employees. Stephen is the author of “You Can Communicate” (Pearson 2002). He is a member of the committee of management of the Australia India Business Council. Telephone: +613 9531 4099 Website: www.manallack.com.au Email: [email protected]
Ethics, success and leadership the Infosys way (cont)
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Infosys employees actively participate in the welfare of the local community. Our Development Centers (DCs) in India make a difference through several Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives. Our employees organize and contribute to welfare programs, especially for underprivileged children. We support the activities of institutes and Non-Government Organizations Organiz ations (NGOs) dedicated to healthcare and education, and campaigns for skills development and community welfare.
CSR activities at Infosys DCs in 2009 Bangalore DC
Rakum School for the visually challenged: Mitr, our local CSR team, visited the Rakum School for the visually challenged. Mobility, an exercise in which team members walked
blindfolded using canes, helped them empathize with the children. The team organized games and distributed chocolates and stationery. an d Notebook distribution: The Infynite Smiles CSR team has been distributing books and stationery to underprivileged children across Karnataka since 2001. In 2009, the team touched more than 45,000 lives, including the tribal community. We collected donations amounting to Rs. 10,00,000. Our drive has been actively supported by the Dream School Foundation, Ramana Clinic, Sri Vivekananda Youth Movement, Chrysalis and other NGOs.
Bhubaneswa Bhubaneswarr DC
Project Genesis: This initiative of the Infosys Affirmative Action Program (IAAP) prepares students for a career in the Business Process Outsourcing industry. The Th e project was launched in Orissa in 2007 along with the state government to enhance the skills of academicians. Till date, 515 professors have been trained to make learning more focused by combining traditional teaching methods with modern education. In 2009, 70 professors underwent a 12-day training program.
Chandigarh DC
Behavior and social skills development: Prayaas, our local CSR team, organized a program
where 60 children from the Panchkula slum showcased their creativity in group activities. The children were imparted training in social etiquette. Medical camp and cleanliness drive: Prayaas has adopted Tanda village to drive social transformation in the region. Our volunteers engaged residents in a cleanliness drive to prevent malaria. A free camp for eye and general medical check up was organized. Medicines and spectacles prescribed by doctors at the camp were distributed free of cost. The team collected data on health and sanitation related issues to address them.
Chennai DC
Educare: Sneham, our local CSR team, manages a dedicated intranet portal to help employees support education of the children of our housekeeping and security staff. In 2009, 1,500 members contributed approximately Rs. 14,00,000 to support more than 370 students. Meritorious students were awarded for their performance. A special award was presented to a girl child with exceptional recitation skills. Helping the visually challenged: Infoscions partner with Nethrodaya, an NGO that works with visually challenged children. Our volunteers regularly conduct weekend w eekend reading sessions. In 2009, we organized a South S outh India inter-state sports festival with modified versions of cricket, volleyball and chess. Facilities for rural schools: Volunteers constructed a water tank to supply drinking d rinking water to 1,000 students of the Avanippoor Government Higher Secondary School. We have been donating notebooks to the Anoor School since 2005. In 2009, we donated a water tank to the school. We also distributed notebooks to the children of Infosys’ support staff.
Hyderabad DC
PC donation drive: Mamata, our local CSR team, donated more than 105 PCs to institutions that undertake non-commercial and public activities. We have already invited requests for the next list of beneficiaries. Day of Change: Every Wednesday, drop boxes are placed at the campus entrance and exit points, food courts and parking area to collect coins from Infoscions for social welfare welfare activities.
Mysore DC
Notebook distribution: Soften, our local CSR team, distributed 57,000 books, 36,000 pencils and 3,600 erasers in the Notebook Distribution Drive 2009. Underprivileged students from various schools have been benefiting from this drive since 2002. Language and computer education: Basic computer education was imparted to the security and housekeeping staff of the DC. Our team also helped 10 guards improve their English language skills. Summer camp: A month-long workshop was conducted in May 2009 at Karunya Mane, a child rehabilitation center. 30 children were taught art and craft, dance, Math, English, environment awareness, traffic rules, health and fitness, and social etiquette. Quiz contests co ntests helped the children assess their general knowledge. Blood donation: More than 80 Infoscions donated blood in a special camp conducted in collaboration with the Mysore Rotary and Chandrakala Hospital.
schoo l for dropouts run School for dropouts: Our team works with Kaliyuva Mane, an informal school by the Divya Deepa Trust. We interact with children in open classrooms through painting competitions and games.
Pune DC
Sparsh - A Healing Touch, our local CSR team, is a registered NGO. In 2009, we conducted several programs: Eye donation camp: More than 330 Infoscions pledged to donate their eyes in a special camp organized with the Ruby Hall Clinic and Eye Bank Association of India. Play and Live (PAL): We use sports to boost the confidence of underprivileged und erprivileged children, teach them various skills and change their outlook. We donated sports equipment including carom and chess boards, and prizes such as watches, perfumes and chocolates. Blood donation camp: 700 volunteers donated blood during a two-day camp in June 2009.
Three blood banks - ISIS Blood Bank, KEM and Janakalyan - participated. Doctors highlighted the need for safe blood donation at the camp.
Thiruvananthapuram DC
Notebook distribution: Infosys CEO and Managing Director Kris Gopalakrishnan inaugurated a notebook distribution drive, which benefited 4,000 students in 2009.
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More than a workplace, a melting pot of cultures
Infosys celebrated the World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development Devel opment on May 21, 2010 with a fortnight-long campaign that highlighted the importance of cultural diversity at the workplace. The Diversity Offices of Infosys Technologies and Infosys BPO created awareness among Infoscions about the nuances of diversity and inclusivity
Language: InfyTV, the in-house TV channel, broadcasts courses to learn five languages Culture: A quiz on culture enabled a better understanding of cultural diversity
Cuisine: Food courts at Infosys Development Centers worldwide served cuisine from different regions Global perspectives: On May 25, Infosys CEO and MD Kris Gopalakrishnan delivered the keynote address at a panel discussion on 'Cultural Alliance and Diversity: Gateway for Enhanced Economic Development' at Infosys' campus in Chennai. The panelists included Bryan Dalton from the U.S. Consul, N Ram from The Hindu, Akhila Srinivasan from the Netherlands Consul and Nikolay A Listopadav from the Russian Consul, P.W.C. Da Davidar, vidar, Principal Secretary, Information Technology, Government Government of Tamil Nadu and B. Santhanam, Managing Director, Saint-Gobain Glass India Ltd. On June 4, Dr. Walter Fust, President of Globethics.net, a global network of institutions in applied ethics, made a presentation on 'Working Across Borders' to Infoscions across Europe via live video.
Infosys has more than 100,000 employees emplo yees from 83 nationalities working together in an inclusive environment. The workplace recognizes the unique skills of professionals irrespective of gender, ethnicity or nationality. Our 'Creating a Common Ground' campaign creates awareness among employees about the languages and cultures of the countries coun tries where we operate. A team of culture coaches initiates new recruits into Infosys through the 'iExperience' program by b y providing continuous diversity and culture sensitivity training. training. Infosys' Women's Inclusivity Network offers opportunities for professional development to women employees through mentoring and focuses on work-life balance by creating alternative work models.
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Promoting education and research
The Infosys USA Foundation supports the New York City (NYC) Science Education Initiative to spread science and math literacy spread literacy among students of underserved communities. The Foundation provided a grant of US$ 380,000 to the New York Academy of Sciences for implementing the program in New York schools and Citizen Schools of New Jersey. Project Genesis bridges the skill gap among undergraduate students - between industry requirements and non-engineering graduate education. In 2011-12, the project mentored 16,762 students and 365 academicians from 138 institutions. Campus Connect program enhances the curriculum and enriches the talent pool of engineering and management colleges. During 2011-12, we engaged with 474 engineering institutions to train 1,400 faculty members, who in turn trained over 31,000 students. Since inception, over 7,200 faculty and over 153,000 students have been trained under this program. The program has been published as a case study in the World Economic Forum's 2011 report on ‘Talent Mobility Good Practices’.
Infosys Science Foundation
Foundation honors outstanding contributions of Indian researchers to pure and Infosys Science Foundation applied sciences with the annual Infosys Prize. The laureates receive a 24-carat 24 -carat gold medallion, a citation and a cash prize of 50 lakh, the highest prize money for researchers in India. The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)-Infosys Foundation Award in Computing Compu ting Sciences recognizes the contributions of young scientists to a contemporary innovation. The annual award carries a prize of US$ 150,000 from the Infosys Foundation.
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Our social contract inspires employees to contribute to community communit y welfare, environment sustainability and digital literacy. In 2011-12, Infosys organized several programs, enabling enablin g employees to give back to the society: Volunteering Our 151,000 employees are at the heart of our volunteering movement. The sabbatical policy for community service was launched in October 2008.
The policy enables employees to involve invo lve in community development projects while receiving monetary support from the company. Employees are also given the choice of coming back to normal work schedules on the successful completion of the projects in a time frame of six months to one year. Green Connect - our employee volunteer Eco group at Bangalore - provides a platform for employees to become responsible citizens, initiate and engage in activities to lead the change in creating ecofriendly practices. More More Emergency aid The Infosys Foundation’s mission is to work in remote regions of India in the areas of healthcare, education, culture, destitute care and rural development.
The Foundation has constructed 3,000 homes for flood victims in Belgaum, Gulbarga, Dharwad, Gadag, Bagalkot, Bijapur, and Karwar in Karnataka. The has,supplies over theand years, a helping hand disasters and calamities withFoundation food, essential for lent rebuilding lives. In during the lastnatural 15 years, thousands have been benefited with the Foundation's support and aid amounting to over US$ 8,316,008. More More Digital empowerment Launched in 2008, SPARK SP ARK is aimed at raising the aspirations of students. The SPARK SP ARK portfolio includes three programs - Rural Reach Program, Catch Them Young and Spark Guru. This year, SPARK touched the lives of 397,819 students and faculty members. Among the students trained, 47% were girls and 67% came from rural schools. More More Global workforce Our workforce comprises employees from various countries and from multi-cultural backgrounds. Our diversity office has several innovative programs that foster diversity diversity and inclusivity at workplace. ‘Creating Common Ground’ is one su ch program that creates awareness about different cultures across the globe and specifically where we have h ave our operations.
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Shaping policies We have continued our engagement with a number of external ex ternal forums such as World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD); Business Action for Sustainable Development (BASD); National Association of SoftwareCompanies (NASSCOM) India, on green infrastructure and diversity practices; Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), India, for benchmarking energy intensity for commercial buildings and the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC). More More Promoting education and research The Infosys USA Foundation supports the New York City (NYC) Science Education Initiative to literacy among students of underserved communities. spread science and math literacy spread
