Week 3 Discussion Responses - Global Corporate Citizenship,- Leadership and Ethics

Respond with no more that one page, cite as required with this weeks reference to support thoughts, Recognize their work and opinion, challenge ideas respectfully, and offer a recommendation as needed to their ideas.

Discussion 1:

by N,W

Microsoft and Walt Disney Company topped the Reputation Institute's 2017 list of companies with the best corporate social responsibility (Forbes, 2017). At the bottom of the list sat Goldman Sach's and BP (Market Watch, 2017). After conducting a keyword search of models for global corporate citizenship, the biggest difference I noticed between the best and the worst was that consumer-driven companies seemed to have the highest corporate social responsibility (CSR) scores, and non-consumer-driven companies (banks, oil companies) had the lowest. Consumer-driven companies have made the jump towards CSR more quickly, I believe, due to their high-profile products and interaction with the public via media and advertising. These companies are forced to be more transparent because they deal directly with their customers and local communities. Consumers are more apt to do business or buy product from a company which they deem as loyal and they can trust (Trevail, C., Manila, A., Schlack, J.W., & Lerman, K, 2016). 

Non-consumer-based businesses are famously opaque when it comes to the sharing of information with the public, often fixing problems only in hindsight. This was evident in the BP Deepwater Horizon Spill and Goldman Sach's role in the 2008 financial disaster via sub-prime mortgages. Since both of these disasters, BP and Goldman Sachs have attempted to rectify their lack of corporate social responsibility, evaluating the way they do business with communities and finding ways to fix it. These companies were in an elementary stage of global corporate citizenship, and began to listen to stakeholders once it became a necessity for their business' survival. Now that they have been able to engage with their stakeholders, they have moved into stage 2 of the stages of global corporate citizenship (Lawrence, A.T., Weber, J., 2014). From here they can begin to integrate new policies and community directives and begin to regain the trust of the community, and the world. 

Forbes. (2017). Retrieved on May 17, 2017. Retrieved from: https://www.forbes.com/pictures/efkk45fdekj/the-10-companies-with-the-best-csr-reputations-2/#5ede94857e51.

Lawrence, A. T., & Weber, J. (2008). Business and Society: Stakeholders, Ethics, public policy. Tata McGraw-Hill Education.

Trevail, C., Manila, A., Schlack, J.W., & Lerman, K. (2016, November 1). The brands that make customers feel respected. Retrieved from: https://hbr.org/2016/11/the-brands-that-make-customers-feel-respected.

Discussion 2:

by:  R,C

Identify companies that serve as models for global corporate citizenship. Compare these companies with others that are deficient in their attention to or performance of corporate citizenship. 

Today, businesses aren't just looking to make money, but to earn a good reputation as corporate citizens. Good corporate citizens exemplify ethical morals through their actions as a company. Corporate citizenships are measured by labor practices, treatment of customers, environmental matters, community relations, diversity, and employee relations. Every year the Corporate Responsibility magazine produce a list of CR's 100 Best Corporate Citizens. Coming in at number 6 for 2016 was Bristol- Myers Squibb Co. Bristol-Myers Squibb is a global biopharmaceuticalcompany that produce various medications. This includes the ground breaking coumadin, which prevents heart attacks and strokes and Glucophage which helps control glucose levels. On the other end of the spectrum is ConocoPhillips. According to the Corporate Responsibility Magazine, ConocoPhillips was ranked number 59 on their list, but was removed as a result of allegations of their lack of environmental concerns. 

Bristol-Myers ranked 29 in environment, 59 in climate change, 38 in human rights, 57 in employee relations, 36 corporate governance, 66 in philanthropy, and 67 in financial rank. Bristol-Myers has preparedsustainability goals to improve their environmental performance, safety performance, decrease their energy usage and greenhousegas emissions, decrease water usage, improve the recovery , reduction, and recycling of waste , and improve the health and safety of their employees. They managed to reduce their total energy use by 13%, greenhouse gas emissions by 19%, and reduced total water use by 9.2%, contributing to their goal of improving environmental impact. 

ConocoPhillips is an oil and natural gas company spanned across 17 countries. They look for new sites in hopes of finding resources so that they can produce and transport products such as natural gas, natural gas liquids, crude oil, and bitumen throughout the world (ConocoPhillips 2017). Their products are used to produce power in various regions. With their role in developing countries, corporate citizenship should be a priority. In 2015, ConocoPhillips had to pay a group of fishermen in China $265,000 for an oil spill to compensate them for their livelihoods being affected on top of the $160 million to the Ministry of Agriculture and $270 million to the State of Oceanic Administration. Other suits involved Oklahoma where they were accused of improper tank storage that ended in a $3.7 million settlement . In addition, California slapped ConocoPhillips with a lawsuit, several of their gas stations had gas leaks due to improperunderground storage, putting the groundwater at risk (CR Magazine 2016). 

Model Corporate citizens are well rounded and responsible for the actions of their company. ConocoPhillips is involved in supporting some community programs geared towards education but the lack of attention to how their products can affect the environment is a high risk that cost them hundreds of millions of dollars in the span of 3-4 years. Acts like this make stakeholders worry about their investments and can cause detrimental effects in the ecosystem. By improving their storage, drilling, and collecting methods ConocoPhillips can improve their ranking tremendously. 

References 

ConocoPhillips. (2017). Accountability and Performance. Retrieved from http://www.conocophillips.com/Pages/default.aspx 

Corporate Responsibility Magazine. (2016). CR's 100 Best Corporate Citizens 2016. Retrieved from http://www.thecro.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/100best_1.pdf 

Monies, P. (2017). Details Emerge in Deal to End Lawsuit by State of Oklahoma Against Phillips 66. NewsOk. Retrieved from http://newsok.com/article/5534190 

Zacks Equity Research. (2015). ConocoPhillips and Phillips 66 to Pay $11.5 M in Lawsuit. Retrieved from https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/174550/conocophillips-and-phillips-66-to-pay-115m-in-lawsuit