CSR Continuum

One of the final requirements in our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) class is to assess our company’s positioning in the CSR continuum shown below.  

While reflecting where our company really is, I realized I made a wrong judgment of my current employer.  Before I took up my MBA degree, my perception of CSR is doing or giving back something to the community.  Tree planting is one of the most common activities when we talk about CSR, and with my 3 year stint with the company, I have not witnessed this program.  In one of my conversations with a colleague, also before taking up my MBA, we compared our company with the other organizations, and envied how big the CSR activities are for those companies.  We were somehow upset since our company does not give a big deal to these programs.  One perfect example is our cash donation to 2 big foundations.  During the actual giving of check, our only representative was our company nurse.  We compared that in other companies, donations are usually handed over by the top management, and of course, with well documented photos. 

This course gave me a whole new perspective of what CSR really is.  From having an impression that my company is apathetic in promoting CSR activities, I now give a high regard to my employer’s CSR values.  One of my key learnings in this course is that CSR is not about charity nor a public relations activity.  CSR is how companies contribute to society through good business practice, and how it forms part of the company’s core business.  CSR is more of how companies make or earn profit, and not how they spend it.  This framework makes a lot more sense than my initial perception of what CSR is.  Some companies may have good public image because of their charity and other related activities.  But if we try to further scrutinize, are their employees well taken care of?  Are they actually practicing a fair competition?  Are their employees given a just compensation and benefits?  Do employees have a conducive and safe working environment?  

In this course, I realized how CSR is being used as a facade by most companies.  I’m glad that our company is not among them.  My current employer may not have huge spending on charity activities, but I would say that responsible business practices are definitely being carried out.  In terms of production process, my employer ensures a high quality of our products.  Despite having a very minute size, our products perform a very critical role in automating various functionalities of a vehicle, from power to sensors and alarm.  Some of our products are as small as 1/8 of a thumbnail, but this small can damage the car and worse, a human life, if produced with a defective or low quality.  The manufacturing plant, in general, is a safe work place and pollution is controlled, as we want to avoid complaints from nearby residents.  Our employees are well taken care of.  Compensation is within the industry’s average, or at least our HR tries its best to align with the market rate; benefits exceed what the law requires, and employees in general are treated well by managers and supervisors.  Our HR department continuously improve its benefits package, and conducts more and programs to promote wellness and camaraderie of our employees.  Rather than spending money for donations and other external CSR programs, the company focuses itself instead on internal programs, for the welfare of our employees.  They are after all the most valuable asset of our company.  They are after all, the main drivers in ensuring the quality of our products.  

Gender Equality in the Workplace

One of the last topics covered in our MBA-CSR class was the gender equality in the workplace.  Gender equality, according to our slides, means “that the different behavior, aspirations, and needs of women and men are considered, valued and favored equally.”  In my current employer, I believe that if not nearly equal, we have more female than men employees.  This has significantly evolved from decades ago.  Since we are a manufacturing company, the manpower before used to be dominated by men.  One of the main reasons was that there were less automated machines in the past, and that the strength of men is needed to operate or lift the parts of some machines.  Aside from the gender preference, our company also used to require a certain height limit.  Yes, this is a form of discrimination.  But the justification of our managers was, they needed taller employees to reach certain parts of the machines. 

As years passed, the physical structures of our machines, as well as their functionalities have also evolved.  Alongside with this machine evolution, is the change in the gender and height preference of the company.  To reduce issues on discrimination, there were some modifications in the facility layout.  The height of some of our machines did not really change over the years.  But the modification made was to place some platforms, so that height requirement will no longer be an issue. Although lifting of some machine parts would really require male employees, more female employees are now hired for almost all other functions.  The strengths and weaknesses of both genders are acknowledged by the company, and that’s where the strategy on where to place them comes into place.  Male employees are usually assigned to processes which may require lifting of certain heavy tools and machine parts.  Females on the other hand, are usually assigned to visual inspections, since women in general have softer hands and have more attention to details.    In terms of management, we have about 100 managers, and I would say that women population for managers is almost the same as men.  However, the top management is still dominated by men. 

Another discrimination issue that we have also eliminated was the requirement on the educational attainment.  Several years ago, the company's minimum educational requirement for our operators is at least 2 years in college or vocational course.  When our HR was evaluating the turnover rates, they have realized that turnover rates were a lot lower before, when the minimum educational requirement was 'at least high school graduate.'  The management reflected that those who did not step in college have a higher loyalty than than those who had at least finished their 2nd year in college.  Because of this, the management decided to revert to its requirement a decade ago, which is to reduce the educational requirement for applicants.

Companies, like what my employer did, should continue to find ways and assess the value of equal opportunity in the workplace.  In setting requirements as to gender, educational background, height, religion, race, etc., companies should carefully evaluate why they really need such limitations.  Existing hiring policies should also be periodically reviewed, and management should evaluate what are the possible workarounds in meeting certain requirements, while eliminating discrimination.  

Labor Issues

For several years, I have been using IPhones and have tried 3 models already.  Although I’m not really a gadget-savvy, I’m a happy and satisfied Apple user.  However, my perception of Apple has changed after I watched the video featuring the labor conditions at Foxconn.  Foxconn is the major manufacturer of IPhones and other Apple products, Hewlett Packard, Dell, Motorola, Nintendo, Nokia and Sony (Wikipedia).   In the video, Foxconn is said to have violated a number of labor rights, resulting to riots and worse, suicide of some employees.  Employees are said to be working for excessive hours and not fairly compensated for their overtime.  Other allegations about Foxconn include cancelling of lunch breaks if targets are not met, limited day offs, child labor, and that employees are sometimes exposed to harmful substances.  It is really surprising to know that behind the most popular mobile brand, are some negative stories. 

First, I was quite surprised that there’s a highly manual operation involved in the manufacturing of Iphones.  I am also working in an electronic manufacturing company.  Although we have a large workforce, I would say that the jobs of our operators are not labor intensive.  Our employees work on a 12-hour shift, but they are properly compensated.  Most of them actually prefer to work on a 12-hour shift than on an 8-hour shift, because of a huge jump in their net pay.  Unlike Foxconn, our company is very careful in handling our employees.  We have encountered various labor cases already, and as much as possible, we want to avoid incurring costs on legal cases.  Aside from a negative public image, we are also subjected to high legal costs, both to our lawyers, and to the employee who had filed a complaint/case against us.  Aside from cost, there’s also a lot of time spent in facing these charges.  So, rather than a reactive approach, our company is more of doing a preventive approach, by ensuring compliance with the labor laws. 

At first, I wondered why Foxconn has managed to continue its operations despite the cases filed against them.  Then I realized that the government cannot simply cease the operations of very big companies.  Ceasing, or at least suspending the operations of these influential companies, not only would affect the employment rate of the country, but would also significantly affect the tax revenues of the government.  Although the government has the power to halt Foxconn’s operations, it would eventually backfire against them. 

Foxconn’s customers (e.g. Apple) on the other hand, should also have the responsibility in ensuring the sound business practices of their suppliers.  CSR is not limited to a company’s operations and programs, but also extends to the sound business practices of their suppliers and customers.  In other words, a true and effective CSR should be implemented in an ecosystem of the company and its stakeholders.  Accountability of implementing responsible business practices should be shared by suppliers, customers, employees, owners, and other stakeholders.  Countries and their governments also form part of this ecosystem.  Another issue involved here is that the approach to CSR is different between the supplier’s country (China) and its customers (US).  US on one hand is giving a high regard to CSR activities, but on the other hand, China’s approach to CSR needs more maturity.  It may be a big leap to reconcile the differences in these two powerful countries, in terms of their approach to CSR.  To reconcile differences, the safest approach is to ensure that the contracts between the suppliers and customers are adequately reviewed, and adequately include provisions on CSR matters particularly on labor and quality issues. 

CSR as a Government Requirement

“Do you think the government should require companies to have CSR programs?”  This was a question raised in one of our MBA-CSR sessions.  Personally, I don’t think this should be a government requirement.  Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs should be sincerely and voluntarily implemented, rather than being forced to business organizations. 

In 2013, House Bill (HB) 306 was introduced by the former president, Gloria Macapacal Arroyo, as well as her son, Diosdado “Dado” Macapagal Arroyo.   This act is known as “Corporate Social Responsibility Act of 2013”, “an act encouraging corporate social responsibility, providing incentives therefor, and for other purposes”.  Under this bill, companies are encouraged, not required, to voluntarily contribute to sustainable economic development.  Section 43 of Batas Pambansa Blg 68, or the “Corporation Code of the Philippines” was amended as follows: “Stock corporations are prohibited from retaining surplus profits in excess of one hundred (100%) percent of their paid-in capital stock, except: (1) when justified by definite corporate expansion OR CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY projects and programs approved by the board of directors…”.  Under this bill, the state shall “give national recognition and rewards to all business organizations for outstanding, innovative and world-class CSR-related services, projects and programs;”  spending for these CSR programs are also be entitled to full deductibility from gross income; local government units can provide assistance “necessary for business organizations to perform their CSR;” and that “all business organizations shall submit the list of their CSR activities as part of their annual or regular report to the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Department of Trade and Industry, or the Department of Finance.” 

When I first read about this HB, I was pleased that the government is actually promoting CSR to local organizations.  But on the second thought, I felt that there’s an underlying agenda on this HB, probably because of my bias on the authors of this HB.  As the public knows, our former president faced various plunder and graft cases.  And yet, I find it ironic that they are actually authoring this HB.  CSR, as I have learned in my MBA-CSR class, is how companies contribute to society through good business practice.  But have the authors of this HB done a responsible government practice during their term?  If the plunder and graft cases were true, how confident are we that this HB will be applied by the companies responsibly?  How good is the intention of the authors?  In this HB, companies can already use its CSR projects as a justification for retaining their surplus profits.  Should the companies exceed their surplus profits beyond their paid-in capital stock, and these are not justified, they will be subjected to certain taxes and penalties.  Because of my bias on the authors of this HB, I believe that this will just be used for some forms of concealment and tax avoidance.   

The HB also mentioned (but not limited to) the following activities as forms of CSR activities: “charitable programs and projects, scientific research, youth and sports development, cultural or educational promotion, services to veterans and senior citizens, social welfare, environmental sustainability, health development, disaster relief and assistance, and employee and worker welfare related CSR activities.”  CSR in general, should not be an exclusive project only, and it should form part of the company’s daily operations.  On accounting perspective, I find it hard how to distinguish the costs between CSR and non-CSR programs, particularly for organizations who are already embedding CSR in their core business operations.  Providing a safe workplace and fair compensation to employees are already forms of CSR.  Will our local government consider these as CSR activities as well?  CSR, based on one of the videos that we have watched in class, is how companies earn profits, and not how they spend it.  With this bill, the people will continue to perceive CSR otherwise, and be misled to believe that CSR is how companies spend money (on charitable or philanthropic giving), and not how they responsibly earn their profits.

PWD in the Workplace

Based on Philippine Statistics Authority’s 2010 Census of Population and Housing, the rate of Persons with disabilities (PWDs) in the population have increased from 1.23% (0.9m) in 2000 to 1.57% (1.4m) in 2010.  About 59% of the PWDs belong to the working age group, 18.9% for 0-14 age range, and 22.1% from the retirement age group.  While the largest chunk of PWD’s population are in the working age group, PWDs are often deprived of getting good and stable jobs, not just in the Philippines, but in other countries as well.  There’s a very few company I know that really open their doors and offer employment to PWDs.  In my 12 years of employment, I have worked for 5 companies already and only 2 of them have open positions for PWDs.   My third employer’s parent company hired an orthopedic-disabled receptionist.  The President strategically placed her in the front line to convey equality among the individuals.  Compared with other receptionists that I have met, she indeed had the sincerest morning greeting, which will definitely lighten up your mood the entire day.  My fourth employer, which promotes diversity in the workplace, also hired an orthopedic-disabled manager.  Except for their legs, the rest of their body parts are functioning well.  Their disabilities do not serve as barriers in communicating with their colleagues.

However, Lamoiyan’s manpower model is an exceptional one.  Lamoiyan is known for manufacturing the local toothpaste – Hapee.  In its manufacturing plant, 35% of Lamoiyan’s workforce are hearing-impaired.  Unlike 2 of my previous employers who hired a small percentage of PWDs, Lamoiyan’s PWD population is quite significant.  I’m also an employee of a manufacturing company, and I’m really impressed how Lamoiyan was able to embed this special program in its production process.  Miscommunication is already one of the most common problems in the workplace, even for physically normal people.  But despite this norm, Lamoiyan took a big leap in giving decent jobs to hearing-impaired employees.  It made me realize that his operations model is really sustainable, particularly for a manufacturing company.  Our company manufactures semiconductors, and I believe we have some jobs that are suitable for hearing-impaired employees as well.  As mentioned in Lamoiyan’s case, one of the strengths of hearing-impaired employees is the attention to details.  This strength can also be used by our company for some processes like manual visual inspection (MVI), a form of quality check. 

Lamoiyan proved that PWDs can be given equal opportunities with the normal people.  I guess two of the hindrances in our country are the government policies and local infrastructures.  Even for normal people, there’s already a high unemployment rate and a high competition in getting a job.  Scarcity of jobs is not only a problem of PWDs, but of normal workforce as well.  Should the government give more job opportunities to PWDs, the next concern is – do we have a PWD-friendly infrastructure and transport system?  Even there are available jobs, the system will not work well if we do not have a good infrastructure for PWDs.  One model that the local government can implement is Swedish Government’s disability policy, with special priorities on the justice system, transportation and IT.  In terms of transportation, “Swedish government has instructed the country’s municipalities to initiate moves to make facilities such as bus and tram stops more accessible,” wherein all citizens, both normal and PWDs, can “work, study, and take part in community activities on equal terms.”  In terms of IT, Sweden’s national IT strategy was to give new IT tools to PWDs, to promote a “greater degree of independence.” In order to provide more equal opportunities to Swedish citizens, the government also provides municipal grants to PWDs for housing modifications, car allowance and subsidies, funding for job hunting, financial assistance from Swedish Social Insurance Agency, and a lot more.  Philippines may still be very far from this ideal state, but it’s not too late to start with small steps to implement changes and improvements in the lives of Filipino PWDs.

(1)    Sweden’s disability policy.  Retrieved from https://sweden.se/society/swedens-disability-policy/

Women and Advertising Ethics

Nike, Adidas and other sports brands portray their women endorsers as strong and fit women.  This has probably evolved from 1980’s and earlier years wherein the sports advertisements are mostly endorsed by men athletes.  As a woman, it is flattering that the market is now less gender-discriminating, and is now recognizing and widely accepting women as sports endorsers.  However, it is also disappointing to know that some advertisers don’t respect the sacredness of women’s body.  Some companies are using women as sex objects, and not as endorsers per se.  There are also instances wherein the use of women as endorsers does not have any connection with the product. 

For instance, women endorsers and alcohol products.  The 2003 World Health Survey (Philippines) showed that 1.7% and 0.5% of the survey population are male and female heavy/hazardous drinkers, respectively; 13.2% and 1.6% are male and female episodic drinkers, respectively; and that out of 41.6% youth drinkers, 61.2% are males, while 23.9% are females (1) .  Given these statistics, men in general, are the target market of alcohol companies.  However, in their advertisements, women are more often used as alcohol endorsers, which they traditionally call as “calendar girls.”   And if you were to assess these women, they don’t like they are heavy drinkers either.   These women are more likely used as sex objects than actual endorsers of their products.  As a mother, I think I would be struggling if my son would ask me why are those sexy women used for calendars.  How would I explain the rationale behind it to a six-year-old boy?  As much as I want to shield my sons from some photos or advertisements that would possibly pollute their minds, it is really inevitable since they always pass by EDSA and C5, crowded with a lot of these materials. 

Aside from using women as sex objects in advertisements, other advertisers excessively manipulate the image of a woman and her body.  In Vatican’s paper on ethics in advertising, the first moral principle mentioned was the “truthfulness in advertising”.  Advertisements, magazines, social media and other publication do a lot of fabrication of women’s images, and most often, an exaggerated one.  As influenced by these advertisements, women tend to be too idealistic, and sometimes lead to lower self-esteem, anxiety, eating disorders, and living beyond their means.  There’s nothing wrong celebrating the beauty of women, but what’s wrong with some advertisements is when they deliberately distort the reality and mislead the audience.  Pope John Paul II noted that advertising can be a tool of the “phenomenon of consumerism” and that “it is not wrong to want to live better; what is wrong is a style of life which is presumed to be better when it is directed toward “having” rather than “being” (1).   Instead of appreciating God’s natural gift of beauty, some women tend become someone that they are not.  Women, even the young girls, are pressuring themselves to look better and become thinner, as they compare their bodies with the models appearing in advertisements and magazines. It’s good that some organizations are driving some changes in how media portrays its endorsers.  Change.Org for instance, started a campaign to “create positive change for young women by reducing photoshop in magazines.” (2)  According to the organization, the extreme post-production editing of images elevate the problem especially for young women.  Post-production edits portray too ideal bodies, which create high insecurities among women.  In one study for instance, “75% of ‘normal’ weight women think they are overweight and 90% of women overestimate their body size.” (3) Some women resort to excessive weight reduction and worse, health problems.  I do hope Change.Org’s campaign will become more popular, and that more celebrities will be ambassadors for these changes.  One good example was Kate Winslet, the famous “Rose” in the movie Titanic.  Before she turned 40 last year, she posted a make-up free picture in Facebook, urging her followers to “embrace who they are, including their perceived flaws.”(5)  If celebrities were used to influence the public to look flawless, celebrities can also be used to change mindset of the public, on how to perceive the real beauty and embracing their flaws. 

More than the celebrity endorsers, the main responsibility lies with the companies, followed by the advertisers and regulating bodies.  The companies and their contracted advertisers should respect the dignity of the endorsers, their target market, as well as the general public.  The regulating bodies on the other hand, particularly here in the Philippines, should revisit their guidelines when it comes to advertising ethics.  Lastly, the public audience, should take active participation in communicating to the government or regulatory bodies if some advertisements are offensive. 

(1)    Retrieved from http://www.who.int/substance_abuse/publications/en/philippines.pdf

(2)    Retrieved from http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/pccs/documents/rc_pc_pccs_doc_22021997_ethics-in-ad_en.html

(3)    Retrieved from https://www.change.org/p/reduce-photoshop-in-magazines-to-create-a-better-world-for-girls

(4)    Retrieved from http://www.healthyplace.com/eating-disorders/articles/eating-disorders-body-image-and-advertising/

(5)    Retrieved from http://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/kate-winslet-goes-make-up-6341038

Service Learning at Virlanie (Part 3)

Before our activity, my personal objective was to impart my knowledge on computers to the house parents. However, during and after our session, I actually gained more than what I have shared with them. My learnings were more on the realities of life, which are beyond my technical knowledge. Mr. Cenen, the program director, encouraged us to focus on our interaction with the house parents, than the actual computer program/lesson. Every day, the house parents interact with the kids. Interacting and being served by new people, like us, would be a new experience for them. It is very seldom that they entertain receive proposals wherein the beneficiaries of the programs are the house parents, and not the kids. 

Our group was assigned to the Daycare house. In between our computer sessions, we got a chance to ask the house parents about the stories of the babies in their center and how were they brought to Virlanie. As a mom of two boys, it is very difficult for me to accept that there are really mothers who abandon their children intentionally. Some babies were left in the parking lot, garbage areas, comfort rooms, and some of those babies even have fresh umbilical cords when they were discovered. I can’t help but really question why they were chosen to bear these babies, wherein other couples are really trying for years, and sometimes spending a lot of money just to conceive a child. I have two close friends and a relative, who have experienced this, and they should have been the chosen as the biological parents of those babies. God may only be the one who can answer these questions. I understand that those parents, particularly the mothers who abandon their child, have a lot of different stories, and probably most of them are financial problems. However, if these mothers believe that they cannot support the lives of their babies, they should have sought help from their families and friends. And if they cannot give proper guidance, they should have sought help from certain helplines, foundations, and institutions. In this regard, I realized that our country lacks awareness about the existence and the purpose of these institutions. Personally, I do not know any institution in the Philippines, who can provide free counsel, unless I browsed the net. Or if I knew of a helpline number, my next concern is, is the call free? If I, having an access to the internet, have these doubts, what more those ordinary mothers who do not have access to media or to internet? How would they actually know that there are institutions who could help them, or could lead them to proper institutions who could take care of their unwanted babies, rather than leaving them in a public place? Upon searching the net, I came across Natasha Goulbourn Foundation, who has partnered with Department of Health to formally establish “Hopeline Project”, to provide a “phone-based counseling service available 24/7 to any individual who suffer from crisis and depression (healthpromo.doh.gov.ph).” Our local government should exert more effort on these types of projects, not just to avoid abandoning of children, but to address the crisis and depression in general. To increase public awareness, the HOPELINE number should be advertised more through different forms of media, including billboards. 

Despite being abandoned, those children at Virlanie were very fortunate that they are well taken-care of. Aside from the donations from certain individuals, corporations and other institutions, the house parents really take care of them as if they were the biological parents. When asked if they cry when a child leaves and adopted, I was expecting a simple “yes”, but did not expect that they are really affected when a child leaves. During the debrief with Mr. Cenen, he said that house parents are being counseled as well, before a child leaves their institution and handed over to their new parents. There is really a program that weeks or months before a child will be adopted, there should be a certain “detachment period” to help the house parents adjust. I was not expecting that they become really attached to these kids, whom they took care of not just for months, but for years. For those children at Virlanie, God has really planned something better for them. Some of them might not be able to meet their real parents anymore, but a new set of parents would be able to give them a brighter future. 

I have also realized that the house parents’ work in the foundation is a lot more meaningful than my work. If our judgment time comes, and asked by God, how did you serve and touched the lives of other people? The house parents can easily answer this question, while I… may be struggling.