Discussion and responses

In his 2009 World Day of Peace message “

Fighting Poverty to Build Peace

,” Pope Benedict XVI indicated that central to the work of the Catholic Church is the responsibility to fight poverty. Read this document and then respond to the following questions: To what degree do global corporations share in this responsibility? What is the role of global leadership for improving the lives and economic opportunities of the “bottom billion”?

(Do not attempt to address all of these points in your first post. Challenge yourself to develop your understanding and interaction with the course concepts as the discussion progresses.)

Discussion posts should reflect scholarly analysis and interpretation of the topic as well as supporting research. Follow APA formatting guidelines (current edition) to integrate your research and cite your sources. Each post (the initial post as well as the response posts) should be between 300-500 words in length.

Cecelia L Discussion 8

 

Do global corporations have an obligation to fight poverty?  Certainly not legal, and many people like to cite Friedman and his idea that business is responsible for making a profit while following the rules of society, laws, and do so without deception or fraud (Friedman, 1970).  However, in today’s society, it has become necessary to do the responsible things such as fight poverty, hunger, pollution, and all the ethical socially responsibilities or possibly lose revenue and profits to other more socially responsible corporations. 

            More and more major corporations are requiring middle management and above to log in a requirement of volunteer hours each month (representing the company).  Some companies require volunteerism for their executives to different social groups such as Altrusa International, Rotary, Kiwanis, Chamber of Commerce and others.  They do this because it makes the company look good!  It gets their people recognized, which in turn gets the company recognized, and it makes them feel good too.  If CSR is helping people AND increasing profits, that is a win-win.  Today, everyone from the lowliest staff member to the CEO and President participate in food drives because they see the need for them and it makes them feel useful.

            Ciulla, (2014) describes leadership as “a complex moral relationship between people, based on trust, obligation, emotion, and some shared vision of the good.”  Being ethical and moral in a group or organization can be challenging.  Doing the “right” thing is not always easy or popular which is why it takes a strong leader to embrace the difficult decisions. For an ethical and moral leader the question may be, do we adopt this culture we are living in and bring good changes to the lives around us or do we continue with the same old thing of putting a few more pennies in someone else’s pockets?  Of course, corporations have to be careful what they fund.  Critics often come from whichever side chosen.  Customers have become savvy with technology and do look at what the companies they buy from support.  This does have an effect on profits, one way or the other.   

 

Ciulla, J. B. (2014). “Introduction,” Ethics, The Heart of Leadership. Third Edition.  Westport, CT. p. xv.

Friedman, M. (1970). The social responsibility of business is to increase its profits.  The New York Times Magazine, September.

Holley W discussion 8

Pope Benedict XVI stated “our efforts to address poverty reflect our commitment to the dignity of the human person and to building a more just and peaceful world” (Fighting Poverty to Build Peace, 2009). There are 37.3 million people living in poverty in the US alone (Fighting Poverty to Build Peace, 2009). “Around 1.4 billion people live in extreme

 

poverty with incomes of less than $1.25 a day” (Burand & Koch, 2010). Yunus states that “poverty is a chronic problem that impinges on global security issues and plagues nearly half of the world’s people. Poverty is a threat to peace” (2007). “Poverty destroys human potential, breeds despair and violence and undermines human security” (Hubbard, 2009). “Fighting poverty is not only good for the poor, it’s good for business and the whole of society” (Green, 2006). 

Poverty is a real problem around the world. The above paragraph identifies the scholarly support documenting what a global crisis poverty is. Additionally, it further supports the need to address poverty from a security or safety stand point. Poverty needs to be addressed on the global level. If we decrease poverty we will also decrease conflicts in the impoverished locations (Marshall, 2004). 

Thomas Rutledge of Charter Communications Inc. made 98 Million dollars in 2016 as their CEO (Choe, 2017). Cristiano Ronaldo a soccer player earned 58 million dollars in 2017 (Badenhausen, 2017). These two salaries combined earned 156 Million. When we calculate this astronomical number to 1.25 per day that some people are living on we see that this could pay 124,800,000 people for one day of living. We reward our CEO’s and our athlete’s absurd salaries while people around the world are starving to death. 

Finally, to answer the question at hand, I fully believe that global corporations share a responsibility in helping to address the epidemic of poverty. “As a major actor the private sectors has an important role to play in promoting economic and political progress around the world” (Pehn, 2009). Our poverty rate for individuals over 65 in America is 9.7 percent (Fighting Poverty to Build Peace, 2009). For this audience alone, we have to understand this demographic worked and contributed to society up until and including their senior years and yet we pay them a minimal amount of social security that they can barely get by. I have an Aunt who “makes” 1500 a month and that is the only income she gets. We have forced these individuals into impoverished situations and we owe this generation more than dignity and pride. “Moreover, the daily struggle to just survive can inhibit the poor from effectively organizing and advocating against discriminatory policies and practices that contribute to their deprived status” (Olson, 1971).

Speaking specifically for the elderly, we should implement a strategy to pay them more on a monthly basis for the services they rendered in their professions even if these professions were minimal. Corporations should reinstate pensions (Reno, 1993) that so many baby boomers are living off today. As a 43-year-old with no real savings to speak of, but who has work since I was 18, I have to wonder what will be available to me that I have paid into when I turn 65. The answer is, nothing. If we are already forcing our elderly into poverty then we have potentially doomed other generations to this same fate. 

 
 

References:

Badenhausen, K. (2017, June). The World’s Highest Paid Athletes 2017. Retrieved February 26, 2018, from https://www.forbes.com/athletes/#1a5ed23f55ae

Burand, D., & Koch, D. W. (2010). Microfranchising: A business approach to fighting poverty. Franchise Law Journal, 30(1), 24-34. Retrieved from https://saintleo.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.saintleo.idm.oclc.org/docview/791825044?accountid=4870

Choe, S. (2017, May 23). Top 10 highest paid CEOs in 2016. Retrieved February 26, 2018, from https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2017/05/23/ceo-pay-highest-paid-chief-executive-officers-2016/339079001/

FIGHTING POVERTY TO BUILD PEACE. (2009, January 1). Retrieved from Libreria Editrice Vaticana: http://w2.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/messages/peace/documents/hf_ben-xvi_mes_20081208_xlii-world-day-peace.html

Green, E. (2006). World bank calls for more aggressive latin america poverty fight. (). Washington: Federal Information & News Dispatch, Inc. Retrieved from https://saintleo.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.saintleo.idm.oclc.org/docview/190011328?accountid=4870

Hubbard, H. J. (2009, Feb 09). Fighting poverty to build peace. America, 200, 11-14. Retrieved from https://saintleo.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.saintleo.idm.oclc.org/docview/209718873?accountid=4870

Marshall, K. (2004). Faith perspectives for development institutions: New faces of compassion and social justice. International Journal, 59(4), 893-901. Retrieved from https://saintleo.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.saintleo.idm.oclc.org/docview/220847312?accountid=4870

Olson, M.: 1971, The Logic of Collective Action: Public Goods and the Theory of Groups (Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA).

Penh, B. (2009). New convergences in poverty reduction, conflict, and state fragility: What business should know. Journal of Business Ethics, 89, 515-528. http://dx.doi.org.saintleo.idm.oclc.org/10.1007/s10551-010-0404-6

Reno, V. P. (1993, Spring). The role of pensions in retirement income: Trends and questions. Social Security Bulletin, 56, 29-43. Retrieved from https://saintleo.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.saintleo.idm.oclc.org/docview/227773767?accountid=4870

Yunus, M. (2007). THE SECRETARY-GENERAL’S AGENDA: PRIORITIZING COMMITMENT TO COMBAT GLOBAL POVERTY. UN Chronicle, 44(1), 22-23. Retrieved from https://saintleo.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.saintleo.idm.oclc.org/docview/218143896?accountid=4870