Saturday, January 25, 2020
History of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
History of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) 2.1 Introduction to the Chapter This chapter provides a selection of literature relevant to the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). It starts with a brief history of CSR, it provides some definitions and it moves further to examine aspects like the Layers of CSR, the relation between CSR and Business Ethics and the Drivers of CSR. Some benefits and criticism over the concept are discussed and the strong relation between CSR and the companys Stakeholders is examined. The chapter continues with the Areas and the Activities of CSR and the Levels that influencing the adoption of CSR are analysed. Finally, some Global CSR tools as the United Nations Global Compact and the Global Reporting Initiative are presented. 2.2 The History of CSR through the Centuries The Business Relations, Accountability, Sustainability and Society Centre, known as BRASS, in its report History of Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability (2007), states that The history of social and environmental concern about business is as old as trade and business itself. Commercial logging operations for example, together with laws to protect forests, can both be traced back almost 5,000 years. In Ancient Mesopotamia around 1700 BC, King Hammurabi introduced a code in which builders, innkeepers or farmers were put to death if their negligence caused the deaths of others, or major inconvenience to local citizens. In Ancient Rome senators grumbled about the failure of businesses to contribute sufficient taxes to fund their military campaigns, while in 1622 disgruntled shareholders in the Dutch East India Company started issuing pamphlets complaining about management secrecy and self-enrichment . Moving further, Eberstadt (1977) claims in his study that phenomena of social responsibility were already presented in the ancient Greece, while todays corporate responsibility movement is an attempt to restore a 2,000-year-old tradition of businesses being connected to the community (cited in Panwar, Rinne, Hansen Juslin, 2006). In the 18th century the businesses started to anticipate that having an efficient labour force was essential for the successful delivery of their activities. During that period Adam Smith, the great moral philosopher and pioneer in economics, present for the first time the traditional or classical economic model. The model suggested that the needs and the interests of the public would best be met if the individuals act in self-interest manner. Driven by their own self-interests, the individuals would produce and deliver goods and services which would earn them profit, but also meet the needs of the others (Fernando, 2009). According to Brown (2005), the companies in order to keep their employees satisfied, because of the negative effects that the lack of food, housing and healthcare had in the labour force efficiency, they started to invest in housing, healthcare and nourishment. Thus, the worker villages of the industrial revolution, company medical facilities and the subsidized wor ks canteen appeared. That action of social philanthropy by the companies can be considered as the forerunner of the modern day CSR. Sims (2003) claims that the contemporary CSR originated back to the beginning of the 20th century and is based upon two principles. The first, the principle of charity, is based on religious tradition and suggests that those who are well financially should give to those with difficulties. The second one, the principle of stewardship, says that the organisations have an obligation to serve the society and satisfy the publics needs since their wealth and the power that they have springs through their activities within the society. This second principle had an impact on affected how companies were faced by governments, press and other groups and led to the conduction of new more socially responsible laws. The turn of the businesses to the society and the development of a more societal thinking led the organisations to increase their responsibility and consideration for both social and environmental well-being. This response to environmental and social matters by the corporations is what it is known today as Corporate Social Responsibility (Panwar et al., 2006). 2.3 Definitions of Corporate Social Responsibility The rise of the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility during the past decades resulted to the continuous debate about the exact meaning of the term. The only generally accepted view about the term CSR is that is a concept which covers several aspects. Frankental (2001), comments that CSR is a vague and intangible term which can mean anything to anybody, and therefore is effectively without meaning. Castka, Bamber, Bamber and Sharp (2004) argue that there is no single authoritative definition of CSR. The CSR concept seems to be a loosely defined umbrella embracing a vast number of concepts traditionally framed as environmental concerns, sustainable development public relations, corporate philanthropy, human resource management and community relations. During the examination of various literatures it can be seen that there is not a single generally accepted definition, although many authors and worldwide institutions defined the term CSR in similar ways. The first academically accepted definition of CSR can be found in the book Social Responsibilities of the Businessman, written by Howard Bowen in 1953. Bowen defines CSR as an obligation to pursue those policies, to make those decisions, or to follow those lines of action that are desirable in terms of the objectives and values of our society (cited in Panwar et al., 2006). Carroll (2004) argues that the social responsibility of businesses encompasses the economic, legal, ethical, and discretionary (philanthropic) expectations that society has of organizations at a given point in time, while Buhmann (2006) simply defines CSR as doing more than what is required by law. Johnson, Scholes and Whittington (2005), define CSR as the ways in which an organisation exceeds its minimum obligations to stakeholders specified through regulation. The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) defines CSR as the continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as the local community and society at large (cited in Castka et al., 2004). Finally, the internationally known law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in the report The Development and Impact of CSR on the Construction Industry (2006), defines CSR as the voluntary integration of environmental, social and human rights considerations into business operations, over and above legal requirements and contractual obligations. To conclude, it can be clearly seen that the base line of the above definitions is the volunteering obligation that the organisations must have over their employees and their families, the environment and the general public which sometimes may go further their legal requirements. 2.4 Layers of Corporate Social Responsibility According to Sachs, Ruhli, and Mittnacht (2005) the probably best known economic paradigm that prepare the ground for further research on the concept of CSR is the Carroll Pyramid (Figure 1). FIGURE 1 Carroll (1991) suggests that there are four kind of social responsibilities that an organisation should take into account while conducting its activities and those responsibilities constitute total CSR. Those four social responsibilities of an organisation were presented into a four-layered pyramid model, called The Pyramid of Responsibilities. The four layers of responsibilities are economical, legal, ethical and philanthropic. The bottom layer and the foundation of the pyramid is the Economic Responsibilities. The business must be profitable in order to keep its shareholders satisfied, produce goods and services necessary to the consumers and be able to create new jobs and promote innovation. The second layer of responsibilities is the legal and is all about following the law. The businesses should not only be profit driven but at the same time they must respect the laws and regulations produced by government and it is expected that the businesses would keep their economic activities inside the framework of the law and pay by the rules of the game. The ethical responsibilities are related to fairness and morality. The peoples rights and beliefs must be respected, any kind of harm, physical or social, must be avoided and any harm caused by others must be prevented. The last layer is the philanthropic responsibilities which urge the businesses to be good corporate citizens. The businesses through their activities must contribute resources to the community and most importantly must be able to help to improvement of the quality of life. Carroll placed the four layers of responsibility in a pyramid in order to show the strong connection between the four kinds of responsibilities. If a kind of responsibility in the pyramid model is absent then the ones above cannot be achieved. Lantos (2001) characterises the Carrolls pyramid model of CSR as altruistic or humanitarian and argued that the firm will be good to use it as marketing too in order to promote its image. Following this view Lantos (2001) proposes a new model of responsibilities by reclassifying Carrolls pyramid from four to three layers. The first layer of Lantos model is the Ethical CSR and includes economic, legal and ethical responsibilities as one group. The second layer is the Altruistic CSR which is equal to Carrolls philanthropic layer and suggests that businesses must contribute to the community even if a part of the profits must be sacrificed. The last layer of Lantos model is the Strategic CSR where businesses are fulfilling their philanthropic responsibilities not only because of generosity but also because they expect financial returns from the positive publicity. 2.5 Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility are two close related concepts but they are not identical. As it can be seen Business Ethics play a very important role in Carrolls Pyramid of responsibilities as Ethics Responsibilities are placed in the second highest layer. Both concepts refer to values, goals and decision making based on something more than just making a profit (Mullerat, 2010). In general terms the bottom line of ethics is individually doing the right thing while avoid evil and harmful actions for you and the others in your activities. On the other hand CSR is more about the obligations that an organisation must have over its stakeholders than just its shareholders. A socially responsible organisation must act ethically (Mullerat, 2010). Phatak, Bhagat and Kashlak (2005) define Business Ethics as the moral thinking and analysis by corporate decision-makers and other members regarding the motives and consequences of their decisions and actions. Furthermore, Ferrell and Fraedrich (1998) add that business ethics compromises moral principles and standards that guide behaviour in the world of business. The concept of Business Ethics is vital for every self-respected organisation and this is why many companies today develop codes of ethics and make commitments about their ethical behaviour to the public (Fisher, 2003). According to Seitel (2001), the organisations develop ethics codes in order to: Increase public confidence: Due to various scandals, mainly concerning corruption and briberies inside organisations, the publics trust for businesses has been declined. Thus, companies have decided to adopt the ethics code in order to improve their image. Stem the tight of regulation: Due to the declining trust and confidence of the public for businesses, the governments increased their legislations and regulations in order to reverse the situation. The companies adopted the ethics codes in order to show that they have ethical behaviour and can be trusted. Improve internal regulations: Due to the increase of the size of organisations and the development of multinational operations it is essential that some codes of conduct must be created in order to have the same behaviour standards among the employees. Business ethics depend on two main factors, culture and time (Svensson and Wood, 2003). The business environment culture is influenced by traditions, religion, ethical values and individuals and can be defined as what is accepted and what is unaccepted. The companys success can be affected if different opinions, that is to say different cultures, cannot be adopted satisfactory by the organisation. Additionally, what is accepted and what is unaccepted can be affected by the business time element. The business world is a fast changing environment and what is considered ethical today it can turn out to be unethical tomorrow. As it can be seen the success or the failure of a business is closely connected with ethics and that is why Business Ethics must be used as a corporate philosophy rather than a corporate code in every organisation. To conclude, Johnson et al. (2005) argue that the societys expectations, which have major influence on companies and organisations, are based on three levels of Business Ethics. The macro level is the first one and is related to the ethical posture of the company. Simply, the macro level is related to the extent in which the organisations are willing to do more than their legal requirements in order to satisfy their stakeholders. The second one is a part of the macro level and is the Corporate Social Responsibility level. This level is concerned the ability of organisations to surpass the minimum requirements needed in order to maintain the organisations ethical stance. The individual or managerial level is the last level of Business Ethics. This is a very important level since is connected with the behaviour and actions of individuals inside the organisation. 2.6 Drivers of Corporate Social Responsibility The current momentum behind Corporate Social Responsibility is being built based on a variety of very important factors. Ernst and Young (2002) mention that there are five key drivers which encourage the increasing business focus on CSR. These are: (1) greater stakeholder awareness of corporate ethical, social and environmental behaviour, (2) direct stakeholder pressures, (3) investor pressure, (4) peer pressure and (5) an increased sense of social responsibility (cited in Jones, Comfort and Hillier, 2006). Panwar et al. (2006), argue that there are diverse motivations that lead to the adoption of CSR by the organisations. For example a business is adopting CSR in order to meet mandatory legal requirements aimed at controlling destructive business practices while another business is using CSR in order to increase its productivity and improve its financial performance. It is also suggested that a company by using CSR in its practises can improve functional areas such as market positioning and risk management. According to Wood (1991), the concept of CSR is being driven by three major principles. Firstly, businesses are obliged to use their power responsibly since they are above all social institutions. Secondly, the responsibility for the outcomes of the involvement with the public is upon businesses. Lastly, discretion must be exercised in decision making processes by the individual managers who are also moral agents. Andriof and McIntosh (2001) believe that the driving force behind the concept of CSR is the consumers and employees. These two categories are holding the power in the market system nowadays. Consumers and employees are now well informed about the several challenges the world has to face and they do not really believe that the governments can change things. They accept that corporations are the most powerful social institutions of the present era and most importantly they are willing to reward those corporations who are responsive to their concerns. Finally, Girod and Bryane (2003) use a strategic marketing view arguing that CSR is a key tool to create, develop and sustain differentiated brand names. Furthermore, the Commission of the European Communities (2002) argues that the organisations in order to better respond to the fundamental changes in the overall business environment they adopted CSR and used it as an important element in new and emerging forms of governance. These changes include globalisation and the responsibilities companies feel the need to address, as they increasingly source products and services in developing countries; the issues of image and reputation, which have become increasingly important elements in corporate success; and the need for companies to recruit and retain highly skilled personnel (cited in Jones, et al., 2006). 2.7 Benefits of Corporate Social Responsibility Many organisations are using nowadays CSR as a marketing tool due to the fact that the implementation of CSR practices can bring to the organisation a wide range of potential benefits, both direct and indirect. The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has said that implementing a CSR policy, can bring real business benefits by reducing risk, by enhancing brand value, by opening doors and creating good will, and by improving staff efficiency and morale. It can also attract stable and ethical investment and add competitive edge (Chartered Institute of Building, Report) According to Mackey, Mackey Barney (2005) in the case that a company surpasses the minimum CSR requirements then the potential benefits can lead to a positive effect to the companys performance and value. Gildea (1994) and Zaman et al. (1991), stress out that research has shown that companies that care for the environment and exhibit good CSR practices experience increased consumer purchase preference in addition to increased investment appeal (cited in Panwar et al., 2006). Many consumers prefer to buy for ethical business. A survey conducted by Cone Inc. (2004) showed that 91% of the consumers have a more positive image of a product or a company when it supports a cause. The 90% of the consumers would consider switching to another companys product or services if they found out about a companys any unlawful or unethical practises. In addition, Muckiewicz (1993) supports that the reputation of an organisation plays a vital role as research studies show that 9 out of 10 consumers use it in order to decide which product or service they will buy from those that are similar in price and quality. According to Bernstein (2004), CSR benefits both the company and the community. Due to use of CSR the corporate culture and corporate name of the company can be improved significantly thus the best employees can be attracted and the motivation of the workforce will remain in high levels. The society benefits from CSR practices as well through a variety of services and action, though the company has to create some sort of societal benefit in order to be called socially responsible. Some of the potential benefits that a business can have from the use of CSR practices can include improved financial performance and profitability; reduced operating costs; long-term sustainability for companies and their employees; increased staff commitment and involvement; enhanced capacity to innovate; good relations with government and communities; better risk and crisis management; enhanced reputation and brand value; and the development of closer links with customers and greater awareness of their needs (cited in Jones et al., 2006) . Table 1 presents a summary of business benefits of CSR. TABLE 1 Concluding, it must be noted that the benefits from the adoption of CSR practises can never be predicted or be constant since each company operates in a different and always changing environment. Barnett (2007) adds that this unpredictability could lead to limited support for CSR initiatives from the board, in times of financial instability. Thus, the business case supporting CSR has to be specific for every company and based on Rowley and Berman (2000) CSR achievements of an organisation cannot be collated against some standards, since those does not exist. Furthermore, McWilliams and Siegel (2001) point out that the potential existence of those standards would allow CSR to be considered as part of the investment decisions, as the company would be able to make judgements for its business case in a more formal way. 2.8 Criticism against Corporate Social Responsibility The concept of CSR, as it can be seen from the various definitions presented on previous paragraphs, is based upon the principle that businesses do have another responsibility than just making profits. Every organisation has a responsibility towards the society, its people and the environment as well. At the same time, many are those who are opposed the idea of integrating CSR practices into their corporations and they believe that shareholders interest can be conflicted by operating a good business. Dr Milton Friedmann (1970), a renowned economist, in his article The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase its Profits affirms that there is one and only one social responsibility of business is to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits so long as it stays within the rules of the game, which is to say engages in open and free competition without deception or fraud. According to his economic model the organisation is an economic institution which should only focus in the economic scope. Organisations are seen purely as legal entities incapable of value decisions. A manager who uses a firms resources for non-profit social purposes is thought to be diverting economic efficiency and levying an illegal tax on the organisation (Balabanis, Phillips and Lyall, 1998). Following this view Dr Robert Barrington (2008) states that the managers are concentrated on soft issues rather than hard issues of the bottom line and this is something that is costing money to the shareholders. Moving further Frankental (2001), conclude that CSR is simply a public relations invention and it will remain like this. He believes that CSR can only have real substance if it embraces all the stakeholders of a company, if it is reinforced by changes in company law relating to governance, if it is rewarded by financial markets, if its definition relates to the goals of social and ecological sustainability, if its implementation is benchmarked and audited, if it is open to public scrutiny, if the compliance mechanisms are in place, and if it is embedded across the organisation horizontally and vertically. Henderson (2001) after the examination of various issues related to the concept of CSR comments that à ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã ¦the current widely-held doctrine of CSR is deeply flawed. It rests on a mistaken view of issues and events, and its general adoption by businesses would reduce welfare and undermine the market economy. In the same motion Moir (2001) suggests that those who adopt the neoclassical model of business would follow the view that the only social responsibilities that a corporation can have are to provide employment, pay taxes and mainly to maximise its profits; therefore, maximise its shareholders value. On the other extreme of the arguments above, Dave Packard, the co-founder of Hewlett Packard Company once said I think many people assume, wrongly, that a company exists simply to make money. While this is an important result of a companys existence, we have to go deeper and find the real reasons for our beingà ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã ¦. We inevitably come to the conclusion that a group of people get together and exist as an institution that we call a company so that they are able to accomplish something collectively that they could not accomplish separately they make a contribution to society (cited in Handy, 2002). Concluding, Freeman (1984) argues that a corporation is wrong to be seen just as a private economic institution, as it was suggested by Friedman (1970), but it has to be also seen as a social institution. This way, corporations would be responsible for any of their actions against the people, the community and the environment. Based on his Stakeholder Theory, companies operations should not be based on the interests of their shareholders but they have to be based on the interested of their stakeholders. 2.9 Corporate Social Responsibility and Stakeholders The definition given about the concept of CSR from Johnson et al. (2005) includes the words obligations to stakeholders, which indicates that stakeholders have an important role to play in this extent. Freeman (1984), the father of the Stakeholder Theory of the firm, defines stakeholders as any group or individual who can affect or is affected by the achievement of the organizations objectives. The Stakeholder Theory of the firm is used as a basis to analyse those groups to whom the firm should be responsible (Moir, 2001). The identification of the different stakeholder groups of the organisation is extremely important during the implementation of CSR practices. Usually the stakeholder groups are separated into primary and secondary stakeholders. According to Clarkson (1995) a primary stakeholder group is one without whose continuing participation the corporation cannot survive as a going concern, while a secondary stakeholder group is those who influence or affect, or are influenced or affected by the corporation, but they are not engaged in transactions with the corporation and are not essential for its survival. Based on those definitions a primary stakeholder group contains shareholders and investors, employees, customers, suppliers, governments and communities. The secondary stakeholder group includes the media and a wide range of special interest groups (Clarkson, 1995). According to Freemans (1984) definition of stakeholders the relation between the company and its stakeholders can be described as two-way. Castka et al. (2006) support the view that the implementation of CSR is all about the right choices and strategic decisions and comment that the dilemmas that an organisations stakeholders can have are which choices and decision must choose in order to satisfy. Berman, Wicks, Kotha and Jones (1999), in order to find a solution for those dilemmas, derived two distinct stakeholder management approaches; the instrumental and the normative approach. The first, instrumental approach, suggests that concern for stakeholders is motivated by the perception that financial performance can be improved. The second, intrinsic stakeholder commitment approach, assumes that organisations have a normative (moral) commitment to advance stakeholders interests (Castka et al. 2006). The instrumental approach was the one empirically supported in Berman et al. (1999) res earch while Harrison and Freeman (1999) mention that the conduction of more research is essential in order to clarify the model of the normative approach. Although further research is required it can be clearly anticipated, through the examination of various literature, that the instrumental approach is the most desirable among researchers. McWilliams and Siegel (2001) suggest that corporations need to carefully consider in which aspects of the CSR to invest in and they comment that by using cost-benefit analysis the managers can ideally determine the level of CSR. Additionally, Agle, Mitchell and Sonnenfeld (1999) argue that the decision to make a CSR investment is driven by the needs of the most powerful stakeholders within the organisation, such as top management staff and is usually connected with their desire to gain more profits and increase the shareholders value. Finally Castka et al (2004) believe that the purpose of CSR is an investment and it must be considered and treated like one. Moving further they suggest that the balance between the need for maximizing profit from CSR and the demand for CSR from multiple stakeholders is the key to a core return on investment in CSR (Figure 2). In order to achieve this balance stakeholders expectations should be assessed and examined through dialogues and must be translated and included into the companys strategy plan. FIGURE 2 2.10 Areas of Corporate Social Responsibility Andriof and McIntosh (2001) write that CSR is not chequebook philanthropy, nor a study based on business ethics. They argue that the concept of CSR can be described as a vision that corporate leaders have for their business which is beyond of just making profits. CSR has an impact on every activity of the company and can affect areas either inside or outside the company. According to Andriof and McIntosh (2001) the four distinct areas that CSR encompasses are: The Community The Environment The Marketplace The Workplace By operating within these four areas companies can conduct specific programmes and make the difference and can actively monitor, evaluate and change their effects of their activities. The implementation of CSR and the thinking behind becoming involved in these areas represents the new way of doing business. 2.11 Activities of Corporate Social Responsibility The concept of CSR can be divided into many and diverse domains. Sen and Bhattacharya (2001) provide six broad domains of CSR activities, based on a comprehensive summarisation of CSR domains contained in Socrates: The Corporate Social Ratings Monitor (Kinder, Lydenberg, Domini Co. Inc. 1999), a database that describes and rates more than 600 companies in terms of their CSR records. These domains of CSR activities are: Community Support: The company provides support to the community with the use of health and educational and housing programs for financially disadvantaged. The generous and innovative giving is promoted Diversity: The company provides initiatives for sex, race, family, sexual orientation and disability diversity Employee Support: The company promotes health and safety, ensures job security and profit sharing, develops relations with the labour unions and allows employees involvement. Environment: The company avoids the use of hazardous waste management techniques, uses and produces environmental friendly products, develops pollution control and recycling techniques. Non-domestic Operations: The company prevents operations in countries where human right violations occur or unhealthy labour practices take place. Product: The company produces safe products and promotes research and development and innovation. Following the same line Johnson et al (2005) present a checklist of the organisations responsibilities. Those responsibilities are divided into two categories, the internal and the external aspects of CSR, based on the areas that the organisations activities can affect. Internal aspects of the companys activities can include employee welfare, working conditions, job design and intellectual property. External aspects of activities can include environmental issues, products, markets and marketing, suppliers, employment, community activity and human rights. 2.12 Levels influencing the firms Corporate Social Responsibility strategy Based on the literature it can be seen that there are some important levels which can play a crucial role in the adoption of a CSR strategy from the firm. These levels can be grouped into four different categories which are the region where the company operates, the nation, the industry and the company itself. According to Aguilera, Rupp, Williams and Ganapathi (2005) the four levels are strongly connected as a firms commitment to CSR can be influenced by micro (individual), meso (organisati
Friday, January 17, 2020
Influence of Fast Food on Children
ââ¬Å"You are what you eatâ⬠, is a well known saying. Its message really means that if you eat healthy foods, you are most likely to be healthy. The good and healthy foods which include fresh fruits, green vegetables, fibre rich grains, pulses etc are considered old fashioned. Kids and teenagers today are opting for a greasy burger and a bag of fries, with a soda included to complete the meal. It is the age of fast-food. Eating fast-food means instant gratification. And eating fast-food much of the time can seriously injure the health of anybody, especially growing children and teenagers. Everywhere they are lamenting that obesity is on the rise, especially amongst children. Blame it on salt or sugar. Call it the fast-food disaster, but a meal at a fast-food restaurant could expose a child to unnaturally high levels of salt. The daily recommended dosage of salt is no more than 6gm per day for an adult and 3gm per day for a child. Studies have shown that Fast-Food meals can easily contain four times that amount of salt for a child. Moreover, these fast-food meals are extremely high in calories. Eat a small amount and you will be packing on the pounds rapidly. Besides, an excess of salt in the body can send childrenââ¬â¢s blood pressure soaring, thereby putting them at the risk of both stroke and heart disease. The consequences of bad eating are many. From skin problems to obesity, poor digestion, an inability to think clearly, a general lack of energy, constant mood swings and blood sugar inconsistencies. The excess sugar in the fast foods leads to diabetes in children. I have a personal experience related to this. One of my classmates in IV std had bad eating habits. His lunch box was almost always packed with burgers, fried chicken or French fries. Added to this he was always seen drinking colas. Due to this he was overweight and physically inactive. Unfortunately, during the same year he was diagnosed as diabetic. Doctors placed all the diet restrictions for him and medications to take for the remaining life. It was a sad thing to happen at such a young age. My advice to all of the young friends, please cultivate a habit to consume Good Food which includes fresh fruits, green vegetables, milk, fibre rich grains, pulses, fish etc to be healthy and fit. Thank You
Thursday, January 9, 2020
The American Dream Essay - 1701 Words
The American dream is all but a figment of the imagination that is unrealistic to attain since it is becoming harder and harder for any middle class to sustain itself in the middle or the poor society to prosper to the intermediate class. What once was possible is almost impossible to achieve success and wealth through hard work, persistence, and action. The top one percent of the American society is making it impossible for the lower class to hold on to hope for a better future. The richer are getting richer by remarkably increase profits. Yet, the lower class wages have either decrease in some sectors of employment or have remained stationary resulting in ââ¬Å"income inequality. That is ââ¬Å"â⬠¦the extent to which income is distributed in an uneven manner among a populationâ⬠(inequality.org). Today it is even more evident that the lower class is stuck, unable to go nowhere. Savings is almost none existence to the middle and poor classes yet, they are working harder th an ever before. Fortunately by having a free democratic society take control over ââ¬Å"wealth inequalityâ⬠the economic difference can stabilize through unionization for all low-wage labor. The unions for laborers have been around for many years, long enough to show that the organization makes a positive difference to lower class workers. In fact, ââ¬Å"The Communist Manifestoâ⬠by Karl Marx written in 1848 describes the formation of the wage workers. As Marxââ¬â¢s notes ââ¬Å"Thereupon the workers begin to form combinations (TradesShow MoreRelatedImmigrants And The American Dream1362 Words à |à 6 PagesImmigrants and the American Dream In the article ââ¬Å"The American Dreamâ⬠, by James Truslow Adams in The Sundance Reader book, he stated that the American dream is that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement. It is a difficult dream for the European upper classes to interpret adequately, and too many of us ourselves have grown weary and mistrustful of it. It is not a dream of motor cars and highRead MoreThe American Dream By Kimberly Amadeo1637 Words à |à 7 PagesNowadays, a large number of people migrate to the United States to work and achieve the American Dream. 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Many great films and works of literature were created to show case all the different ideas people have for their American Dream. The film ââ¬Å"Grapes of Wrathâ⬠directed by John Ford and the poem ââ¬Å"I Will Fight No More Foreverâ⬠by Chief Joseph, both depictRead More Destruction of the American Dream Essay2145 Words à |à 9 PagesDestruction of the American Dream Iââ¬â¢ve talked about it in the past, the destruction of the American Dream. Always, there have been papers, writings, and thoughts that quantify a particular section of its ultimate demise, be it due to money, education, or sexuality. Maybe the destruction cannot be viewed as a singular event or cause. Perhaps instead it must be examined as a whole process, the decay and ultimate elimination of a dream. Self destruction, if you willâ⬠¦ Mr. Self Destruct Read MoreSuccess As One Of The American Dream1137 Words à |à 5 PagesApril 2015 Success as One of The American Dream When we hear the word ââ¬Å"successâ⬠, we often think of wealth and money. To some people, the embodiment of being success is earning a lot of money. In fact, the concept of success is primarily based on how much money a person earns. However, each person views the definition of success differently. One way to define success is something that has more to do with flash than it does with substance. John Wooden, an American basketball player and coach viewRead MoreJim Cullen And The American Dream2081 Words à |à 9 Pages The American Dream, as defined by Cullen, is starting your goal off with a little and ending with more; it s like a business, you invest in it in order to gain more money. Usually, people will define the American Dream as being able to achieve your goal because everyone is offered opportunities. Cullen does acknowledge that people are born with different opportunities, so he talks about the good life. The good life describes different factors that determine your opportunities. Throughout the otherRead MoreFactors Influencing The American Dream1834 Words à |à 8 Pagesindividual to succumb or to not succumb to the seductions of crime. These three factors are brilliantly portrayed in the television show, Breaking Bad and the novel, The Stick Up Kids. The American Dream is what many American citizens strive for. However, not all of those citizens are able to achieve the American Dream through a legal pathway. The reason an indivudal may not being able to do so is because of his or her background factors. It is important to note that background factors are a fractionRead MoreShark Tank And The American Dream1755 Words à |à 8 PagesShark Tank and The American Dream The TV show Shark tank embodies everything the American dream represents. The show obtains successful Entrepreneurs ready to invest their own money into other Americans wanting to be just like them, reaching the American dream and become a successful entrepreneur. The show presents entrepreneurs working towards the goal of creating a business to not only gain wealth but also change the way we live today. The show is to keep the American dream alive and well while
Wednesday, January 1, 2020
Medical Research On Animals Essay - 796 Words
nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Medical research is a lengthy process that involves numerous undertakings. Without taking the risks and paying the costs, new findings would not be accomplished. Animal research has been especially beneficial to the field of medicine. Testing on animals should be accepted in the world of scientific studies because it would provide research for diseases, benefit all mankind, surgical procedures, and finally it would save a lot of time. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;First, animal testing would provide scientists with new ways to treat diseases. Many vaccines for diseases have been found by testing on animals. For example, millions of people would die per year of diseases that scientists had no idea on howâ⬠¦show more contentâ⬠¦nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Animal testing will surely benefit all of mankind. Nevertheless, it all depends on if we give scientists time to do these tests. For example, ââ¬Å"More than two thirds of all Nobel Prizes in medicine were awarded for discoveries that involved research with animals,â⬠says Jacquie Calnan of The Washington Timeââ¬â¢s (1). If animals were not used how many discoveries would we not have found? ââ¬Å"Over the past century, animal research has helped to increase our life span by nearly 28 years,â⬠states Americans for Medical Progress Educational Foundation (1). Not only are we living longer we are also more healthier. Many people would die a lot younger w ithout these tests and experimentationââ¬â¢s. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;In addition, animal testing has proven to be very beneficial to new surgical procedures. Moreover, to the use of lasers and other useful devices. For example, ââ¬Å"Without animal research more than one million Americans would lose vision in at least one eye this year because cataract surgery would be impossible,â⬠says AMPEF (2). If that many people had lost their vision, the world would be very different. Furthermore, ââ¬Å"Without animal testing Surgery of any type would be a painful, rare procedure without the development of modern anesthesia allowing artificially included unconsciousness or local or general insensitivity to pain,â⬠says AMPEF (2). Would you want to go into any surgery that would be excruciatingly painful? Finally, if scientistsShow MoreRelatedMedical Research On Animal Research1754 Words à |à 8 PagesMedical Research on Animals Lucas Stolberg ACBS 160D Section 2 Kevin Schnoor 10/02/16 Introduction The rise of man throughout history is nothing short of a triumph. In fact, the distinction between humans and animals became apparent by our ability to coexist amongst each other, shape the environment around us, and generate new ideas through language and competing cultural memes. More recently, in the last hundred years, humans have achieved a plethora of scientific breakthroughs. InRead MoreMedical Research On Animal Testing1736 Words à |à 7 Pagesprogress can be judged by the way its animals are treatedâ⬠. Medical research on animals is an effective way for scientist to test different medical discoveries and experiment before using them on humans to check their result. This technique has been used for centuries dating back to people such and Aristotle and Erasistratus. What exactly is medical research on animals? When we take a deeper look into the experiment that are preformed we can conclude that animals are a living model of humans in theseRead MoreAnimal Research And Medical Advances1187 Words à |à 5 PagesAnimal research has played a prominent role in scientific and medical advances for many years. Due to the development of new medicines and treatments, people throughout the world enjoy a better quality of life. However, scientific and medical use of animals have been a subject of heated debate for many years. Those who support animal research and experimentation justify their stance based on the medical advances that improve human lives. Research is one of many purposes that humans use animals forRead MoreIs Animals For Medical Research Necessary?1736 Words à |à 7 PagesIs using animals in medical research necessary? Some people would say yes, others would say no... but who s right? No matter what one thinks or believes this question still remains, yet to be answered. At first this question seems like its answer lies within ones opinion and only that, but if you look closer there is a lot more to it than opinion. Feeling sorry for the animals is definitely where it starts for people who don t agree with animal testing; but that s not where it ends. ScientistsRead MoreAnimal Experimentation Is Necessary For Medical Research1484 Words à |à 6 Pagesthink if an animal tested product is being bought or not? Innumerable people fail to consider how these products came to be or if there was animal experimentation was involved. Many people are oblivious to the appalling occurrences that take place in laboratories involving animal cruelty on a daily basis. Government officials and scientists believe that testing on animals is essential for medical research, but many of the results prove to be irrelevant and the reality is that most animals that are experimentedRead MoreShould Animals Be Used For Medical Research?1872 Words à |à 8 PagesShould animals be used in medical research? Should animals be used in medical research? Some people say that after so many historical experiences, this is beyond dispute, but I think this is the opposite. With the medicine science and technology developed, the uses of animals in experiments are become more controversial. With the technologies developed, human beings become more powerful and the intention to protect other creatures will be stronger and stronger. In fact, most of the time, some medicalRead MoreShould We Use Animals For Medical Research?1503 Words à |à 7 PagesThe use of animals in medical research has been a trend for decades. Animals have been an integral part in scientific experiments. They have also proved to be a trustworthy and effective model in the experimentation process, which is how many medicines and treatments for diseases were developed. Most life threatening diseases are now curable because of successful animal experiments. Moreover, not only human beings, but also animals benefit from these exp eriments. Although there are several usefulRead MoreWhy Should Animals Be Used For Medical Research?1520 Words à |à 7 Pages Why should animals be used for medical research? Is it because some animals are similar to humans probably. Even though animals have rights they should still be used for experiments because if scientist experiment on humans and something go wrong they could kill that human being. That is why animals should be used for medical research because they have different blood type and cells from us. Something that can easily kill us might not kill an animal, so with that they can find a way to cure theRead MoreShould Animals Be Used For Medical Science Research?1321 Words à |à 6 PagesIs the use of animals in medical science research justified? Should this be permitted? Why is it allowed that animals have to suffer so a human can use Windex or wear makeup? An estimated 26 million animals are used every year in the United States for scientific and commercial t esting. Animal research testing is unnecessary to advance medical research any further. At one time when technology was not caught up with the rest of the world, it may have been useful because without animal testing, productsRead MoreEthical Issue Of Animal Testing For Medical Research961 Words à |à 4 Pageshe ethical issue of animal testing for medical testing is not new, for example the majority of the common vaccines were developed because medical research that utilized animal testing. Many philosophers have attempted to explain the rights of animals and some wrote on the lack of inherent rights. This issue is difficult because animals canââ¬â¢t speak for themselves but humans do have a place to play in the fight for animal rights. I will apply the principle of utility along with the moral theories of
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