According to the third question, I don’t think comparing within the company will be a better idea. Ranking companies on their contribution to peace not sounds peace to me. Different company have different standard to measure, there is no one ruler can measure all standard. Certifying the companies with against some standard will be a better idea to me.
Qi Kang said:
In responding to the third question, I think alternatively certify companies against some standard will be a better idea rather than comparing them to one another, and I think make the result public will be a good idea. The idea of ranking companies on their contribution itself does not sound peace-contributing to me. Ranking means competition, because there is going to be someone ranks at the bottom and someone ranks at the top. Certifying the companies with against some standard, on the other hand, does not introduce a competition. It is more a rewarding than a certification, and making the result public will be one way to incentive the companies to reach certain standards.
I agree with Jeanne about “People sometimes cannot really get the exact measurement on how a business supports peace and fight poverty.” As what I am mention before there is not one ruler that can measure all the standard of good or bad. Different people have different standard of good, I not sure either that I am agree with how a business should reach a certain standard to get certified. Not to try to measure it, just focus on what impact it has and how many efforts it take.
Jeanne Susanto said:
For the first question, I also agree with Yunqian Gong that one of ways that a business can promote peace is through marketing. A business can sell its products/services by contributing to the world peace, like a business can give donation to the United Nations everytime a consumer purchase the products/services. An interesting example of it is how Coca Cola launched a campaign called Coke Small World campaign where they put videos of poor condition in Pakistan and India by putting live video feeds on the vending machine.
To answer the second and third question, we realize that sometimes we cannot really get the exact measurement on how a business supports peace and fight poverty. We might not know whether the business really send all of the help or not which is why I might say that it is important that a business proves it by making another commercial/announcement showing that the donation has been delivered to the right party. I am not sure that I am agree with how a business should reach a certain standard to get certified. I always believe that when one has the intention to do good deeds, we should not measure it while we should embrace it despite of how much or how big the effort is.
I agree with your idea that charity party is a good way to rank company's' effort for the peace of business. But I don't think we can only evaluate the companies' effort depending on how much they contribute. There are also many other factors we need to consider about. For example, charity party can have different rank list, like we can have the company information with how much they contribute to the poverty, what measures they have done for the charity, what's companies social responsibility purpose for the society. Also the social media can help explain the company's effort that contribute to the peace of business. Social media have the power to promote company to response for their prons and cons of applying for social responsibility.
For the last question, I think it is better to certify them against some standard rather than rank companies on their contribution to peace. Because for the companies who has already done well in contributing to peace, they already have a good reputation and image for the society and they'll want to adverse their effort to increase their reputation by themselves. But for the companies continues doing the things against peace standard, if no one blame them or call the attention in public, they will never care about this horrible issue since it won't hurt their profits.
I really agree with what Brian said. Since there is not an accurate standard to valid the contributions of companies to peace. The most obvious way people can see in the public is from NGOs. So it is important for NGOs like Red Cross, local non-profit organizations, anti-war organizations and so on to have a standard to value firms. I really like the metric Brian given in the discussion. But for further, I also think we could involve the government to contribute to the peace of business. For example, the local government could offer support or funds to help company who made contribution to the poverty.
Brian Suhre said:
Measuring the contributions of companies to peace is a challenging proposition, mainly because "contributions to peace" can be hard to define. However, there are some metrics that might help. First, charitable donations by companies is perhaps the most obvious metric. This can be further refined by focusing on charities that relate to poverty or operate in war torn countries, like the Red Cross/Crescent. Secondly, companies can be measured based on the number of war-torn or impoverished countries they operate in. This measurement should be augmented by metrics that account for wages, contributions to local charitable organizations, and employee benefits/education efforts. As Victor said, businesses that operate in impoverished areas inherently contribute to peace by providing employment.
In response to the second question, I think that one of the biggest issues in measuring the contribution of business to peace is who will do the measuring and how they will be held accountable. It will be difficult for anyone to measure the impact that a business had truly had on a situation and it would be in the companies’ best interests to inflate positive results as much as they can. Who should keep businesses honest and who would have the authority to reprimand the business if their claims prove to be fraudulent?
I think that you bring up an excellent point. It is difficult to measure contributions across industries and probably hard to measure between two companies in the same industry. I think one solution to this may be to set up industry standards that are set by businesses in the same industry. This way there is a standard that they can be compared to and so that they are holding each other accountable. To your last point does it make a difference if their efforts for peace also lead to additional cost savings? I think this brings up a larger question of should businesses be measured on their intentions for peace or for the end impact on peace?
Vijay Kamath said:
I am looking at the second question in the discussion, “What are some of the issues involved in measuring the contribution of businesses to peace?” One issue that arises is that many businesses have different views on peace. A business in the oil industry may view peace differently than a business in the clothing industry. Both businesses may think that they are contributing to peace, but their view on peace may not resonate with the public.
If a business wants to be environmentally friendly, there are many standards and examples that they can employ. However, the first question in the discussion also brings up another issue. Without having some kind of empirical measurement or benchmark that businesses can look at to view their contributions to peace, it is hard to know where they can start and what exactly a business should do.
Another point to consider is if a business is actually trying to contribute to peace. For example, if a business that produces plastic water bottles wants to be environmentally friendly, it may reduce the plastic needed to make the water bottle. On the other hand, by reducing the plastic needed to make water bottles, the business saves money by using less plastic per water bottle. The question then becomes, did the business have the intention to reduce costs in order to increase profits or was it to be environmentally friendly? This question will also come up when a business tries to contribute to peace. Do businesses actually want to contribute to peace or is their motivation to find a way to increase profits?
In response to your last question, who should hold these businesses honest, I believe it falls on the role of the government. Many areas we see in the world with large disruptions of peace are linked to weak governmental entities. In Africa warlords hold the power over the region and as a result we see child soldiers, rape, and death at unprecedented numbers. Here in America it falls on the US legal system to punish any business that may be falsifying profits or acting in an unethical behavior. It is also on governmental agencies such as the SEC to ensure businesses are operating in the best interest of its employees, shareholders, and the public. This is when government agencies must interfere with businesses to play as the role of mediator and law enforcement.
Andrew Coen said:
In response to the second question, I think that one of the biggest issues in measuring the contribution of business to peace is who will do the measuring and how they will be held accountable. It will be difficult for anyone to measure the impact that a business had truly had on a situation and it would be in the companies’ best interests to inflate positive results as much as they can. Who should keep businesses honest and who would have the authority to reprimand the business if their claims prove to be fraudulent?
Business have to right to make a difference. There are in a position to make a difference. First, when looking to see what type of business make a difference one need to see their ethics. It would make sense that a ethical company would do more for peace and poverty than a company who does not have good ethics. This being the case shouldn't we first make sure that companies are being ethical. Once a company is ethical in their culture they will soon have an action to participate in peace and poverty than a reaction to what other companies in the industry are doing.
Business have to right to make a difference. There are in a position to make a difference. First, when looking to see what type of business make a difference one need to see their ethics. It would make sense that a ethical company would do more for peace and poverty than a company who does not have good ethics. This being the case shouldn't we first make sure that companies are being ethical. Once a company is ethical in their culture they will soon have an action to participate in peace and poverty than a reaction to what other companies in the industry are doing.
Business have to right to make a difference. There are in a position to make a difference. First, when looking to see what type of business make a difference one need to see their ethics. It would make sense that a ethical company would do more for peace and poverty than a company who does not have good ethics. This being the case shouldn't we first make sure that companies are being ethical. Once a company is ethical in their culture they will soon have an action to participate in peace and poverty than a reaction to what other companies in the industry are doing.
I agree with yungian that marketing can be a great tool that businesses can use in order to contribute to peace. To add on to that point, I wanted to say that advertising not only special projects like the one BMW is doing but also linking it directly to the product or its sale could help establish a strong connection between the company and their contribution to peace. For example, TOMs shoes is a company that advertises how each purchase of a pair of shoes has a positive impact on the life of another in need.
yunqian gong said:
Thinking of the first question, I would say there are many different ways for companies to contribute to peace. For example, Marketing is a very good way to promote peace to people. Businesses can use social media to share peaceful advertising campaigns. For example, BMW has a Blessing Basket Project, which helps people live in Africa to sell their handmade baskets. BMW makes a lot of advertisements not only on their website but also on TV. Moreover, it is also a good way for companies to contribute to peace by increasing the diversity.
I agree with yungian that marketing can be a great tool that businesses can use in order to contribute to peace. To add on to that point, I wanted to say that advertising not only special projects like the one BMW is doing but also linking it directly to the product or its sale could help establish a strong connection between the company and their contribution to peace. For example, TOMs shoes is a company that advertises how each purchase of a pair of shoes has a positive impact on the life of another in need.
yunqian gong said:
Thinking of the first question, I would say there are many different ways for companies to contribute to peace. For example, Marketing is a very good way to promote peace to people. Businesses can use social media to share peaceful advertising campaigns. For example, BMW has a Blessing Basket Project, which helps people live in Africa to sell their handmade baskets. BMW makes a lot of advertisements not only on their website but also on TV. Moreover, it is also a good way for companies to contribute to peace by increasing the diversity.
Business have to right to make a difference. There are in a position to make a difference. First, when looking to see what type of business make a difference one need to see their ethics. It would make sense that a ethical company would do more for peace and poverty than a company who does not have good ethics. This being the case shouldn't we first make sure that companies are being ethical. Once a company is ethical in their culture they will soon have an action to participate in peace and poverty than a reaction to what other companies in the industry are doing.
Business have to right to make a difference. There are in a position to make a difference. First, when looking to see what type of business make a difference one need to see their ethics. It would make sense that a ethical company would do more for peace and poverty than a company who does not have good ethics. This being the case shouldn't we first make sure that companies are being ethical. Once a company is ethical in their culture they will soon have an action to participate in peace and poverty than a reaction to what other companies in the industry are doing.
I agree with yungian that marketing can be a great tool that businesses can use in order to contribute to peace. To add on to that point, I wanted to say that advertising not only special projects like the one BMW is doing but also linking it directly to the product or its sale could help establish a strong connection between the company and their contribution to peace. For example, TOMs shoes is a company that advertises how each purchase of a pair of shoes has a positive impact on the life of another in need.
yunqian gong said:
Thinking of the first question, I would say there are many different ways for companies to contribute to peace. For example, Marketing is a very good way to promote peace to people. Businesses can use social media to share peaceful advertising campaigns. For example, BMW has a Blessing Basket Project, which helps people live in Africa to sell their handmade baskets. BMW makes a lot of advertisements not only on their website but also on TV. Moreover, it is also a good way for companies to contribute to peace by increasing the diversity.
Business have to right to make a difference. There are in a position to make a difference. First, when looking to see what type of business make a difference one need to see their ethics. It would make sense that a ethical company would do more for peace and poverty than a company who does not have good ethics. This being the case shouldn't we first make sure that companies are being ethical. Once a company is ethical in their culture they will soon have an action to participate in peace and poverty than a reaction to what other companies in the industry are doing.
I agree with yungian that marketing can be a great tool for business to use to promote peace. To add on to that point, I believe that if a company establishes a connection between the actual product and its sale in addition to programs like BMW does, it can help make clear the connection between the business and its contribution to peace. For example, TOM's shoes clearly explains and advertises how the sale of one pair of shoes has a positive impact on the life on another in need.
yunqian gong said:
Thinking of the first question, I would say there are many different ways for companies to contribute to peace. For example, Marketing is a very good way to promote peace to people. Businesses can use social media to share peaceful advertising campaigns. For example, BMW has a Blessing Basket Project, which helps people live in Africa to sell their handmade baskets. BMW makes a lot of advertisements not only on their website but also on TV. Moreover, it is also a good way for companies to contribute to peace by increasing the diversity.
I agree with yungian that marketing can be a great tool for business to use to promote peace. To add on to that point, I believe that if a company establishes a connection between the actual product and its sale in addition to programs like BMW does, it can help make clear the connection between the business and its contribution to peace. For example, TOM's shoes clearly explains and advertises how the sale of one pair of shoes has a positive impact on the life on another in need.
yunqian gong said:
Thinking of the first question, I would say there are many different ways for companies to contribute to peace. For example, Marketing is a very good way to promote peace to people. Businesses can use social media to share peaceful advertising campaigns. For example, BMW has a Blessing Basket Project, which helps people live in Africa to sell their handmade baskets. BMW makes a lot of advertisements not only on their website but also on TV. Moreover, it is also a good way for companies to contribute to peace by increasing the diversity.
Business have to right to make a difference. There are in a position to make a difference. First, when looking to see what type of business make a difference one need to see their ethics. It would make sense that a ethical company would do more for peace and poverty than a company who does not have good ethics. This being the case shouldn't we first make sure that companies are being ethical. Once a company is ethical in their culture they will soon have an action to participate in peace and poverty than a reaction to what other companies in the industry are doing.