Faith Diversity Essay

This paper will look and examine four diverse faiths: Christianity, Buddhism, Rastafarianism and Islam spiritual perspective on healing. In Christianity, prayer is a way that a person can stay healthy physically, mentally and spiritually. Health is viewed by having a strong spiritual relationship with the Lord and living one’s life by the word of God. Buddhist need a balance of health both mentally and physically in order to achieve optimal health. They way that they are able to restore health would be by practicing healthy dietary habits or meditation. Rastafarianism view on health as a balance of the mind, the body and the soul achieved with a more holistic approach like prayer and herbal treatments. Lastly, Islam reaches ultimate purity by having a clean body and soul. They must cleanse often and pray often. Religions differ in many ways; they could have a different sacred books, have different deities, or have different views on how to live a full life, ultimately they want the same thing, to have their faiths respected and incorporated into the care they are receiving. Introduction Throughout the world, there are thousands of distinctly different religious affiliations. In the United States alone, there are â€Å"approximately 313 religions and denominations† (All Religions and Denominations in the US, 2008). This paper will examine four diverse faiths Christianity, Buddhism, Rastafarianism and Islam. It will look at the philosophy of these four faiths when having care provided to them. It will specifically look at the spiritual perspective on healing. It will examine the critical components of healing for these faiths. Along with looking at these diverse faiths, this paper will look at what is important for people who are receiving care from health care providers whose views differ from their own. Christianity The Christians were the first people to start â€Å"the world’s first voluntary charitable institutions† which were hospitals (Trangelder, 2007). The reason that they started these hospitals is because they wanted to help the poor and those that were sick and dying (Trangelder, 2007). Health care and Christian belief go hand in hand. One of the most crucial components in healing is prayer. The Christians hold prayer in very high regard. They feel that prayer has the ability to make them better. In the book James 5:14-15(English Standard Version) it states, â€Å"Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up†(Biblegateway, 2001). Along with prayer, the bible mentions many ways that a person can stay healthy physically, mentally and spiritually. Ultimately, the way to stay healthy is by having a strong spiritual relationship with the Lord and living one’s life by the word of God. Buddhism The Buddhist has a different holy book then the Christian faith. There sacred book is called Tripitaka. This holy book mentions that the only way to be truly healed is to be healthy in mind and body. Western medicine focuses on curing symptoms to treat medical problems, but the Buddhist see this only as a short term fix. In order for one to be healed one must also treat â€Å"the spiritual aspect of the disease and its mind-based causes and remedies must be the primary considerations†(Buddhism, Medicine, and Health, n. d. ). Buddhist feel that possible reasons for illness or disease would be † 1) an imbalance of the four elements (earth, water, fire, and wind), 2) irregular dietary habits, 3) incorrect meditation methods, 4) disturbances by spirits, 5) demon possession, and 6) the force of bad karma† (Buddhism, Medicine, and Health, n. d. ). They way that they are able to restore health would be by practicing healthy dietary habits, meditation, paying respect to the Buddha, repentance, reciting mantras, reciting the Buddha’s name and using the dharma as medicine† (Buddhism, Medicine, and Health, n. d. ). By doing this they would be able to find a balance physical and mentally and find long-term health. Rastafarianism Like the Christians, the Rastafarians sacred text that they pray to is the Bible, but the difference is how it is interpreted. The Rastafarians also feel that the head or God incarnate is Haile Selassie. He was a former Emperor of Ethiopia (Griffith, 2009). In Rastafarianism health care â€Å"takes a holistic approach to healing; they believe that the concept of health extends to three spheres: the mind, the body and the soul (though sometimes the psychological and spiritual can sometimes be categorized together)†(Rastafari and the Environment, 2012). They cure illnesses by use of home remedies or tonics rather than visiting a doctor. Rastafarians† disown western influences of ideology, diet, lifestyle and religion in favor of belief systems and practices of African origin, which emphasizes the use of natural ingredients and tools†(Rastafari and the Environment, 2012). Islam For the Islam, their sacred text is the Quran. In the Quran, unlike the Christians, Muhammad is the prophet sent to Earth to pass the word of the Lord, Allah. The Muslims feel that good health is one of the ways to get to â€Å"heaven†. In the Quran, it has teachings that show people how to protect his or her health and live life in a state of purity (Muslim Health Network (n. d). The single most important thing for this faith is prayer. Muslims perform it five times a day. â€Å"The obligatory prayers provide a good means for the circulation of blood, breathing and general suppleness of joints† (Muslim Health Network (n. d). Along with prayer they must cleanse after prayer, have a healthy diet, fast and refrain from intoxicates. Despite these religious differences in the United States, people’s only wish is to have their religious views respected and honored if possible. No matter if healthcare providers spiritual beliefs differ from those in their care, patients want their faith to be incorporated into the care that they are receiving. The Christian philosophy as written in the book of Luke 6:31 (English Standard Version) † And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them†(Biblegateway, n. d. ). This goes in line as all people would like to be treated, no matter how different spiritual views might be. In conclusion, the author learned that although many religions differ ultimately they want the same thing, to have their faith incorporated into the care they are receiving. Religions differ in many ways, they could have a different scared book, have different deities, or have different views on how to live a full life. Medication, chanting or prayer can help achieve inner peace to ultimately reach health inside and out. ? References Biblegateway (2001). James 5:14-15 ESV – Is anyone among you sick? Let him call – Bible Gateway. Retrieved from http://www. biblegateway. com/passage/? search=James+5%3A14-15&version=ESV Biblegateway (n. d. ). Luke 6:31 ESV – And as you wish that others would do to – Bible Gateway. Retrieved from http://www. biblegateway. com/passage/? search=Luke%206:31&version=ESV Buddhism, Medicine, and Health. (n. d. ). Retrieved from http://www. blia. org/english/publications/booklet/pages/37. htm Griffith, J. K. (2009). THE RELIGIOUS ASPECTS OF NURSING CARE (4th ed. ). Vancouver, B. C Muslim Health Network (n. d. ). Islam & Health. Retrieved from http://www. muslimhealthnetwork. org/islamandhealth. shtml Tangelder, J. D. (2007). A Christian Perspective on Healthcare. Retrieved from http://www. reformedreflections. ca/faith-and-life/chr-perspective-healthcare. html Rastafari and the Environment (2012). Natural Healing and Medicine. Retrieved from http://caribbeanreligionuvm. wordpress. com/category/natural-healing-and-medicine/

The Effects of Power and Fear on a Government

The Effects of Power and Fear on a Government Fear is one of the few emotions everybody feels at some point in their lives. From their environment to the leaders that were in charge there were many things for the boys to be fearful of. Lord of the Flies, by William Gilding is about a group of boys stranded on an Island during World War II. They have to deal with power struggles and situations they would have never thought of. In Lord of the Flies, the destructive power struggle between the primary characters mirrors the power struggle betweenHitler and the Jews during World War II, and the current dictator Basher al- Sad and his citizens in Syria. Lord of the Flies represents a political allegory because some of the characters represent an abstract idea of government. Many people who have great leadership attributes but have a hard time with their appearance struggle, † Piggy is Ralph advisor, someone who is unable to rule because of his own social and physical shortcomingsâ₠¬  (Winnfield). Nowadays appearance has become a huge part of the society at hand. Appearance helps a society decide what it wants to be like as well as ho to follow.Struggling with appearance Is not the only Issue, It Is also struggling with standing up for yourself. Which In the book It Is shown that Piggy struggles with this. † â€Å"Then went on piggy, that boy- I forgot â€Å"your talking too much† said Jack Merrier. â€Å"Shut up, Fatty. † Laughter arose and Piggy was silent† (Gilding 21). In a society there are many people just like Piggy. There are so many great leadership characteristics in people. The problem is if that Pearson can not stand up for themselves or any of their beliefs none of the great characteristics matter.This shows owe Lord of the Flies represents a political allegory because It shows how some of the characters Like Piggy represent an abstract Idea of government In the book. In addition to the characters representing governmen t they also act similarly to past and current political figures in the world. Most people at some point In time have a chance at power, if they choose to take it they will most likely lose It eventually as well â€Å"Even Jacks power Is Illusory or at least temporary, vanishing the moment an adult authority arrives on the island† (Olsen). In this it is seen that the power Jack had elates to many figures in the world.The power Jack had though is instantly taken away when someone else with higher authority arrives. This happens all the time in the real world as well. In the book it adds on to the same situation even more so † Whoso boss here asked the officer? I am said Ralph loudly. A little boy with the pair of spectacles started forward then changed his mind and stood still† (Gilding 148). It is clearly shown that Jack loses the power he had quite quickly. This has happened to those in the real world, who thought they would never be run out of rower, such as Doll Hitler.As seen the characters in Lord of the Flies act similarly to past and current political figures in our world. In Lord of the Flies there is a very similar situation when Jack is put in control of the island and the rest of the boys, Just like when Doll Hitler was put in charge of Germany and it's people. At some point in everybody's lives they will most likely want to be in charge of something or be a leader of some sort, † Seen in this light, Hitler thought the only way to prevent Germany from losing again was to eliminate the impure groups from society.He also knew the only way he could accomplish this is if he rose to power† (â€Å"Doll† 1). In Lord of the Flies Jack thinks a lot like Hitler. When most people hear the name â€Å"Hitler† the first thing that comes to most minds is a dictator in Germany who killed Jews. This is true, but the reason behind that was Just because he wanted power. Hitless strong desire for power is a lot like Jacks. Th ey both Just wanted to rule something which in their case it was people. Arrogance is a big reason for people wanting power † I ought to be chief said Jack with simple arrogance, because IM chapter chorister and head boy.I can also sing C Sharp said lace (Gilding 228). Jack obviously thought he was better than everybody else and was very arrogant. It was one thing that some of the boys didn't like about him. Hitler was the same way, he normally thought no one was better than him and if he did he got rid of them quite quickly. Arrogance only got Jack and Hitler so far. Clearly shown the similar situation of Jack and Hitler being put in control shows the similarities of their leadership. Doll Hitler was a dictator during World War II, the character Jack acts much likeHitler in the book by emphasizing the strong desire of power and intolerance towards others. In life some people think the only way to fix certain problems is to completely get rid of them â€Å"Hitler implemented government policies based on anti-Semitism and racism. These policies became more severe over time and led to the extermination of the Jews, racial minorities and other groups† (â€Å"Doll†l). In Lord of the Flies it is seen that Jack does this quite often. He doesn't really give any thought to what he is doing unless he really wants it done.For instance when Jack took Piggy as a really different errors and not in a good way. Eventually Jack got his way and Piggy died. Hitler does this with the Jews. He wanted the people who he thought were perfect and those people were not the Jews. So because he thought the Jews were the problem he started to kill them off. In the book we not only see Jack treating Apply harshly but he also treats some of the other boys the same way â€Å"I'm chief yelled Jack. Viciously, with full intention, he hurled his spear at Ralph. The point tore the skin and flesh over that Jack is willing to hurt people in order to get what he wants.This is such a moment where Jack showed the power he thought he had to the boys. It also gave the boys a reason to fear him. Jack was using this fear to control the boys much like Hitler. Fear can cause people to do unbelievable things including follow and listen to unwise rulers or leaders. This adds to the desperate wanting of power and intolerance towards others. Another Situation very similar to the one the boys are put into due to Jack is more current, the power struggle between Basher al-Sad and the harsh way he treats his citizens in Syria.Most dictators are harsh, cruel and will try and do anything to keep heir place secure muff need to show that you are strong, that you are a leader. You need to crush in the first moment any signs of opposition, resentment, or independence. As well as causing the people to fear you said Sad† (â€Å"Basher† 2). Basher al-Sad uses the harsh way he treats his citizens to produce fear so that no one will overtake his place as being leader in Syria. In the book when some of the boys start to show opposition Jack did exactly what Sad mentioned, he crushed it the moment it started.Which caused fear amongst the boys. Dictators find terrible hinges to do for no reason but to cause fear amongst their people † † Hess going to beat Wilfred! † â€Å"What for? â€Å"said Ralph but Robert shook his head doubtfully. â€Å"l don know he never said why' The chief was sitting in the cave, naked to the waist, his face blocked out in white and red. The newly beaten and untied Wilfred was sniffing noisily in the background† (Gilding 160). In this it is clear that Jack Just beat Wilfred because he had been angry. This act caused fear amongst the group of boys. The fear caused kept the boys loyal to their chief.Jack would have had no way to control al the boys if he never used fear. This doesn't mean its right by any means. Basher al-Sad and Jack both use fear in a harsh way to control their people and ideas o f government. Basher al-Sad current dictator in Syria is very similar to the character Jack in Lord of the Flies such as some of their motives. In Syria there are many rules â€Å"Freedom of speech was only marginally restored but for the most part Sad kept it the same† (â€Å"Basher† 2). In Lord of the Flies Jack and Basher kind of relate to each other because the both did not allow freedom.The fact that Basher and Jack wouldn't allow freedom of speech was most likely because they wanted to prevent any uproars or anything that could harm their spot in leadership. † â€Å"Then went on piggy, that boy- I forgot -† â€Å"your talking too much† said Jack Merrier. â€Å"Shut up, Fatty. † Laughter arose and Piggy was silent† (Gilding 21). Here we not only see Jack being cruel towards Piggy but we also see him limiting Piggy speech. This action is harsh and even though Piggy had freedom of speech it was almost as if Jack stole that from him. Most likely Piggy is not the only person Jack treated like that.This is how we can see some f Basher al-Sad and Jacks motives line up. In Lord of the Flies we see that fear plays a enormous role in the book. It plays off between the see between Jack and Ralph. Fear is a strong emotion and can cause many situations. We see this not only in the book Lord of the Flies but also in our everyday lives and other political power struggles in our World. Such as the fight for power in World War II with Doll Hitler and the Jews. It is even seen currently in Syria with Basher al- Sad and his citizens. Jack, Hitler, and Sad all have one main thing in common they all ruled with fear.

Corporate Social Responsibility in Nigeria’s Telecommunication

TITLE PAGE CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN NIGERIA’S TELECOMMUNICATION SECTOR A CASE STUDY OF GLOBACOM NIGERIA LIMITED ENUGU ZONE BY EZEIGWE, GRACE CHINYERE BA/2007/163 A PROJECT REPORT SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS ADMINSTRATION, CARITAS UNIVERSITY, AMORJI- NIKE, ENUGU, ENUGU STATE. IN PARTTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF BACHELOR OF SCIENCE (B. Sc. ) DEGREE IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION. AUGUST, 2010. CERTIFICATION This is to certify that this project written by Ezeigwe G. Chinyere With Reg/No.BA/2007/163, has been duly supervised, approved and found adequate in scope and content for the award of Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration, in the Faculty of Management and Social Sciences, Department of Business Administration, Caritas University, Amorji Nike, Enugu, Enugu State. _______________________________________ Mr. Innocent UbawikeProf. Godwin Nwanguma Project Supervisor Head of Department, Business Administration Department __ ______________ _______________________ DateDateDEDICATION I dedicate this project work to God Almighty for His infinite mercy all through my studies and also, for the wisdom and inspirations towards the successful completion of this work. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT All thanks and Praise be to All Mighty God, for His guidance, protection, mercy and love towards me. I thank Him for the wisdom, knowledge and inspiration throughout the period of my academic years. To my beloved parents, Mr. and Mrs, J. O. Ezeigwe, I lack words to express my feelings. Thanks for your love, prayers, and financial support.You are the best parents anyone can ever ask God for. I love you. To Emmanuel and Paul, you are the best choice of brothers. Big thanks go to my supervisor, Mr. Innocent Ubawike. May God bless you for your kindness, patience and good supervision. I also use this opportunity to say a big thank you to my Head of Department, Prof. G. Nwanguma. Thank you for filling my brain with a lot of good stuffs an d I will miss your lectures. Also to Mr. Walter Ani, Mr. Agbo Melletus, Mr. Kenneth Eziedo. Thank you all for imparting knowledge in me.I promise you, by the Grace of God, it will not be a waste. Rebecca, Damilola, Kemi, Thecla Thanks. Roseline Adeloma, John Akaeme, Ebere Ugwuja, Lorreta, Nneka, you are the best choice of course mates one can ever wish for. George Henri Jonas, God bless you. To Ifezue Chukwunnamdi, thanks for everything. God bless you all. ABSTRACT The topic of the research is Corporate Social Responsibility in Nigeria’s Telecommunication Sector (A case study of Globacom Nigeria Limited, Enugu). The researcher used survey design in the study.The population of the study was one hundred and twenty; comprising of both staff and customers of Globacom . The sample size was ninety two and it was determined using the yaro Yamane formula. The research used both the primary and secondary sources of data in the course of study. The primary data were collected through t he instrument of questionnaire, interviews and observation. The secondary data were collected from text books, journals, magazines, newspaper and libraries. The research finding of the project work revealed that social responsibility programmes are necessary . he findings also unveiled that Globacom Nigeria, a telecommunication firm carries out its social responsibility programme in its host community. The researcher recommended that the company should increase and expand its social responsibility programmes. Corporate social responsibility is therefore something that a company should try and get right in implementing. It is something that business today should wholeheartedly be committed to. The danger of ignoring social responsibility is too dangerous. . TABLE OF CONTENTS.Title page i Certification ii Dedication iii Acknowledgement iv Abstract v Table of content vi CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION . Background of Study 2. Statement of the Problem 3. Purpose of the Study 4. Research Q uestions / Hypothesis 5. Significance of study 6. Limitation of study 7. Scope of study 8. Definition of special terms CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE 2. 1Theoretical Framework 2. 2Historical Background 2. 3 Current Literature on theories postulated CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY 1. Research Design 2. Sources of Data 1. Primary Sources of Data 2. Secondary Sources of Data 3. Population of study 4. Sample Design and Determination of Sample Size . Methods of Data Collection 1. Questionnaire Design, Distribution and Collection of Responds 2. Secondary Method of Data Collection 3. 6Methods of Data Presentation and Analysis CHAPTER FOUR: DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS 1. Data Presentation 2. Presentation According to Key Research Question 2. Analysis Based on Research Hypothesis CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, RECOMMENDATION AND CONCLUSION 5. Summary of Findings 5. 1. Conclusion 5. 2. Recommendation. References Bibliography Appendix CHAPTER ONE 1. 1INTRODUCTI ON: BACKGROUND OF THE STUDYCorporate Social Responsibility an essentially American phenomenon has over the years become a major concern in Western Europe and in other countries of the world following the western model of development. According to Drucker, (1986:66). The genesis of the debate on the concept of corporate social responsibility has been traced to the wave of crisis in social values that engulfed America in the post World War II period and most especially in the sixties. The Chief Executive of General Motors who observed the changing trend could not help observing: I am concerned about a society that has demonstrably lost confidence in its institutions – in the government, in the press, in the church, in the military, as well as in business†. Business to America has had a most unique history. Its development growth and impact on social life in America since the civil war II is almost common knowledge. What may not be common knowledge, however, is the fact th at business which has hitherto shaped and controlled the lives of millions of Americans some two hundred years ago is today being threatened by a wave of protests from various publics it uses to serve.The crisis of confidence in the social role of business as made explicit in debates on corporate social responsibility points to the fact that America sees big business as a big powerful machine gone out of control. And efforts to control and at least re-orientate its directions form the core of the argument of all who urge business to change with the times. In other words, to deemphasize its so much vaunted profit maximization dogma and pay attention to the human lives and environment which it is subtly, ruthlessly and almost surely grinding out of existence.As one of the protagonists has viewed the concept of corporate social responsibility it is a crude blend of long-run profit-making and altruism, a doctrine which fuses social values with profit maximization goals. In the early yea rs of the American Republic and especially in the post civil war reconstruction era, business in America played an almost indispensable role as a powerful social tool for harnessing resources and ensuring material progress. Ducker (1986:66).But as the years rolled on and business began to concentrate and centralize capital, its role in the economy became expansive and pervasive. At the height of prosperity, the captains of industry were heralded as heroes of the society. The later years of the post World War II era harbored a different story. The boom period following the end of World War II soon gave way to a periodic wave of depressions and crisis that was to rock every foundations of society on which business existed.The frustrating economic situation characterized by inflation, unemployment, failing profit, declining investment, pollution of the external environment etc. , pushed Americans to re-examine almost every old values and the assumptions behind them. According to Drucke r, (1986:96) the debate on corporate social responsibility did not only take place in the United State of America. The noise of the debate filtered through to other countries that shares similar business cultures with America most especially the Western European countries.While the western European nations have responded positively to the debate, accepted and even implemented some of its own far reaching conclusions it is pertinent to know if the discussions and conclusion so far reached have had an impact on the countries periphery. One of the objectives of this study is to investigate to what extent the current debate on corporate social responsibility and its conclusion has trickled down to the periphery of Nigeria in particular and how it is applied here by firms who have embarked on such projects in Nigeria.It is believed by the researcher that although the present level of industrialization does not entitled us to discuss the issue on the same platform with the industrialized western economies; the fact that they are imitating their path to industrialization should imply that we should study their experience closely to avoid mistakes. It is arguable also that foreign corporate bodies operating in host countries especially in the Third World countries are most likely to pay lip service to such principles as corporate social responsibility which are most likely to be of benefit to their host countries.Also local or indigenous organizations can neglect this principle of corporate social responsibility to their host communities. These days, social responsibility of business is on what should or might be done to tackle and solve problems of society. The emphasis is on what contribution they can make to such social problems as protected and restoration of physical environment, racial discrimination or social discrimination. In striving to satisfy its corporate goals and achieve its objectives the organization cannot operate in isolation from its environment. . The performance of corporate social responsibility is not undertaking to boost profit at the short-run but to meet some social needs, aspirations, and profit at the long-run. Organizations who hold this view of corporate social responsibility believes that once it does what is expected of it by law and its host community the organization is socially responsible. Owing to the vastness of this topic – corporate social responsibility we shall have to restrict our investigation to manageable proportions by focusing attention on telecommunication sector Nigeria, using Globacom Nigeria Limited.The telecommunication industry is one of the fastest growing sectors in Nigeria. There are so many telecommunication companies owned by foreign and local corporate bodies in Nigeria. These telecommunication industries have covered a large area in Nigeria from urban to rural areas in the country. As a result of this, the researcher has selected one out of the many telecommunication companies t o take a look at its corporate social responsibility project.The researcher has decided to pick on Globacom Nigeria Limited, Enugu Zone, and has decided to look into its corporate social responsibility activities, to see how the company has gone in performing its social responsibility in host community. 1. 2STATEMENT OF PROBLEM: In recent years there have been series of arguments, debates and controversies among businessmen, academics, government officials and the society in general on what should be the principle objectives or business enterprises. Over the years, managers have neglected the problems created by corporate firms to their host communities.These problems possess a lot of threat and sometimes make life difficult for these communities. The privilege giving to organization to operate in the society stems from the act that society believes that there is a mutual interdependency existing between them, that is, the organization and the society. The relationship between organ izations and their host community has become increasingly important. The decision made in an organization may influence community prosperity and also national and even internationally economic activity might be affected.An example of these problems is the on-going crisis in the Niger Delta region which has led to the destruction of lives and properties. There are accusations from the youths in these areas that companies misdirect their efforts and resources that they should have used to develop the community to bribe opinion leaders in order to overlook their responsibilities to the community, and these have caused a lot of acrimonies between the two parties, community and the firm. These same problems can also be identified in other arrears and in other communities across the country where large companies are located.This prompted the researcher with deep sense of burden to these communities to unraveled the need for these large firms to see the need in helping the society solve so me of its problems, most especially those they help to create, and involve in philanthropic donations to the needs of these communities and provide the community with some social amenities. Despite the roles played by organizations carrying out corporate social responsibility and the growing importance of social responsibility, the following issues have not been fully addressed: i. Why should organizations be socially responsible to their environment? ii.What benefits do organizations get from performing its corporate social responsibility? iii. Why is social responsibility considered as a waste drain of business resources? iv. Are organizations in Nigeria socially responsible? In view of the above, the researcher has taken up the issue of social responsibility in the telecommunication sector in Nigeria and used Globacom Nigeria as a case study to examine the extent of the company’s involvement in corporate social responsibility. 1. 3PURPOSE OF STUDY: For organizations to suc cessfully survive in business, it must recognize the importance of social responsibility to the society.The broad objective of the study is to – i. Examine the argument for and against corporate social responsibility. ii. Whether Globacom Nigeria Limited has been involved in social responsibility activities, and if so, to what extent have they been involved in their corporate social responsibility to their environment? iii. To examine whether the immediate environments are taking into cognizance during planning and implementation of social responsibility, iv. To know the factors that motivates the adoption of corporate social responsibility. 1. RESEARCH QUESTIONS/HYPOTHESIS: In pursuit of the objective of identifying the effectiveness and workability of corporate social responsibility the following hypothesis have been formulated, which intend to test in the course of this study: Ho: The organization involvement in social responsibility does not have an effect on the company and its host community. Ha: The organizations in social responsibility activities have an effect on the company and its host community. Ho: Globacom corporate social responsibility programme does not enhance organization-societal relationship.Ha: Globacom corporate social responsibility programme enhances organization-societal relationship. We also intend to answer the following research questions to collaborate with the above hypothesis. 1. Why is social responsibility necessary in an organization? 2. To what extent does an organization involvement in social responsibility have an effect on the company and its host community? 3. What factors motivates the company in carrying out social responsibility activities? 4. Who do you think are the beneficiaries of the company social responsibility activities? 1. 5SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY:The study of social responsibility of a business organization is hoped to be of benefits not only to student’s businessmen, government, customers, community, stockholders, academics, but the whole society. The study also hopes to highlight the problem associated with social responsibility and to make use of the analysis to improve the working situations thereby minimizing the problems social responsibility conflict in that organization and its environment as well. Finally, the study will inform all at large, the need for corporate social responsibility not only to the firm, but to the society at large. . 6 SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY: This research work focuses on the telecommunication industry in Nigeria, but with particular reference to Globacom Nigeria, Enugu sector. This research was faced with a lot of problems and limitations. The major problem acting as a limitation was a problem of Nigerians attitude to the supply of data to a researcher due to fear. Secondly, because of financial constraints, the scope and dimension of this study could not be extended beyond this limit. 1. 7DEFINITION OF SPECIAL TERM 1:(Globaco m): Global communication.It is a name of a telecommunication firm in Nigeria. Global communication limited is the case study for this research work. 2: (Glo): A short name for Globacom. 3: (CSR): Corporate social responsibility. 4: (BSc): Bachelor of Science. 5: (NCE): National Certificate in Education. 6: (OND): National Diploma. 7 🙠 HND): Higher National Diploma. 8: (MBA): Master in Business Administration. 9: (SSCE): Senior School Certificate Examination. 10: (FSLC): First School Leaving Certificate. REFERENCES Drucker, P. (1968). Management Task, Responsibility and Practice.London ; Pan Books Limited. Drucker,P. (1981). The New Meaning of Social Responsibility. California Management Journal Review, vol. 6(2):p 58-62. CHAPTER TWO 2. 1THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK THE CONCEPT OF ENVIRONMENT: No business enterprise exists and operates in a vacuum. Business operates in a dynamic environment. The growth and survival of a business is dependent on the environment and other factors. A b etter understanding of the environment and how it works will help in the understanding of the social responsibility of business.According to Edgar (1982:61) business organization is a system, and a system can be defined as a set of interdependent parts which come together to make up the whole business. Each of these components or parts contributes and in return receives something from the whole which in turn is interdependent on the environment. A system may be closed or open. A system is said to be closed when it does not receive inputs from outside, that is its external environment nor does it contribute output to the external environment. A system can be said to be an open system when it exchanges inputs and outputs with its environment.It gives output to the environment and in return receives inputs from the environment. The case study which is Globacom Nigeria is an example of an open system as it receives inputs and gives outputs to the environment. Environment can be defined as surroundings, especially the materials and other influences which affect the growth, development and existence of a living being or a business organization. Enudu (1999: 98), citing Onuoha (1991:121) defined an environment as a set of conditions and forces which surround and have direct or indirect influence on the organization.Generally speaking, environmental variables that affect business organizations may be classified into internal and external environmental variables. An organization’s survival is dependent upon a series of exchange and the continual interaction with the environment gives rise to a number of broader responsibilities to society in general. To understand the business organizational environments, we must borrow some concepts from Systems Theory. One of the basic assumptions of systems theory is that business organizations are neither self-Sufficient nor self-constrained.Rather, they exchange resources with and care dependent on the external. Thus, busin ess organizations take inputs such as raw materials, money, labour and energy from the external environment, transform them into products or services and then send them back as outputs to the external environment. Koontz et al (1980:89) maintained that the relationship between a business organization and its environment can be examined in three main ways:- First, a business organization can be viewed as importing various kinds of inputs such as man, materials, money and machine.These inputs are then transformed to produce outputs such as products and services,Secondly, in the study of the relationships between business organization and its environment is to focus on those publics which the business organization must service. These publics are, Employees, consumers, suppliers, stakeholders, government and the community where the business organization is located. A third approach is to view the business organization as operating in an external environment of opportunities and constrai nts which some authorities classified as economic, political, legal, technology etc.Thus, all managers whether they operate in a small or medium or large business organization, take into consideration the elements and force of their external environment. It is necessary for us to discuss the various environment of a business. ELEMENTS OF DIRECT AND INDIRECT ACTION ENVIRONMENT OF AN ORGANIZATION: Fig. 4. [pic] Sources: Onuoha: Management (1999:121) ELEMENTS OF DIRECT ACTION ENVIRONMENT. Direct-action elements are elements of the environment that directly influence a business organization’s activities. Some people prefer to refer to â€Å"direct-action† as the task environment.The direct-action environment is made up of stakeholder. The stakeholders fall into two categories: External and Internal stakeholders. Stakeholders are defined as individual or groups that are directly or indirectly affected by business organization’s pursuit of its objectives. INTERNAL STA KEHOLDERS: These are groups or individuals such as employees, shareholders that are not strictly part of a business organization’s environment but for whom an individual manager remains responsible. They are a part of the environment for which an individual manager is responsible.EMPLOYEES: The employees of a business organization render services. They also involve in the production of goods or services which the business organization sell. Therefore, managers must always seek to get the right caliber of workers in the workforce, SHAREHOLDERS: The shareholders are primarily interested in the return on investment but in recent time, managers and shareholders have become interested in how a business is run. The governing structure of a large company allows shareholders to influence a company by exercising their voting rights. MANAGEMENT:The management of an organization is responsible for the smooth running of the organization while they deal with multiple shareholders and bala ncing conflicting claims. EXTERNAL STAKEHOLDERS: CUSTOMERS: Consumers are those people and organizations that buy the organization’s products and services. They therefore, exchange resources, usually in form of money. Their patronage or lack of it determines whether a business organization’s operations will be successful or not. Customers and market situation determines selling tactics that should be employed by the organization in marketing the organization’s products or services.Usually, a marketing manager analyses the potential customers and market conditions and direct a marketing company based on that analysis. Globacom managers understands this, that is why they make sure that their product quality is unbeatable and prices less so that competitors will not have an hedge over them in the market. They also make sure that they have their products readily available for distributors at all time, and this they do by having depots all over the nation. SUPPLIERS: Suppliers are those people and organizations that provide the materials, equipment and spare parts with which business organizations operate.Every organization buys inputs – raw materials, services, energy, equipment and labour – from the environment and uses them to produce output. What the organization brings in from the environment and what it does with the price of its final products. Organizations are therefore dependent upon suppliers of materials and labour and will try to take advantage of competition among suppliers to obtain lower prices, better quality work and faster deliveries. GOVERNMENT: In Nigeria, the relationship between government and business organizations has been that of restrictive control in nature.Government had acted as a protector of business through maintaining domestic peace and security. Government has shown interest in the private sector of the economy and this they do by regulating the activities of all productive organizations to publi c interest and reinforcing laws and establishing agencies or regulatory bodies to ensure that these laws are adhered to. Like consumers and environment advocates, are social critics who use the political process to further a position on particular issues. Managers have to study and defect groups formed to oppose the company on any issue.Special interest groups can use the media to gain attention; therefore managers must take both present and future special interest groups into account when setting organization strategy. MEDIA: The economy and business activity have always been covered by the media, since these topics affect so many people. There is an increase reports of business activities in the media, therefore, managers who regularly deals with the media should often seek for professional coaching to improve their ability to present information and opinions clearly and effectively. LABOUR UNIONS:Labour Unions seek to improve the quality of work-life of members of another by givi ng workers more control over what they do and how they do it. Managers through collective bargaining try to negotiate wages, working conditions, hours, etc. They have improved workers sense of responsibility and participation. FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS: Business organizations depend on a variety of financial institutions, including commercial banks, investment banks and insurance companies to supply funds for maintaining and expanding their activities. Both old and new or well established business may rely on short-term loans to build new facilities.Managers have to establish and maintain a working relationship with these institutions. COMPETITORS: A firm must always seek to increase its market share by gaining additional customers or it must beat its competitors in entering and exploiting and expanding market. These it must do by defining its marketing strategy. ELEMENTS OF INDIRECT-ACTION ENVIRONMENT: These are elements of the external environment that affect the climate in which a b usiness organization’s activities take place, but do not affect the business organization directly Stoner et al (1996:63).Some people refer to indirect-action as the â€Å"General environment†. The following are factors that influence business organization in an indirect-action environment:- ECONOMIC VARIABLES: These are factors, such as inflations, recessions, price stability, tax, etc, that affects business. These are general economic conditions and trends that may be factors in an organization. Other important economic variables are capital, economic stability and government fiscal policies. In addition to the above economic controls, Farmer and Richman (1965:56), identified three other economic variables, one of them they referred to as factor endowment†, which is the extent to which a country has available natural resources, adequate and useful labour, and capital which can be employed for efficient production. Another one is the size of market and the third major pervasive economic constraint is the extent to which social overhead capital is available. SOCIAL VARIABLES: These are factors such as demographics, lifestyles and social values that may influence and organization from its external environment. POLITICAL VARIABLES: These are factors that may influence an organization’s activities as a result of political process or climate.The political process involves competition between different interest groups, each seeking to advance its own values and goals. Political legal variable also refer to political and legal environment which relate primarily to compel of laws, regulations and government agencies and their actions which affects all kinds of enterprises. TECHNOLOGICAL VARIABLES: One of the most pervasive factors in the environment is technology. The term ‘Technology’ refers to the sum total of knowledge we have of ways to do things, which affects an organization’s activities. APPROACHES TO SOCIAL RESPO NSIBILITY.By approaches to social responsibility, we mean the perception or view of people about the concept. While it is no longer new that social responsibility of business is necessary, there is still no consensus on what actually constitutes social responsibility. The various perceptions of social responsibility are: i. Social obligation ii. Social Reactions iii. Social Responsiveness. SOCIAL OBLIGATION: Those who hold this view of social responsibility believes that once the organization does what is expected of it by the law, that it is socially responsible. They believe that the major role of business in the society is to make profit.Once this objective is achieved within the ambit of the law, the business is socially responsible. Their target therefor4e is to meet government standards and not to exceed it even if it would benefit society more. The proponents of social obligation believe that the first obligation of business is to return high profit to its shareholders for wh om it is primarily accountable. The also believe that the duty of executing social programmes is that of the government and not business. Organizations are socially responsible when they pay taxes to government to enable it embark on these programmes.Furthermore, the cost of social responsibility will ultimately be added to the cost of the goods and services offered by the companies, thereby leading to higher prices. This then means that it is the people who are paying for social service and not the company. SOCIAL REACTIONS: This view of social responsibility believes that business must be concerned about the social costs of its activities. It should exceed legal set targets in its attempt to responsible behavior. In doing this, it is helping to solve some of the societal problems arising from activities and even those that are traceable to it.Social reaction therefore according to Seithi (1976:66) means behavior in reaction to currently prevailing social norms, values and expectat ions to various groups in the society for it to be socially responsible. Consequently any business that does not react favorably to the demands of societal groups is not socially responsible even if it means its legal obligation to society. SOCIAL RESPONSIVENESS: Business is socially responsible if its actions are anticipatory and preventive instead of reactive and restorative Seithi, (1976:70).To this group, social responsibility means acting in anticipation of the future needs of society. A socially responsive organization sees itself as part of the society and as such takes stand on public issues and contributes its quota toward solving societal problems. It does not have to wait for groups to make demands on it before it acts rather, it initiates social programmes which it feels would help society and execute them without prompting from any quarters. 2. 2 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF GLOBACOM NIGERIA LIMITED:Globacom Limited is a Nigeria multinational telecommunication company. Glo is a privately owned telecommunication company that started operations on the 29th August, 2003 in Nigeria. Globacom is privately owned by Mike Adenuga Group which consists of Equitorial Trust Bank, Conoil Plc. , and a petroleum marketing company producing a crude exploration company. The sole aim of introducing and lunching Globacom in Nigeria on the 29th of August, 2003 was to provide telecommunication service to the people of Nigeria as a means of solving the problem of inadequate communication flow.Although Glo Mobil was the fourth telecommunication operator in Nigeria, within seven years of the company’s operation, its subscriber base has grown to over 25 million. Glo has an estimate of over 25 million subscribers. It has a reputation as one of the fastest growing multinational carrier in the world and the vision for Glo is to be the biggest and best carrier in Africa. Globacom currently operates in four countries in West Africa namely Republic of Benin, Ghana, Ivory Coa st and Nigeria. Its Headquarter is in Lagos, Nigeria because it is 100 percent a Nigerian owned company.According to Globacom Annual Report: (2009:6). In August, 2003, Glo Mobile was launched in Nigeria and it introduced lower tariffs, pay per second billing and along other value added services. Glo Mobile is a subsidiary of Glo, its Glo Mobile Network Unit. Globacom ability to become the best telecommunication company in Africa and all over the world is due to the strategies they design in other to carry out their business smoothly. An example of their strategic business units are, Globacom Broad Access, Glo Gateway, Glo 1 Submarine cable, etc.In 2005, Glo Mobile introduced Glo fleet manager which is the most comprehensive Vehicle Tracking solution offered to save time and money. Glo fleet manager helps managers, transporters fleet operator manage their fleet effectively and efficiently. They also introduced the Glo Mobile Internet Service which provides subscribers with speed acce ss to all popular Internet sites which have been customized for mobile phone browsing. The company in 2006 introduced Black Berry (A) which is the leading wireless solution that keeps mobile professionals around the world connected to people and information.In 2009, Globacom launched Blackberry prepaid service which gives subscribers options to pay daily, weekly or monthly for the service The company now provides coverage to over 85 cities and towns and well over 5000 communities and villages spinning every geo-political zone and 36 of Nigeria’s States. Globacom products and services are available at its friendship centers which have a structure and some departments. It also have nationwide network of dealership, banks and convenience channels where its products are sold. Under the chairmanship of Otunba Michael Adeniyi Ishola Adenuga Jr. Globacom has turned out to become the fastest and best telecommunication industry in West Africa. Recently, in June, 2008, Glo mobile was l aunched in Republic of Benin. Glo Mobile showed unprecedented growth through sales of 600,000 Sim Cards in the first ten days of operation. Glo acquired an operating license through its Glo Mobile division in Ghana and currently has about 11 millions subscribers in Ghana, and in 2009, the company acquired submarine cable landing rights and international gateway services in Ivory Coast.Globacom Nigeria Limited is a leading telecommunication company in Nigeria, which has been at the forefront of promoting sustainable development and high standards of corporate governance and is one of the few signatories that keep date to the convention of business integrity. According to Frank Nweke, (2006. 5. guardian newspaper) â€Å"Glo is an authentic Nigeria Company. What is has achieved in the past years demonstrates great potentials, great opportunities, drive for excellence and commitment to Nigeria†.The Nigeria Communication Commission awarded the company as the second national operat or driven by the success of Globacom in Nigeria. DEFINITIONS AND CONCEPTS OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY. The concept â€Å"Corporate Social Responsibility† has been defined in many ways – Most writers on social responsibility see the concept as a disposition of an organization to exhibit â€Å"Missionary rather than â€Å"Mercenary† attitude towards the society. Holmes and watts (2000:19) on behalf of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development provide a reasonable representative definition as:The continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and other families as well as Those of the local community and society at large. Caroll (1979:96) proposed a four-part definition of corporate social responsibility. It consists of Economic, Legal, Ethical and Altruistic or discretionary corporate social responsibility. â€Å"The social responsibility of bus iness encompasses the economic, legal, ethical and discretionary expectations that the society ask of organization at a given point in time†. Caroll (1979:98).An organization’s economic responsibility to the society entails producing goods and services that society wants and setting them at a fair price that society wants and accepts. The goods and services must be of quality standard. The Legal responsibility that a company has to its society is to comply with the law and â€Å"play by the rules of the game†. (Lantos 2001:6). Ethical responsibility embraces the range of norms, standards and expectations that reflect a concern for what consumers, employees, share-holders and the community regard as fair, just or in keeping with respect for or protection of stakeholders moral rights.Caroll, (1997:100). Discretionary responsibilities are purely voluntary and often guided by the personal values of an individual within a company. They go beyond the legal and are not generally expected in ethical sense. Caroll definition remains a useful basis for analysis as it encompasses the crucial elements of a company’s responsibility to society. According to Andrews (1977:43), the concept of corporate social responsibility can be described as the intelligent and objective concern which constrain individuals no matter how profitable, and leads them in the direction of the positive contribution to human betterment.Luttons and Hodget (1976: 24) noted it as the means to pursue those policies, to make decision, or to follow these line of action which are desirable in terms of objective and value of the society. Imoiseh (1985:27) noted that the major limitation of these conceptions about social responsibility is the failure to take into account:’ i. Who determines what action of an organization constitutes social responsibility? ii. Where should be the â€Å"arena† for the organization to perform social responsibility?Corporate social respo nsibility can be best understood in terms of the changing relationship between business and society. The European Commission’s (2001. vol6:22) Green Paper on Corporate social responsibility defines CSR as â€Å"a concept whereby companies decide voluntarily to contribute to a better society and a cleaner environment†.. According to Caroll, (1979:56) corporate social responsibility is about businesses and other organizations going beyond the legal, obligations to manage the impact they have on the environment and society.In particular, this could include how organizations interact with their employees, suppliers, customers and the communities in which they operate, as well as the extent they attempt to protect the environment. The notion of a company look beyond profit to their role in society is generally termed corporate social responsibility, involves a company linking itself with ethical, values, transparency, employee relations, compliance with legal requirements a nd overall respect for the community in which the operate.It goes beyond the occasional community service action, however, as CSR is a corporate philosophy that drives strategic decision making, partner selection, hiring practices and ultimately brand development Corporate social responsibility also known as corporate responsibilities, corporate citizenship, responsible business or corporate social performance, is a form of corporate self regulation integrated into a business model.Lately, CSR policy would function as a business built-in, self regulating mechanism whereby business would monitor and ensure it adherence to law, ethical standards, and international norms. Business would embrace responsibility for the impact of their activities on the environment, consumers, employees, communities, stakeholders and all other members of the public sphere, furthermore, business would proactively promote the public interest by encouraging community growth and development, and voluntarily e liminating practices that harm the public sphere, regardless of legality.Essentially CSR is the deliberate inclusion of public interest into corporate decision making and the honoring of a triple bottom line: People, Planet and Profit. The entirety of corporate social responsibility can be discerned from the three words obtained within its title phrase: ‘Corporate’, ‘Social’, and ‘Responsibility’. Therefore, in broad terms, corporate social responsibility covers the responsibilities corporations or other profit organizations have to the society within which they are based and operate.More specifically, corporate social responsibility involves a business identifying its stakeholder groups and incorporating in their needs and values within the strategic and day-to-day decision-making process. CATEGORIES OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: Public relations scholars have classified corporate social responsibility into various categories. Sam Blackà ¢â‚¬â„¢s four categories of corporate social responsibility are Enterprise, Education, Arts and Culture and environment. Of recent, many organizations added sports to their corporate social responsibility activities.Again, Seithi (1987) provides what he calls a partial list of social responsibility categories to include being responsible for: ? Product Lines; not producing dangerous products, maintaining good product standard that are environmentally safe. ? Marketing Practices; responding to consumer complaints setting fair prices and maintaining fair advertising message contents. ? Employee Services; training, counseling, granting allowances for the welfare of employees. ? Corporate Philanthropy; contributing to community development activities and involving social projects. Environmental Activities; embarking on pollution control projects, adherence to federal standards and evaluation procedures of new packages to ensure ease of disposal or possible recycling. ? Employee Safety a nd Health; setting effective work environment policies, accident safeguard, food and medical facilities. Through these categories of corporate social responsibility, a company is able to provide a healthy business environment for its operations and contribute to the well-being of the community 2. 3 CURRENT LITERATURE ON THEORIES AS POSTULATED.ARGUMENT AGAINST CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY The most eminent personality against social responsibility is the late Milton Friedman who argued against social responsibility on social and economic ground. Milton Friedman in his word said that â€Å"there is one and only one social responsibility of business – to use resources and engage in activities design to increase its profit so long as it stays within the rules of the game, which is to say, engage in open and free competition without deception or fraud†.He argues that managers are agents to stakeholders but if they spend corporate funds for social purpose they are essentia lly stealing from stakeholders. David Henderson puts it as follows – companies will best discharged the responsibilities which specifically belong to them by taking profitability as a guide, subject always acting within the law, and that they should not go out of their way to define and promote wider self chosen objective. Some arguments are stated thus:- LESS ECONOMIC EFFIENCY: The primary task of business is to maximize profit by focusing strictly on economic activities. This school of thought believes that concentrating resources in the social area could lead to less economic efficiency and therefore actually become detrimental to the society. It holds that when business organization concentrates resources that suppose to be used for other meaningful economic activities on social arrears, the tendency is that, it will reduce the economic efficiency of the organization which may not argue well for the society at large.Social involvement could reduce economic efficiency, ? E XCESSIVE COST THAN BENEFITS TO SOCIETY: Cost incurred in undertaking some of these social responsibility programmes are higher than the benefits society will derive from them and business organization knows the way of passing this burden to society in terms of raising prices of their product or services to excessive levels to the detriment of the consumers. Invariably, society still bears the burden. VIOLATION OF BUSINESS DECISION-MAKING: There is a believe that undertaking some social responsibility activities violates sound economic business decision making that should rightfully concentrate on earning profit. ? TO LACK OF SKILLS ON THE PART OF MANAGERS DETERMINE SOCIALLY DESIRABLE PROJECTS: Managers are neither trained nor do them posses the skills and knowledge of resources to determine which social desirable project to support. Even where they have the knowledge, it may not be easy as they think because of the technicality involved. THERE IS NOT COMPLETE SUPPORT FOR INVOLVEMENT IN SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: Consequently, disagreements among groups with different viewpoints will cause friction. However, it should be noted that Friedman criticism was directed solely against the introduction of corporate social responsibility within profit-making business organizations in the private sectors. ARGUMENT FOR SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: The arguments for social responsibility rest on the notion that accepting social responsibility is the correct moral position of the firm.People who argue in favour of social responsibility claims that our modern industrial society faces many serious social problems brought by larger corporations such as water, land and air pollution and resources depletion, they should play a major role in solving this problem. They also argued that because businesses are legally defined entities with most of the same privileges as private citizens, business should not try to avoid its obligation as citizens.Advocates of social responsibility points out that while government organizations have stretched their budget to their limit many large businesses often have surplus revenue that could potentially be used to help solve social problems. Another more general reason for social responsibility is profit itself. For example, organizations that make clear and visible contributions to its society can achieve enhanced regulation and profit benefit at the long run. Other factors on which the argument for social responsibility is based are :- ? The improvement of internal opportunities and the creation of better job environment. The business firms controls so many resources and can devote some of the resources to the betterment of the society. ? Social investments create a favourable public image thus a firm may attract customers, employees and investors. ? It is better to prevent problems than to cure them. It may be easier to help hardcore unemployed than to cope with social unrest. ? Social responsibility actions may increase profit in the long-run. There are certain actions of the business in relation to social responsibility which may increase the company’s profitability.For example, identifying consumer needs and wants, producing goods tailored to these needs may not produce desired result in the short run but on the long run. More profit can be realized with increase in productivity. Social responsibility makes business organization have more concern for society. Businesses must be concerned about society’s interest and needs because society is affected by business operation. FACTORS MOTIVATING THE ADOPTION OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY. Business operates in a global market where companies are increasing in the public eye.It is difficult for companies to hide in discrepancies as they are highly visible and vulnerable to attacks from stakeholders. Companies need to be sensitive to societal anxiety if they are to avoid damage to their reputation. These anxieties changes over time as different issues come into the public eye. So companies must be dynamic in the way they respond. The main factors that may motivate companies to carry out social responsibility are stakeholder management, financial performance, consumer pressure, risk management, attracting employees and personal values. STAKEHOLDER MANAGEMENT:Stakeholder management is a generally accepted concept in the business community. Stakeholders have been discarded as â€Å"the groups and individual who benefit from or are harmed by, and whose rights are violated or respected by, corporate actions (Freeman 2006:20). Increasingly, corporations are motivated to become more socially responsible because their most importantly stakeholders expect them to understand and address the social and community issues that are relevant to them. Understanding what causes are important to employees is business benefits that can be derived rom increased employee engagement that is, more loyalty, improved recruitment, increased retent ion, high productivity and so on. Greater media exposure, environmental and health related incidents resulting from site management or planning decisions have ensured that effective management of stakeholders has risen up the list of priorities for company managers. The various stakeholders a company may have are shown in the model below: Fig. 3. [pic] Source: Onuoha: Management (1999:106). Some questions may be asked, if business is to be responsible to the society, whom in society must it be responsible to?Society today consists of a wide range of people who have interests, expectations and demands as to what companies and organizations ought to provide, and the ways in which they should behave. Companies are increasingly embracing these stakeholder groups and individuals, whether by considering or including them in decision-making. The motivation here is for business to become involved in corporate social responsibility by addressing the wide range and constant set of demands mad e by stakeholders. FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE:Since the early 1980s a significant body of corporate social responsibility research has centered on the debate over the relationship between corporate social responsibility and strong financial performance. Government agencies and organizations promoting the corporate social responsibility agenda seems to be convinced that, assuming a social responsibility role will bring financial gain to the business world. Social responsibility is a powerful way of making sustainable competitive profit and achieving lasting values for the shareholders as well as for the stakeholders.Therefore being involved in social responsibility is a win- win opportunity not just for companies and financial investors but also for the society at large. Research carried out has shown that there is a good relationship between social performance and financial benefit. That is, organizations that are involved in social responsibility activities stands out to gain financial reward at the long-run and this has been a motivating factor to the organization adoption of corporate social responsibility.Furthermore, McWilliams and Siegel (1979:88) predict that there is a neutral relationship between social responsibility activities and company’s financial performance. In their study, they investigated this relationship using a theory of the firm’s perspective, economic scale and cost benefit analyses. Their main conclusions were: – The neutral relationship exists because the company that carries out social responsibility activities will have higher cost but higher revenue. While the company that has no social responsibility activities sill have lower cost and lower revenue, thus, profit is equal. Large firms will have lower average cost for providing social responsibility activities than small companies. – There are optimal levels that will maximize profit while satisfying the demand for social responsibility from multiple stakehol ders. The ideal levels of social responsibility can be determined by cost benefit analysis. CONSUMERS: Consumer’s pressure and damage to the global image of a popular brand is one of the reasons why companies may be motivated to assume the mantle of social responsibility.Much recent pressure has centered on the protection of the environment, example campaign against water pollution (Niger Delta Regions), road maintenance, consumers protection, protection of human rights, safeguarding jobs, etc. In Nigeria, organizations and agencies like National Food and Drug Administration Campaign, Standard Organization of Nigeria and National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, has been an advocate for consumer’s protection especial in the current climate of concern about public health.It is high profile consumer related concern such as these that will force more and more companies into adopting principles of social responsibility. RISK MANAGEMENT: Risk management centers on problems that can be caused by consumer’s pressure. However, today’s management encompasses a wider range of stakeholders, each of which must be considered if a company is to avoid variety pitfalls and protect its reputation. Companies often conduct business in areas where they can be at low risk especially working in a densely populated area or with companies with irresponsible practices.Social responsibility activities can be use to mitigate this risk. The increased exposure of companies to the glare of public scrutiny has encouraged business to increase transparency in their environmental and social disclosures. This has led to a growing trend reporting and a commitment of sustainability of social performance. EMPLOYEES: Many studies has shown that investing in employees can bring direct benefits to a company both financially and in terms of increased employee loyalty and productivity.Such investment can include schemes like provision of healthcare services to employees, childca re facilities, flexible work hours and job sharing. Employee’s investment is an essential aspect of social responsibility as the workforce is also the community, especially in companies where a substantial portion of employees are likely to come from the local community. Involving employees in social responsibility activities is another way in investing in them. Good social performance also provides companies with a competitive advantage when attracting a skilled force.Applicants are more likely to pursue jobs from socially responsible companies than companies with poor social responsibility performance reputation; they feel that they will have a higher self image when working for responsible companies. PERSONAL VALUES: Companies and individual within an organization may be motivated to carry out social responsibility for moral reasons. Managers of organization may carryout social responsibility activities because of the respect accorded to them for being involved in such act ivities by members of the society.This approach to corporate social responsibility is described in literature as voluntary or philanthropic social responsibility. But this approach has been questioned by a number of commentators famously Milton Friedman (1970:30) who argued that, â€Å"the social responsibility of business is to increase its profit†. And even more recently by Lantos (2001:56) who argues that voluntary social responsibility lies outside the scope of business responsibility.The answer lies in the personal values and principles of some individuals in business who argues that it is fundamentally the right thing to do. THE BENEFITS OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: Drucker emphasizes the importance of the exercise of social responsibility by business and by managers. This responsibility can no longer be based on the assumption that the self-interest of the owner of property will lead to the public good, or that self-interest and public good can be kept apart and considered to have nothing to do with each other.On the contrary, it requires of the manager that he assume responsibility for the public good, that he subordinate his actions to an ethical standard of conduct, and that he restrains his self-interest and his authority wherever their exercise would infringe upon the common weal and upon the freedom of the individual. An enlightened business recognizes that it is in its own interest to be socially responsible, since an enhanced public image is more likely to be attractive to investors – employees, customers, consumers, suppliers and most community and government.Companies addressing issues related to the right of indigenous people have reaped a lot of benefits. Some of the benefits accruing to business organization that is involved in social responsibility include the following. 1. ENHANCED REPUTATION: Good company performance in relation to sustainability issues can both build reputation while poor performance when exposed ca n damage brand value. In the course of this research work, it was noted that Globacom Nigeria Limited has a very good reputation in the community where it exists. II. INCREASED ABILITY TO RECRUIT, DEVELOP AND RETAIN STAFF:These can be direct or indirect. The 1999 business Ethics study found that employees are more likely to be loyal when they believe their workplace has ethical practices. An organization that engages in corporate social responsibility will have dedicated and productive employees. IIIBETTER RELATIONS WITH GOVERNMENT: The formal and informal license to operate is a key issue for many companies looking to extend their business. Diligence in meeting social and environmental concerns can result in a reduction in red tape and a more cooperative relationship with government departments.A good relationship with government can give a company significant competitive benefit in terms of gaining a social license to operate from local community, particularly in the resource sect or with regard to gaining access to scarce reserves. IV. ENJOYING PREFERRED BUSINESS PARTNER STATUS: Given the opportunity to choose among several bidders for a potential project, some governments are more likely to choose a company with the best reputation with respect to indigenous relations and human rights practices.For instance, Globacom Nigeria has gained a lot of good reputation in the government circle and these are shown by the different award that the management has received both nationally and internationally. When companies take a strategic approach to corporate social responsibility, it would have a positive effect on mainstream business performance. Records have shown how benefits go beyond performance and also how benefits go beyond the long-term intangible measures of success to include direct financial measures (mostly in developing countries).CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY FOCUS IN THE TELECOMMUNICATION INDUSTRY: Service industries such as the banking; insurance r etail and telecommunication industries are generally perceived as corporate ‘bodies’ and have an image of modern and clean business. Although, their direct social and environmental foot print is often relatively small; their role as market gatekeepers means that they can have substantial influence. Corporate social responsibility leaders in these sectors tend to be motivated by the strategic need to innovate in fast moving industries as well as the competitive â€Å"war for talent†.The telecommunication industry is the fastest growing sector in Nigeria. As such, corporate social responsibility is a strategy used by these companies to gain their ground and to provide sustainable development to the country and to their host community. They focus on the potentials of information communication technologies to empower enterprise development, educational opportunities and the capacity to respond to emergencies. Developments such as tele-banking, internet trade and othe rs has the potential to save energy, paper and the need to travel, reducing air pollution, and resources waste.However, despite these opportunities, there are a number of problematic issues such as: i. Concerns about the environment and health implication of new technologies ii. The emergence of a â€Å"bridge† between those who have access to educational, health and opportunities through information communication technology and those who do not. iii. Tension between the drive for efficiency and profitability and the need to meet legislated â€Å"universal service obligation† to provide access for all.Many companies in the telecommunication industry are aligning themselves towards the commercial opportunities that sustainable devel

Recruiting Diversity Into the Healthcare System Essay

Recruiting Diversity Into the Healthcare System - Essay Example Medicine is more than just surgery and the appropriate prescription. Medicine is the understanding of healing as viewed through the cultural lens of diversity and we need to be pro-active in our search and education of medical students from a wide variety of cultural backgrounds. The diversity of America brings a wide variety of different needs to the healthcare system. African-Americans are prone to Sickle-cell anemia while Arabic and Farsi speaking people are more apt to suffer from Cardio-vascular disease. McBride insists that training that is dedicated to the prevalence of illness among certain ethnic and racial groups, and their genetic pre-disposition, should be a priority in medical training (181). Some cultures may be practicing herbal remedies or have an aversion to surgery. The range of culture based beliefs are endless in respect to our health and healing. While Americans may wish to treat cancer with a targeted treatment of chemo-therapy and surgery, other cultures may view the disease within the context of religion. Medical staff and healthcare workers need to be aware and sensitive to these diversity issues that other cultures bring to our western style healthcare system. M... There may be a language barrier that prevents the adequate communication of a patient's medical needs. The doctor or nurse may not understand the boundaries or necessity of communicating with family members. Even the colors of the room and the placement of the bed may have significance to some people. The meaning of illness may mean simply that we are sick, or may mean that we are possessed by evil spirits. While Americans are often open and frank about their condition, "People in many cultures believe that informing the patient of a terminal diagnosis may hasten death" (Misra-Hebert, 298). No amount of classroom training can communicate and educate our healthcare system with the vast amount of information necessary to effectively deal with the number of possibilities that exist in today's diverse world. The only way to bring this kind of knowledge and awareness into the healthcare system is to recruit diversity and minority students to become a part of our medical arsenal. The medical education system needs to reach out to minority populations and recruit and cultivate their talents for work in the healthcare system. This would need to begin in high school by working with students to assure they are getting the courses and the academics required to enter college. Tutors and mentors should be made available to these students to offer personal as well as academic guidance. The healthcare system needs to reach out across social as well as economic barriers to enlist these students. By beginning at an early age and cultivating our diverse youth for a career in healthcare we can be sure that we will have the talent necessary to meet the medical

Business-Millennial generations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Business-Millennial generations - Essay Example It is also important to note that this generation Y is also coined with the millennial generation because this generation simply refused to connect themselves with their earlier generations and were partly affected by the rise of technology also. (Winograd & Hais, 2008). What significance this generation can hold for a company can provide an important insight into the different attributes and characteristics of a completely new market segment which can be served with greater penetration. This report will discuss some of the most important attributes of the generation millennial for Penrose Media Co willing to penetrate and study this cohort to understand their work behaviors and attributes. Generation Millennial belong to an era which witnessed significant political struggle within US as they not only witnessed cold war but also fierce battles in Iraq war also. Though there are very rough estimates of the actual size of this generation however, some estimates suggest that generation Y comprises of almost sixty million individuals who have relatively more distinguished characteristics than previous generations. The most important strength of this generation is the fact that they are well aware of technology and are using social networking and other technological tools to capitalize on opportunities offered by digital world. It is because of this reason that they are often called digital natives as they are more familiar with the technology and are using it in more commercial manner. (Jayson). They are self assured and optimistic therefore they tend to have more inclination towards academic curiosity and as such more intellectual and socially engaged actions motivate them more as compared to their previous generations. What is also significant is the fact that due to their awareness of the technology they are more connected with each

John The Bapist Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

John The Bapist - Research Paper Example John Baptist’s Parents John the Baptist’s father was Zechariah and his mother was Elizabeth. Zechariah was from the priestly family of Abijah. Both Zechariah and his wife were righteous people before the lord and they blamelessly obeyed all the commands of the lord (John the Baptist, online). Zechariah and Elizabeth, however, were very old and Elizabeth was barren. The couple had lost hope of ever having a child of their own. The lord however performed a miracle for them and this led to the birth of John the Baptist. John Baptist’s Birth and Childhood John the Baptist was born in the late first century, at around 5 B.C., during the reign of king Herod of Judea. The history of the birth and childhood of John the Baptist can be obtained from the four Gospels in the Bible and also from the writings of the Roman historian Josephus (The Birth and Early Life of John the Baptist, online). John the Baptist is believed to have been born in Judea, near Jerusalem. Both John ’s father and mother were of Aaron descent and John, therefore, was of Aaron descent from both his father and mother. Elizabeth the mother of John the Baptist was sister to Mary the mother of Jesus Christ. ... This happened when Zechariah was performing his priestly duties in the temple of Jerusalem; Zachariah was burning incense in the temple when angle Gabriel appeared to him. When Zechariah first saw the angel he was startled, but the angel told him not to be afraid for the lord had heard his prayers. The angel of the lord then told him that his wife Elizabeth would bear him a son, and the angel told him that he should call the child John. The angel of the lord then told Zechariah that the child to be born would be a great joy to his parents and many people would rejoice because of his birth. The angel of the lord told Zechariah that the child to be born would be great in the eyes of the lord. Angel Gabriel also told Zechariah that the child to be born would never drink wine or any other fermented drink, angel Gabriel told him that John the Baptist would be filled with the Holy Spirit even before his birth; Angel Gabriel also told Zechariah that John the Baptist would bring many people of Israel back to God. The angel of the Lord also said that John the Baptist would have the spirit and the zeal of Prophet Elijah; through this spirit and zeal of Prophet Elijah he would bring many people to righteousness. But Zechariah doubted the words of the angel of the Lord and wondered how the words of the angel would come true for he was very old and his wife Elizabeth too was very old and barren. But angel Gabriel assured him that he was sent by God and that his words will come true. And for failing to believe in the words of angel Gabriel, the angel told Zechariah that he would be silent from that moment till when the child John the Baptist would be

Spirituality 4 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Spirituality 4 - Essay Example Although compassionate care giving stands out as an accepted social responsibility of the nurses, the practice defies professional ethics and requirements for health workers. This essay explores compassion fatigue form a processional and ethical perspective. Nurses and other caregivers often find themselves in a dilemma concerning the care they need to give to patients and their own welfare. Although health workers have a good understanding on the nature of human body its needs for rest and healthy lifestyles, they are bound by social and professional responsibilities (Joinson, 2007). Such responsibilities force them to neglect their personal needs. Although compassion fatigue is a major problem among health workers, most health professionals overlook the problem. According to Kottler (2005), the main reason why nurses overlook compassion fatigue is that they have become used to the problem making them to compromise with the fatigue. An interview conducted on nurses working in California hospital established that most nurses used medication to make them stay awake for long hours. The survey also established that most nurses had irregular sleeping periods due to workload or a desire to offer compassion services for their patients. This indicates that health workers need to have a concrete background on compassion fatigue symptoms. Compassion fatigue symptoms are identical to those of posttraumatic stress. Unlike posttraumatic stress, compassion fatigue symptoms are based on trauma. This indicates that they have a direct impact on the patient’s life and that the impacts can be demonstrated readily by their performance and behavior (Kottler, 2005). The basic concepts of compassion fatigue are emotional, cognitive, spiritual somatic and behavior. These concepts translate into symptoms and warning signs that characterize the condition. Standard

Commercial Poultry Keeping Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Commercial Poultry Keeping - Research Paper Example It is also preferred to other protein sources since it provides white meat, which is less in cholesterol. Birds are the most popular stock kept in the world approximately 15.9 billion by 2009 since it is kept by most people in the household e.g. women, children, old men. In Kenya, they are around 30million where 25million are indigenous and 5million are exotic, in which 3.5million are layers and 1.5million are broilers. This therefore creates a gap of deficiency in poultry meat and eggs which to entrepreneurs, is a big opportunity gap to be filled up by meeting the the customers’ or market demand to provide these products in required quantity. Having carried out a thorough research about this opportunity after a long period of time and studied the trends in the market supply and demand for poultry products, I found it profitable to start up a commercial poultry farm situated in the capital city of Kenya, Nairobi. The company, ‘’KUKU COMPANY LIMITED’’ was started to keep broilers to provide the city’s population with sufficient and healthy value added poultry meat sold in a very health friendly, modern and classic butcheries. Company Location The company's production unit is located in the Kibera slums, Nairobi, the capital city of Kenya. Kenya is one of the countries forming the East African Community neighboring Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Sudan and Somalia. The dense population of this city provides a large customer base for the company products and therefore, a ready market for the same. The city is occupied by all different kinds of dwellers cutting across all social classes who largely consume poultry meat very often. The company has set out several selling outlet shops across the city in most of the busiest business centers to easily reach its customers. These shops also act as the distribution points for the the retailers across the city. Staffing Plan The company has been under the management of the founde rs who double as the owners as well as the managers. The company established a competitive edge through the expertise of its founders where James brought with him the existing relationship with the best suppliers of chicks and feeds in the city, Jacob brought with him his Agricultural knowledge of poultry production, Abel, an IT expert and a market strategist added his management information knowledge as well as knowledge about the market forecasting and capturing to beat other market commpeetiitoors coupled with my good understanding of food service management, sales record in business to business sales, and financial acumen, well have an edge over the town's other butcher shops and grocery stores within our niche market. We also have two laborers who help us with small manual duties as they come by in the production unit. In addition, we have a salesperson and a cashier at each of our five sales outlets across the city. Form and Benefits of the business This business is partnering based among James, Jacob, Abel and I who have been friends since childhood and decided to come together as entrepreneurs and help in solving food supply shortages to this Kenya. The benefits of this form of business are that it is very instrumental when raising capital, providing labor and in management from the same owner have acted has the managers since it was begun. A Chart of accounts Asset Accounts No Account title To increase Description/explanation of the account 101 Cash Debit The account balance as shown in the company records from customers but not yet deposited 102 Jim Hotels (accounts receivables) Debit Amounts owed to the company for products sold but not yet paid for 104 Feeds (supplies) Debit Cost of supplies that have not yet been used. 105 Land Debit Cost quire and

READING GUIDE FOR EQUALITY OF EDUCATIONAL OPORTUNITY AND THE CRITERION Assignment

READING GUIDE FOR EQUALITY OF EDUCATIONAL OPORTUNITY AND THE CRITERION OF EQUAL EDUCATIONAL WORTH - Assignment Example A. The question of equal access arises when viewed from the point of view of race and gender. In the formal structure of educational institutions, no bias exists in admission/imparting education on the basis of race and gender. Such institutions provide opportunity to all students and foster racial and gender equality. Legally sanctioned racial barriers are non-existent. B. The goal of equal educational opportunity needs to transcend the legal boundaries of equality. Equal access is not a self-contained stage. According to Howe â€Å"extraneous psychological and social factors† can impact a person’s educational opportunities. The author cites an example supporting his viewpoint: â€Å"For example, the educational opportunities that a monolingual Chinese-speaking child enjoys in a school that is conducted exclusively in English are hardly equal to those that a monolingual English-speaking child enjoys.†(Howe, 330) As such the system of equal educational opportunities is more important than the features of educational institutions. C. The characteristics that an individual brings to the institution should be utilized in such a manner so that it stands to benefit the other students and the institution as a whole. It should not be considered as a problem but should be converted into an opportunity. As such interaction between individuals and educational institutions assumes importance. Equality attains new dimensions. A. Treating differentially is inclusive of the concept of treating equal. The author substantiates this statement by stating, â€Å"In terms of the preceding example, showing equal respect for the needs, interests and capabilities of monolingual Chinese-speaking children requires that they be treated differently than English-speaking children.†(Howe, 330) B. Some of the characteristics that disadvantage people and need to be

Red Bulls current marketing strategies Essay Example for Free

Red Bulls current marketing strategies Essay How should Red Bull market its brand in the future? I think, although Red Bull has been extremely successful in the past, times have changed and the company and products should change with it, otherwise we probably lose market share to the tremendous increased number of competitors in no time.At the height of early mornings and late nights, Red Bull energy drink became the fuel of choice for people from all walks of life. So how is Red Bull marketing its brand to meet the changing needs and budgets of its customers? How will the privately owned Austrian company expand its product line beyond the silver-bullet beverage that gives you wings? My conclusion is that we should focus on what the consumers want, need, and can afford and different marketing techniques. Red Bull founder, Dietrich Mateschitz, introduced his tonic drinks to the Austrian market in 1987. Red Bull got off the ground in no time flat, giving people wings right from the start. It wasnt until ten years later, Red Bull charged into the United States, launching a new category of non-soda energy drinks aimed at burned out high school kids, college students, and overworked individuals. In my opinion Red Bull should focus not only on low cost marketing, but also areas of mass marketing. Red Bull is an energy drink with an amazingly clever marketing strategy, but could use an extra shove in areas. Since its inception, Red Bull has shunned print advertising in its marketing strategy. Red Bull has also chosen to eliminate billboards, banner ads, taxicab holograms, blimps, and Super Bowl spots as a form of advertising. It has not created one web-marketing campaign, and it hasnt nipped or expanded its product line. This could be a good area to begin. Promoting the drink with prints or web-marketing campaigns could add to the many satisfied consumers. Red Bulls website could also use renovations. The website, http://www.redbullusa.com/start.html, does not include an in-depth analysis on ingredients contained in the drink, whereas Dark Dog and Red Devil do. If consumers wanted to learn what was contained in the drink and how they benefit from the product, the information should not only be available, but in abundance. Also, Super Bowl advertising has proved to be very beneficial,  with more viewers than any TV program. Advanced communications technology is creating a generation where many individual can be touched by one visual. However, Red Bull chooses to use advertising that cost little or nothing. Red Bull has also adopted another form of low cost advertising. Red Bull sets its grassroots ethic into motion with a simple, yet masterful marketing force, student brand managers. In Europe, collegiate buzz junkies have been successfully addicting friends and classmates for years thanks to a foolproof branding plan; Red Bull provides the student representatives with free cases of its energy drink and then encourages the kids to throw a party. Red Bull could also use this technique with older individuals in high stress occupations. This will not only spread the word quickly and cheaply, but to more individuals of different ages. This would allow Red Bull to expand its target. In terms of attracting new customers and enhancing consumer loyalty, Red Bull has a more effective branding campaign than Coke or Pepsi, says Nancy F. Koehn, professor of business administration at Harvard Business School and author of Brand New: How Entrepreneurs Earned Consumers Trust from Wedgwood to Dell (Harvard Business School Press, 2001). Red Bull is building a beverage brand without relying on the essential equipment of a mass-marketing campaign. Perhaps the indispensable tools of marketing arent so indispensable after all. With the little advertising Red Bull uses, an extra push in one of these areas could prove very beneficial for the company. Resources: Brand New: How Entrepreneurs Earned Consumers Trust from Wedgwood to Dell (Harvard Business School Press, 2001) http://www.redbullusa.com/start.html http://www.plan-b.biz/pdf/Speed_In_a_Can.pdf http://www.darkdog.com/ http://www.reddevilusa.com/ http://www.safefoodonline.com/safefood/Uploads/appendix_I_stimulant_drinks_in_ireland%2520_trans_mgmt.pdf

Should The Government Censor The Internet Media Essay

Should The Government Censor The Internet Media Essay The growth of information and communication technology has significantly impacted on every facet of the world on most often noted is the internet. The advancement of Information and communication technology ICT, coupled with the rapid uptake of increasingly affordable, key technologies such as the Internet, has also helped foster an environment that promotes globalization of knowledge and information. The Internet has revolutionalized communication making information access across boundaries deemed seemingly impossible in the past a thing of general practice. People around the world are able to communicate with unprecedented ease. In the past, government has enjoyed great successes in censoring traditional communication media and this has affected information flow to the masses. The internet on the other hand with is multi-directional information flow communication nature where anyone can air their opinions on any desired issue at will has posed great challenges to governments. For countries with repressive regimes, the Internet has become a revolutionary force as it allows the free flow of information and which has been perceived as threat by the authorities in some countries. Government in some countries have responded imposing strict censorship on Internet usage by the public through monitoring, filtering and access to some site in the internet in a bid to control access to information. Internet censorship can be defined as the control or suppression of the publishing or accessing of information on the Internet. Internet censorship has been a greatly debated topic around the world with people having different opinions. In most countries governments at different level have been the in the fore front in the campaign for a regulated internet. Though there are a few arguments that support the need to have the internet censored, it has been largely rejected by organizations and individuals across the world as censorship of the internet is widely regarded by many as an attempt by government to suppress freedom of speech. This essay examines the arguments against internet censorship by government, its impact, successes and failures of government in some countries that embarked on such projects, and the challenges they have faced. It also assesses the key importance of censorship and concludes with an individual opinion evaluating the stated arguments. The case against the government Campaigners against the governments censorship of the internet have strongly opposed censorship and have stated that it prevents freedom of speech thus undermining confidence and trusts in the medium and this inhibits crucial flows of data. Also, Internet censorship and filtering leads to monitoring which is seen by many as another big brother ploy by government to invade the public privacy. It is more often argued that the government will use internet censorship as a tool to promote political agenda and the public has been quick to conclude that the true voice of the public will not be heard. In Australia, the National-Anarchists reject any parliamentary censorship of material and the reasons given has been summed up simply, any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both Benjamin Franklin.[1] Reports on internet censorship show the level of its pervasiveness recently being experienced in some countries. There are several tools and solutions instituted by the government of these countries for the purpose of internet censorship and also the content censored also vary with most blocked contents being political, pornographic, religious contents and others. [2] The common argument used by most countries in proposing censorship is that of child pornography. Most people however believe that the governments plans on internet censorship do not quite provide the solution to child pornography. It is often seen as, and in fact proven by experts that websites play only a minor role in circulation of child abuse materials and cannot be simply banned by Government [1]. It is often suggested that censoring for children by utilizing a user backed software and filtering systems instead of governmental censorship is a viable solution for keeping children away from indecent internet content. There are several software systems that allow parental control of internet materials. The OpenNet Initiative (ONI) has made a categorization of nations that is classes as internet enemy list. The ONI is joint project between some academic institutions across the world with the goal to monitor and report on internet filtering and surveillance activities by different nation. The project uses several means to determine the extent and nature of government-run internet filtering programs. It lists China, Iran Saudi Arabia etc in the forefront of internet censorship in the world. A new wave is now being generated by the Australian government as it moves to launch its own internet censorship project, [3] which has sparked up several arguments across the world. According to the ONI reports, censorship varies with countries and some countries have pervasive filtering policies, often routinely blocking access to not just pornographic and prohibited contents, but also human rights organizations, news, blogs, and Web services that challenge the status quo or are deemed threatening or undesirable. The Chinese governments The Great firewall currently uses four mechanisms DNS blocking, reset commands, URL keyword blocking and content scanning to prevent Internet users in the country from reaching blacklisted Web sites or content [16]. This technique though quite effective faces some technology challenges as private VPNs used by banks, manufacturing and other businesses often allow users within these organizations bypass this great firewall. These VPN services are now even open to the public for sign up at a fee that is quite affordable and attempts by the government to clamp down on this may impact on the economy since businesses will be affecte d. The general public thus rides on this loophole [4]. Methods of implementing censorship have also been criticized. Blocking unwanted and prohibited content using a dynamic process that would require analysis of website content in real-time would significantly slow down the internet. This is already being experience on the china network. [4]. Reports from Australia also suggests this will be the case when the Australian project kick off. The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) confirmed that under trial conditions internet filtering reduced speeds between 2% and in excess of 75%, but with half the tested products falling between 20-30%. It was concluded that proper implementation of the censorship project could result in a 20% drop in internet speeds [5]. Policies have been another hugely criticize factor. Often times government policies on censorship do not make a clear distinction on materials unfit for internet content, this resulting in legal and harmless contents being blocked. Organizations have challenged and even filed lawsuits to prevent passage of censorship bills in some states citing free speech violation and the decision to embark on censorship as unconstitutional. This is the case of a Utah Internet Censorship law, intended to restrict childrens access to material on the Internet but that may in fact also restrict adults access to a wide range of lawful material [6]. Examples cited COPA internet censorship law of 1998, included whether an education web page showing young women how to perform self examinations for breast cancer be banned and being classed as sexually explicit [7]. Australian government for example intends to use a public complaints mechanism for blacklisting URLs as well as URLs provided by international agencies. Analysts have questioned the accountability and transparency of this and have stated that the same government bureaucrats who put together their initialed flawed blacklist would remain responsible as arbitrators of the system. In support of the publics claim, a recently leaked list of blacklisted website showed that about half of the sites listed were in fact not related to child porn as claimed by the government but rather other contents that were to a certain degree could be classified as legal content for the adult community. This has sparked further debate on the issue [8]. A word for the government The biggest arguments presented so far by the government in support of internet censorship have been issues relating to preventing access to illegal contents and child pornography, racism, fraud terrorism, religion etc. With the attempts so far made by several nations to impose some form of censorship meeting with similar resistance, government should realize that the key challenges faced are three fold, the people, the law and the coping with technology. One could however wonder why the topic on censoring the internet would generate so much argument when the public indeed presently abides by certain degree of censorship. From schools preventing access to certain contents and websites, warnings are displayed on university networks on the impact of downloading of file sharing, companies prevent employees from accessing chat systems, networking website and other sites at work using firewalls to ISPs blocking potential dangerous contents either because of virus or to keep their network safe and uncompromised, Why then is the public so opposed to the government censoring the internet? It could be safe to state that the public is just not ready for the extreme spectrum of Internet control which would result in a globally regulated internet by the government for the fear that the public could lose its freedom of speech and the fear unknown. Conclusion Recommendation Though internet censorship could be considered a necessity in cases where there is need to set a standard for publishing and the kind of information to publish on highly sensitive topics, by and large the foreseeable disadvantages far surpasses the benefits that may be accrued. I do not see Government succeeding in the offing in the fight to regulate content on the internet. Technology favours the public internet users rather than government and as such the government will be playing catch-up and their efforts may yet be foiled. Technology is presently enabling data encryption, user generated videos and pod casts thus complicating the tasks by the monitoring bodies. Also the laws governing internet censorship if passed will meet several barriers as they are more likely to be passed by countries independently. The internet spans boundaries and how these laws would apply to other countries a crucial aspect of consideration. The law will need to keep up with changing technology as such there will be no rest for law makers. Passing laws takes considerable time, and lapse in law would result in loopholes that could be exploited by the public. In addition, the controversies generated by government censoring the internet far outweigh the benefit. The internet is a global communication platform and the government needs to study close before imposing laws. Close attention should however the paid to the fact that the global nature of the net does present problems to censorship. To conclude, though the proposed laws by government to regulate the internet is of good intention, it is unwise for the government to censor the internet because any law infringing on the publics right to free speech or breaching individuals right to privacy and freedom on such a vast communication medium as the internet will be difficult to enforce.