Multinational enterprises and their CSR initiatives in Nigerian oil sector The WritePass Journal

Multinational enterprises and their CSR initiatives in Nigerian oil sector Abstract Multinational enterprises and their CSR initiatives in Nigerian oil sector AbstractIntroductionResearch QuestionResearch ObjectivesLiterature ReviewResearch MethodologyReferencesRelated Abstract Nigeria is a country which is endowed with considerable energy reserves. The oil and gas reserves found are some of the largest in the entire world. Multinational companies have been involved in the exploration and transportation of crude oil and gas in the country. The Niger delta region is the main area where the country’s rich energy reserves are found. The conduct of multinational enterprises in the region has been criticized because of allegations that corruption, bribery, environmental mismanagement, environmental contamination, and human rights abuses are being perpetrated towards indigenous communities. As a consequence, multinational enterprises have engaged in corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives in order to create a better image while serving the needs of local communities. Introduction Nigeria is one of the leading producers of oil and gas in the world. It has oil reserves that are estimated to be around 35 billion barrels while it has 5 trillion cubic meters of gas reserves (Amaeshi et al, 2006: p. 67). Nigeria is a country that has more than 250 ethnic groups with over 500 languages being spoken in the country. Despite its huge energy reserves, the country remains poor with over two thirds of the people living in abject poverty. A total of six multinational organizations are operating in the Nigerian oil and gas sector. These companies are the Royal Dutch Shell, Chevron, Exxon-Mobil, Agip, Total, and Texaco.   The Niger Delta region is the main area where the oil exploration and production is being carried out by foreign enterprises (Beauchamp, 2003: p. 92). These foreign enterprises have been criticized for failing to take adequate measures that can alleviate the poverty and suffering of indigenous communities. There have been accusations of corruption, misman agement, environmental degradation, oil spills, contaminated water, and other problems in the region. As a consequence, there have been attempts by multinational enterprises to implement corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives in the region. However, the existing literature does not comment upon the different CSR practices of MNCs in Nigeria with respect to the local stakeholders and communities. This study will seek to investigate and assess the efficacy of the ethical practices by the multinational enterprises as they related to the empowerment and betterment of indigenous communities. Research Question The following research questions will be answered in this dissertation: What are the CSR strategies of multinational enterprises in Nigeria? What are the practical implications of CSR as it relates to improving the standards of living for local communities? Is CSR a genuine attempt to empower communities or is it a marketing strategy by multinationals? Research Objectives To study the similarities and differences of the CSR initiatives implemented by multinational enterprises in Nigeria To determine the efficacy of CSR initiatives with respect to community empowerment and development To study whether multinational enterprises in the Nigerian oil sector are genuinely concerned about empowering communities or such initiatives are simply marketing tools to improver the image of multinational enterprises Literature Review Corporate social responsibility is a term used to denote the actions and policies implemented by business organizations that are in accordance with ethical and legal principles. The goal of organizations is to implement self-regulation and align it with the overall business model. The goal is to ensure that organizations can integrate ethics into their business model (Carroll, 2006: p. 76). A series of high profile business scandals in the past decades has meant that governments are now seeking to regulate the business environment through legislation that promotes transparency and accountability. Additionally, the customer segments are highly conscious about the business activities of enterprises because the latter must be able to demonstrate ethical behaviors in accordance with their actions. Alternatively, organizations are seeking to reduce the costs of complying with legislation by implementing CSR initiatives so that they can achieve efficiency and effectiveness. A number of theoretical approaches towards CSR have been developed in order to help organizations take responsibility for their actions while encouraging positive impact upon the environment, consumers, employees, and other key stakeholders. Corporate philanthropy is a CSR theoretical model which calls for providing monetary donations and aid to different communities. Such donations can come in specific areas like social welfare, environment, housing, health, and others (Carroll, 2006: p. 71).   The limitations of such a model are that it does not address the root causes of poverty and other problems in local communities. Another theory is that CSR should be combined with the overall business strategy. This theory seeks to help local communities by recruiting locals and training them so that they can upgrade their skills. Enterprises create support for local industries through mutually beneficial relationships. Another theory focuses on creating shared value because it believes that social welfare is directly linked with business success. It recommends organizations to focus on sustainable development as well as a skilled workforce so that efficiency can be attained (Carroll, 2006: p. 79). There is still a gap in the existing literature as to whether CSR can really bring positive benefits to local communities and other key stakeholders. The Nigerian oil sector has been dominated by multinationals which have been accused of environmental degradation, corruption, human rights violations, and other abuses. As a consequence, they have sought to improve this by focusing on corporate social responsibility initiatives. Some studies argue that CSR is a process which involves organizations taking responsibility for their actions and ensuring that they can create a positive impact through their activities on th e environment (Blunt Richard, 2006: p. 169). Other studies have disputed this as they argue that organizations operate on the principle of profit maximization. Research Methodology Qualitative research has been selected for this dissertation because it helps to investigate the reasons behind any particular phenomenon. This is suitable for this dissertation because the aim is to study corporate social responsibility and its efficacy in Nigeria. Quantitative research has not been selected because there is no need for statistics and figures in this dissertation. The data will be collected from primary and secondary sources. Primary data will be collected through a survey that will be sent to top managers of multinational companies working in the Nigerian energy sector. The secondary data will be collected through studies that focus on CSR and its efficacy. References Amaeshi, K, Adi, B, Ogbechie, C Amao, O. (2006) †Corporate Social Responsibility in Nigeria: Western Mimicry or Indigenous Influences?†. No. 39-2006, ICCSR Research Paper Series – ISSN 1479 – 5124, The University of Nottingham. Beauchamp, T. (2003) â€Å"Case studies in Business, Society and Ethics†. 5th ed†. Pearson, Prentice Hall. Blunt, P, Jones, M Richard , D. (2006) â€Å"Managing organizations in Africa†. Walter de Gruyter, pp.169-171. Carroll, A. (2006) â€Å"The Pyramid of Corporate Social Responsibility: Toward the Moral Management of Organizational Stakeholders†. Business Horizons, July-August 1991.

How To Set Deadlines To Make Your Team More Efficient

How To Set Deadlines To Make Your Team More Efficient Youre blogging for obvious reasons: Your  blog is a really powerful tool. On one hand, it acts as an SEO tool to bring your business website more traffic, while on the other, it provides useful information that helps establish your brand and build trust. And that helps turn your readers into paying customers. But blog posts are comprised of multiple components, so they require multiple people- or for one person to wear many hats- in order for the right keywords, ideas, text, images, and marketing to come together and work  as a cohesive unit. So how to set deadlines and work as a collaborative team to create awesome content is a challenge. But heres exactly how you can rock a content creation process that works for your team- from how to set deadlines and assign  roles to actually creating  the collaborative blog post. How To Set Deadlines To Make You (And Your Team) More Efficient via @titanwebagency1. Establish Blogging Goals And Guidelines Before you start blogging, you need to establish goals for your blogging team so they have some guiding principles that will inform their work. What do you hope to accomplish with your blog? Some examples of good goals for a blog are: Increase organic traffic to website as part of a comprehensive content marketing campaign. Build your organization’s reputation as a trusted source of information in your industry. Connect with potential customers in your target audience. Create original material to publish to social media outlets. In addition to establishing some broad goals, such as getting more Web traffic, you should also have some specific blogging guidelines for your team. Some examples of these might include: How many words each post should have. How many links/images/keyword uses/etc. each post should have. How often blog posts need to be published (editorial calendar). Where to find appropriate images for the blog. Writing tone/grammar/style guidelines. Information about the target audience you are writing for. By establishing goals and guidelines for your blog, you create a foundation that will help shape your blog and ensure that all team members are on the same page. If everyone on the team understands what you hope to accomplish with your blog and how you want them to do it, this will eliminate the need for extensive rewriting, editing, and other issues down the road. Start #blogging by turning your goals into #blog posts. #contentmarketing2. Make Sure Everyone Knows Their Role When you imagine how a blog post is created, you might think of a single person, typing away in solitude- the blogger. However, effective business blog posts often require several people to work together in a collaborative environment. Usually, it’s most effective for the roles to be split between two or three people, though sometimes one (very busy!) person may fulfill all roles. Here are some of typical roles that go into blog post creation: Project manager: This person assigns all tasks and sets deadlines. Topic and keyword generator: This person is responsible for finding blog topics and doing research to determine the best keywords and title to use. This person may also be the project manager. Content writer: This person is responsible for writing the content, which should incorporate the ideas, keywords, title, etc., as given to them by the project manager or topic/keyword generator. Content editor: This person checks and fixes the content’s grammar before the post is published. Image-finder and blog publisher: The accompanying images (and image tags) are essential for a good blog post. Someone must be responsible for finding these images and securing the necessary copyrights. This same person is often also in charge of actually posting the blog (typically using a content management system  like  WordPress) and making sure everything looks as it should. Promoter: A blog post is not worth much if no one ever reads it. Someone needs to promote your blog on social media, posting links to it across different sites and social media platforms. These marketing team roles may differ somewhat from one team to the next, but the point is that everyone involved is responsible for a particular task so that nothing gets left by the wayside. Make sure everyone involved in #blogging is responsible for a particular task so nothing is missed.It’s also good to have team members that can fulfill multiple roles if needed. For example, if your main writer is out of town one week, the editor should be able to step in and fulfill her role. 3. Set Deadlines Your Team Can- And Will- Actually Meet Everything youve done so far- setting goals, guidelines, and roles- has led up to how to set deadlines that are realistic and achievable for your team. Once everyone knows their role in creating a blog post, you need to set deadlines to make sure each team member actually completes their assigned task, and that they do so in a timely matter. After all, you should be publishing a new blog post every one to two weeks, so timeliness is key. In today’s mostly virtual workplace, the best way to set deadlines and make sure everyone is on task is by using  a project management tool like . With , you can manage all communications regarding the blog in one place, and ensure all tasks and subtasks are completed on time. helps teams collaborate together on content marketing projects like blogging, social media, and events. The tool allows teams to assign different tasks to multiple people working on a given project, while minimizing the use of email. You can use to assign tasks and deadlines to your entire team.  This is an actual example of the workflow we use at ! Based on role, you can customize your workflow, set deadlines for each team members unique tasks, and comment back and forth to the team right in . What Does A Successful Collaborative Blog Post Look Like? So, you’ve put together a team and they’ve started to publish blogs. But how do you know if these blogs are any good? Well first, you’ve got to make sure they have specific instructions. All of our writers know exactly what is expected with each blog post, including, but not limited to: Word count Tone of article Number of inbound and outbound links Types of images to use And more†¦. Think of the things youd have to include in a perfect Write For Us page. Let’s dive into it a bit deeper. Okay, so, what qualities do effective blog posts have? Good blog posts have multiple visuals. Custom images, illustrative screenshots, and photographs of real people are best (as opposed to stock photos). The guidelines for our writers specify how many images, and the types of images that are appropriate for the blog post. Good blog posts are easy to read. Content should be broken down into multiple sections with multiple headers and sub-headers. Bullet points and numbered lists are much easier to read than a big wall-o-text. Good blog posts are optimized for SEO. Posts will integrate keyword research in a natural, organic way. Good blog posts have links. Make sure your blog post links to other resources for further reading, including previous blog posts you’ve published. Where possible, you should also link to studies and statistics that reinforce the points you make in your blog. Good blog posts are original and engaging. This means that they shouldn’t have any re-hashed content from other blogs. They need to have original ideas and be written in a fresh, engaging manner. Good blog posts have proper grammar. If you want your blog to be successful, a blog post with bad grammar is simply unacceptable. Make sure all writers and editors are up to par and don’t have sloppy writing habits. Good blog posts have great titles. Having a catchy title is crucial if you want your blog to do well on search engines. If you need help you can use a headline analyzer or a blog topic generator. Don’t Forget About Guest Blogging While not every blog post will require a guest blogger, this is another important role that makes your blog a group effort. As a guest blogger- someone who writes a post for a website other than their own- I am able to gain exposure and Web traffic for my business through new outlets, and allow new audiences to get to know me. Another great thing about guest blogging is that it is a two-way street, meaning that I often receive a guest blog post from the site I’m writing one for. This helps me meet my own content needs and also get some fresh and interesting perspectives for my blog. This is a great way to divvy up the work for your team, which puts a little less strain on some of your deadlines. Remember: Your Blog Is A Work In Progress Having one good blog post is certainly an accomplishment, but in order for your blog make a lasting impact that furthers your organization’s goals, you need to publish great blog posts on a regular basis. That means knowing how to set deadlines each team member meets.

Innocence and Experience Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Innocence and Experience - Research Paper Example Innocence asks of a man to remain aloof of the different things that take place around him. However this innocence could be taken in an entirely negative way if the individual does not quite understand the norms and procedures around him. Experience teaches him to comprehend how innocence could be turned into a point where the individual become mature and therefore represents maturity on a consistent basis. Innocence and experience form essential ingredients of a psychological domain that is closely tied in with the thread that derives the basis of life (of a man). Psychology asks of the person to understand the innate characteristics that basically hamper the very basis of his life time and again. These issues can also benefit him in the long run if he gets the hang of following the set dictum in a methodical manner. Therefore it is important to understand how life can be represented in a manner that entails both innocence and experience within it in an abundant capacity. Innocence is usually associated with individuals who are known to be immature or lack the authority to have their say. However this could be held in a very negative way as well. Children are usually known to be innocent because they lack the freedom to make sound decisions and assert their own selves in an out and out fashion. This is essentially true because children are indeed very innocent and they do not actually get the hang of a lot of things that are happening around them (Bridges 1993). Children look up to their elders so that the latter could offer them with the muc h needed experience in order to change the course of their lives, for the better. Experience is deemed as important as it can be decisive in understanding the life’s crucial decisions. Experience is also pivotal because it can differentiate the innocent feelings of the different people from a rational discourse which they might have within the distinctive undertakings of their lives.

Aniconism and the Multivalence of Emblems Assignment

Aniconism and the Multivalence of Emblems - Assignment Example Huntington has her own view on this question. She believes that many of the images associated with Buddha's absence—such as an empty throne—are in fact intended to mean something else. The empty throne, for example, was intended to represent the â€Å"sacred nuclei of worship† at religious sites and not the fact of Buddha's absence on that throne (Huntington, 402). Her new research suggests that inscriptions on these images indicate that many of the so-called images are more quotidian representations of sacred sites. Vidya Dehejia has a different view of these questions. He believes that scholars have overlooked the double-meanings of many words in the ancient scripts. He thinks that someone like Huntington has been too literal. He admits that some scholars have gone too far in their interpretations, but that some images do indeed depict the absence of Buddha. He suggests that the emblems of many images â€Å"may carry different meanings in varying contexts† and that scholars should be sensitive to this (Dehejia, 64). The debate over the absence or presence of Buddha in early Buddhist art is a fascinating one. Both scholars present convincing arguments. Whether we will ever know the truth remains an open question.   

Dividend Policy at Fpl Essay Example for Free

Dividend Policy at Fpl Essay In 1994, Merrill Lynch published a report that disclosed the change in their investment rating for the FPL Group, Inc. . They had downgraded this rating as they expected the directors would choose not to raise the annual dividend. This also happened to be the first time in 47 years that the FPL Group had not raised dividends. This tweaked the interest of a certain electric utilities analyst at the First Equity Securities Corporation, Kate Stark. She now was faced with the decision whether or not to amend her own recommendation of â€Å"hold† on FPL Group, Inc.’s stock (her recommendation of hold was based on the assumption that FPL will keep its dividend at $2.48 per share, or increase this slightly). James Broadheld, chairman of the FPL Group, understood the issues of an ever changing marketplace, and knew that the industry was on the verge of being deregulated, and thus implemented a strategy that focused primarily on a strong commitment to quality as well as customer service, while focusing on the utilities industry and expanding capacity in order to improve its own cost position. He believed that this approach to business would result in a future of â€Å"full and open† competition amongst all competitors. As a result, as of May 1994, the FPL Group was faced with a critical question – to decrease their dividend payout ratio or not? Prior to Broadheld’s entry to FPL, chairman Marshall McDonald expanded the types of industries FPL were involved in during the 70’s and 80’s, leading to extensive diversification. Examples of such industries include real estate and insurance, just to name a few. As Broadheld stepped in, FPL’s diversification decreased and as a result the firm saw an improved efficiency. Exhibit 7 revealed that FPL’s capacity margin is 8.6%, which is alarmingly low in comparison to the other provided companies. The overall average is approximately 11.39%. This lower capacity margin shows that not much growth is to be expected of the firm, and this is of course relative to other firms. The same exhibit illustrates cost-management problems. More specifically, FPL’s transmission cost of $0.0019/kWh is significantly greater than the other firms provided with an average of $0.0010. Also, considering the fact that the company purchases 30% of the power used from foreign firms, FPL’s respective power costs can be high as they are exposed to the risk of changing (and increasing) power prices. The case presented a wide variety of changes in the industry’s regulatory standards. For example, 1992’s Wholesale Wheeling allowed companies to buy power from another with the help of a third party. In addition, the Retail Wheeling of 1994 allowed actual customers to not only buy from the monopoly, but from other utility firms (again through third parties). Also, many firms have lost of a substantial amount in market value, including the SP Electric Utilities Index with a decline of 20%. Turning to an evaluation of the firm, many concerns have been raised over FPL’s ever-increasing interest expense since 1993. Analysis Total earnings are the sum of dividends paid and retained earnings. Dividend-paying firms attract investors. Generally speaking, shareholders either look for growth and/or income when purchasing shares. The former tends to pay less attention to dividend payments and more on the capital gain, whereas the latter prefers a regular income for the investment made. If Kate Stark wishes to revise her current suggestion, she needs to consider the pros and cons in doing so. Focusing first on the negative effects of cutting back on dividends, signalling is undoubtedly one of the biggest issues at hand. Since lower dividend payments may be perceived as a red flag in the company’s finances, this information will likely cause a negative reaction in the market. Therefore, concerns in a decreasing stock price are justified. As for the benefits of lowering the company’s dividend policy, the company can now use a larger amount of funds that would have normally been kept aside for dividend payments. This definitely makes changes to the firm’s financing sources. The money can thus be used for value-increasing projects. From the point of view of an investor, it may not be such a bad idea, considering that dividends are taxed more than capital gains. This results in a potentially large amount of savings for the investors. Also, one of the main benefits of reducing the dividend policy is to lower the risk of market volatility and deregulation.

Dale v. Boy Scouts of America Essay -- Homosexual Rights Court Papers

Dale v. Boy Scouts of America This case deals with the Plaintiff's expulsion from his position as Assistant Scoutmaster in a Boy Scouts of America (henceforth called "BSA") troop due to his status as an active homosexual. Dale, the Plaintiff, was serving as an Assistant Scoutmaster in 1990, when, due to a local newspaper article, it was discovered by officials in the local Monmouth BSA Council that he was an active homosexual. A letter was sent to Dale by the Council, notifying him of their decision to revoke his membership in the organization. Dale sent a letter in response, asking why this action was taken. The Council then notified Dale that his homosexual activities made him ineligible for membership in the BSA, as well as making him ineligible to serve as an adult leader. In September 1990, Dale contacted the BSA Regional Director, requesting a review of the expulsion decision. The Regional Director's office responded to Dale via letter, notifying him of the Director's decision to support the Council's actio n, and also notifying him of the National BSA Council's pending review of the case. New Jersey Superior Court Analysis Rather than wait for the National Council's decision, Dale filed a lawsuit in the New Jersey Superior Court against the BSA in July 1992. In the lawsuit, Dale claimed that the BSA is a place of public accommodation, and as such, violated the New Jersey Laws Against Discrimination (LAD). LAD states the following: "All persons shall have the opportunity to obtain employment, and to obtain all the accommodations, advantages, facilities, and privileges of any place of public accommodation, publicly assisted housing accommodation, and other real property without discrimination because of race, creed... ...significant precedent. It is also quite conceivable that Dale will last no longer than the current class of Supreme Court Justices. Assuming a few more years, it is doubtful that Dale would have been decided the same. One never knows. Perhaps this case will be seen as another Plessy v. Ferguson. Works Cited New Jersey Supreme Court. Dale v. Boy Scouts of America et. al. URL: http://lawlibrary.rutgers.edu/courts/supreme/a-195-97.opn.html Superior Court of New Jersey-Appellate Division. Dale v. Boy Scouts of America et. al. URL: http://lawlibrary.rutgers.edu/courts/appellate/a2427-95.opn.html United States Supreme Court. Boy Scouts of America et. al. v. Dale. URL:http://usgovinfo.about.com/newsissues/usgovinfo/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://caselaw.findlaw.com/cgi%2Dbin/getcase.pl%3Fcourt=US%26amp%3Bnavby=case%26amp%3Bvol=000%26amp%3Binvol=99%2D699

Disadvantages of Watching TV

We require some kind of etiquate to educate the human beings for watching TV execessively without getting the advantages of the same. We have lost all our old heritage to socialise the environment. Watching TV does not involve the person participation actively. In sub-conscious mind we just go on watching the subject without involving our active mind. We are also loosing the social activites as well as outdoor activities which gives boosting effect on human mind. We should generate awareness among the people about the disadvantage of watching the TV. Although this great invention of science has played major role in human life to give more comfort as well as information human requires for his development but in my view disadvantages has also played vital role to destroy of old age heritage which in fact scientifically proven that outdoor as social activites gives metal and physical satisfaction. As we are well our that our encestors have develop sense of visualizing the events happening at far distant places. This has happend because human has practiced his body in such a that they can see adn visualise the thing before the events take place. But TV may not give this opportunity to develope the human mind. Watching TV has become habbit and some time we do not prefer to visit relatives and friends house and also do not prefer to be visited by them. We would like to generate the awareness in the human being to visulaise this drawback in order to avoid untoward incident to happen in futre and repent on this activity at later date. We must develope and generate a group who can devote the time to make people aware about the outcome of this activity.