The_Business_Intermediate_SB_Unit_6.pdf
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6
Company and community
6.1 About business Corporate social responsibility
Discussion
1
Brainstorm a list of groups of people a company has a responsibility towards. What
conflicts of interest are there between the different groups?
Scan reading
2
Read the
credo
below and identify the four groups of people that Johnson & Johnson
prioritize. The words in
grey
are explained in the
Wordlist
on pages 155–156.
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
70
6.1 About business
Reading and discussion
3
Read Johnson & Johnson’s credo again and discuss who should decide what is meant by:
1
maintaining reasonable prices (line 5)
4
just and ethical actions (line 22)
Search for the keywords
Starbucks
bean
stock
and
Starbucks standards
business conduct
or
CSR
fi nd out more about
the social performance
of other companies.
2
making a fair profit (line 8)
5
our fair share of taxes (line 26)
3
fair and adequate compensation (line 14)
6
a fair return (line 40).
4
Discuss the questions relating to Johnson & Johnson’s credo opposite.
1
Which ‘good works and charities’ (line 25) should multinational companies support?
2
What kind of ‘civic improvements’ (line 27) should the company encourage?
3
How should the company protect ‘the environment and natural resources’ (line 30)?
4
Are there any points in the credo you disagree with or items you would like to add?
5
Does a credo really change the way a company operates or is it just good PR?
6
Do small businesses have the same responsibilities as multinationals?
Listening for gist
5
2:48–2:50
You are going to hear an interview on NPR (National Public Radio), a US news
provider, with author Marc Gunther, who believes corporate America is changing for the better.
Part 1
Listen to Part 1 and complete the summary.
Marc Gunther is interested in companies that treat employees well, (1)
and
(2)
. Nowadays, businesses work closely with (3)
and
many employees are like (4)
. Starbucks, for example, gave away its
bean
stocks to (5) .
The Bush administration does not see (6)
as a man-made problem. However,
US
utility
companies are (7)
and transportation companies are changing
from (8)
to (9)
.
Part 2
Listen to Part 2 and answer the questions.
1 Tick the reasons that motivate companies to be responsible, according to Marc Gunther.
profitability
altruism
recruitment
2 Tick the reasons that motivate employees.
They want to enhance shareholder value.
They want to defi ne the company’s goals.
They want their jobs to have meaning.
They want to make the world a better place.
3 How do Southwest Airlines prioritize the three groups they have responsibility towards?
4 What is the theory behind this choice?
5 What example does Marc Gunther give of how this works?
Part 3
Listen to Part 3 and decide if the following statements are
T
(true) or
F
(false).
1
In the 50s and 60s American corporations believed it was their duty to take care of their
employees and customers.
2
In the 70s and 80s corporations no longer wanted to take care of employees and customers.
3
Marc Gunther believes the short-term model of the 70s / 80s is
sustainable
for businesses and
for society.
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6
Company and community
6.2 Vocabulary Meetings, ethical behaviour and social performance
Meetings
1
Match up the phrases you might use in a meeting.
1 I have received two a) a copy of the agenda?
2 Has everybody received b) the meeting.
3 If we can’t agree, I think we should take c) apologies for absence.
4 It’s getting late, so I propose we close d) the agenda.
5 I think this would be a good time to break e) a vote.
6 We have lots to discuss, so let’s stick to f) for lunch.
7 It’s five past nine, so I’d better open g) side-tracked.
8 Can we start by approving h) any other business.
9 We seem to have reached i) handout.
10 That’s interesting, but I think we’re getting j) the meeting.
11 I’ll just give out this
k) a unanimous decision.
12 Before we finish, we need to deal with
l) the minutes of the last meeting?
2
Which phrases would you probably use:
1 at the beginning of a meeting? 2 at the end of a meeting?
Adjectives
3
Match the adjectives in
bold
in the article with the definitions below, as in the example.
ELASTIC
ETHICS
It was Groucho Marx who said that if people
didn’t like his principles, he had others.
And unfortunately, business people and companies are not
always as
reliable
or as
trustworthy
as we would like. Product
descriptions are frequently not as
accurate
as they could
be, for example when listing ingredients used in
foodstuffs
.
Service is not always as
prompt
as we expect, even in so-
called fast-food restaurants. But it is perhaps in the world
of advertising where ethical standards seem to be the most
elastic. Advertisements are frequently
deceptive
and often
confusing
or deliberately
misleading
, sometimes making
extravagant
promises. No doubt advertisers are neither more
dishonest
nor any less
altruistic
than the rest of us; they
do not often make obviously
false
claims. It’s just that, like
Groucho, they sometimes seem a little too economical with
the truth.
1 immediate or quick
prompt
2 willing to do things which are not honest
3 intended to make someone believe something that is not true
4 appearing different from the way it really is
5 able to be trusted as honest
6 dependable
7 complicated, not easy to understand
8 not true
9 having a selfless concern for others’ well-being
10 correct or true in every detail
72
Further interactive vocabulary practice on the DVD-ROM
6.2 Vocabulary
Collocations
4
Finish these extracts from a guide to corporate social responsibility by completing each one
with verbs from the box that collocate with the words in
bold
.
contribute identify with think supporting
PRO-ACTIVE SOCIAL PERFORMANCE
For most companies, rather than (1)
a
different
charity
each year on an
ad hoc
basis, it is preferable to (2)
long-term
. It can be very valuable for a company to
(3)
an issue
which is related to its business, and to (4)
funds
regularly.
“We could advertise it as
100% salt free.”
recognizing uphold obey respecting
ON-GOING SOCIAL PERFORMANCE
Obviously a fundamental of HR management is that companies should always (5)
the law
. But above and beyond that requirement, they have a moral duty to (6)
standards
of common decency. This means for example (7)
human dignity
when
there are problems, and (8)
merit
when staff perform especially well.
negotiate acknowledge compensate limit
DAMAGE LIMITATION
The company’s first duty in the case of an accident is to (9) the
impact
of the
problem on its staff and on the community. It is then essential to (10)
the
problem
: nothing less than total transparency will do. After the crisis has passed, management
should allow sufficient time to (11)
a settlement
which will satisfy all parties and
(12)
the victims
properly.
Listening for detail
5
2:51
Listen to a presentation entitled
Doing well
by Doing good
given to an audience of entrepreneurs by
Rhonda Abrams, columnist, author and consultant. Tick
the expressions you hear.
respect the environment
play a positive role in
obeying the law
an honest, responsible business
have a competitive edge over
be involved in community causes
responsibility to your customer
act with integrity and honesty toward
environmental policies
get in trouble with
regulatory
agencies
face
lawsuits
or
fines
misleading, confusing, or even false advertising or sales techniques
treats employees, customers and suppliers fairly
Search for the keywords
Rhonda Abrams
to read
more about Rhonda
and her advice for
entrepreneurs.
Discussion
6
Rhonda Abrams talks about ‘being a good corporate citizen’. What specific practices and
policies do you suggest this involves in:
• R&D, production and quality?
• marketing and sales?
• HR?
• purchasing?
• finance?
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6
Company and community
6.3 Grammar The passive and reported speech
The passive
be
+ past participle
it does
Ë
it is done
it is doing
Ë
it is being
done
it did
Ë
it was
done
, etc.
Used when the person
who does the action is
obvious or unknown
Test yourself: The passive
1
Change these active sentences to the passive to avoid mentioning the agent.
1 Your company sometimes releases illegal levels of
nitrates
into the river.
2 Your department is making too many mistakes at the moment.
3 Unfortunately, you made a poor decision in hiring unqualified staff.
4 Our sub-contractors were employing children to make T-shirts in Asia.
5 Several anonymous journalists have accused us of
industrial espionage
.
6 My boss and several other managers had warned the company about the risks.
7 We can avoid conflict with the unions by making small concessions.
8 The authorities might ask you some delicate questions.
9 The Board, the Plant Manager and the trade unions all agreed that production
staff should work a four-day week.
10 Head Office have decided that they’re going to make 300 employees redundant.
Grammar reference
page 128
Reported speech
I’ve fi nished!
He said he had fi nished.
direct reported
present
Ë
past
past
Ë
past / past
perfect
present
perfect
Ë
past perfect
will
Ë
would
When you report what
someone said, move
the original tense back
in time
Test yourself: Reported speech
2
Complete the extracts from a report of a public meeting about a pollution problem.
1 ‘Nitrate levels in the local water supply are slightly higher than normal.’
CEO Ben Straw announced that
2 ‘It is possible that the factory is responsible.’
Mr Straw admitted
3 ‘There was a small chemical
leak
last Friday.’
Plant Manager Jane Lee explained
4 ‘We have taken measures to ensure that this situation cannot reoccur.’
Mrs Lee reassured the meeting that
5 ‘We are negotiating a settlement with the town council.’
Mr Straw said
6 ‘We will announce full details in a press statement in a few days’ time.’
He promised the meeting that
7 ‘Has there ever been a problem like this before?’
Mrs Green, a local resident, asked if
8 ‘No, I can not remember any other leaks in 30 years at the factory.’
Mrs Lee replied that
9 ‘When do you plan to re-open the factory?’
Pat Holz, a union representative, enquired when
10 ‘As soon as possible, but some staff may be laid off for a few days.’
Mr Straw warned that
Grammar reference
page 129
3
Read the following extracts from an interview with the CEO of a multinational oil
company. Report the phrases in
bold
using the verbs in brackets, as in the example.
1 ‘I repeat what I said a few moments ago:
my company does everything it can to
limit the impact of our activities on the environment
.’ (emphasize)
The CEO emphasized that the company did everything it could to limit the impact
of its activities on the environment.
2 ‘I really can’t accept that. You need to understand that
developing countries are
extremely grateful for the investment and the jobs that we bring
.’ (argue)
3 ‘I think there’s a slight misunderstanding here. Yes,
we do make fair profits and
pay good dividends, but we’ve never exploited our employees
.’ (explain)
4 ‘Yes, that’s a fair point:
we can, and we will, do more to develop sources of
alternative energy
such as wind, wave and solar power.’ (accept)
5 ‘Well, we have little or no influence on government policy on taxation, but no,
I
do not feel that higher petrol prices will reduce traffic and pollution
.’ (comment)
74
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