Tobacco Industry Csr Malaysia Essay Example Essay Example

Tobacco Industry Csr Malaysia Essay Example Paper Tobacco Industry Csr Malaysia Essay Introduction 1. 0 INTRODUCTION Major tobacco firms in Malaysia have begun investing aggressively Corporate Social Responsibility activities to build a positive public image and brand activities via large contributions into social programs nationwide, and to be recognised as contributors to the greater common good. Although CSR is considered as a corporate entity along standards of business ethics, tobacco industry philanthropic activities encounter much criticism and threat of a comprehensive ban on CSR atop present legislations for Tobacco Advertising, Promotion Sponsorship worldwide. Many concerns have been raised over the practice; alleging that the motives behind tobacco industry CSR are to manipulate public perception of responsible marketing practices and gain favourable position for the individual firms in Malaysia. 2. 0 CSR AND ITS STRATEGIC ADVANTAGES Holme and Watts define CSR as an ongoing pledge by corporations to conduct themselves in an ethical manner and contribute to economic gro wth while developing the quality of workforce livelihood and their families, and the overall local community and societies. CSR programs were developed to answer public urges for corporations to advocate ethical, environmental, health and labour regulations. The Sustainability Entrepreneurship Model by Young and Tilley, as shown in Appendix I, comprises of six decisive factors: eco-efficiency, socio-efficiency, eco-effectiveness, socio-effectiveness and sufficiency and ecological equity; for corporate sustainability which adds to the business’s social responsibilities and enhances its effectiveness, bringing higher cost savings and better profit margins. 8% of consumers said they were more likely to purchase from companies that engages in initiatives to develop society. 3. 0 TOBACCO INDUSTRY AND TOBACCO USE IN MALAYSIA Malaysia is a major cigarette-manufacturing showpiece for tobacco transnational corporations operating in the South East Asian region. Among 92 sectors, the to bacco industry ranks 5th with an economic output totaling to RM11. 7 billion or 3% of Malaysia’s GDP. The tobacco industry in Malaysia comprises of large corporations such as British American Tobacco, market share 68%; Japan Tobacco Inc. 17. 7%; and Philip Morris International, 15. 3%. The industry considers itself a vital contributor in developing Malaysia’s socio-economic condition of the rural population. Tobacco is Malaysia’s most largely cultivated non-food crop, with 12,148 hectares and 1,200 hectares of land solely for tobacco cultivation in Peninsular Malaysia and East Malaysia respectively. The industry’s activities range from tobacco leaf cultivation and curing, tobacco production to marketing and distribution. Tobacco Industry Csr Malaysia Essay Body Paragraphs Records show that more than 190,000 people are employed in the industry, and 120,000 people involved in tobacco farming and curing. Smoking statistics show that 10,000 Malaysians succumb to smoking-related ailments annually, making it the top killers in the country since the 1980s. According to Global Adult Tobacco Survey based in Malaysia, 23. 1% or 4. 75 million adults currently smoke, 43. 9% (4. 64 million) being men and 1. 0% (0. 10 million) women. The study also suggested that the expenditure on manufactures cigarettes cover 3. % of the GDP in 2011, its data showing present smokers using an average of RM 178. 80 monthly on manufactured cigarettes. 4. 0 PRACTICE OF TOBACCO INDUSTRY CSR IN MALAYSIA The industry engages CSR in various methods to achieve maximum public exposure and influence. The common approach of tobacco industry CSR is corporate philanthropy in which the firms provide monetary aids in areas such as culture and arts, education, shelter, social welfare and the envi ronment. In addition, they offer support to government policies and sponsorship of events such as youth smoking prevention programs. Several firms have even established charitable foundations to fund their initiatives, such as the British American Tobacco Foundation which was set up with the aim to obtain and manage funds for education, scientific and other charitable purposes. In conjunction with National Kenaf and Tobacco Board, the foundation has rewarded over 2,000 recipients RM 1. 1 million since its initiation in 2002. Formation of alliances between tobacco firms with non-governmental organizations exist as well. Yayasan Salam Malaysia is a long-term NGO partner of Philip Morris since 2006, both supporting a variety of CSR programs concerning poverty and society’s wellbeing. Their annual partnership had revolved around building information and communication technology (ICT) centres in rural places and providing financial aids for the underprivileged. BAT is also the fir st local tobacco company to publish Social Reports since 2001; these reports highlighting the firms CSR activities conducted year-round, looking forward to aligning itself with other businesses that conduct CSR activities. The company had received the Malaysian Sustainability Reporting Award from the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants for BAT’s efforts in cancer research. 5. 0 CRITICISMS TOWARD TOBACCO INDUSTRY CSR The tobacco industry is one of the most criticised members of the modern business community. Several disputes have arisen worldwide declaring that tobacco industry products are lethal to their consumers, and the CSR activities will be unable to resolve the fundamental contradiction with ethical corporate citizenship. WHO defines tobacco industry tactics utilizing CSR as a tool â€Å"to promote voluntary measures as an effective way to address tobacco control and create an illusion of being a ‘changed’ company and to establish partnerships with health interests. † These charitable campaigns purposefully influence the perception among youths and adults that the tobacco industry is deceitful and guilty for advocating smoking among youths and adults. Tobacco companies’ internal documents have revealed the motives behind industry-sponsored programs, aimed to increase profits and stimulate company investments. It is alleged that by conducting CSR, tobacco firms aim to build favourable views regarding the industry and tobacco issues by demonstrating their responsibility and concern about the wellbeing of consumers and stakeholders. Another tobacco industry goal is to achieve political influence with the intention of obstruct government efforts to regulate tobacco control, as evident in Malaysia. These CSR initiatives also pose as protection against litigations or lawsuits. The sponsorship of tobacco firms in youth anti-smoking campaigns is claimed to be a scheme to access youths for market research, to normalis e brands and to avert success of anti-tobacco campaigns. A report by the British Medical Association stated that tobacco industry CSR as a form of marketing for firms, and as such it should be prohibited under the terms of Article 13 of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which calls for Parties to impose a full ban on tobacco advertising, promotion and advertising, including CSR. CSR functions in favour of the industry by creating goodwill with lawmakers and the public, crushing bad publicity for its lethal goods, and resolving conflict from tobacco control advocates. The tobacco-caused death and disease suffered by societies and families contradict the advantages of charity or sponsorship for social interests. Tobacco consumption offers zero merits to the underprivileged, and any financial aid offered by tobacco firms accountable for smoking-related ailments and financial woes of the nation fails to relieve poverty, environmental, or health problems. . 0 POLITICAL ECONOMY AND CONTROL OF TOBACCO IN MALAYSIA Advocacy for tobacco control in Malaysia had begun in the 1970s, with gradual growing initiatives to institute specific legislations to regulate tobacco manufacturing and consumption. Compliant to the FCTC, Malaysia enacts legislation compliant with the FCTC by providing extensive regulation and banning of advertising, promotion and sponsorship. Presently, Malaysia allows tobacco industry CSR, and it has been abused by the industry as a strategic tool to change its public image. Measures to undertake the Malaysian smoking epidemic is inconsistent – from one point of view, the cost of lives and health interests; while the other, the critical consequences of tobacco control on tobacco farmers and alleviating poverty. The Malaysian government is an active shareholder and advocate of tobacco. They are major partners in two of Malaysia’s largest tobacco corporations with direct financial interests in the industry. Major shareholders of BA T and JTI include statutory bodies such as the Skim Amanah Saham Bumiputera, Employees Provident Fund, and Amanah Saham Malaysia, demonstrating the Malaysian state controlled ownership of shares in the tobacco industry. A large number of Bumiputeras partake in tobacco cultivation with Bumiputera partners being of key importance in the ownership of tobacco firms. Corresponding to the government policy to promote foreign investment, BAT, Philip Morris, and R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company have set up their subsidiaries and established manufacturing facilities within the country. 7. 0 CONCLUSION In averting the overall poor public image, weak knowledge regarding individual tobacco firms, and more litigations and restraints, the tobacco industry CSR activities are meant to improve public perception of the industry. CSR activities by tobacco firms purposefully highlight their philanthropic contributions to the society and also promote youth smoking prevention programs. As long as there is absence of major restraints and public criticism, the tobacco industry will continue to operate unreservedly, utilising CSR to promote its â€Å"responsible† marketing practices and to receive favorable ratings for individual firms within the country. The tobacco industry’s public relation efforts may possibly influence Malaysian audiences to develop further resistance against the objections faced by the industry, alleviate jurors’ negative scrutiny toward the industry, and thus deteriorating public or legislative support for tobacco control policies in Malaysia. We will write a custom essay sample on Tobacco Industry Csr Malaysia Essay Example specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Tobacco Industry Csr Malaysia Essay Example specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Tobacco Industry Csr Malaysia Essay Example specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer

Christmas Essays - Course, Curricula, Christmas, Underwater Hockey

Christmas Essays - Course, Curricula, Christmas, Underwater Hockey [Instructor Name] [Course Number] ` Christmas Holiday was very big for me growing up but my favorite holiday was Christmas in the anticipation leading up to it was amazing I couldnt even sleep the night before on the other hand the preparation for Christmas morning was great and the day before Christmas spending the day at Grandmas house watching NBA games and playing in the backyard with my cousins before every family dinner, Chelsea give us a family prayer to bless the food. Christmas time is fun to enjoy the company of my family. It all starts on the day of Christmas Eve, I wake up in the morning and I prepare myself to clean up the house. This process takes a good two hours to clean the whole house. Then when the house is clean that's when my family starts to come over. The time I share with my family is the time we talk about old stories that has happen to our lives throughout the year. My family loves to cook a whole lot of fatting foods like tamales. Tamales is like a big tradition during Christmas, it's a long process to make tamales so it's the best time for my mother and aunts to catch up on gossip. While I am waiting for the tamales to be cooked I am usually on the phone with my friend's trying to find out where all the Christmas parties are at. Christmas was big for me growing up the anticipation for Christmas was out this world. Praying on Christmas eve night right before I go to sleep. Giving Sanata my Christmas list in November so I can be the first house he stop too. I just knew I was going to get everything because I was a good boy leading up to Christmas. I look Christmas and my anticipation as a kid, I was very exticed for Christmas I had. Around midnight is when we gather in the living room to open our gifts. Then after I clean up the mess from all the gifts. My friends start to come over to my house. Most of the time they usually come over because they just got to bored at home. I don't mind having my friend's over at my house when I am spending some time with my family. This is good because I don't have to leave my house to early to just be with my friends. After an hour or so that has pasted by at home, my phone is ringing off the hook. All my friends seem to call early on Christmas Day, they are only calling to see what I got from Christmas. Not only then the anticipation change for me so did the household preparation when I was kid growing up after thanksgiving we start to set up our fake Christmas tree that we had since I was a baby. The Christmas tree we had to put it together part by part at end you could have tell its wasnt real after we put the Christmas tree up we put the light around the tree that sing to us once we hit the button really get annoying after a while drive you so crazy make you want unplug the light so it would stop sing and then come to the outside preparation we had to put the Santa and The deer and light around bushes we did all that as family which mean its just me and my dad while my sister and my mom sit back watch us and boss us around while we doing it. Our outside preparation was the easy part but the part which just want to take break because you be working on the inside of the house and the Christmas tree. Im older now so when come to household preparation we dont do anything no more but the Christmas tree that we still have and try put light around it we stopped doing the Christmas preparation once I became a freshemen in high school and My sister was a junior in high school I miss the days when we the took the household preparation serious as a family. When come down to Christmas dinner after

Antigone

The play â€Å"Antigone† written by Sophocles in 441 BC represents the conflict between religious beliefs and state rule which is still a relevant issue in modern society. As rules in faith can contradict the law made by the state. In the play, Greek ruler, Creon, denies justice in society in order to maintain power.   The play â€Å"Antigone† centers on a woman living in ancient Greece, who defies the laws of the state in order to give her brother a burial. As a result of this action, she faces punishment at the hands of the state. Antigone feels her defiance against the state is justified because of her love towards her brother and belief in justice and humanity rather than the state laws. Through the use of imagery and diction and Structure, Sophocles shows the contrast between divine and state laws in order to illustrate the idea that justice within society.Response through in justice is represented emphasized by the break in the line. â€Å"And now- have the told you a new decree of King Creon. No one shall bury him, no one shall mourn him. Enjambment and repetition is used in the same sentence in order to provide emphasis to his order whereas repetition and use of â€Å"decree† can also signify Creon imperious nature. (Line 5, Prologue)Ismene fear against the laws which stops her from joining Antigone for burying Polyneices, The sentence â€Å"I beg the dead to forgive me, but I am helpless : I must yield to those in authority† represent the conflict between justice is denied when state laws overpower religious laws for Ismene. Use of words such as I am helpless represents her fear. Whereas Antigone’s reaction was contradictory towards Ismene. (Line 45, prologue)â€Å" It is the dead, who make the longest demands not the living: We die for ever†¦Ã¢â‚¬  . Antigone’s statement is presented by confidence whereas Ismene’s was with fear. In this statement Antigone condems state and Creon who is abducting antigone from burying her brother. Use of ellipses in the sentence focuses on the fact that dead lives forever whereas living does not which can emphasis that the rule of dead or god matters more. (Line 55, prologue)Use of god by creon for his power â€Å"I have honor to inform you that our ship of state which recent storms have threatened to destroy †¦. Guided by the merciful wisdom of heaven†. This statement is uses a metaphor which shows comparison between state and a a ship facing storms, and attack of Polynices. By using â€Å"merciful wisdom of heaven† represents his beliefs in Gods but is contradictory to his actions of providing Justice. Line 10 scene 1â€Å"I call for God to witness† is use of God for making belief in of state in people. When the sentry first arrives to see Creon his words are broken because of fear and use of slashes and long pauses representsThe sentence used by Choragus in order to represent justice and god’s action â€Å" can it be gods who have done this† shows that Choragus tries to convince Creon that his decision could be wrong. 95Through use of words such as â€Å"The Gods!† Intolerable† â€Å"pious thought† it represents Creon’s arrogance and his viewpoint of being above Gods.Reference of corruption of mankind could be represented by statement such as â€Å"Money! ..Homes gone, men gone, honest heart corrupted† it shows parallelism between corruption by money and power as by power to, Homes and money can also be destroyed through corruption of power.â€Å"The wisest Have sometimes been known to count a few coins too many† This also represents irony in the statement as Creon interprets that he has too much power which resultsIt is ironic al that Creon uses God in order to represent his own justice or the justice of the state. â€Å"I swear by God and by the throne of God†. Use of oxymoron â€Å" a fortune won is often is fortune†   is used for the sentry here but it it could be foreshadowed to Creon who is corrupted by the power provided to him.First sign of Justice is interpreted in the play when the Sentry reacts to Creon in order to signify the justice â€Å"your very voice distresses me, Are you sure it’s not your conscience†This represents the feeling frustration and anger of Creon is blowed up on the Sentry without being his fault. The use of conscience could be for explaining Creon to question his decision and denial of Justice towards the Sentry. However, it could also indicate for denial of Justice towards Antigone for burying her brother polynieces. It could also indicated the denial of justice for burying Polyneices for Antigone. â€Å"How dreadful it is when the right judge judges you wrong†? 125The use of word dreadfulBibliographySophocles, Antigone, Greece

Write two summaries of those two articles Article

Write two summaries of those two articles - Article Example The concept of ‘agency costs’ pertains as to how the owner of a firm structures and manages the respective incentives and compensations so as to encourage the managers to resort to such decisions, which add to the owners interests, in a monitoring scenario vulnerable to uncertainty and imperfection. The article defines agency costs as the monitoring cost incurred by an owner to restrain a manager from harming one’s interests, the resources spent by the manager to assure compliance with the owner’s interests, and the remnant losses. The theory propounded in this paper tends to explain an array of financial questions related to the issuance of preferred stocks, promulgation of audit reports and soliciting the services of auditors by managers, imposition of restrictions on firms by lenders and endorsements of such restrictions by borrowing firms, the choice of capital sources preferred by varied industries, etc. This article happens to be completely theoretical in its scope, methodology, and totally relies on mathematical models to propound a generalized ‘agency theory’. This article presents the finding that the separation of the actual management and ownership in any firm does always lead to the incurring of agency costs. The quantum of these agency costs will proportionally depend on the cost incurred by an owner if one does away with the manager concerned. The kind and magnitude of agency costs also depend on the types of monitoring costs accrued by an owner, the predilection of the concerned managers for monetary or non monetary gains, and the existence of such managers having the ability to maintain a total financial stake in any venture. The agency costs may be nil if an owner does not incur any monitoring costs. Agency costs may again be nil when a manager bears a complete financial stake in the venture one manages. Besides, in a debt scenario the nature and magnitude of agency costs will

Given Below Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Given Below - Essay Example n American groups, ostracized by institutional racism and cyclical poverty, employed this force in an effort to restructure government and attain more than just â€Å"equal rights†, but also equal opportunity. The endeavor culminated with the establishment of affirmative action, an effort to supersede the lack of equitable opportunity. White ethnicity resurged, in part defensively, as a response. White ethnics applied their cultural identification and political will toward the protection of their jobs and neighborhoods, which they felt were endangered by black demands. They perceived demands of blacks as a threat to their own opportunities and stridently opposed the anti-individual, group recognition of affirmative action. The authors’ argument is reasonable and persuasively delivered. The authors’ propose that black and ethnic cultural resurgence allowed a galvanization of political strength which served the strategic function of supporting and defending issues key to each group. Though inherently similar, these groups sought different political and socioeconomic goals, ultimately resulting in conflict (i.e. the riots of the late 1960s). The political efforts of these two groups, affirmative action and resistance toward de-individualization, strongly supports the authors’ argument that cultural identification was utilized as a stratagem for political and social strength and provides a cogent explanation for the resurgence of ethnic

Divorce Essay -- essays research papers

Broken families are on since the beginning of humanity. In fact, divorce, which has been very common in today’s societies, is the major cause that leads to family devastation. However, although, in some cases, divorce is the only solution for a family to live in peace, one must think many times before taking such decision, and that is because of many . When life becomes unbearable between a women an her husband, they may think of divorce as being a fair solution for both of them to get their â€Å"independence† and live a normal life, they may even think that it is suitable for their children. However, this is not the case , divorce may have some serious consequences that can affect the whole society . Many religions disapprove of divorce. For instance, Islam is against divorce, and even if it is tolerated, it must be the last alternative to do. As we know from the Qu’ran, it was never god’s plan for families to experience such devastation, and that is because of many consequences that many affect not only the divorced couple or their children, but also the whole society. A community where divorce is common doesn’t have strong links and relationships among its people, and hence will lack of solidarity and unity. Beside, divorce and failure of marriages make people lose confidence in marriage and behave against the religious and ethical ideals to satisfy their natural desires. For these reasons, Islam has given to men the right to marry four women; this may prevent men, at least...

Environmental Policy Essay

Last month in the New York Times, Kate Galbraith noted that the campaigns of both Barack Obama and John McCain presented widely differing views on climate change and energy policy, particularly with regards to cap and trade schemes, market-based policy instruments intended to maneuver industrial sectors into reducing their greenhouse emissions. Cap and trade schemes have recently been gaining much currency within the discussions of environmental policy as a means to address the negative impacts which industry has upon the greenhouse problem. Such systems work by creating a financial incentive for emission reduction through the imposition of costs on emissions. By establishing a ‘cap’ which limits the total amount of emissions that can be made by a designated group of polluters and leaving them free to trade permits to pollute with one another, it encourages these polluters to meet or fall below the cap in a flexible market-based fashion, rather than forcing them to comply with stringent regulations that could needlessly compromise their business operations. Companies able to cut their emissions can further profit from selling their permits to those companies facing difficulty in reducing their own emissions. The incentive is that all the companies would choose to bring their emissions to cap levels and try to do so in the most cost-effective fashion. It encourages them to innovate the means to reduce emissions. Other governments have already taken action to introduce cap-and-trade schemes of their own: Australia has the New South Wales Greenhouse Gas Abatement Scheme; the Climate Change Response (Emissions Trading) Amendment Bill was recently enacted in New Zealand; and the European Parliament has its own system known as the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme. At present, no system similar to these exists in federal law, and representatives for both candidates – Dan Esty for Barack Obama, Douglas Holtz-Eakin for John McCain – maintained that this should be remedied as soon as possible. Where they disagree is how such a system should be structured. According to Esty, Obama favors distribution of emissions permits through auction, as this would force polluting businesses to pay competitively during initial distribution. Speaking for McCain, Holtz-Eakin advocates pre-determined distribution, limiting transactions to the permit trading market itself. The design of a cap and trade system is not a trivial matter. A poor design can wreck the efficacy of a cap and trade system as a policy instrument. If permits are distributed too generously, as Holtz-Eakin proposes, what could result is a situation in which industries have little incentive to expunge their business operations of greenhouse emissions, as they would effectively be operating in a trading market where permits are near worthless. Also, cap and trade systems cannot stand alone as an emission-reducing policy instrument, as there is a potential for traders to ‘game’ the market by deliberately holding out on purchasing permits until the last minute so as to reduce their value, making unreduced emissions affordable to even the worst emitter. Furthermore, cap and trade systems lack transparency and present opportunities for fraud. Worse still is that a poorly designed cap and trade system will not account for the geography of polluters, resulting in a NIMBY effect where pollution becomes localized to create ‘emissions ghettos. ’ As such, it should be recommended that any cap and trade system be designed to account for environmental justice, be subject to transparency, and should distribute permits at a market price, perhaps even stabilize such a price at a level high enough to incentivize the development of techniques and technologies to reduce emissions. Furthermore, a cap and trade system must be complemented by other policy instruments such as pollution zoning and carbon taxes. Works Cited Galbraith, Kate. â€Å"Candidates’ Advisers Spar Over Cap-and-Trade. † New York Times. 23 September 2008. Retrieved online November 9, 2008 from: http://greeninc. blogs. nytimes. com/2008/09/23/candidates-advisers-spar-over-cap-and-trade/? scp=3&sq=cap%20trade&st=cse Parker, David. â€Å"Historic climate change legislation passes. † New Zealand Government. 10 September 2008. Retrieved online November 9, 2008 from: http://www. beehive. govt. nz/release/historic+climate+change+legislation+passes Greenhouse Gas Reduction Scheme 2008, Introduction to the greenhouse gas reduction scheme, Greenhouse Gas Reduction Scheme. Retrieved online November 9, 2008 from: http://greenhousegas. nsw. gov. au/documents/Intro-GGAS. pdf Pearce, Fred. â€Å"European trading in carbon-emission permits begins. ’† New Scientist. 6 January 2005. Retrieved online November 9, 2008 from: http://environment. newscientist. com/channel/earth/dn6846-european-trading-in-carbonemission-permits-begins. html