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Look at the article again. Find the words and expressions which have a similar meaning to the following.1provoking a negative reaction (paragraph l) 2 people or organisations directly or indirectly affected by the activities of a company (paragraph 2) 3 trying to deal with difficult problems (paragraph 2) 4 problems taken to a court, by an individual or an organisation, for a legal decision (paragraph 3) 5 unconnected with (paragraph 4) 6 understand something by thinking about it (paragraph 4) 7 not clear, difficult to understand (paragraph 4) 8 promise to do something or behave in a certain way (paragraph 5) 9 short introduction (to a book or report) (paragraph 6) 10 records or studies the development of something over time (paragraph 7) Read the second part of the article below. Identify the four points the author believes CEOs should address and examples of good company practice. To be effective, what should your introduction n cover? First, specific examples of the challenges the company faces and how you are tackling them. Arun Sarin, chief executive of Vodafone, talks about potential abuse of human rights and labour standards in the group's vast £23bn supply chain and how it is starting to manage these risks through a code of ethical purchasing. But his opening lines risk leaving readers disoriented. 'We already have a clear compass,' he states. 'One of our four values is "passion for the world around us" and one of our six strategic goals is to "be a responsible business".' He leaves us guessing what the other values and goals are. The second thing is evidence of transparency. Bob Eckert, chairman and CEO of Mattel, refers to the global manufacturing principles that the toy manufacturer put in place in 1997. 'We've welcomed independent, third-party auditing of our adherence to these principles and we've posted the results for public viewing on our corporate website (www.mattel.com),' he writes. Third, a recognition of the importance of governance. In his letter, Mr Eckert says that corporate responsibility at Mattel will 14 from now on be overseen by the board's nominations and corporate governance committee, which is renamed the governance and social responsibility committee. Novo Nordisk, the Danish drugs group, links good governance directly to the way companies face up to society's changing expectations. 'It is continuous hard wîrk,' write Lars Rebien Sorensen, president and CEO, and Mads Ovlisen, 15 chairman. Last year they strengthened their risk-management system, continued their work on board self-evaluation and developed a new share-based incentive programme for executives. Fourth, credibility. In Gap's first social responsibility report this year, Paul Pressler, president and CEO, begins by telling readers that, when he decided to join the company in 2002, his teenage daughter asked him: 'Doesn't Gap use sweatshops?' Much of the rest of his message is about what the company is doing to improve conditions in the garment industry and how difficult this is. It is both personal and believable. It is high time for plain speaking across the board. The foreword to next year's corporate responsibility report will mark you out either as a leader who has contemplated the risks ahead or as a CEO who has jumped on to the bandwagon without really knowing why. FINANCIAL TIMES Discuss the following questions. 1Governments in the US and the EU are considering legislation to stop food companies advertising junk food to children. How far should the food industry be held responsible for people's health problems? 2 If you were the CEO of one of the companies mentioned in the article, what would you see as the risks ahead for your company, and what would be its social responsibility? Look at these extracts from various CSR reports. Match the correct expression (a-h) with the multiword verbs in italics. a)gradually stopped using e) can be included in or classified as b) done, as expected or promised f) ensure we do what we've promised c) do the same thing g) formally established d) avoid doing anything about h) explain in a clear way 1 We think it is vital that we set out what we expect of our suppliers. 2 The company's policy is not to shy away from difficult issues. 3 We hope this initiative will motivate others in the industry to follow suit. 4 The company is taking action in this area and has already phased out a number of suspect chemicals. 5 This will enable our stakeholders to hold us to account. 6 Our strategy falls into three categories. 7 Their work is carried out in accordance with safety standards. 8 The Social Responsibility team was set up in 2003.
A. Complete the definitions with items from the box.
1 Underhand methods or actions are secretive and dishonest. 2 ............is the fact of being responsible for one's actions, and ready to explain them if required. 3 ............methods or actions intend to deceive people, often in order to gain money illegally. 4 ............is the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles. 5 A............is someone who informs the public that the company they work for has engaged in illegal practices. 6 A............person respects the law. 7 An organisation or company's............is meant to communicate its aims to the public. 8 Someone who is............cannot be persuaded to act dishonestly. 9 Someone who is............has no moral principles and would do anything to get what they want. B. Complete the sentences with an item from exercise A. 1Little by little, in a series of clever, .Ufld&cb.4fld. moves, he took control of the whole organisation. 2 The CEO is a man of absolute............who would never compromise his principles. 3 People who make............insurance claims are liable to prosecution. 4 Nobody would even think of trying to bribe them. They are absolutely 5 'To serve the most vulnerable' is the............of the International Red Cross. C. Write the opposite of the adjectives. 1 scrupulous unscrupulous 2 legal ............ 3 reputable ............ 4 honest ............ 5 principled ............ 6 responsible ............ 7 ethical ............ 8 controversial ............ 9 accountable ............ 10 partial ............ D. Complete the word(s) in each sentence by writing in the missing vowels. Each word is a compound or derivative of the word law. 1She filed a l_ws_it against her former employer. 2 It seems a l_g_t_m_t_ expectation to know where your bank invests your money. 3 Although the money had been collected _ll_g_ll_, the committee l_g_l_s_d the funds and used them to pay off debts. 4 It turned out that the chemical had been l_wf_ll_ produced in a European country. 5 In Britain, a barrister is a l_wy_r who can argue cases in the higher courts of law. 6 Some people argue that nothing can l_g_t_m_s_ the use of children in advertising. E. Complete each gap with a word formed from the word in capitals. The sacking of Boeing's chief executive over an office affair has raised many questions, not least whether it heralds a new era of corporate policing of executives' personal morals. Could snooping on workplace liaisons become part of the job of the ethics officer, whose role is to …… (SURE) that a company's code of conduct is understood and followed by every member of staff? 'The dynamics of taking on a police function would fundamentally change the .............2 (EFFECT) of the ethics officer,' says Ms Gretchen Winter, who chairs the US-based Ethics Officer Association. ‘I think.............3 (EMPLOY) might be less willing to come forward. The role of a neutral party to whom they can come for .............4 (GUIDE) might be compromised.' The ethics officer's job has been thrown into sharp relief by the Boeing affair, in which the chief executive was ousted for behaviour that the company decided had reflected poorly' on his.............5 (JUDGE). Ms Winter says the case has provoked hot debate about where the line should be drawn. 'Some ethics officers are using the Boeing case to talk about the.............6 (INVESTIGATE) process, their relationship with boards, who the decision-makers are and how you handle issues of judgement versus violations of your code -or are they one and the same?' she says. 'What it does is illustrate the type of situation that ethics officers are called on to deal with every day - what kind of investigative process do you use, how do you determine appropriate.............7 (DISCIPLINE) action if you find a.............8 (VIOLATE), and who should be disciplined?' The ethics officer draws up standards, provides a safe conduit for whistleblowers, investigates allegations and presents findings to a 'decision-maker' - typically the manager of the individual being investigated, she says. Ms Winter points out that there are CEOs who have had.............9 (RELATE) at work and have remained in office. 'It's not the ethics officer's role to determine whether that behaviour is.............10 (ACCEPT) or not,' she insists. 'That responsibility belongs to whoever employs the individual.' The case comes at a time when............." (PRESS) is mounting on companies to take ethics more seriously - and on the professionals charged with ensuring.............12 (COMPLY). Why, given the rapid.............13 (GROW) in the number of ethics officers, are ethical lapses still so frequent in companies? It is partly that the ethics profession is young, and also that it is far harder to change behaviour than simply to write and publish a code of conduct, Ms Winter replies. F. Replace the words in italics with a multiword verb from the box. carry out falls into follow suit phase out set out sett up shy away from. 1 The Corporate Responsibility Committee was formally established two years ago….set up…. 2 The CEO explained in a clear, organised way the reasons for her resignation in a letter to the board of directors......................... 3 Our company will gradually stop using all vehicles which do not conform to environmental regulations.. 4 Bentix has recently appointed an ethics officer, and we expect many other companies to do the same thing......................... 5 To the company's credit we must say that when its new product was alleged to be unsafe, it did not avoid and was not afraid of investigating those claims......................... 6 Most pharmaceutical companies claim that they do not do tests on animals. 7 Unethical behaviour at work can be classified into three groups. G Match the sentence halves. 1Most corporate responsibility reports today 2 Hollow words such as 'passion' or 'commitment' can easily 3 Some chief executives' messages seem curiously 4 Fuzzy language often makes it hard for the reader to 5 Good governance often seems linked to the way a company tries to 6 A corporate responsibility report is a great opportunity for chief executives to 7 Only specific examples of good governance and evidence of transparency will a) cut offfrom recent developments in approaches to risk management. b) face up tosociety's changing expectations. c) gettheir ideas and principles acrossto shareholders and other stakeholders. d) kick offwith a message from the CEO or chairman. e) markthem out ascredible and responsible leaders. f) turn offthe reader of such reports. g) work outprecisely what the message means. H Match the multiword verbs in bold in exercise G with the correct meaning. 1make sb feel bored........................ 2 communicate........................ 3 to prevent sb / sth from having contact with........................ 4 start........................ 5 manage to understand........................ 6 accept and try to deal with........................ 7 identify........................ I. Complete the second sentence in each pair so that it has approximately the same meaning as the first sentence. Use between two and five words, including the word given. 1The public often ask companies not to hide their stance on environmental issues. reveal.Companies are . .often requested to reveal. their stance on environmental issues. 2 CEOs may sound very enthusiastic in their reports, but you should always insist on hard evidence. how.No....................................CEOs may sound in their reports, you should always insist on hard evidence. 3 If we do not set up a corporate responsibility team, shareholders may lose confidence in our approach. unless.Shareholders may lose confidence in our approach ....................................a corporate responsibility team. 4 Our company's safety record is substantially better than our competitors'. nearly.Our competitors' safety record is....................................ours. 5 We made a bad mistake when we said our suppliers were responsible for the delay in production. blame.It was wrong of us....................................the delay in production. 6 Our organisation has made every effort to get rid of age and gender discrimination. stamp.Our organisation has made every effort.................................... age and gender discrimination. 7 If the CEO had not admitted wrongdoing at the last minute, our manager would have come under suspicion. admitting.But....................................wrongdoing at the last minute, our manager would have come under suspicion. 8 One of the directors pointed out to the board a number of inconsistencies in the report. drew.One of the directors....................................a number of inconsistencies in the report. 9 My boss was too impatient to read the report to the end. that.My boss was....................................not read the report to the end. 10. I think it would be a good idea if we listened more to what anti-globalisation movements have to say. suggest.I....................................listen more to what anti-globalisation movements have to say. 11. We are really excited about the conference. forward .We.............................the conference. Business ethics Listen to the second part of the interview with Miguel Moran and compare your answers in Exercise Ñ with his views. Use the following letters to record Miguel's views. T = True F = False NS = Not stated 1 Multinationals don't employ child labour any more. 2 Companies that employ children before the age of 14 should also pay for their education. 3 Banning child labour in some countries may create extreme poverty. 4 The Western world shouldn't force its codes of conduct on other countries. 5 Ultimately, social responsibility is up to the state and not business people. 6 Very few international companies have unethical practices. Date: 2016-01-14; view: 3124
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