Ticcit

Send for your FREE copy now* (See Below) Many companies do not yet recognise that their reputation and their ability to operate successfully over the long term require them increasingly to have a clear "Corporate Citizenship" policy. The role of business is changing. Globalisation is not new, indeed there has been global trade for thousands of years, but what has changed is the size and scope of business organisations, the dramatic increase in private investment globally, and the ability for everyone to communicate and access information instantaneously twenty-four hours a day. These shifts, which have taken place in the last ten to twenty years, mean that business is often the biggest player in countries where the people desperately need to be lifted out of dire poverty, where the government needs to be stopped from committing human rights abuses and where social infrastructure needs delicate nurturing. Also if business wants to promote a global economy and free trade then it has to be able to argue that the benefits will be felt by all the world's citizens, not just the few. This is a question of social justice and fair play. The articles in Visions of Risk have some common themes, not dictated by editorial policy but arising naturally from the contributors' thoughts. The first is that, if the globalisation process is to be deemed a success, the issue of poverty and social exclusion must be addressed. The second is that the role of business in global and local society is changing, and that business has to accept new responsibilities for protecting the environment, promoting human rights, encouraging the development of participatory democracy, fighting fraud and corruption, and helping to build partnerships between different sections of society. In this edition The issue of poverty is addressed by Peter Sutherland, Chair of BP Amoco, Kofi Annan, the Secretary General of the United Nations and Sophia Tickell, a Policy Advisor to Oxfam. Regarding business issues Ros Tenyson writes about the new "Resource Centre for the social dimensions of Business Practice". Judy Kuszewski, from the Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies (CERES), writes about the "Global Reporting Initiative" which provides a framework for social and environmental reporting world-wide. On a global basis, Deborah Leipziger, from the Council on Economic Priorities Accreditation Agency (CEPAA), writes about the introduction of social accountability standard SA8000 in South America; Jordana Friedman, from CEP, writes about the development of a global code of conduct for multi-national companies working in conflict areas. Send for your FREE copy now* * Please Note there will be a small charge of #2.50 made to cover the costs of postage and packing, simply click on the buy on-line button on the left hand side of this page.Merrill, M. David is the author of 'Ticcit' with ISBN 9780877781608 and ISBN 0877781605.