Week 11 & 12: Participation and action as a Global Citizen in the Workplace

Organisations nowadays are moving from a mere profit making business model to a more sustainable business model.

This week’s Hewlett Packard (HP) case study shows how organisations take various measures to incorporate sustainability across all areas of their business models and supply chains.

HP has a very strong focus across three areas - Environment, Society and Integrity.

HP is aiming to reduce the environmental impact of our products and services at every stage of the value chain. This to me reflects how sustainability can affect every stage of the production change.

For society, HP uses technology, innovation, and scale to create a more just and inclusive society. Throughout the supply chain, workers are empowered. This shows how sustainability moves the focus of organisations from barely profit and money making to more caring and inclusive of those who work for them.

Lastly, HP is committed to always acting with integrity, fairness, and accountability. It aims to ensure that all its employees are treated well. HP also has a separate Ethics and Compliance Office. This reflects the importance of ethics and fairness in all its operations.

The reading of Crittenden et al. (2011), demonstrates some important issues for global citizenship in a corporate context.

Crittenden et al. (2011) argue that for an organisation to reap the benefits of global Corporate Citizenship an integrated framework for implementation must be present. This framework must take into account the main purpose of the business, the key values, the products and services of the business, the affected stakeholders, management systems, and finally reporting and measuring strategies.

Global Corporate Citizenship thus not only affects an organisation socially but can also have various financial and strategic benefits.  I hope all organisations come to realise this is in the not too distant future!