Fighting Hunger in America the Wal-Mart Way

Almost everybody has a big, bad Wal-Mart story that disses the Bentonville, Arkansas chain store for one reason or another. From the everyday low wages it pays to its associates to the arm-twisting pressure it puts on suppliers to wring out the absolute lowest price, Wal-Mart is notorious for its bare-knuckle business practices. As defendant in one of the biggest class-action discrimination cases brought on behalf of women in the workforce, Wal-Mart also is no stranger to damning media reports that question whether it hurts the little people its business is devoted to serving more than it helps.

To its credit, Wal-Mart has addressed many of these claims with remedial programs that focus on the underlying problem. While its journey to corporate citizenship has been dismissed by activists as self-serving, Wal-Mart has found that doing good leads to a better reputation. But it has not been easy or quick.

Thus, it is not insignificant that Wal-Mart has announced perhaps the biggest private effort in history to fight one of America's most embarrassing ills: hunger. The $2 billion commitment to fight hunger demonstrates that Wal-Mart has its finger on the pulse of America's problems. As much as jobs, the economy or taxes may be on the agendas of politicians, it is a sad commentary that hunger is a more pressing problem for millions of Americans.

Kudos to Wal-Mart for recognizing and understanding this basic human need, and even more props for taking the steps with partnering organizations to do something about it.

(c) 2010. Adonis Hoffman

Better Business Bureau Needs Oversight Following Charges of Pay-to-Rate

The Better Business Bureau could benefit from tighter government oversight following recent allegations that it has maintained a pay-to-rate scheme for years.

For decades, the Better Business Bureau has been the gold standard for the validation of solid business practices. We all rely on the BBB's ratings system to determine whether a company is worthy of our dollars or not. To learn now that the BBB might have been scamming us all this time is heartbreaking. If these charges are true, it is betrayal at the most basic level. If these charges are true, and I hope they are not, the Federal Trade Commission needs to take a long hard look at how to cure the damage that has been done to consumers.

The other problem here is that the Better Business Bureau manages several industry self-regulatory schemes. These include the very successful program guarding children's advertising to the newly-developed program to monitor the marketing of so-called junk foods by 16 of the top food and beverage manufacturers, and the monitoring of infomercials. While those programs are self-contained, the BBB's actions cast a very dark cloud over the practice of self-regulation altogether.

In the interest of consumer confidence, the FTC needs to take a much closer look at the BBB--a consumer icon that may have fallen on the wrong side of the ethical line.

(c) 2010. Adonis E. Hoffman

Are We Putting Undue Burdens on Business to be Socially Responsible?

Does Society Expect Too Much from Corporations?

Corporations need to re-think how they are doing business today if they want to stay in the good graces of customers, investors and the government.

It is not enough for companies to be competitive and do well. We also want corporations to help protect the environment, build roads, fight corruption, advance human rights, support the arts, contribute to local communities, compete globally, and create immense shareholder value, all at the same time.

While these are real concerns, the expectations may be a bit too high. After all, the main duty of a corporation is to provide a quality good or service and return a reasonable profit to its shareholders. If they can find a way to do that, and be socially responsible too, they will be rewarded in the marketplace, but it is not easy.

Among the companies who have balanced these challenges successfully, I cite the following:

Microsoft; Wal-Mart; Exxon-Mobil; Chevron; General Motors; Conoco Phillips; Ford Motor; Citigroup; Bank of America; ATT; JP Morgan Chase; HP; IBM; Valero Energy; Verizon; McKesson; Procter & Gamble; United Health Group; Kroger; Boeing; Target; State Farm; Well Point; Marathon Oil; United Technologies; 3M; Aetna; the Walt Disney Company; Home Depot; Johnson & Johnson, and Marriott.

My new book, Doing Good--the New Rules of Corporate Responsibility, Conscience & Character lays out 55 simple, easy-to-follow rules for CEOs and business leaders to succeed amids the new challenges of today's global marketplace in the areas of ethics, governance, citizenship, philanthropy, diversity, privacy and public policy.

Balancing these competing expectations remains a daunting challenge for many corporations, but with focus and commitment, they can succeed.

(c) Adonis Hoffman

2010

ISO Publishes New International Standards on Social Responsibility

On November 1, 2010, the International Standards Organization (ISO) launched ISO 26000, a long-awaited guidance for business and public sector organizations on social responsibility (SR).

ISO Secretary-General Rob Steele commented: “The publication of ISO 26000 is eagerly awaited by organizations worldwide, whether they are business enterprises, or public sector organizations. Operating in a socially responsible manner is no longer an option. It is becoming a requirement of society worldwide. What makes ISO 26000 exceptional among the many already existing social responsibility initiatives is that it distils a truly international consensus on what social responsibility means and what core subjects need to be addressed to implement it. In addition, it is based on broad stakeholder input, including from developing countries, business, government, consumers, labour, nongovernmental organizations and others.”

According to the standard, the perception and reality of an organization's performance on social responsibility can influence, among other things:

• Competitive advantage
• Reputation
• Ability to attract and retain workers, members, customers, clients or users
• Maintenance of employees' morale, commitment and productivity
• View of investors, owners, donors, sponsors and the financial community
• Relationship with companies, governments, the media, suppliers, peers, customers and the community in which it operates.

The development of ISO 26000 began in 2005; it is the work of the ISO Working Group on Social Responsibility (ISO/WG SR) whose membership was the largest and the most broadly based in terms of stakeholder representation of any single group formed to develop an ISO standard.

Six main stakeholder groups were engaged: industry; government; labour; consumers: nongovernmental organiza tions; and service, support, research and others, as well as a geographical and gender-based bal ance of participants.

It was made up of experts from ISO members (national standards bodies – NSBs) and from liaison organizations (associations representing business, consumers or labour, or inter-governmental or nongovernmental organizations).

At the last meeting of the ISO/WG SR, in July 2010, there were 450 participating experts and 210 observers from 99 ISO member countries and 42 liaison organizations involved in the work, including the United States.

ISO 26000 provides guidance for all types of organization, regardless of their size or location, on:

1. Concepts, terms and definitions related to social responsibility

2. Background, trends and characteristics of social responsibility

3. Principles and practices relating to social responsibility

4. Core subjects and issues of social responsibility

5. Integrating, implementing and promoting socially responsible behaviour throughout the organization and, through its policies and practices, within its sphere of influence

6. Identifying and engaging with stakeholders

7. Communicating commitments, performance and other information related to social responsibility.

ISO 26000 is a voluntary guidance standard that is not to be used for certification, unlike other ISO standards.

This is a major step toward global standards for acceptable corporate behavior and should be monitored closely by every major corporation throughout the world.