Four emerging trends in corporate social responsibility

By any count, the world is changing faster than ever before. Human numbers are growing faster, and the impact of our activities is being felt in more and more ways. This change has profound implications for business, and means that the world of CSR - or how businesses respond to society's expectations - is at the forefront of this change. So it's worth looking for what are the current trends and where are they heading.

What drives trends in an area like CSR? Three things.

One - attitudes to business and its relationship with society are changed and shaped by outside events. These can be demonstrations of social problems that substantially change the environment within which companies do business, which are partially or wholly caused by business activities, or which businesses are likely partners in finding solutions.

These can be as diverse as extreme climate events raising the profile and public concern about climate change, right through to a run of incidences of corporate corruption. Businesses are called upon to change behaviors or solve problems because of something external to them.

Two - expert practitioners have a vision for how sustainable business should operate, and develop new ideas, or increase expertise on past experience, and implement these within the business. This defines how businesses focus their attention when the spotlight isn't particularly on them. Do they define CSR as being about philanthropy, or environmental management, or core purpose and the business model?

Three - outside agencies create a vision for the achievement of future goals, and actively recruit businesses and partners. So in recent years, the involvement of businesses in finding ways to meet the millennium development goals has been an example.

So with all these factors in play, what are some of the demonstrable trends? Here are a few that I find particularly interesting.

1. Moving from reporting to engagement

The current model of CR reporting has hit something of a ceiling in terms of the quality of data. We have spent the last ten years evolving our approach to measuring our progress and still haven't come close to the original goal - to find ways of measuring CSR in a reliable and meaningful way that enables us to compare the performance of individual companies.

Why have we hit the ceiling? Because some of the most significant information is difficult, even impossible to measure. But particularly, because the context behind the data makes it neither valuable nor reliable to use this information to draw conclusions about how well a company is doing.

And the small improvements in the integrity of the data won't make any difference to how many companies' different stakeholders actually bother to engage with it.

So some companies are now starting to focus their aim on the engagement side. Since customers, employees and suppliers generally don't read reports, companies are beginning to experiment with ways to interest, entice and even seduce those stakeholders into wanting to engage with the company about what it's doing.

It's early days for this one, but the implication of this trend is that CSR executives become less compliance focused and more involved in discussion with marketers. That is a move that is also supported by the next trend.

2. it’s about the business model

More companies are starting to understand a little more about the scale of the challenge that faces us in terms of sustainability, and they're wondering what this means for their business model.

Here's the central dilemma. On your current model, if your company does very well, does that result in damage to the environment? Is the achievement of a positive outcome something you have to work hard to achieve in spite of your business process? Or can you find a business model where the better the social outcome you achieve, the better your business does in terms of profit?

It's not as though easy answers to this one jump out at you from all sides. Interface Flor carpets tried to tackle it when, for their business customers, they offered a service of professional floor covering rather than selling a thing, i.e. Carpet. The principle was sound - on the service model, you had the incentive to provide the professional effect with the use of the least amount of material. With the old model, you make more profit if you replace more physical square meters of carpet.

The only problem in that case was that the customers weren't ready for it. They wanted to own their carpet. Just as we all want to own our things - cars, phones, electronic household goods. Leasing was what we did when we, as a society, didn't have much money. Changing that attitude is beyond the ability of any one company, apparently.

But this one doesn't go away, so companies will keep trying to crack it, and we will see more innovation in this space. But again, it involves the marketers because you have to be able to come up with solutions where you can take your customers with you. You can be one step ahead of them and take them with you. But if you're three steps ahead, you'll lose them.

3. Finding our own identity and respect

CSR Executives have been asking themselves for some time whether they are part of a proper professional discipline or not. When Accountability was first formed in the late 1990s, it was styled the Institute of Social and Environmental Accountability with a view that it would become the professional body for 'accountability professionals'. That didn't happen, but we've seen the CRO in the States and the Corporate Responsibility Group in the UK tackling the same question.

There are pluses and minuses here. An acknowledged profession can establish standards of expertise for those entrusted by companies with this important responsibility. It can gain respect within corporations and increase the authority of its voice in the board room.

The potential minuses come because of the baggage that comes with professionalization. Not to put too fine a point on it, professions usually create for themselves a series of perverse incentives. In particular, every profession builds its own jargon and sense of exclusivity - which is part of communicating to the rest of the world that this is a real area of expertise that ordinary mortals can't hope to understand. Which is why you need to hire people with the appropriately high skill level?

That's an appropriate way of being if you're happy to be in an adjunct office doing mysterious things on behalf of your employer. If you define your role as influencing across the business however, this may not be the most effective model. If we need step-changes and destructive innovation in the future - does a well-ordered profession helps or hinders that?

4. Taking the role of global citizens

Businesses have always taken an interest in influencing the public policy agenda, but historically purely from a defensive purpose of fending off potential restrictions on its ability to make profit. But as physical evidence for climate change increases and the urgency of taking action keeps pace, companies are starting to re-evaluate what is their role as change agents.

Companies are pragmatic entities, and ones that are used to defining themselves around adaptability to change. That makes them almost uniquely suited to responding to global environmental challenges.

Certainly, governments are struggling in this regard. The global economic situation has placed many of them in defensive positions where their citizens are holding them responsible for the fact that suddenly they can no longer afford the things they used to be able to. It is a difficult backdrop to take bold action in an area that many people will believe to be separate and disconnected to their current discomfort. And the fact that it isn't disconnected at all makes no difference if that's what people believe.

And, of course, in the US we have this astonishing polarization based on party lines with a powerful segment of leaders and institutions actively hostile to science and rationality.

So we are seeing more individual business leaders prepared to make statements that are bigger, and more directly involved in political leadership than we have seen in the past. Whether Polman at Unilever telling shareholders that they don't come first, or Schulz in the US taking out full page ads calling on better governance, suddenly engagement with these societal problems is becoming more accepted as an aspect of business leadership.

Conclusion

It's worth noting that not all these trends are pulling in the same direction. And the fact they are emerging trends does not make their continued emergence inevitable. Some of them may well turn out to have been a momentary experiment, quickly to be abandoned.

But they are emerging because powerful forces are driving them, and although something big could happen tomorrow that suddenly changes everyone's context, by and large these forces seem unlikely to go away in the short term.

Is your company part of these trends, or should it be? If you're a CSR membership organization, is this part of your discussion with your members? Should it be?

How to Write a Newspaper Article

How to Write a Newspaper Article

When you write a newspaper article, you share your thoughts with thousands, or maybe millions of readers. This can be a very rewarding experience, apart from helping you make a living as a reporter if your articles are good enough. There is now a lot of competition in the field of writing, with more and more freelancers sharing their thoughts (and doing quite a good job at it). In order for them to be good enough, it is imperative that you know how exactly to write a newspaper article. There is not much room to be creative when writing a newspaper article. However, you can follow your own unique writing style and deliver accurate and beautifully written material to your readers. Read on to know the tips for writing a newspaper article.

Tips for Writing a Newspaper Article

Think of a good story idea. The idea could be as simple as covering a local event that is happening in your neighborhood. Or, it could be an in depth report on investigation of a political scandal.

Get a rough draft of the material you are going to write. This could be in the form of random notes and audio or video recordings.

When you sit to write the article, ensure that you have a catchy headline. Also, remember that the headline should be accurate and should be in the present tense.

Surprise your readers and make them curious by keeping the first sentence short and dramatic. Your readers should want to know more and should want to read on.

Put the facts of the story first. Be clear about what you are writing and so not complicate things.

Keep the five W’s in mind and remember to use them: What happened, When did it happen, who was involved, Where did it happen, and Why did it happen.

Be accurate in what you write and ensure that all facts are correct.

When writing your article, use active verbs wherever you can. This will add more depth to your article.

Remember that in every story, there are two sides. Be fair and let the readers make up their minds, rather than taking sides. Of course, this does not apply if you are writing about some social evil or injustice, which is known not to have two sides to it.

If there are familiar, people or events covered in the article, find new ways to describe them. Avoid using clichés.

Use proper spellings and grammar. Badly written articles can give others a bad impression of you as a writer.

Make your story stand out from the others by looking for a special ingredient to add in. This could be a bit of humor or just anything that will make your newspaper article stand out, among all the rest of the black and white print.

Finally, review and edit your article keeping in mind the headline that you have chosen, ensuring that the story ties in with it.

Add in a picture if necessary.

Send your article to the newspaper editor to be reviewed and published.

Tips on Writing Newspaper Editorial Format

An editorial is a newspaper article that expresses one's opinion; however, there are a few tips on writing newspaper editorial format. Remember, an editorial can be about any topic, but is usually an issue that deals with our society. The opinion in the editorial must be backed up with facts and evidence to help substantiate your opinion.

The facts and evidence must be gone through extensively to find the point of view you want to argue. With a point of view through an editorial piece, issues are given solutions that could be rendered to solve the actual problem at hand. A newspaper editorial may seem hard to write; but, initiative and passion about an issue gives you, the writer, the inside knowledge of making editorial writing easier.

Tips on Writing Newspaper Editorial Format

There are several different steps you need to follow in order to be successful when writing an editorial:

Choosing a Topic

The topic you choose is the most important part in writing a newspaper editorial. The best topics are those that are current issues among our society. If the topic is a current issue that everyone is already interested in then your editorial piece will engage reader’s attention.

If the topic you choose is an ongoing issue in our society, make sure to use the most recent information. However, you can use older information as sources to help prove your case. Do not make your editorial a controversial topic, unless that is that is your whole reason for writing it in the first place.

Choosing Your Opinion

You need to ask yourself, are you for or against the issue you have chosen as your topic for your newspaper editorial piece. You cannot be on both sides of the fence when writing an editorial piece. The purpose for the editorial is to give your opinion, the writer’s opinion. With this in mind you must give a strong opinion, if not readers will not be as inclined to see your point of view.

Outline Your Editorial

Oh, the dreaded outline. With any type of research paper you have to do an outline. This is one of the biggest tips on writing newspaper editorial format that you should always follow. With an outline you know where you stand on the issue. The outline helps you, the writer; get your thoughts and opinions in order. The outline also helps you discover any swaying of opinions you may have missed by just diving head first into writing.

Writing Your Article

The first step to writing your newspaper editorial is to pick a headline that grabs reader’s attention. If you grab their attention from the very beginning they are more inclined to keep reading. Your opinion on the topic should be addressed in the introduction to your new editorial.

Newspaper editorials should have at least three arguments. These arguments of course should be backed up with facts and evidence from your research of the topic. Others tips on writing newspaper editorial format are:

Use statistics to help prove your argument.

Make sure your strongest argument is left for last

Do not be passive in the arguments that come before the strongest. If this happens you are most likely not going to have readers reading your entire newspaper editorial.

Conclusion of Article

In a newspaper editorial and with most anything else you write, your conclusion should sum up all the information you wrote about. The conclusion should be tied up into a neat little package so as to let readers get a recap of all the facts that you presented in your editorial. Your conclusion should also have a few solutions you think would help with the issue at hand. You are getting the reader to engage in asking him or herself questions on how they stand on the particular issue in our society.

Event Manager: Job Outlook and Requirements for Starting a Career in Event Management

Event managers coordinate logistics for special events, such as seminars, trade shows, conventions and parties. The events they manage are often high-profile corporate gatherings and may last anywhere from a couple of hours to several days. They may plan promotional parties to launch new products, coordinate fundraisers, supervise trade shows, manage convention booths or organize shareholder events. Employers typically require a bachelor's degree and event planning experience.

Career Definition of an Event Manager

An event manager plans special events for organizations, such as corporations, nonprofits and academic institutions. They may rent space for parties and seminars, hire and supervise event staff, purchase and rent equipment and negotiate contracts with caterers, entertainers and speakers. They often interact with top management and various departments of an organization during event planning stages, and may also conduct follow-up interviews to determine whether or not the event accomplished its goals. Some event managers specialize in coordinating and hosting online events, such as webinars and training sessions. Event managers may work as independent contractors or full-time staff members of companies, universities, hotels and convention centers. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) predicts strong job growth for professions related to event management throughout the next several years

How to Become an Event Manager

Required Education for Event Management

Event management professionals often have a bachelor's degree in a field such as marketing or business administration, in addition to several years of experience in event planning or conference management. Many also have experience in the hospitality industry or fundraising. Membership in professional organizations, such as the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) may also enhance job and networking opportunities.

Skills needed to be an Event Manager

Event managers must be detail-oriented and highly organized with excellent written and verbal communication skills. They must be able to hire and supervise event staff, negotiate contracts, meet deadlines and manage budgets. Event managers must have strong interpersonal skills and the ability to work with all levels of management, make presentations and lead meetings. Strong computer skills and proficiency with word processing, database and spreadsheet programs are essential.

Financial Future and Career Outlook for Event Management

The BLS predicts 20% job growth for meeting and convention planners, which would include event management professionals, throughout the 2006-2016 period. Many event managers gain experience by starting out as event planners. In April 2009, Salary.com reported that the median expected annual salary for a meeting/event manager was $73,747, while the median expected annual salary for a meeting/event planner was $53,687.

Career Management Plan

Career Management Plan

With the employment market improving – especially in our region – many are getting off the sidelines and looking at making changes in their career to find what they want to do and what they are happy doing. In order to advance and find the next “right fit” career, a career management plan is essential. A nationally-published article I recently wrote generated a number of responses and the question What Exactly is a Career Management Plan.

You may have heard this quote in the past:

________________

“You cannot manage what you cannot measure”

Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton,

From their book: Strategy-focused Organization

________________

In the most basic of terms, a career management plan is very similar to a financial plan and focuses on your assets (skills, strengths, experience, qualifications et al), your liabilities (weaknesses, threats to industry, et al), goals (life, career, financial, family) and strategy (timetables, strategic actions, tactics et al). It is a tool that becomes your guideline to working through this unsettled and often changing environment. Most important, it puts you in control of your career – and is proactive versus reactive.

Every professional should have some level of career management plan – especially those on the professional & executive level where this is an absolute must-have (I have developed the Next-Act Executive Management Plan (ECM) © specifically for this group). The need for a plan is heightened by the exposure and risk you take in your career or job. For example, a fifth grade teacher who has taught for 30 years who has contributed greatly to the lives of students may not need this; an educator who has developed leading-edge programs and initiatives and is seeking that next level in their educational career would be a candidate. The business owner ready to cash out, sell their business and pursue other options is clearly a candidate; many skilled craftspeople likely would not have a need as their plan is largely dictated by the profession.

The Process of Career Management Planning

Defining the process of engaging and developing a career management plan can be summarized in three distinct elements: Discover, Plan & Act.

Discover -Accomplished through 1-on-1 discussion, assessments, situation analysis and market studies, the initial focus is discovering skills, core competencies and future opportunities aligned with personal and professional goals.

Plan -The process then moves to developing the plan inclusive of goals with specific timelines (Position – Role – Responsibility – Compensation – Culture) and planned actions to achieve the goals.

Act – It is then time to act. Working again 1-on-1, short term goals and actions are planned with measurable accountability reviewed through coaching & mentoring executive sessions normally scheduled on a monthly, quarterly or semi-annual basis, depending upon needs.

Each need is unique and therefore, the process utilized is planned to align with goals and needs.

The Elements of a Career Management Plan

Like a financial plan, a career management plan is inclusive of:

Inventory of Assets, Skills and Core Competencies

Defined and measurable career goals & metrics: 1, 3, 5 & 10 years (for some)

Identification of career direction & opportunities

Current & Projected career market analysis

Compensation plan

Strategic career management plan: Strategy, actions, timetables

Marketing strategy: Branding, networks, resources, tools (resumes, letters, strategic career statements, et al).

Some elect to do this one their own. Others will work with an expert who will help craft the plan. Then it is measurement and accountability – being sure you are hitting your stated goals and actions.

With a clearly defined career management plan you will have the clarity, courage and confidence to take your career and life to a level you never expected. You will never have to worry about the “what if” – you will have a plan to address each and every change and turn that can be presented to you.

The Job of a News Anchor

The Job of a News Anchor

At the networks the TV news anchors present the news. You know the people -- the ones sitting there behind a desk (or in the field) telling you what’s happening in the world that day. Whether broadcasting from a small local station or manning one of the network’s primetime broadcasts TV news anchors compile news stories and deliver them.

The Skills You Need

Being a news anchor requires a number of skills, the first of which is a comfort in front of the camera. There’s an element of show business in the job of a news anchor -- not only do you need to be comfortable in front of the camera but you need to make people want to watch you. The latter may not be something you can learn but, certainly, gaining comfort speaking to the camera is a skill you can hone.

A news anchor also needs to be able to think on his feet. While many anchors will read scripts -- off of a teleprompter or notes on their desk -- information can also be transmitted aurally. If news is breaking information may be fed to an anchor on the spur of the moment from a producer. The anchor needs to be able to listen to what’s happening and then relay the information to the audience in a clear and concise manner.

The News Gathering Part of the Job

How much reporting is involved in an anchor’s job is dependent on where the anchor works and what type of broadcast they work on. Some anchors, especially at local news stations, will report their own stories (perhaps with help from a producer or other staffer), and write the scripts they then transmit on the air. In that sense, an anchor works very much like a reporter with the main difference being that they need to craft the story in a way that works for television.

Working with a Producer

The stories that are often reported by anchors are ones from the field. (An example of this is when, say, Katie Co uric or Charles Gibson isn't on the anchor desk but is instead reporting on a story from some a specific locale.) The general newscast delivered from behind a desk is usually not written by the anchor but, rather, a staff of writers who work for the show. But the stories reported from the field are often researched and worked on by the anchor. Anchors also work with producers who help conceive of stories and then help report those stories.

How to Get a Job as an Anchor

Anchors need to get time in front of the camera. Most jobs are gotten with a tape or a sample of your work on-air. Before you look for a job as an anchor, you need to have done an internship at a local station (and gotten some time on-air), or studied communications in college. (A number of schools have programs, both grad and undergrad, for television journalism; you can find a comprehensive list of American journalism schools here.)

Once you have a tape, you should start looking for jobs at local stations. Many anchors work their way up from small broadcasts to bigger ones. (There are local news broadcasts in many cities and, often, the bigger the city the more competitive the job.) There are also myriad opportunities on-air at the various cable news channels.

How to Organize a Public Event

How to Organize a Public Event

Getting started.

The ability to organize special events can place you in good standing, not only at work but in other aspects of your life. In fact, if you are good at event planning you will soon need to employ that all important word, No, as you turn down requests.

The first step is to have the answers to the following:

What, what are you organizing; know exactly what the event is.

Why, why are you doing this event, fundraising, workshop, guest lecturer, celebration, why?

Who do you want to attend?

Where will the event be held?

When will it be held? Be sure to include time.

How will you let people know the event is taking place?

Now that you have a clear and complete understanding of the who, what, when, where, why and how of the event you are ready to begin, well almost.

A few tips:

Be sure to allow sufficient lead time: email allows us to share information fast but just because you can spread the word quickly does not mean you can make a real world event happen that fast.

If you want a few people to get together for a beer at your favorite pub, a text message can get the job, but if you want 100 people to show up at a local community centre for a film and discussion night with an out of town speaker, you may want a somewhat longer lead time.

One reason is you need to book space and it is always possible that the night you really want is taken so you may need to find an alternative venue. Get this sorted out first.

Book the room as soon as you have answered the six questions and make it for at least eight weeks from that date. This gives you time to get the word out. Now the bigger and more important the event is the longer lead time you will need.

A potluck with friends can be set up within a week or two, a community meeting about starting a community garden, six weeks minimum, a 100 dollar a plate dinner four months is cutting it close.

Okay now you are ready to rock; you know what you are doing and so on so what resources do you need to make it happen?

Do you need to book a room?

Are you serving food?

Are you serving alcohol?

Will there be live music?

Do you need a master of ceremonies?

How will waste be handled?

What will you do with food that is not eaten?

How are you planning to promote the event?

Are you selling tickets or is admission free?

Child care is that a concern?

What if it rains and the event is outdoors?

The office Christmas party will need little promotion outside the company, your potluck with a few friend no problem but the guest speaker and video night demands more.

If you are planning a major social event, you most likely have a budget and a committee to help the event unfold but if you are doing this voluntarily for your local horticultural society the budget may be thin. So how do you run an effective promotional campaign on a very tiny budget? This brings us back to lead time; a long lead time allows that wonderful free advertising technique to work, word of mouth: people telling other people about the event.

Email can be a big help and if you have an email list put it to work

Promotion

Now that you understand the basics and know what it is you are organizing it is time to give some thought as to how you are going to get an audience.

The Christmas office party is no problem, you have a built in audience who are easy to reach, just be sure to let people know six weeks in advance and all should be fine.

However, if you have a guest speaker coming who will show a short film on climate change, hold a discussion and you want the general public to attend then you need promotion.

You can make some posters, easy enough to do but unless you know a good location to put them up, don't bother. If you have places to hang posters do so, some local businesses will  let you use a window or door space if the event is a community one.

Keep the poster simple; be sure the date, time and place are visible.

One problem you may have is giving out a contact number for those who seek more information.

Do not use your personal phone.

If there is no available phone line, get a free email and use that for contact purposes.

There are two tools that can draw attention to the evening; one is the media or press release, the other is the public service announcement or psa.

The media release is a one pager that informs the local media what is taking place and why it is newsworthy. They may run the release as is; they may send a reporter for a photo op and/or story, they may call or email for more information, or they may ignore the whole thing.

If you want their attention; send the release one week before the event and follow up with a phone call the day before.

The psa  is a free announcement that TV, radio and newspapers offer to community organizations. It is short and gives the basics, date, time, place and what's happening.

If your event is free your odds of having the psa run are higher; it is okay to have a donation box at the door.

Tell everyone you know about the event, after all if your are putting it on, it should be something you are excited about and want to share.