Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'United Nation Global Compact'

Em 2000, a Organização das Nações Unidas lançou a iniciativa denominada “Pacto Global”, com o objetivo de dar uma face mais humana ao processo da globalização. Esta iniciativa estabeleceu dez princípios que as empresas, entre outros participantes, devem seguir para implementá-los no dia a dia de suas operações. A Ericsson foi uma das empresas fundadoras da iniciativa e, até hoje, faz parte do grupo. A presente dissertação, portanto, busca analisar como a Ericsson do Brasil está implementando os princípios do Pacto Global das Nações Unidas em sua esfera de influência. Para compreender a forma como está ocorrendo, neste estudo foi realizado um estudo de caso da subsidiária brasileira, baseando-se na análise de documentos institucionais, na observação e entrevista realizada com o Gerente da empresa. Conclui-se que a Ericsson do Brasil ainda está em processo de implementação dos princípios, destacando-se no que concerne ao gerenciamento da cadeia de fornecedores estar em avançado estágio de implementação.
In 2000 the United Nations launched the Global Compact initiative for the purpose of giving a more human face to globalization. This initiative sets out ten principles that companies and other participants should proceed to implement in the day to day operations. Ericsson was one of the founders of the initiative and today is part of the group. This dissertation aims to analyze how the Ericsson in Brazil is implementing the principles of the UN Global Compact in its sphere of influence. To understand how, the dissertation was based on case study of the Brazilian subsidiary and the analysis was made by institutional documents, observation and interviews with the manager of the company. The conclusion demonstrates that Ericsson in Brazil is still in the process of implementing the principles emphasizing that when it comes to managing the supply chain is in the advanced stage of implementation.

The purpose of this quantitative cross-sectional study was to examine the factors that influence the collaborative partnership effectiveness (CPE) among entity participants of the UN Global Compact (Global Compact). A survey hosted in the internet SurveyMonkey website was used to collect the data from 90 Global Compact participants. Data collected were analyzed using the Statistical Packages for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software Version 21.0 for Windows. A combination of statistical tests such as multiple linear regressions (MLR) and multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) were used to provide answers to the three research questions: (a) to what extent collaboration readiness scores predict willingness and ability to collaborate, (b) to what extent differences in CPE scores exist in participant’s job title or position, and (c) to what extent differences in CPE scores exist in entity’s amount of experience. Research results showed statistical evidence that collaboration readiness is a significant predictor of participants’ willingness and ability to collaborate effectively. Other findings of the study indicated that job title or position had no significant difference in CPE. CEOs and other positions showed statistically similar readiness, as well as willingness and ability to collaborate effectively. Additional findings indicated that experience was not a significant factor in CPE. Participants with lesser number of collaboration experiences were equally ready, willing, and able to collaborate compared to those participants who had greater number of collaboration experiences.

This study adds to institutional theory. It addresses the paradox of embedded agency, which has been central in the study of institutions and organizations, i.e. how can actors change institutions when they are conditioned by the same institution they are trying to change? This debate is addressed by analyzing the process organizations follow when adopting the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC). The research is based on theory generation from case study evidence. It is an interpretative study based on four cases of adoption of the UNGC in the cement industry in Mexico. The study takes into account the interaction between three levels of analysis: field; organizational; and individual. Early neo-institutional studies neglected intra-organizational phenomena. However, this study shows how individual behavior provides the micro-foundations necessary to address the paradox of embedded agency. The study relates theory to practice. It offers insight to the principle- and reporting-based Corporate Responsibility Initiatives (“CRIs”) phenomenon; there is no prior research on the process organizations follow when adopting these initiatives. This research constructs a model, showing how principle- and reporting-based CRIs are translated, not diffused, when incorporated by organizations. The process of translation explains how initiatives are reshaped and reinvented when taken-up by individuals in organizations. However the diffusion model is more accepted among managers, mainly because it offers the illusion of control, while the translation model shows the uncertainty and ambiguity of the adoption process (Czarniawska, 2008). At the individual-level, this study shows the active role of individuals in change processes. It explains how the recursive relationship between the actions of translators intending to change institutionalized practices, and the resistance they encounter, feeds the translation process. Translators are embedded in the organization and are reproducing established activities. But they use their embeddedness to overcome resistance and change the taken-for-granted way of working. At the organizational-level, this empirical study shows how change is a way of achieving the substantive implementation of newly adopted initiatives, and how resistance promotes change. The study shows how institutional pressures are influential; they result in processual isomorphism. The four organizations, despite their different governance structures, are following the same translation process. However, this study links the macro-processes of isomorphism to the microprocesses explaining intra-organizational phenomena; it finds that homogeneous processes also result in heterogeneous actions. The specific activities implemented by each organization are idiosyncratic. These heterogeneous actions are the result of the interaction between the institutional environment and the resistance encountered by translators within the organization. In this way, this study shows how the UNGC is impacting organizational practices. How much organizations benefit from joining the UNGC depends on the level of development of their CSR programs and strategies at the time of the UNGC's adoption.

Abstract Sustainability has been one of the most discussed topics among the business world and society for the last decade. The globally growing concern about sustainability related issues has led to businesses and non-businesses meet the demand of their stakeholders by producing a sustainability report to demonstrate their work and development in sustainability and how they have measured it. There has been a fast-growing trend of sustainability reporting in few years and there are a number of different initiatives and requirements that define what kind of sustainability reports are produced. From the different sustainability initiatives, the largest principle-based initiative is the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) with almost 13 000 signatories and the largest reporting-based initiative is the Global reporting initiative (GRI). These two initiatives entered in to a partnership in 2010 with the aim of the GRI providing guidance for the signatories on how to disclose information from different areas in sustainability in their sustainability reports. There has been previous research that criticized the UNGC to be too broad and the principles difficult to translate in to sustainability reporting despite the existing partnership with the GRI. These previous studies expressed the lack of qualitative studies about the subject especially from the signatories’ perspective and the importance of approaching the topic from a practical point of view. The purpose of our research study was to create an understanding of the practicalities in UNGC signatories’ sustainability reporting, the challenges they face in the progress and how are they approaching those challenges. The thesis focuses on the Nordic region and the two research questions are:   How are the UNGC signatories practically translating the 10 principles into their sustainability reporting? What challenges do UNGC signatories find in sustainability reporting in general and how have they approached these challenges?   To answer these research questions the authors conducted a qualitative study by semi-structured interviews with company representatives from different Nordic UNGC signatories. The research study identified how do they practically identify what to report about the principles which is determined by materiality assessment provided by the GRI framework. This determines what is material for the company and its industry and focus on those areas in their sustainability report. Legal requirements, internal regulations and other commitments were also identified guiding sustainability reporting. The main challenges related to the sustainability reporting were mainly about data related issues, satisfying the stakeholders and the high number of different frameworks and regulations that are not necessarily interrelated. Majority of the participants approached these challenges by carrying out the materiality assessment as accurate and clear as possible in order to avoid data related difficulties. Some participants offer their different stakeholders with sustainability related information by different forms in order to make the sustainability reporting easier to read and understand. For the high number of frameworks and regulations, the participants have expectations for alignment among them in the future in order to make the reporting easier for everyone involved with sustainability reporting. The results of our findings were supported by theories and concepts such as the stakeholder’s theory, signalling theory and the CSR concept. Previous studies about sustainability reporting and UNGC were also compared to our findings in the analysis.

Corporate social responsibility is a concept widely discussed by businesses and has come to describe the relationship between business and society. For some it means the idea o legal responsibility, an ethical behaviour and some equate it with charitable contribution. The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (Hopkins, 2007: 25) defines CSR as follows:   "Corporate Social Responsibility is the continuing commitment by business to contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as of the community and society at large."   The relationship is increasingly striving to counteract a variety of problems that are associated with the contemporary globalization, such as violation of human and labour rights along with environmental challenges and is well-mentioned both by academics and businessmen. Within the Indian carpet industry, child labour has become a hot topic due to major scandals on the issues in the 1990s. Though, the meaning of corporate social responsibility is less common. The purpose of this study is to examine the Indian carpet industry’s awareness and use of the international agenda of corporate social responsibility, hence how the carpet export houses approach the responsibility. Also, the purpose is to examine how the carpet weavers are affected by the policies and actions of the export houses.   A field study with an ethnographical approach has been conducted through the use of interviews and observations in the district of Bhadohi, state of Uttar Pradesh in India. The interviewees consisted of workers working with the finishing processes of carpets at two export houses’ factories as well as carpet weavers at the looms in the villages. The findings from the interviews were analyzed through the use of parts of the Sustainable Livelihood Framework and with this approach the weavers’ access to assets is analyzed in relation to the export houses’ applying of the international agenda of CSR, more precise in this study, the UN Global Compact’s principles of CSR. The main findings from this study show that the CSR principles of the UN Global Compact were followed to different extents by the export houses since they are prioritizing some principles before others. The distribution of responsibilities differs depending on the management of the export house, mainly because of how the demands from the buyers and consumers look like. Also, the prioritizing of the export houses has become to affect the weavers’ socio-economic situation and for some the access to assets has increased. Furthermore, the study reveal that corporate social responsibility to a large extent is directed and influenced by the buyers’ and consumers’ (mainly stationed abroad in Western countries) demand. Thereby, through the complex system of sub-contracting, carpet weavers are affected differently since CSR is interpreted and used in various ways that are considered as most “suitable” to the export house.

This paper examines corporate responses to the voluntary UN initiative; the Global Compact and the legally binding UN Norms initiative that are attempts, at the urging of the international community, at different types of regulation of corporate activity in international socio-economic settings. This examination is done within the framework of the Modern World-Systems theory and both questions of the paper are therefore grounded in the MWS theory`s possibility to predict and explain the corporations` response to the two initiatives. The two hypotheses used in this paper are corresponding to the questions and they state that the MWS theory can answer the two questions. The paper therefore employs an overreaching congruence method that uses the MWS theory to predict and explain the outcome of the case study and a complementary descriptive argumentation analysis. This is conducted in order to attain the data needed and to elucidate what the differences and similarities are between the two initiatives and what aspect can be attributed most explanatory value to understand the possible differences in attitude by the corporations. The outcome of the case study shows that corporations are more in favor of the Global Compact then they are concerning the UN norms which they opposes vehemently. This difference in reaction is attributed to the latter’s legally binding principle and this is in accord with the logic of the MWS theory which is granted high predictable and explanatory value concerning the corporations` response to the Global Compact and the UN norms.

Atsakingo verslo idėja aktuali tiek viso pasaulio, tiek ir Lietuvos verslininkams, kaip veiksnys, didinantis įmonių konkurencingumą rinkoje. Ji gali padėti gerinti santykius su vartotojais, partneriais, investuotojais bei užtikrinti verslo ilgalaikiškumą ir stabilumą. Šiame darbe buvo stengiamasi, remiantis Lietuvos bei užsienio autorių moksliniais darbais, atskleisti socialinės atsakomybės sampratą, jos svarbą šiuolaikiniam verslui, išskyriau esminius socialinės atsakomybės teiginius ir teikiamą naudą, bei apžvelgiau ĮSA (CSR) taikymo sritis ir jose naudojamus principus. Taip pat darbe yra palyginama Lietuvos situaciją ĮSA kontekste su kitomis valstybėmis: Jungtinėmis Karalystėmis, Olandija, Belgija ir Latvija. Įvertinama kas yra pasiekta mūsų šalyje, skatinant socialinę atsakomybę, ir kokias ĮSA iniciatyvas dar reikia plėtoti ir įgyvendinti, remiantis užsienio šalių patirtimi. Lietuvoje socialinė atsakomybė kol kas nauja sąvoka ir dar gana neįprasti rūpesčiai verslo atstovams. Todėl Lietuvoje yra atlikta ne daug tyrimų apie socialiai atsakingo verslo skatinimą bei jo įgyvendinimą versle. Mano inicijuojamas tyrimo tikslas buvo indentifikuoti pagrindines ĮSA skatinimo priemones ir būdus, įvertinti jų reikšmę ir pritaikymą praktiškai, kartu pateikiant pasiūlymus, kas paspartinų ir sudarytų palankesnes sąlygas ĮSA plėtrai tarp Lietuvos įmonių. Tyrimas parodė, kad Lietuvoje vis dar trūksta supratimo ir informacijos apie socialinę atsakomybę, trūksta kompetetingų ĮSA specialistų... [toliau žr. visą tekstą]
The scale of cultural values of the organizations in the advanced countries has expanded recently significantly in the XX century. The organizations began comprehend clearly that they are the part of the social system and that relations between the organization ant the society, and between different systems (ecosystem, technical) are very important. Therefore, in the scale of the organizational values the new value like social responsibility has appeared. The idea of the responsible business is relevant for Lithuanian businessmen and all the world businessmen as the factor which may increase the competetiveness between the companies. This idea may assist to improve relations with consumers, partners, investors and insure the stability of the business. The author in this work on the grounds of the studies Lithuanian and foreign authors discloses the concept of the social responsibility, its importance to modern business, emphasizes important statements about social responsibility and its benefit and surveys the application areas of ĮSA (CSR) and their principles. The author also compares in this work situation in Lithuania and in other countries (the United Kingdom, Holland, Belgium, Latvia) on the subject of ĮSA. The author analyses the achievements in promoting social responsibility and ĮSA initiatives which the organizations need to promote and implement according to foreign practice. It should be mentioned that the social responsibility is quite new concept for Lithuanian... [to full text]

Thesis (MComm) – Stellenbosch University, 2014.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Global interest in responsible investing has grown in recent years. To make effective decisions, responsible investors require listed companies to report on financial and nonfinancial performance, giving particular attention to environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) considerations. This study was undertaken to address the paucity of academic research on ESG reporting in South Africa. A number of local studies had focused on environmental and governance reporting, but no studies had taken a holistic view of ESG reporting. Nor had any studies focused on the metals and mining industry in particular. This is a very important industry from an economic and ESG perspective, both in South Africa and internationally. The primary objective of this study was two-fold. Firstly, it was to investigate the extent of ESG reporting (both in South Africa and in a sample of international Metals and Mining companies). The second objective was to evaluate the factors that could potentially influence ESG reporting in these two samples. A positivistic research methodology was adopted as this approach allowed the researcher to test the stated research hypotheses. Quantitative secondary data were thus collected and analysed. The data collection process consisted of three phases: the first phase involved an extensive literature review of the key constructs; the second phase dealt with the collection of data for the dependent variable (Overall ESG score) from MSCI ESG Research’s database; and the third phase entailed collecting data for the 12 independent variables from Bureau van Dijk and selected websites. MSCI ESG Research’s universe was used to establish the two samples used in this study. The JSE sample consisted of 110 listed companies, whereas the international Metals and Mining sample consisted of 173 companies. Because MSCI ESG Research had completed only one year of ESG research when this study commenced, only data for 2012 were available. Descriptive and inferential statistics were completed to analyse the data. The empirical findings of the JSE sample show that the Governance pillar mean score was significantly higher than the Social pillar mean score and the Environmental pillar mean score. ESG reporting was found to be positively associated with companies which were included in the Nedbank Green Index. Companies included in the JSE Socially Responsible Index produced significantly better ESG reports than those excluded from the index. Significant differences were also noted in the Overall ESG score based on the nature of the industry in which a company operated. In the international Metals and Mining sample, two statistically significant relationships were found: larger companies had higher ESG score than smaller companies; and the greater the ownership concentration in a company, the better the ESG reporting on average. Four statistically significant differences were observed. Companies included in the FTSE4Good Index Series had better ESG scores than companies excluded from the index. Companies in developed countries had better ESG reporting than companies in emerging markets. The third difference related to companies which used the Global Reporting Initiative’s guidelines. These companies had higher Overall ESG scores than those which did not use the guidelines. The same applies to companies which were participants of the UN Global Compact and those who were not. It was concluded that investors who favour sound ESG reporting (and hence ESG management) should ideally focus on larger companies, those which are included in an responsible investing index, use the Global Reporting Initiative’s guidelines, and are participants of the UN Global Compact. Listed companies, particularly those in the Metals and Mining industry, should give more attention to environmental and social considerations, to the overall quality of their ESG reports, and should make more use of available initiatives to aid non-financial reporting.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die afgelope jare het belangstelling in verantwoordelike beleggings wêreldwyd toegeneem. Ten einde verantwoordelike beleggers in staat te stel om doeltreffende besluite te neem, moet genoteerde maatskappye oor hul finansiële én nie-finansiële prestasie verslag doen, met bepaalde klem op omgewings-, maatskaplike en korporatiewe beheer (OMB) kwessies. Hierdie studie is onderneem om ’n leemte in akademiese navorsing oor verslagdoening in Suid-Afrika te vul. ’n Aantal plaaslike studies het al op omgewings- en beheerverslagdoening gekonsentreer, maar geen navorsing tot dusver het OMB-verslagdoening holisties beskou nie. Ook het geen studies nog die soeklig op die metaal- en mynboubedryf in die besonder gewerp nie. Hierdie is ’n baie belangrike bedryf uit ’n ekonomiese en OMB-oogpunt, in Suid-Afrika sowel as internasionaal. Die hoofoogmerk van hierdie studie was tweeledig. Eerstens wou die studie ondersoek instel na die omvang van OMB-verslagdoening (by ’n Suid-Afrikaanse steekproef sowel as ’n steekproef van internasionale metaal- en mynboumaatskappye). Tweedens wou die navorsing die faktore bepaal wat ’n moontlike invloed op die OMB-verslagdoening van hierdie twee steekproewe kan hê. ’n Positivistiese navorsingsmetodologie is gebruik, aangesien hierdie benadering die navorser in staat gestel het om die navorsingshipoteses te toets. Kwantitatiewe sekondêre data was dus ingesamel en ontleed. Die data-insamelingsproses het uit drie fases bestaan: In die eerste fase was ’n omvattende literatuurstudie oor die hoofkonstrukte onderneem; die tweede fase het uit data-insameling oor die afhanklike veranderlike (algehele OMB-telling) uit die databasis van MSCI ESG Research bestaan, terwyl die derde fase data-insameling oor die 12 onafhanklike veranderlikes uit Bureau van Dijk en op uitgesoekte webtuistes behels het. Die universum van MSCI ESG Research is gebruik om die twee steekproewe in hierdie studie te bepaal. Die Suid-Afrikaanse steekproef het uit 110 genoteerde maatskappye bestaan, terwyl die steekproef van internasionale metaal- en mynboumaatskappye 173 entiteite ingesluit het. Aangesien MSCI ESG Research met die aanvang van hierdie studie nog net een jaar van OMB-navorsing onderneem het, was data slegs vir 2012 beskikbaar. Beskrywende en inferensiële statistieke is ontwikkel om die data te ontleed. Die empiriese bevindinge van die Suid-Afrikaanse-steekproef lewer ’n beduidend hoër gemiddelde telling vir beheerverslagdoening as vir maatskaplike en omgewingsverslagdoening op. OMB-verslagdoening blyk ’n positiewe korrelasie te toon met maatskappye wat by Nedbank se groen-indeks ingesluit is. Maatskappye wat ingesluit was in die Johannesburg Effektebeurs se indeks vir maatskaplike verantwoordelikheid het op hulle beurt aansienlik beter OMB-verslae opgestel as dié buite die indeks. Beduidende verskille in algehele OMB-tellings is ook opgemerk op grond van die aard van die bedryf waarin ’n maatskappy funksioneer. In die internasionale metaal- en mynbousteekproef is twee statisties beduidende verwantskappe aangetref: Groter maatskappye het ’n hoër OMB-telling as kleiner maatskappye getoon, en hoe hoër die eienaarskapskonsentrasie in ’n maatskappy, hoe beter die OMB-verslagdoening oor die algemeen. Vier statisties beduidende verskille is boonop waargeneem. Maatskappye wat deel was van die FTSE4Good-indeksreeks het beter OMBtellings opgelewer as maatskappye buite die indeks, en maatskappye in ontwikkelde lande het beter gevaar met OMB-verslagdoening as dié in ontluikende markte. Die derde verskil hou verband met maatskappye wat die riglyne van die Globale Verslagdoeningsinisiatief (GRI) volg, wat algeheel hoër OMB-tellings gehad het as diegene wat nié die riglyne gebruik nie. Dieselfde geld vir maatskappye wat aan die Verenigde Nasies (VN) se wêreldverdrag (“Global Compact”) deelneem en diegene wat nie deelneem nie. Die gevolgtrekking word gemaak dat beleggers wat goeie OMB-verslagdoening (en dus goeie OMB-bestuur) verkies, behoort te konsentreer op groter maatskappye, maatskappye wat by ’n indeks vir verantwoordelike belegging ingesluit is, wat die riglyne van die Internasionale Verslagdoeningsinisiatief volg, en wat aan die VN se wêreldverdrag deelneem. Genoteerde maatskappye, veral dié in die metaal- en mynboubedryf, behoort ook meer aandag te skenk aan omgewings- en maatskaplike sake sowel as die algehele gehalte van hul verslae, en behoort meer gebruik te maak van beskikbare inisiatiewe om nie-finansiële verslagdoening te ondersteun.

This thesis aims to determine the effectiveness of the largest corporate social responsibility initiative, the United Nations Global Compact, in the protection of human rights by businesses. Certain scholars critique the Compact's human rights principles and voluntary aspect while others support it. The main critique is that the principles fail to provide adequate direction to businesses. However, my assertion is that the voluntary initiative's human rights principles are effective. I have relied on secondary literature in analyzing the paths of a number of signatory businesses, each from differing sectors, in addressing human rights. It appears that the vagueness of the principles serves a purpose for businesses of different industry types and contexts. In other words, my originally proposed thesis was strengthened after examining how various signatory businesses have sought to support human rights. Rather than turning the principles into a highly structured code of conduct for all businesses as the critics have argued, I argue that the principles should remain general and that more detailed direction must be developed for each individual business according to industry type, geographical location, size, and other particular circumstances.

Face à l'intensification des flux et échanges liés à la mondialisation, et un besoin croissant d'un développement durable encadré, les Nations Unies ont mis au point il y a quinze ans une initiative collective : le Pacte mondial. Cette Déclaration en quatre volets regroupant les enjeux environnementaux, le respect des droits de l'Homme, les normes internationales de travail et la lutte contre la corruption, est alors analysée pour en mesurer l'efficacité et l'impact sur le développement. Il s'agit d'en comprendre les mécanismes et d'identifier les outils déployés dans l'application de cette norme de soft law appartenant au corpus législatif international
The United Nations are confronted by the intensification of the streams and exchanges linked with the globalization, as the same time as a fundamental necessity of sustainable development. That is why they developed, fifteen years ago, an international initiative: the UN Global Compact. The Declaration contains four sections on environmental protection, Human rights, International Labour standards and anti-corruption norms. This research analyses the efficacy and the impact of the Declaration on the development, in order to understand mechanisms and to identify the deployed tools in the application of this soft law norm, as member of international legal corpus

Transnational corporations are playing an important role in the global economy of today. Many of these corporations have great economic resources and have the possibility of contributing to the development of societies in developing states. At the same time, in their search for profit, the activities of TNCs have proven fatal to some of the individuals employed by them, or otherwise in contact with their activities. Within the international legal framework, corporations are not traditionally treated as subjects and if a TNC allocates its production to a state with lax human rights protection, no binding international standards exist to regulate the conduct of the corporation.  In my thesis I will assess the position of TNCs under the present core human rights instruments and soft law initiatives. I will also analyze a draft treaty text produced by the Intergovernmental Working Group on Business and Human Rights, released in July 2018, to reach a conclusion on whether such an instrument would affect the international legal status of TNCs and provide a more robust protection of international human rights.

Lo studio si inserisce nel dibattito sul potere delle multinazionali e il rispetto dei diritti umani fondamentali e approfondisce i concetti di responsabilità sociale delle imprese (CSR) e della loro "accountability", inquadrando l'analisi nel contesto più ampio degli investimenti esteri diretti (FDI), con i relativi aspetti economici, tecnologici e sociali, nonché ambientali e politici. Si analizzano le norme internazionali in tema di rispetto dei diritti umani da parte delle aziende, ed i meccanismi legali per rendere le società "accountable", soprattutto in caso di complicità aziendali negli abusi perpetrati dagli Stati, anche attraverso la giurisprudenza dei tribunali penali internazionali e dei tribunali statunitensi. Viene data attenzione al settore della sicurezza, i.e. "Private Military and Security Companies" (PMSCs, interessato da notevole crescita negli ultimi decenni. Le PMSCs, impiegate da parte dei governi che esternalizzano una funzione tipicamente dello stato e da imprese e ONG attive in contesti difficili, hanno operato senza adeguato controllo. Le loro attività sollevano questioni su potenziali abusi dei diritti umani commessi dai propri dipendenti oltre che su violazioni dei diritti del lavoro subite dagli stessi. Le azioni ONU per portare le PMSCs fuori dalla 'zona legale grigia' in cui hanno operato vengono trattate insieme alle iniziative di autoregolamentazione.
The study, given the debate about the increasing power of corporations and the attempts to ensure their respect of fundamental human rights, deepens the concepts of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate accountability, framing the analysis within the broader discourse of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), with its economic, technological and social aspects as well as environmental and political issues. International standards in the area of corporations’ human rights obligations are analyzed in addition to legal mechanisms to hold corporations accountable, particularly for corporate complicity in human rights abuses by States, through the jurisprudence of international criminal tribunals and U.S. Courts. Special attention is given to the security sector, i.e. Private Military and Security Companies (PMSCs), interested in the last decades by a steady growth. PMSCs, increasingly contracted by governments willing to outsource a typical state function and by companies and NGOs active in difficult contexts, have been operating without proper supervision and accountability. PMSCs activities raise issues concerning potential human rights violations committed by their employees and labour rights abuses their employees might suffer themselves. UN actions aimed at bringing PMSCs out of the legal ‘grey zone’ where they have been operating are tackled alongside with self-regulatory initiatives.

碩士
國立中山大學
政治學研究所
105
This study analyzes the norms, the operation of organization and the way of cooperation among Multinational Corporations based on the United Nations “Global Compact” with the perspective of “global governance”. As the globalization makes many global issues and challenges for countries and multinational corporations, a lot of countries are short of capacity to manage multinational corporations. Therefore, United Nations work on international norm for multinational corporations. The current focuses on it are multinational corporations and human rights, labor and its right of collective bargaining, as well as sustainable development of environmental governance, financial transparency and anti-corruption. The purpose of this study is to research the relevant norms and operation of the United Nations “Global Compact” organizations, and then offer policy advice to the government and multinational corporations for reference.

This thesis considers how successful the United Nations Global Compact has been as an institutional innovation that encourages transnational corporations and other global business enterprises to adopt a more proactive approach towards a series of international non-economic objectives. The Compact is a ‘voluntary leadership, learning and dialogue network’ comprised of UN agencies, transnational corporations, international labour bodies and non-governmental organisations. First mooted in 1999 by the United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, the Compact brings together these non-state actors with the objective of sharing and promoting mutually agreeable ways of supporting international human rights, minimum labour standards, greater environmental responsibility and of working against corruption. This study investigates whether the Compact’s inclusive, values-based approach has succeeded in providing an additional platform for the incorporation of non-economic objectives into the structures and processes that organise global economic activity. In addition to exploring the complicated relationships between its institutional purposes, design and consequences at an international level, this thesis pursues fresh insights into the Compact by presenting a case study of Australian government, private sector and civil society responses to and engagement with this ‘global corporate citizenship’ initiative…

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is one of the modern concepts in the management field which become a catalyst in developing the future of the business sector. Several major academic and practical milestones have influenced the development of the concept of CSR. One of the most important milestones that shaped the future of CSR was the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC). UNGC's missions and principles formed an application framework for integrating social and environmental approaches into corporate business activities. It has been proved through this paper the interrelationship between the principles of CSR theories and the principles of UNGC. Followed by an analysis of the effectiveness of the UNGC principles in adopting sustainable development goals and enhancing enterprise competitiveness.

Global Compact to inicjatywa ONZ powstała w 2000 roku. Nawiązuje ona do koncepcji społecznej odpowiedzialności przedsiębiorstw i ma w założeniu pokazywać ludzką twarz globalizacji poprzez zaangażowanie środowiska biznesu w proces upowszechniania praw człowieka, standardów pracy, ochrony środowiska i przeciwdziałania korupcji. Uczestnictwo danego podmiotu w inicjatywie ma charakter dobrowolny, co od początku wzbudzało kontrowersje i obawy co do jej wiarygodności i efektywności. Pojawiło się realne ryzyko, że działający pod szyldem ONZ Global Compact zostanie w sposób instrumentalny wykorzystany przez przedsiębiorstwa do poprawy ich wizerunku. Celem pracy jest ocena działania i skuteczności inicjatywy Global Compact z perspektywy liberalnego instytucjonalizmu. Inicjatywa ta istnieje od ponad 17 lat i liczy obecnie 12 000 uczestników w tym 9 000 firm z ponad 170 państw, co daje wystarczającą podstawę do rzetelnej oceny Global Compact jako nowej formy współpracy międzynarodowej. Przy opracowaniu podjętego obszaru badawczego została przyjęta następująca hipoteza badawcza: Global Compact to specyficzna forma instytucjonalizacji współpracy ukierunkowana na rozwiązywanie problemów społeczno-gospodarczych w stosunkach międzynarodowych. Sformułowane zostały również trzy hipotezy pomocnicze: 1) Powstanie Global Compact jest konsekwencją przemian społeczno-gospodarczych mających miejsce w dobie globalizacji, które doprowadziły do rewizji poglądów na temat roli przedsiębiorstw we współczesnych stosunkach międzynarodowych, 2) Global Compact wykorzystuje możliwości, jakie niesie globalizacja i włącza przedsiębiorstwa w działania na rzecz rozwoju społeczno-gospodarczego, 3) Inicjatywa Global Compact kładzie fundamenty pod określone zasady i wartości społecznej odpowiedzialności biznesu, nie dysponuje jednak narzędziami, które zapewniłyby im powszechne stosowanie. Całość przedstawionego w pracy wywodu opiera się na podejściu indukcyjnym, które pozwala na weryfikację przyjętych hipotez poprzez obserwację zdarzeń i szukanie określonych prawidłowości. Podstawę przeprowadzonych badań stanowiła analiza materiałów źródłowych oraz własne obserwacje i przemyślenia na temat funkcjonowania inicjatywy.
The Global Compact is a UN initiative launched in 2000. It refers to the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility and is supposed to show a human face of globalization by engaging the business community in the process of promoting human rights, labour standards, environmental protection and anti-corruption. The participation of a given entity in the initiative is voluntary, which has been controversial and worrisome in the context of its credibility and effectiveness since the beginning. There is a real risk that the UN Global Compact will be instrumentally used by companies to improve their image. The purpose of this study is to assess the action and the effectiveness of the Global Compact from the perspective of neoliberal institutionalism. The initiative has existed for more than 17 years and has 12,000 participants, including 9,000 companies from over 170 countries what provides a sufficient basis for a fair evaluation of the Global Compact as a new form of international cooperation. While working on this research area the following hypothesis was adopted: the Global Compact is a specific form of the institutionalization of cooperation aimed at solving socio-economic problems in international relations. Three supporting hypotheses were also formulated: 1) The emergence of the Global Compact is a consequence of the socio-economic changes taking place in the age of globalization, which led to the revision of views on the role of business in contemporary international relations, 2) The Global Compact uses the opportunities that globalization brings and integrates businesses into actions for socio-economic development, 3) The Global Compact puts the foundations for the principles and values of corporate social responsibility, but does not have any tools that can make them universally applicable. The whole thesis is found on an inductive approach that allows you to verify hypotheses by observing events and finding certain patterns. An analysis of the source materials, observations and reflections on the functioning of the initiative are the base for this study.

This master thesis elaborates on the question whether there is a difference in the understanding of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) on the universal level and on the regional level in South America. It is built upon the dichotomy of the recent movement in the CSR field that seeks to answer both emerging transnational challenges in a coordinated way while delivering a significant impact on the local level. The analysis is performed using the method of content analysis. Two major aspects of CSR are analyzed - the way the nature of CSR is defined and the prominence of the issues that CSR should address. Based on the results of the content analysis, we identify major trends in the understanding of CSR on both levels and determine the scope of the difference between them. Regarding the differences, we find one common denominator that is dominant on both levels - institutions and governance. In other categories we observe a high variability of the prominence across analysed levels. The important trends revealed in the thesis is a high penetration of South America with foreign CSR institutions and a significant impact of a membership in a global CSR organization on how CSR is communicated by a member organization on the regional level.