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Lego Company Issue

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Lego Company Issue and Possible Resolution

Introduction

Over the last few decades, stakeholders have become increasingly invested in corporate social responsibility and sustainability. Sustainability has to do with businesses striking a balance between the production of goods and services with governance, impact on the environment and social and human capital. Without a doubt, cultural intelligence has a way of interfering with auditing and accounting in general. Sustainable accounting is becoming an issue for accounts as it presents a challenge in assessing how corporate activities create value and enhance the organization over time. This essay narrates Lego’s accounting and auditing issue in relation to sustainability and possible solutions for the problem.

Sustainability Issue Description at Lego Company

Lego is one of the most renowned toy making company. Following its pledge to help diminish its carbon impact, it has been recognized as the World Wildlife Fund Climate Savers Partner. As a renowned company across the world, Lego seeks not only to assist children to grow through creative play but also to contribute to a healthy planet. Lego is committed to sustainability and the commitment extends to its partners including stakeholders. By 2030, the toymaker company hopes only to employ environmentally friendly materials to produce all its core products and packaging. They have already taken the necessary steps in the right direction to attain the goal. Between 2013 and 2014, the company shrunk the box sizes by 14% hence saving about 7,000 tons of cardboard. Four years later, Lego introduced 150 botanical toys made from sugarcane that has been sourced sustainably. The sugarcane option is sustainable because it gives a break from the regular toys made from petroleum-based plastics used to produce the organization’s signature blocks. Additionally, Lego Company has recently shown its commitment to getting rid of all plastic packaging that can only be used once by 2025. Among other initiatives, Lego plans on investing 164 million dollars to the Sustainable Materials Center for researchers to conduct experiments on bio-based materials to be incorporated with the production process (Roos, and Bart, 327). Through the initiatives, Lego is in the process of handling pressing environmental issues in furtherance of its mission to assist people in building a more sustainable future. All these initiatives that have to do with achieving sustainability affect auditing and accounting in regard with accountability and transparency.

Possible Resolutions to the Accounting and Auditing Issues as a Result of Sustainability

One of the solutions that can be explored to boost accountability at Lego is performing on-the-ground measuring and monitoring. Accountants can do this by helping them keep track of the process to ensure that the toys are made from sustainable sources. The company can attain this by arranging for site visits with the organization’s stakeholders from time to time. This way, they can visit the factory and witness as sugarcane and other environmentally friendly materials are converted into non-petroleum based toys. This way, it becomes easy when it comes to explaining the high funds pumped into the project. Even in the signing of checks, the stakeholders will be approving activity cheques from an informed point of view. Another viable solution is assigning costs to all aspects that impact society and environment negatively. In this way, accountants will be helping the company evaluate the actual costs of corporate activities.

Conclusion

In closing, Lego remains in the frontline in ensuring they build a sustainable future by using environmentally friendly materials to produce and package the toys. The company does achieve sustainability by making toy prices from sustainably sourced sugarcane. To bring transparency, the accountants should consider assigning costs to all aspects that negatively affect the environment and society and bring stakeholders for site visits to show them that the toys are being manufactured and packaged using environmentally sustainable materials.

Works Cited

Roos, Johan, and Bart Victor. “How it all began: the origins of LEGO® serious Play®.” International Journal of Management and Applied Research 5.4 (2018): 326-343.

International Comparisons of Current LGBTQ Policies

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International Comparisons of Current LGBTQ Policies

The current Biden administration declared its commitment to advancing equality for LGBTQ individuals. This will require undoing the wrongs caused in the last four years by the previous administration as well as generations of systemic discrimination. Despite the nation making great strides to fulfil the fundamental promises of equality and freedom of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex persons, LGBTQ families and individuals continue to face barriers preventing them from participating in the Nation’s civic and economic life. As such, President Biden’s administration has policies in place to eliminate disparities and unlawful discrimination of LGBTQ people, defend their safety and rights and pursue a comprehensive approach to facilitate the delivery of the full promise of equality that is consistent with Executive Order 13988 of January 2021.

One of the policies that is currently in place is the executive action that ensures the nondiscrimination of LGBTQ people in government benefits, services and programs. Within the last one years, one in three LGBTQ individuals has encountered discrimination. The experiences have a negative effect on the psychological, financial and physical well-being of LGBTQ individuals who in turn result in making changes in their lives to avoid discrimination. In June 2020, the Supreme Court asserted in Bostock v. Clayton County that the seventh title in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibition when it comes to sex discrimination within the employment scene prohibited discrimination due to gender identity and sexual orientation (Green et al. 1221). Before the landmark decision by the high court, courts across the countries interpreted sex discrimination as also prohibiting gender identity and sexual orientation.

Another LGBTQ policy practice has to do with executive actions meant to protect and restore civil and religious liberty rights for all Americans. Religious liberty is a right and the federal government possesses a compelling interest in eliminating discrimination against LGBTQ individuals as well as people with disabilities, religious minorities and individuals in need of reproductive health care when accessing government services (Truong, Adrian and Joseph, 36). Additionally, there is a dual-track policy instituted by the Department of Defense that reverses the ban on transgender military service and ensure there is no discrimination for people living with HIV in the military.

In Canada, sexual activity between the same sex has been legal since 1969. Canada’s age of consent is 16 years which also applies to same-sex relationships. Before then, same-sex relationships were punishable by imprisonment. Later that year, an omnibus bill was passed that decriminalized sexual activities between people above 21 years, marking the first breakthrough in treating LGBTQ individuals as equal under the law. The Canadian Human Rights Commission, is responsible for giving information about sexual orientation and human rights. The Commission’s annual report is responsible for recording progress, complaints and other activities. Section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom states that every person is to be treated equal regardless of race, religion, color, ethnicity, age, sex, or disability. The Supreme Court of Canada in Egan v Canada (1995) maintained that despite sexual orientation not being included in the grounds for discrimination of the Charter, it is an equivalent ground for claims of discrimination. Three years later, the courts held that the legislation had omitted sexual orientation as grounds for discrimination. Parliament passed a bill giving same-sex couples the same sex and social benefits as heterosexual couples. In 2005, the biggest milestone was attained when the Civil Marriage Act permitted same-sex marriages anywhere within Canada.

Just like in Canada and the United States, LGBTQ individuals in Australia are cushioned from discrimination by law. Australia has a Sexual Discrimination Act in place that prohibits treating people less favorably as a result of their sexual orientation. Worth noting same-sex couples are cushioned from discrimination in the definitions of relationship or marital status in the Act. In Japan, the legal rights of LGBTQ individuals are different from those in the United States, Japan, and China. Although Japan’s social component is more tolerant than most Asian countries, LGBTQ individuals face legal challenges that heterosexual people do not face (Chung, 465). Same-sex relationships in Japan were criminalized briefly between 1872 and 1880 after which a local version of the Napoleonic Penal Code became adopted. Same-sex households and couples are not eligible for legal protection of heterosexual households although some cities started providing partnership certificates to same-sex couples since 2015. In essence, out of all the G7 countries, Japan is the only one that is yet to recognize same-sex relations of any form.

Works Cited

Chung, Wei‐Yun. “Same‐sex partnership in the family policies of Japan, Singapore, and Taiwan.” International Journal of Social Welfare 30.4 (2021): 465-477.

Green, Amy E., et al. “Self-reported conversion efforts and suicidality among US LGBTQ youths and young adults, 2018.” American Journal of Public Health 110.8 (2020): 1221-1227.

Truong, Nhan L., Adrian D. Zongrone, and Joseph G. Kosciw. Erasure and Resilience: The Experiences of LGBTQ Students of Color. Black LGBTQ Youth in US Schools. Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN). 121 West 27th Street Suite 804, New York, NY 10001, 2020.

CSR and Multinational Corporations.

CSR and Multinational Corporations

Introduction

In recent years, an increasing number of multinational companies have come to the realization that sustainable corporate profit does not result from the unwavering pursuit of financial gain. Rather; sustainable development and shareholder value are best attained by working through a broad framework of economic, environmental, social and ethical values and common objectives that involve constant interaction between the multinational companies and their various stakeholders. This paradigm shift that incorporates social, environmental and economic factors into a firm’s commitment to growth and continued profitability is referred to as the triple bottom line. The modern trend of globalization has also brought up a realization among multinational firms that in order for them to compete efficiently in a competitive environment; they need clearly defined business practices with a key focus on the public interest within the market (Boeger, 2008).

The increase in competition among the multinational companies to gain advantage in various transition economies by creating goodwill relationships with both the state and the civil society is an ample testimony to this change. In reaction to these concerns, multinational companies have increasingly taken steps aimed at demonstrating their social responsibility as business organizations (Kamineni & Tsang, 2006). This particular paper will therefore provide a literature review on CSR and Multinational Corporations, giving a concise summary of some of the main debates and positions discussed in the past literature.

Literature Review

In recent years, the business strategy field has undergone the renaissance of corporate social responsibility (CSR) as a significant topic of interest (Rana et.al, 2008). According to Hockerts & Morsing (2006), the idea has not come up for the first time. Corporate Social Responsibility had already established significant interest in the 1960s and 70s, generating a broad range of scholarly contributions as well as a veritable industry of social consultants and auditors. However, according to Hockerts & Morsing (2006), the topic nearly died out from most managers’ minds during the 1980s only to resurface in recent years.CSR re-emerged powerfully over the last decade in response to the growing public concern regarding globalization. Rana (et.al, 2008) asserts that the idea and framework of corporate social responsibility was established to promote corporate social responsibility to the business society and environment

The World Council for Sustainable Development describes corporate social responsibility as the continuous commitment by businesses to act ethically and play a part in economic development while enhancing the quality of life of the employees and their families as well as that of the local community and society at large (Boeger, 2008).Corporate social responsibility therefore pushes firms to move away from their sole aim of maximizing profits and to place more importance on improving the economic and social standards of the community within their own nations of operation According Boeger (2008), political leaders, consumer campaigners and non-governmental organizations alike, identify the activities of multinational companies as a key influence on the globe’s social and environmental welfare. Social corporate responsibility is therefore viewed as the avenue through which their activities must be steered.

Epstein & Hanson (2006) highlight that; carrying out business within the international environment is more challenging, than in the case of an entirely domestic environment. This is explained by the fact that international business environment presents highly complex interactions among the various contextual variables such as economic, political-legal, social-cultural and technological (Epstein & Hanson, 2006). The highly complex interactions result into a vast number of potentially relevant external influences on multinational business operations. Further, the interactions occur in very dynamic ways that present a firm with either opportunities or threats. Consequently, corporate social responsibility within the international business framework becomes equally more complex than in the domestic market.

According to Kamineni & Tsang (2006), a number of multinational companies have had harsh experiences in learning the significance of being socially responsible. Siwar & Haslina (2010) highlights that by operating in more than one nation, multinational corporations imposes greater impacts and faces considerable pressures from stakeholders. Countries where people are highly socially responsible may well demand more CSR practices from the multinational companies. For that reason, best CSR practices initiated in nations in which CSR is a requirement and subject to legal actions for non-conformance might be adapted might be adapted into multinational companies’ operations in other nations. This may well suggest the reason of high commitment exhibited by the multinational corporations as compared to other organizational listing status (Siwar &Haslina, 2010).

Multinational companies also have considerable power, and directly, their activities have significant impacts on the society and on the environment (Windsor, 2006). In addition, their activities have the capacity to damage or create benefits socially and environmentally (Hockerts& Morsing, 2006). The economic power of multinational corporations also brings to them the political power that enables them to influence social and environmental policy as well as regulation. Boeger (2008) argues that such power extends to influence the lives of individuals. Multinational companies started with business viewpoint as principal the principal and guideline towards corporate social responsibility implementation and would like to prove social, environmental and economic responsibilities that benefit its stakeholders.

Multinational companies are now considering high standards of corporate behaviour as the key to success within the global market. For instance, according to Kamineni & Tsang (2006), oil company Shell lost business and declined in value owing to two high profile corporate incidents during the year 1995.Since then, Shell has been committed to managing its social responsibilities as a strategic priority, focusing on building up the company’s reputation in order to protect its market share and to operate in a way that satisfies all its stakeholders (McIntosh et al, 1998).As highlighted by Siwar & Haslina (2010),corporate social responsibility used to be a formality; a function carried out in the organization for the sake of it rather than with an aim of creating any material difference to the society. Presently, however, the state of affairs has changed, and as a result of competition within the international market, more product categories and lack of differentiation, companies are integrating corporate social responsibility with marketing plans.

Krish, (2010) reveals that multinational companies have come to the realization that in order to gain customer loyalty, and to make consumers prefer them among a host of competing products, it is essential that they go with the trend and project a distinct brand/corporate image ,which is being socially responsible corporate citizen. Due to these, marketers are jumping the corporate social responsibility brand wagon and branding their products and services tagged with corporate social responsibility

The significance of all the forms of global social responsibility is manifested in the increasingly widespread implementation of the ISO9000 and ISO14000 management systems by multinational companies (Muruganantham, 2010). As more consumers demand that marketers follow socially responsible practices, multinational corporations are given opportunity to further take advantage of the newer, verifiable social accountability system to enhance their reputation, differentiate their products and build competitive advantage. Consumer groups, social organizations and governments are demanding increased social accountability by multinational corporations.SA8000 may emerge as the global social accountability standard (Muruganantham, 2010).

The implementation of SA8000 may be identified as a very cost effective as well as a strategic approach towards managing the multinational corporations’ social reputation with its stakeholders. Consumers consider switching to another company’s products and services complain against the company to family and friends to invest in that company’s stock, decline to work at the company and refuse the company’s products and services in case of negative corporate citizenship behaviours (Muruganantham,2010).

Muruganantham (2010) observes that corporate social responsibility practices are more common in multinational companies that take advantage of relational marketing practices. All the types of corporate social responsibility practices receive positive influences by one or more types of relational marketing practices. In the process of building and engaging in relationships, networks, and interactions with customers and other stakeholders, managers search for corporate social responsibility practices that can generate loyalty, trust as well as support from stakeholders, especially as product differentiation becomes increasingly difficult. According to Epstein & Hanson (2006), corporate social responsibility also provides an integration of views and is a potential for multinational companies. It is important to identify with the business perspective of companies and that they confronted by difficulties of integrating societal issues into their organizational systems and structures while working at CSR initiatives for the purposes of sustainability (Epstein & Hanson ,2006).

Siwar & Haslina (2010) highlights that there are various theories that governs corporate social responsibilities within multinational companies. According to Siwar & Haslina (2010), the legitimacy theory is one of the CSR theories that propagate that corporate social disclosure is influenced by the corporate need to legitimize activities. This therefore calls for the corporate management to react according to the expectations of the community. Multinational companies are Therefore, expected to undertake activities that are acceptable and tolerable as far as the community expectation is concerned. Legitimacy also ensures that multinational companies take precautions to ensure their activities and performances are acceptable to the community given the growth in community awareness. Corporate social disclosure is therefore used to appease some of the concerns of the relevant publics and also as a practical legitimization strategy to get hold of continued inflows of capital as well as pleasing ethical investors (Siwar & Haslina (2010).

The economic theory on the other hand reflects the extent of association of corporate social responsibility and financial performance by taking into consideration market advantages, cost-related advantages and reputation advantages. In business therefore, CSR is concerned with employment, consultation and participation of employees, lifelong learning, equal opportunities as well as the integration of people towards restructuring and industrial change. Essentially, policies formation is determined by the initiative on social responsible restructuring, the authority employment strategies, the initiatives to enhance quality and diversity within the workplace, health and safety strategy (Siwar & Haslina, 2010).

According to Chamhuri & Wan (2004), the social issues consist of the benefits offered in terms of training related to safety, environment, health, education scheme, medical benefits, donations and others. Environmental issues lay emphasis on the preservation in addition to the conservation of the natural resources such as carrying out recycling activities, water and process treatment, noise reduction action plans to work at noise enhancement initiatives and compliance with the authority requirements and regulations. A large number of multinational companies recognized the value of their responsibilities towards the environment and take them seriously by setting up targets for continually enhancing their performance.

Policies are normally developed in line with efforts such as minimizing the consumption of natural resources such as water, energy and other raw materials, phasing out the use of ozone depleting substances in buildings, encourage recycling and minimizing the use of landfill sites while ensuring compliance with all relevant regulations. In addition, it might also entail regular review of transport operations that enhances efficiency and reducing its environmental impact, promoting recycling of raw materials, liaising with suppliers to come up with environmental best practices in the supply chain, encouraging employees to support the initiatives towards local, national or global environment in a positive way, raising and maintaining staff awareness on such policies, monitoring and reporting on major aspects of environmental performance, ensuring that the staff is engaged in supporting resulting practices and frequently reviewing the progress against targets (Chamhuri & Wan,2004).

Environmental performance can be realized by putting into operation the environmental management system by the multinational corporations. The environmental management system is a set of processes as well as practices that enables organizations to reduce their environmental impacts and increase their operating efficiency. Therefore, corporate social responsibility has unquestionably been an advantage to a number of multinational companies by widening their access to markets, increasing brand recognition, providing cheap labour and satisfying stakeholders (Siwar & Haslina, 2010).

Siwar & Haslina, (2010) undertook a study on Unilever Company. Siwar & Haslina, (2010) highlights that the company defines their social innovation as utilizing consumer concerns on social and environmental issues. This provides opportunities to connect with their consumers at a deeper level and, in doing so; they gain competitive as well as sales advantage through the means of cross-sector partnerships. This enables Unilever to carry out business and deals with social problems at the same time.Unilever normally focus on emerging markets. To attain optimal results for the company as well as local societal development, local markets ought to teach and change Unilever, and not the vice versa. Taking advantage of local strengths rather than trying to overcome local weakness is at the core of its business activities. An example of one the initiatives by Unilever is the Lifebuoy soap intended to lower child mortality caused by diarrhea. To deal with these issues, Unilever has initiated the largest rural health and hygiene education programs ever carried out in India. Education teams are therefore visiting schools and communities to get in touch with broad masses. In order to assist low income families Unilever sells soap in 18 grams bars, enough for an individual to wash their daily for up to a period of 10 weeks ( Siwar & Haslina, 2010).

As highlighted by Porter & Kramer (2006) therefore, corporate social responsibility is a way that multinational companies can be accountable as well as profitable. On the other hand, Porter & Kramer (2006) argue that corporate social responsibility do not appear to work or prove to the society of businesses engagement with social responsibility. First, they pit businesses against the society, when in the actual fact the two are mutually dependent. Second, they compel companies to visualize CSR in generic ways rather in the way most appropriate to their individual strategies (Porter & Kramer 2006).For this reason, the problem of integrating corporate social responsibility into the business agenda and strategy still continues regardless of the integration and implementation efforts on the side of the multinational companies and their stakeholders.

Despite corporate social responsibility being implemented prevails over societal difficulties; the idea’s uncertainty raises misunderstandings. This uncertainty raises a number of problems, of which two are especially significant. The first is that corporate social responsibility is viewed as a public relations tool, rather than a value-creating process in its own right, whose objective is to assist multinational companies achieve sustainability. The second is that a number of multinational companies have alleged to practice CSR, but in actual fact have only used contributions to social objectives as a mechanism for carrying on profit-maximizing operations. How these multinational corporations have acted, especially in the transition economies in the past has attracted much concern from social groups in the respective host nations. According to Kamineni & Tsang (2006), the society believes that self-interested multinational companies only take advantage of resources within the transition economies.

Profit is an essential part as well as a tangible way of evaluating a company’s growth; however, it is not the only objective (Boeger, 2008). According to Boeger (2008), proponents of CSR claim that multinational corporations ought to be made accountable for their activities as well as how they exercise their power and that corporate social responsibility ought to lead corporations to have a positive effect on the society. Despite increased attention on corporate social responsibility and claims that CSR has turned out to be an established feature of corporate policy during the last few decades, progress in terms of its effectiveness has not been impressive.

Boeger (2008) argues that some of the multinational companies that claim to respect the environment and human rights are accused of committing among the worst right abuses. Therefore, according to the Global Exchange on issues as diverse as environmental degradation, release of toxins into unspoiled environments and causing widespread health problems, with familiar multinational companies such as Coca Cola, Lockheed, Caterpillar and Philip Morris playing a significant role.

Mullerat & Brennan (2010) argues therefore that a number of corporations question what the social corporate responsibility buys. Mullerat & Brennan (2010) highlight that a great deal of insincerity also exists in this area. Many consider CSR as a smoke screen behind which anti-social practices continue. Mullerat & Brennan (2010) highlights further that it is common today for many multinational company websites to broadcast their CSR accomplishments. In reality, however, there is more lip service given to corporate social responsibility than the actual service. A recent survey carried out by the United Nations Institute of Public Research survey for instance, showed that only 4 out of 10 multinational company boards discuss social and environmental issues while only one-fifth of the companies have a board member with an evident interest in social issues (Epstein& Hanson, 2006).

Furthermore, during the World Economic Forum held in Davos, Switzerland in the year 2004, of 1,500 delegates, mostly business leaders, only a small percent placed social corporate responsibility high in assessing corporate success. There is therefore a good reason to be cynical as to whether social corporate responsibility will be steadfastly as well as comprehensively exercised by most multinational corporations, or whether it merely will result in scattered short term measures.

According to Mullerat & Brennan (2010), multinational corporations have also been able to enhance their influence (power) while disregarding the objectives of truly advancing the underdeveloped as well as the poverty-stricken countries which they have penetrated. This criticism is not just a casual matter. Mullerat & Brennan (2010) highlights foreign investments have grown to new heights but only about one-third of it goes to the developing nations.

Developing nations have 80 percent of the globe’s population but less than 20 percent of global GDP.What is most upsetting is the fact that despite the benefits of globalization, the gap between the poor and rich is not only huge but widening. There are a number of reasons for this gap including scarce resources, non-existent technology, awful education, rampant corruption etc. Mullerat & Brennan (2010) argues that all these ills cannot be laid at the doorstep of globalization, but a number of multinational companies exploit and aggravate these conditions, while the exercise of corporate social responsibility can help alleviate them.

According to Rana, et al (2008), one possible reason that can explain the poor results of corporate social responsibility agenda among multinational corporations is that CSR does not exist in substance and that it is merely an aspiration for best practice or ethically acceptable behaviour. By relying on CSR it can possibly be valid to blame policy makers of hypocrisy, especially as they appear willing to delegate their responsibilities to multinational companies, consumers and civil society by means of a privatized regulation.

Multinational corporations are therefore left to monitor themselves or to be monitored by external bodies such as the non-governmental organizations that may not be directly connected to legal or political systems (Muruganantham, 2010). The effect of this is that multinational corporations are given the license to determine a corporate social responsibility agenda of their own meets with, and is limited by, their business goals. Additionally, multinational corporations driven by immediate profit demands, have little short-term incentives for making efforts towards realizing a socially responsible existence (Boeger, 2008).

Windsor, (2006) proposes the need for the adoption of a code of conduct that directs how CSR is undertaken by multinational companies. A variety of arguments have been raised concerning the code of conduct to be applied. Windsor, (2006) further argues that the code of conduct should be based on guiding the behaviour of the employees in a manner that is compatible to the image of the business that the senior management wants to display. Van and Kolk, (2001) on the other hand stress that the code of conduct should assist the multinational firm to achieve some degree or level or legitimacy in the eyes of those that are outside the organization. As a result a code of ethics in CSR undertaken by multinational companies aims at achieving a level of loyalty across their operations and a measure of authenticity in their external environment. Arnaud, et al (2007) point out that there are two basic codes of conduct in CSR practices for multinational companies; the internal code of conduct, which target the management and the external code of conduct which target outside stake holders such as customers and suppliers.

Ultimately, a corporate social responsibility agenda is more likely to give multinational corporations more power by placing greater control into their hands and enabling them go for their profit-motivated goals without worrying about the potential external limits placed upon them. Hockerts & Morsing (2006) argue that the issue ought to be dealt with by ensuring the multinational companies are accountable for the way in which they exercise power. Corporate social responsibility ought therefore to be defined to include a number of minimum requirements and to involve a system of corporate answerability through regulatory and enforcement of obligations.

Conclusion

In conclusion, as Ramon Mulleret stated, and going by the analysis above; CSR may well have entered our national vocabulary, but it has not taken root into our realization.CSR still has along way to go if it has to be truly entrenched in the corporate conscience and be implemented in its behaviour of multinational companies. To be sure, there is progress, but it is travelling at a petty pace, when it really ought to be a rapid one. On the other hand, the exploration of CSR by the multinational corporations can lead to a comprehensive understanding of the area as well as the challenges that multinational companies face today in resolving the persisting misconceptions identified in the literature. As identified in the literature, social aspects have received less consideration, even though they are of considerable significance to successful and sustainable operation.

References

Arnaud , M, Élodie, B, Claude D, 2007, ‘’What Codes of Conduct Tell Us: corporate social responsibility and the nature of the multinational corporation, Corporate Governance: An International Review, (15 (1),p 77–90.

Boeger, N, 2008, Perspectives on Corporate Social Responsibility Corporations, globalization, and the law, Edward Elgar Publishing.

Chamhuri, S and Wan, N.M, 2004, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Costs for R&D and Financial Performance in Developing Countries: Case Study in Malaysia, The 2004 Corporate

Social Responsibility and Environmental Management Conference Proceedings, Nottingham.

Epstein J and Hanson K.O, 2006, The Accountable Corporation: Corporate Social

Responsibility, Volume 3. London: Praeger Perspectives.

Hockerts, K & Morsing, M, 2006, A Literature Review on Corporate Social Responsibility in the Innovation Process. Sage.

Kamineni, R & Tsang, K.C, 2006, Multinational Corporations and Corporate Social Responsibility in Transition Economies.

Krish, 2010, ‘Marketing and corporate social responsibility, Retrieved on 8 September, 2011 from HYPERLINK “http://ayushveda.com/blogs/business/”http://ayushveda.com/blogs/business/

Muruganantham, G,2010, Case study on Corporate Social Responsibility of MNC’s in India, International Trade & Academic Research Conference (ITARC) – London 2010

McIntosh, M, Leipziger, D, Jones, K., Coleman, G, 1998, Corporate Citizenship: Successful Strategies for Responsible Companies. Financial Times Professional Limited, London, UK.

Mullerat, R & Brennan, D, 2010, Corporate social responsibility: the corporate governance of the 21st century: International Bar Association series, Kluwer Law International.

Porter, M.E. & Kramer, M. R, 2006, Strategy and Society: The Link between Competitive Advantage and Corporate Social Responsibility. Harvard Business Review, 84(12), 2‐17.

Rana, P, Platts, J & Gregory, M, 2008, Exploration of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in Multinational Companies within the Food Industry: Corporate Responsibility Research Conference 2008.

Siwar, C & Haslina, S, 2010, A Study on Corporate Social Responsibility Practices amongst Business Organizations.

van Tulder & Kolk, A. 2001. “Multinationality and Corporate Ethics: Codes of Conduct in the Sporting Goods Industry”, Journal of International Business Studies, 32(2):267-283.

Windsor, D, 2006. “Corporate Social Responsibility: Three Key Approaches”, Journal of Management Studies, 43(1):93-114.

Long Walk

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Long Walk To Freedom-Nelson Mandela

Historical Context

Long Walk To Freedom (1994) is Nelson Mandela’s autobiography detailing his life journey from his childhood as a young boy from his rural village in South Africa to the day he was inaugurated as the first elected president of South Africa. The book details Nelson Mandela’s experiences as an anti-apartheid activist to be jailed as a terrorist in Robben Island to being a leader of the African National Congress (ANC) party and being a renowned cultural icon. The book is the only memoir published during the icon’s life and is a testament to how great South Africa’s first black president was. Worth noting, the book was first ghostwritten by Richard Stengel and published by Little Brown and Co in 1994. The book details his early life, education, coming of age and 27 years of imprisonment. Mandela was deemed a terrorist in the wake of apartheid, and this is what made him be jailed. At the time, the African National Congress had been outlawed, and Mandela’s involvement as its leader contributed to him being jailed. The autobiography shows an understanding of Mandela’s life and the accurately describes apartheid years in South Africa. Mandela’s autobiography justifies the kind of choices he made and why he resulted to the use of violence to fight apartheid. In 1961, alongside other members of the ANC, he planned a paramilitary group known as Umkhoto we Sizwe (MK) which resulted to bombing public buildings to destabilize the current government. This is what led Mandela to be deemed a terrorist. Additionally, a similar occurrence took place in 1976 for the Soweto uprising which was led by a new generation of individuals who did not have contact with the previous generation of ANC leaders who were rather old. Worth noting, the Soweto uprising was critical in bringing a new political climate to the country which led to the politicization of numerous young South Africans.

Nelson Mandela’s Life and Experiences

Nelson Mandela was born on July 18th, 1918, in a small village called Mvezo, located along the banks of River Mbashe in Transkei in South Africa. Rolihlahla Mandela was his birth name which means pulling a tree branch in the Xhosa language. Mandela became the first black president to be democratically elected in South Africa and is celebrated for having won the Nobel Peace Prize for his philanthropic work in 1993. He was a politician and social rights activist. Having joined the ANC in 1942, Mandela led a peaceful and non-violent campaign against racist policies and the South African government for 20 years. For many years, Mandela father played the role of counsellor to the tribal chiefs, but he lost his fortune alongside his title following a dispute with the colonial magistrate. Mandela was the only child at the time his father lost his title. His mother was left with no choice but to move the family to an even smaller village called Qunu. This village was nestled in narrow grassy valleys. The village did not have roads but only small footpaths linking grazing pastures to one other. Mandela’s family lived in a hut and survived on beans, maize, pumpkin, and sorghum as it was all the family could afford. Water came from streams, springs and cooking took place indoors. Mandela enjoyed playing games for young boys and acted male-right-of-passage scenarios with clay and tee branches.

Mandela was the first person to attend school in his family and the name Nelson was given to him by his teacher as was the custom for the British educational system within South Africa. At the age of 12, Mandela’s father succumbed to lung disease and his life-changing his life drastically. Chief Jongintaba Dalindyebo adopted Mandela forcing him to leave the life he knew in Qunu behind. He moved to the provincial capital of Thembuland and started staying at the chief’s royal residence. Here he was given the same responsibilities and status as the chief’s other two children. Mandela started taking up classes in a room next to the palace where he studied history, English, Xhosa, and Geography. It was at this point that Mandela developed an interest in African history. He came to learn how African people coexisted together in peace until white people discovered Africa and started colonizing them. White people shattered the fellowship of black men who once lived as brothers sharing air, water, and land with white people who eventually ended up keeping these things for their own benefit (Bonner, 1013). Mandela later joined Wesleyan Mission School, Wesleyan College and Clarkebury Boarding Institute, where he attained academic success through hard work. Initially, he was mocked for being a country boy by his classmates at Wesleyan but eventually, he made various friends. In 1939, Mandela joined the University of Fort Hare, which was the only higher learning institution that accepted black people at the time. It was Africa’s equivalent of Harvard. In his first year, Mandela’s focus was on Roman-Dutch law and in the year that followed, he was appointed to serve in the Student Representative Council. The position came with backlash causing him to resign from the position and causing him to be expelled from the institution. He returned home to find Regent Jongintaba had arranged for planned marriage for him. Feeling trapped, he eloped and started his life in Johannesburg, where he took up several jobs, including clerk and guard while still studying for his bachelor’s degree. Eventually, Mandela joined the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg where he studied law.

Mandela became an active member of the anti-apartheid movement in 1942 when he joined ANC. The movement’s goal was to transform the party into a mass movement gathering support of millions of working people and rural peasants who felt they did not have a voice in the current regime. In 1949, ANC took up other methods, including civil disobedience, strikes, boycotts, non-cooperation, redistribution of land, compulsory education, trade eights and policies of full citizenship. In 1956, alongside 150 others Mandela was arrested on charges of treason for political advocacy. They were eventually acquitted. Mandela married three times and had six children. He wed, Evelyn Ntoko. His first wife in 1944 with whom he had four children. In 1958, Mandela married Winnie Madikilela, with whom he had two daughters, before marrying Zindziswa, the then-South African ambassador to Denmark (Ocholla, 41). Mandela was later arrested in 1962 for using guerilla tactics to put an end to apartheid. He served a 27-year sentence after which President Frederik announced his release. Alongside President de clerk, Mandela was awarded the Nobel Peace award for his role in eliminating apartheid in South Africa. He was elected South Africa’s president in 1994 after the country held its first democratic elections. He served the position for four years before retiring at the age of 85. He later died in 2013 at 95 years after years of suffering lung infection and cancer. The reason behind the writing of the book Long Walk to Freedom was to show the desire for freedom that Mandela has for his people and how he transformed his life from a frightened young boy to the bold man people know him to be.

The Impact of the book Long Walk to Freedom.

Nelson Mandela’s Long Walk to Freedom has a ton of lessons for the audience. From the text, the audience gained insight into the struggles and fight for righteousness. The audience experience first-hand how Mandela helped push many black South Africans into joining the fight for freedom. It is obvious that Mandela did not advocate for violence, all he wanted was to [ut an end to racism and to push for a government that prioritized the needs of its people instead of colluding with white settlers. The audience learned that at times one must result to uncouth ways to get things done. Although Nelson Mandela condoled violence and despised the use of weapons, he had to result to forming and using military groups to fight apartheid. Mandela’s approach and speeches got better as the ANC party became popular over the years. The heat among Africans was evident. The issue eventually escalated into armed conflict. Additionally, the audience encounters Mandela as a principled and proud man, as depicted by how he refused an offer that would guarantee his freedom after he was arrested. In 1985, the then-government offered to free him from prison if he agreed to publicly renounce his methods and ideas. Mandela turned down the offer terming it as immoral. This speaks to the kind of leader he was. The text in this book gives the audience an opportunity to view Mandela as a real and principled leader. Mandela once said that he had not achieved anything yet. He said that the work was far from over, and it was upon future generations to continue with his work. Mandela’s ultimate goal was to liberate oppressed people from their oppressor’s. After achieving all these things, Mandela was happy and believed his country was headed in the right direction. Additionally, the text boosts the audience confidence in the rule of law. This is demonstrated in the ruling made against Mandela after he was arrested and charged with treason in the 1950s. Secret police in South Africa claimed that Mandela was taking part in communist activities leading to the arrest of 155 ANC party leaders, with Mandela included. Eventually, after a series of rulings, the court found Mandela and his colleagues not guilty. The lesson here is that the justice system works and that people should have faith in it.

Works Cited

Bonner, Philip. “The Headman, the Regent and the ‘Long Walk to Freedom’.” Journal of Southern African Studies 45.6 (2019): 1013-1031.

Ocholla, Dennis Ngong. “Information and knowledge access for social justice: Perspectives from Mandela’s Long Walk to Freedom.” NELSON MANDELA (2021): 41.

Crystal Clean Business

Executive Summary

Student’s Name

Institution

Introduction

“Crystal Clean Business” will be launched in 2014. It will offer a wide range of diverse sanitation and cleaning services. It will provide standard cleaning services to homes, companies, hospitals, and schools. It will be based in Walnut Ridge, Arkansas State. The range of services offered will include cleaning floors and the entire concrete surrounding a building, cleaning windows and walls, cleaning office furniture and other office fittings and fixtures, and general cleaning of the internal environment.

Internal

Define the type of marketing that will be used for the business.

The company will implement an aggressive marketing campaign during the initial stage to sensitize residents about its existence. This will be accomplished through putting posters on notice boards in town and dropping leaflets all over the town. Three major surveys will be conducted to learn about the preferences and desires of potential customers. Mass media is another platform that the business will use to advertise its services so that it can gain ground in the market.

Distinguish the type of organizational structure that will be used in the business. 

The type of organizational structure that will be used in the business is the sole proprietorship organizational structure. A sole proprietorship is a business that is owned by one individual who has total responsibility and control of the business; is responsible for all liabilities and taxes of the business, and receives all the profits. This is because I will be the sole manager and I will oversee all applications. I will hire four employees to assist in the business. As the business expands, it will be converted into a company to handle the increased demand. External

Describe the competition of the business.

The business will be operating from Walnut Ridge, Arkansas State. There is virtually no competition in the area as there is no other company specializing in cleaning and sanitation services. The survey conducted when drafting the business plan revealed that there is a high chance that “Crystal Clean Business” will monopolize the market. The business intends to capitalize on the absence of competitors to build customer loyalty and enhance its brand reputation.

Identify political and legal limitations.

Cleaning and sanitation is a highly sensitive business. The main legal limitation is that a business has to be bonded and licensed before it can be authorized to offer sanitation services. It is also compulsory for the business to obtain Public Liability Insurance so as to reimburse customers and employees in case of risks and injuries. There are no major political limitations since there is no extreme political activism in Walnut Ridge.

Define the economy and culture of the location used for the business.

Walnut Ridge, Arkansas is a city with a population of approximately 4,890 people as of the 2010 census. The town is the cultural and commercial centre of Lawrence County. The primary economic activity for the majority of the residents is agriculture. The town also has a vibrant industrial sector. Most of the residents in the town work in industries such as Douglas/Quikut, Morgan Buildings and Spas, and Frit Industries. The industrial companies in the city would be ideal potential customers for “Crystal Clean Business”.

List types of suppliers that will be used for the business. 

The types of suppliers that will be used for the business are primarily local supermarkets and megastores. The business will enter into contractual agreements whereby supplies shall be made in bulk. “Crystal Clean Business” will build an amicable relationship with the suppliers who prove to be reliable and negotiate discounts with them.

Conclusion

The company aims to be the best service provider in its area of operation and will offer excellent cleaning services. Knowledgeable and skilled employees will be hired to ensure that the company becomes the best in Arkansas and eventually in the whole nation. Customer loyalty is a core value. It will be entrenched through providing free sample work to potential customers and after-sale services to customers. “Crystal Clean Business” will thrive and become the leading provider of cleaning and sanitation services and solutions in the nation.

References

Bangs, David H. (1998). The Business Planning Guide: Creating a Plan for Success in Your Own Business. Upstart

Covello, Joseph A., and Brian J. Hazelgren (1998). The Complete Book of Business Plans. Sourcebooks Trade.

Introduction (21)

Name

Professor’s name

Course

Date

Introduction

The issue of violence against black (African-American) people has been a topic of discussion for some decades now. Various people hold negative views and attitudes towards race and ethnicity, an issue that has ignited worldwide attention and discussion of systemic racism and police brutality. Throughout the United States history, white people have for a long time enjoyed socially and legally sanctioned rights and privileges that have been denied to people of color. As a result, the black lives movement was formed in response to the rampant and unjust killing of people of color by the police. The movement is dedicated to fighting against black violence and racism especially regarding police brutality. This essay is an analysis of the discourse of the black identity. It discusses how society portrays black people in the news and popular media, the effect the portrayal has on them, and the changes that can be made to change how society portrays them.

Why I selected the African-American Identity

I selected the African-American identity because it is a subject that I have a personal interest in and would like to contribute to positive change. Throughout my life, I have encountered people close to me that have suffered and even lost lives because of racism and police brutality. I wish to do the little that I can to help the situation; I hope this research will contribute positively. Although mountable progress has been made to address the rot and unjust killing of black people by the police, we still have a long way to go. I stand firm in my belief that society must place equal values on humanity; it must value black lives as much as it values humanity of white people.

How Society portrays Black People

Society is biased in how it portrays black people. Generally, Americans associate being white with advantages because they are given preferential treatment. When it comes to the justice system, black people are treated less fairly than their white counterparts in their encounters with the police. Additionally, even in other contexts including loans, mortgages, and social encounters, black people continue to be treated unfairly. There have been cases where white people, the police included, have gotten away with killing unarmed black men. In 2020, George Floyd, succumbed after police officers arresting him knelt on his neck despite pleading that he could not breathe (Rickford, 109). The matter sparked massive demonstrations across the world. The matter swayed public opinion and drew attention to the vice of racism in the American society.

The media has played a significant role in bringing attention to the world about the implications of the vice. People are becoming more empowered and are doing away with the culture of silence, for instance, people are now using their phones as weapons to document injustices that happen around them. In the news media, the conversation about racism is alive now more than ever. In pop culture, there is a national reckoning of black lives matters. From Hollywood sets, football fields, basketball arenas, and grocery store shelves, the entire country is alive to the inequalities that people of color have faced for decades. Further, films are being used to change the narrative of black people in American society. In the series, blackish, the plot follows the light skin privileges in society and the tension it has caused for black people. In the Johnson family, Diane brings school photos home where she could barely be seen because the photographer did not use proper lighting. The picture debate brought a heated discourse about colorism with Bow insisting that the photo be retaken terming it hurtful and thoughtless.

How Social Construction and Power Relations Reinforce Racism

Society portrays black people negatively which affects their lives. Selective reporting by the media underpins how black people are viewed by the public. Many people assume that black people are criminals, and poor. People have become accustomed to the notion that back people rely on welfare and crime as a source of income. This is why people assume that black people are always armed even when they are not armed. Society is constructed in such a way that minority groups including black people are treated as criminals and this is a result of negative stereotyping. Power relations also come into play. Statistics reveal that 62% of the American population is white while black people only make up 13% (Ogbar, 23). As such, white people have the upper hand and advantage because they have numbers. The inequality is further exacerbated by power division in regard to leadership which reinforces the already existing inequalities.

How Society Can Help Address Racial Inequality

To address the problem of racism and police brutality, society needs a change of tactics. First, we must eliminate the negative stereotyping that paints black people as poor and criminals. This can be done through employing positive leadership at the local, federal, and state levels. Data shows that the number of police offers that intentionally killed black people dropped significantly during President Obama’s reign (Scott and Zachary, 277). This shows that leadership has a direct impact on to rule of law and enforcement. Further, suctions need to be put in place to economically empower black power including job creation to empower black people economically and push them to a crime-free life. Further, there need to be extensive discussions in the media that paint black people in good light and not as criminals. When the media undertakes transparent and unbiased reporting, the public will start viewing black people positively and this will help eliminate racism.

Conclusion

From this study, it is evident that despite the great progress that has been made towards attaining racial equity, we still have a long way to go as a society. The key takeaway is that media plays a considerable role in influencing the perception of the public and it would help if they undertook positive reporting that is free of bias. With the surfacing of the Black Lives Matter Movement, there is renewed voice and hope in confronting racial inequality. These lessons will help me as an individual to continue advancing and advocating for the racial equality agenda in the space I exist in. It will help me contribute positively to society.

Works Cited

Ogbar, Jeffrey OG. “Black power: Radical politics and African American identity.” (2019).

Rickford, Russell. “Black lives matter: Toward a modern practice of mass struggle.” New Labor Forum. Vol. 25. No. 1. Sage CA: Los Angeles, CA: SAGE Publications, 2016.

Scott, Deena A. Isom, and Zachary T. Seal. “Disentangling the roles of negative emotions and racial identity in the theory of African American offending.” American Journal of Criminal Justice 44.2 (2019): 277-308.

Crusades were conflicts that were based on religion and perpetrated by the pope of the Catholic Church

Crusades

Name

Institutional Affiliation

Crusades were conflicts that were based on religion and perpetrated by the pope of the Catholic Church with the aim of re establishing access to in Jerusalem and around it by devoted Christians. The Christians staged six different crusades over a period of two centuries but still failed to reclaim the holy lands from the hands of the Muslims. The last nail on the coffin being the loss of acre to the Muslims as it was the last part of the Christian stronghold in the holy land. After the loss, the Catholic Church in Europe made no further attempts towards the recovery of the holy land. The crusades were held during the periods of middle age and Pope Urban II was the main protagonist behind the first crusade.

The crusades were a direct reaction by the Christians to the treatment they received while visiting the holy city of Jerusalem. Back then, visiting a holy place was something meritorious among the early Christians because it was a belief that the holy son of God, Jesus Christ had graced the land of Jerusalem and visiting the same place would place one in the good graces of heaven. In the eleventh century, after a Turk tribe had taken over the land including the city of Jerusalem, the Christians who visited were persecuted and the churches that remained in the city destroyed by the Turks who were Muslims.

The Christians were also convinced that if visiting a sacred place was meritorious then its rescue from the hands of the Turks was worth even more before God and therefore they set out for the battle. Since the Christian population was so large, they set out for Asia in large numbers in waves that no one had seen before.

Even though civilization was creeping through Europe, the people had not fully shed their ancient barbarian ways and when they were offended, the resorted to the thing they knew best; war. The leaders of the European Christians could not the resist the temptation of going to war especially after the insult they suffered when their people were persecuted in Jerusalem.

The first crusade might have been led by the pope but it was the preaching of a French native, Peter Hermit that moved the people and inspired them. With the blessings of the pope, he moved around Europe preaching the gospel and the need to reclaim the holy land from the hands of the oppressors. His motivational skills played a major part in getting the troops out to defend the holy land from being abused by the Turks.

The crusades had numerous effects both on the people and the church due to their involvement. On the Catholic Church, the crusades made the Catholic Church a wealthy entity while at the same time handing a great amount of power to the pope. This was because of the parts played by the pope during the crusades as they were placed in charge of the forces as well as making decisions on matters that were related to the crusades.

The crusades opened a new avenue for traders as the vessels that were used to transport the soldiers to the east returned with goods for trade hence improving the relationship that Europe had with the east in terms of trade. At the same time the business of building ships enjoyed good business as ships were in great demand at the time.

A mix of the cultures in Europe and the east created a romantic adventure for the people in the regions as they learned more from the social skills and cultures that were appreciated in both sides of the crusades. The European chivalry was undermined as it was the custom in the east.

The crusades might have resulted from the mistreatment of Christians by the Turks who had taken over the city of Jerusalem but they led to changes that were of a great good to the people involved as there were increased relations between the east and Europe through trade and socially. The church lost the battle to reclaim the holy land but got one good in return as it became wealthier and more powerful.

Reference

HYPERLINK “http://www.bibme.org/” o “Edit this item” Bridge, Antony. The Crusades. New York: F. Watts, 19821980. Print.

Themes in Caged Bird-Maya

Name

Professor’s name

Course

Date

Themes in Caged Bird-Maya Angelou

Introduction

Thesis statement: This text highlights the main themes that are depicted in Caged Bird by Maya Angelou, including oppression, freedom, and resilience.

Body

Main point 1: Oppression

Examples

The caged bird is frustrated with the situation but cannot see through the bars of rage

The oppressive circumstances limit the bird’s ability to take flights

While the bird is not free to fly, its soul points to the freedom that it years for.

Main point 2: Freedom

the free bird’s unlimited access to the sky, sun, and wind

The caged bird laments because of the confinement, and it is clear that he longs to be set free

Angelou juxtaposes the perspectives of the two birds to show that the caged bird appreciates the true value of freedom while the free bird feel entitled to its freedom

Main point 3: Resilience

The speaker describes the song of freedom sang by the caged animal as a paradox

The speaker realizes the song being snag by the bird is a freedom song in a different form.

Angelou lays emphasis on the beauty of the resilience displayed by the caged bird despite the confinement

Conclusion

In closing, the dominant themes exhibited in Maya Angelou’s Caged Bird include resilience, freedom, and oppression.

Crumbling Infrastructure

Crumbling Infrastructure

The American society of civil engineers (ASCE) define infrastructure as the technical structure or network that allow proper functioning of the society. This includes sectors such as transportation, water, public facilities and energy. In 2009, the ASCE released a report card, which presents a short description of the different categories of American infrastructure, as well as, their performance in the industry. In the report card released in 2009, the ASCE revealed a lack of performance by all sections of American infrastructure, as all the sectors attained grades poor grades. The solid waste infrastructure section was the best scorer with a grade of C+, whereas bridges came in second with a grade of C. Recreational parks and rail scored a C-, and the energy sector took fourth position with a D+. The report card also gave the aviation, dams, schools, transit and hazardous waste sectors all scored the grade D, illustrating how these sectors have been performing poorly over the years. Drinking water, inland waterways, leeves, roads, and wastewater sectors came in last with as score of D-, thus making these sectors the worst performers in the industry.

Because roads, inland waterways, and leeves infrastructure sectors are the worst performing sectors in the industry. The ASCE recommends an immediate upgrade of these three sectors. However, the ASCE explains that upgrading these sectors will come with a hefty price, which will see the American economy invest a considerable amount of money for these upgrades. As the ASCE explains, the cost to upgrade roads will amount to $186 billion, $125 billion for drinking water and $100 billion to upgrade American leeves. The ASCE has drawn particular attention to the sector of bridges, as they believe that this sector is slowly declining as compared to other sectors of infrastructure. On the issue of bridges, the ASCE states that the typical bridge in America is expected to last for 50 years. However, the current average age of American bridges is 43 years, hence illustrating the declining state of bridges in the state. In addition to this, the ASCE explains that more than 26% of America’s bridges are what they term as “functionally obsolete”. This means that they are too structurally deficient to be in use by the American public, hence being under closure at most times.

Infrastructure has a direct impact on the personal, economic, and social lives of people, and for that reason, it needs proper maintenance at all times. The report card released by ASCE reveals a number of problems with America’s infrastructure that were not previously realized by many. The problems presented regarding hazardous waste and wastewaters are particularly disturbing because they threaten the health of Americans living in the state. Without realizing it Americans are living under life-threatening conditions that could see the loss of many lives, hence an increase in the mortality rate of Americans today. For that reason, immediate action should be taken so as to assure that Americans lives under safe and secure conditions. Just as the ASCE recommends, I believe that the solution to America’s infrastructural problem is the increment of federal leadership to address this problem, so as to promote infrastructural sustainability. Only through this, can Americans be assured of reduced risks with regards to infrastructure, hence maintain health and safety at all times.