Barrick Gold Corporation
Company’s Line of Business
Barrick Gold Corporation takes part in the sale and production of Gold. It also participates in activities related to mining. The activities include exploring and developing mining areas to facilitate the extraction of minerals. The company produces copper form the Lumwana and the Zaldivar mines .It holds other mining interests such as in addition, it has a project foe the development of Nickel in Africa. At Barrick, there are seven operating segments. The segments include four regional businesses involving gold, a business unit dealing in copper, a gas and oil business, and a group of capital projects. The gold mines are dominant in North America, the Australian Pacific, and South America.
The company believes in ethical business. In the company, business ethics, honesty, and accountability take precedence to the fulfillment of business obligations.
Factors Making the Company Unethical
The company has been a victim of many accusations regarding unsound environmental practices in some of its mining sites. Mining activities tend to ruin the natural environment because there is much excavation into the ground. The accusations leveled against the company result from environmental activists who work towards the conservation of the environment. For instance, the environmental regulator in Chile stopped the mining activities of the company claiming that there were severe violations of the regulations on the environment.
On the other hand, the management of the company countered the accusations stating that the company spent approximately 89 million dollars in 2009 when the institution of the allegations began. The company had to pay a fine of 17 million dollars. The unethical factors of the company relate to its poor management of the environment. The company does not preserve the environment maximally in some areas, which leads to negative effects on the societies living around the mines.
Stakeholders of the Company
The company has various stakeholders. These people take part in the activities of the company by active or partial participation. Stakeholders have their interests in the company hence they closely follow the way the company conducts its activities. The company has various groups of stakeholders at the site, country and the global level.
Global level stakeholders make major investments in the company‘s capital projects. Their aim is to acquire capital gains on the many that they invest in the company. The company undertakes primary identification of the stakeholders whenever the company begins the explorations phase of an important project. The stakeholder identification covers the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) initiative.
The company’s corporate stakeholders include the government, shareholders, international and national non-government organizations (NGOs), research analysts in the environmental, social, and governance fields (ESG) and Socially Responsible Investors (SRIs). The corporate stakeholder’s identification happens through functional groups and investor relations. There is a team in the company, charged with the task of social responsibility in the company. The team works together with the other contacts in the industry associations to help the company to get the ideal corporate stakeholders. However, some of the stakeholders like the government happen because there is need to follow and fulfill the statutory requirements.
Improving the Company’s Image
Barrack Gold Corporation can improve its company image by continuing to minimize the environmental effects of mining now and in the future. The company can participate in projects that portray an objective of conserving the environment for a long time. Such projects include forestation, and reforestation. Reforestation happens in areas where the trees existed but human activities led to the death of the forests. Since mining activities tend to leave an eyesore on the land, furnishing the environment in mining sites will improve the image of the company. It will show that the company has concerns over the ecological conditions.
Issues that may Cause Ethical problems
The main issue that may lead to ethical problems is the profitability of the gold business. Gold can make an individual or a group of individuals very rich when they make even small sales. Consequently, it is possible to have employees who may be greedy. They may want to make profits secretly make profits without the knowledge of the management. In such incidences, employees may work individually or in conjunction with other employees to defraud the company. A fraudulent gain from the company is unethical because the transactions do not go into the records of the company. It undermines the full disclosure objective of the management of the company. It also ruins the reputation of the company when the stakeholders notice black-market trading of the company’s product.
Applicable Ethical Policy
The applicable ethical policy for this company would be integrity. All employees must know that it is their duty to help the company achieve its objectives through the right means. Employees have the legal obligation to put the interest of the company before their own personal interests. The management must take stringent measures on any of those who take part in defrauding the company. Such measures may include suing the employees and terminating their job contracts unless they prove beyond any doubt that they are reasonable.
Bibliography
Blasutti, Darren, and Vincent Borg. "In a move to strengthen its management team as it targets growth opportunities and builds its new mines, Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE, TSX: ABX) today announced several executive appointments, including." (2004):
Nicoski, Deni, and Vincent Borg. "Barrick Gold Named to Dow Jones Sustainability Index TORONTO, ON - Barrick Gold Corporation has been added to the annual Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) - North America for the first time, ranking the company as best-in-class for its ongoing commitment to sustainability. One of the world's foremost indices of corporate social responsibility, DJSI is based on a comprehensive review of corporate sustainability practices by companies. Independent research conducted for DJSI focuses on a broad range of economic, social and environmental performance criteria, using both general and industry-specific measures." (2007):
Society for Business Ethics. Business Ethics Quarterly. Chicago, Ill: Society for Business Ethics, 1991.
