Management
Analysis of Abbott’s Citizenship Report
This paper is devoted to the American company Abbott that is a well-known actor in the international pharmaceutical and related markets. Its diverse business is divided into four main directions: nutrition, medical devices, diagnostics and pharmaceuticals. During the last seventeen years the company prepares the citizenship report that shows the company’s strategy, standards, goals and results. Let’s analyze the company’s report of 2014 in order to analyze the ethical standards, environmental impact and human resources policy of the company.
The citizenship report shows the company’s code of ethics that is partly built on the principles, which have been introduced by the medical professional Wallace Abbott. These principles have become the basis of the modern ethical pharmaceutical industry. The main goal of the current Code of Business Conduct is to contribute the well-being of society with company’s products and work through the staff understanding about the crucial role of the highest ethical standards, which are based on the honesty, fairness and integrity. Ethical standards of the company are available in print and also online in ten languages. It confirms the company’s desire to respect the majority of countries, in which manufacturing sites are located.
Nowadays, high standards of ethics are the main in the context of the Abbott’s compliance program. The last one is based on the seven main elements: leadership, effective lines of communication, training, written standards, remediation, accountability and assessment. It should be noted that through the first principle (leadership), CEO together with CECO (the Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer) is responsible for compliance of the activity with the company’s ethical principles. They are also in charge of the development and enhancement of the global compliance program of the company.
Each of the company’s employees is in charge of his personal work and decisions and also must certify adherence to the company’s code annually. Effective communication lines are the basis of the effective compliance program. Abbott provides the ethics and compliance helpline that is available twenty hours a day. The company uses the regular internal audits in order to assess the effectiveness of its compliance program and identify the areas for improvement. It should be noted that Abbott also complies with the requirements of the transparency laws, which are at the federal and state level in the US and regulate healthcare industry. Responsible sales and marketing practices are one more crucial part of the company’s ethical standards.
Environmental Impact
Safeguarding the environment is one of the strategic priority areas in accordance with the global citizenship approach of the company. Abbott adheres to the principles of the sustainable development in all chains of its system – from the responsible choice of raw material suppliers to manufacturing, marketing and use of products. The company Abbott has three main environmental priorities: climate change, water usage and waste management.
The main environmental goals of the company Abbott, which are described in the 2014 citizenship report, include the reduction in carbon dioxide emissions, in total water intake for agricultural and industrial companies and reduction in total waste that is generated.
An environmental policy of the company also aims to reduce the indirect impact through the green purchasing. The company has multiple levels of environmental management in order to achieve set goals. Waste management and policy on reduction utility use are expressed through the effective supply chain management of the company. It should be noted that Abbott is a member of the Pharmaceutical Supply Chain Initiative. According to it, the company carefully selects the suppliers around the world. All of them (more than twenty thousands of enterprises) must adhere to social responsibility standards, which are set in the company’s Supplier Social Responsibility program. It was established in 2011. This program describes a supplier classification model and quarterly results of interactions between the company and suppliers. At the same time, the green procurement policy is the cornerstone of the company’s supply chain practices.
Abbott regularly conducts the external audits to determine improvements in supply chain and distribution chains. For example, Abbott continues partnership with global transportation suppliers in order to evaluate the greenhouse-gas emissions, which are associated with the company’s activity. Abbott uses information data that is verified by the independent company Bureau Veritas. Abbott uses a sustainable approach in the product packaging. The company follows four R’s for it: reduce, renew, reuse and recycle. It is a crucial part of the green product innovation of the company. Abbott works on the implementing effective recycling system that can allow to decrease the whole amount of the waste.
Human Resources Stewardship Standards
The company Abbott actively participates in political life and support social work. According to the company’s citizenship report, Abbott implements an effective workplace environment that includes: the commitment to promoting diversity at the work, constant professional development, protection of employees’ rights, comprehensive system of compensation and benefits, wellness campaigns and others. Abbott pays great attention to the working conditions at the companies-suppliers. For example, more than one hundred of suppliers are checked by Abbott’s global purchasing team each year in order to evaluate treatment of employees, working safety, management system and ethical practice.
Abbott used an integral approach to recruit new employees in 2014. Specific attention was paid to the diversity: the percentage of minorities among management positions have significantly increased in the company. The company introduces so-called mentoring programs in the US, Europe and other regions. Abbott supports various employee networks (for Latino, Asians, blacks, women and LGBT). Using Cultural Navigator, Abbott provides effective communications between representatives of different nations and countries, who work in the supply and distribution channels and are responsible for performance of crucial business processes.
The company has developed special procedures of decision-making that is based on the principles of AID (assessment, influence, decision). If the employee does not know how he must proceed, he can follow the instructions of the above mentioned procedure. It minimizes the possible wrong decisions and contributes the staff awareness about code of corporate ethics and necessity to follow it. In addition, Abbott has a clear employee health and safety strategic plan. The first results of it are the reduction in lost time and car accidents. Another program of the company is a Global Health Scorecard. It aims to monitor main occupational health indicators and to identify areas for improvement in the context of the supply chain. Abbott conducts surveys among employees in order to identify own reputation and staff priorities. Human rights take a significant place in the company’s mission and core values. Abbott respects human right in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and is in charge of their compliance with healthcare needs of employees as well as clients.
Works Cited
Abbott. Annual Report, Abbott Global Citizenship Report 2014. Finding The Upside.. 2015. Web. 25 Apr. 2016.
Official Site. “Abbott Global. Abbott U.S.”. Abbott.com. N.p., 2016. Web. 25 Apr. 2016.
