MGMT 581
Corporate Social Responsibility & Sustainability
Executive summary:
This paper is a descriptive analysis of Corporate social responsibility which has long been a significant part of organizational activities at Oracle. Over a span of time, company has achieved great heights owing to its internal ethical standards such as compliance, teamwork, integrity and corporate governance that have contributed greatly towards establishing a good relationship with primary stakeholders and third party clients. The paper also represents a comprehensive report on how the management at Oracle has taken every step towards maintaining quality by regular training and education. Apart from this, the paper also highlights how much Oracle values and promises to secure the personal information provided by its clients and stakeholders. Further, the company’s efforts in switching to environmental friendly modes of product development to achieve natural sustainability in the ecosystem are remarkable. Such efforts are depictive of the company’s moral and ethical responsibility towards the society. For instance, measures such as reducing the amount of carbon emissions to as much as possible and making minimum use of metals like lead and mercury in their product development reveal the sheer dedication of the company towards switching to environment friendly and energy efficient modes of production.
(Q1.)
Over the years, Oracle has continued to demonstrate high levels of ethical standards in dealing with its employees, partners, creditors, suppliers, and other pertinent stakeholders. As such, this is one of the factors that have steered the company to the heights of the Fortune 500 (in 2014, the company was ranked 82). Over the years, the company’s board of directors has continued to develop corporate governance, ethical standards that have made the firm responsible to its primary stakeholders.
Since the company operates globally, its executive managers in conjunction with the branch managers have developed laws and ethical standards for the constituent branches in relation to the legislation and ethical standards of the particular location. For instance, in areas where the ethical standards are lower than the company, the company requires that the employees adapt to the enterprise standards strictly. To ensure that the standards of the business are not inferior to those in countries that are more restrictive (ethically and legally); the company requires that its stakeholders perform at the minimum of these laws and ethical standards. The company’s chief of Compliance and Ethics, the head of the Compliance and Ethics program cooperate with other top managers to ensure the compliance of the ethical and moral standards of the company globally, keeping in mind the jurisdictions outside the USA. Additionally, the company has an open helpline to help its employees and other stakeholders identify the company’s ethical standards while it comes to business dealings.
Concerning the protection of information of the firm’s primary stakeholders, Oracle has earned the TRUSTe Privacy Program, as well as recognition from the U.S and the European Union due to exemplary levels, demonstrated in protecting personal information. In extension, Oracle demonstrates high ethical standards in designing its products, which is specifically aimed at protecting the consumers’ personal information. For example, the company’s products have features that only allow the owner to access or change the files. In addition, the company has developed relationships with governments and non-government organizations to promote its ethical standards in privacy protection. As such, the company has developed a rich culture of ethics, which have been enforced by the commitment of the Company’s management (CEO).
(Q2.)
Corporate management in Oracle has continued to recognize the need of conducting its activities in an environmentally friendly manner. In this way, the company has emerged as one of the best in minimizing the effects on the natural environment and developing products that offer sustainability in the customer’s operations and initiatives. Oracle primary business does not have a direct impact on the environment. However, the company joins efforts with non-government organizations (such as UNEP) in promoting the need for environmental protection and conservation. The company demonstrates responsibility in the supply chain design. One of the most striking feature in this case is the collaboration of the business with international bodies to ensure safe and ethical distribution of hardware and software products.
Concerning the sustainability of these products, the company ensures that they are on the level set by the international standards organization for IT products. Since most organizations in the modern day strive to be energy efficient, Oracle has developed programs to reduce the amount of carbon emissions. The program also describes safe measures to dispose of broken of damaged products from the company’s distribution chain, which would otherwise pose a danger to the environment. The products are also manufactured in such a way that they do not pose a threat to the environment of the users. For example, the products must not have metals such as lead and mercury, which have negative impacts on the environment. This is part of the company’s effort to adhere to offering ‘green’ products for their consumers. The need for ‘green’ products has become a trend in the US and other parts of the world. By showing compliance to this, Oracle has demonstrated a high level of environmental consciousness in product design. To ensure high standards of the company’s products and services, which in turn, enhances the sustainability of the company, internal audits are conducted. The inspections ensure that the hardware products are of the required quality and standard. To ensure the effectiveness of the internal audit process, the company also uses the services of external auditors to measure its compliance with the environmental sustainability goals.
(Q3.)
Oracle demonstrates the best human resource stewardship through its environment, health, and safety (EHS) program. The latter is designed to ensure that the company’s employees have adequate training and resources to help them undertake various tasks. Additionally, the program dedicates resources to the provision of a hazard free environment to protect its employees from physical hazards. In relation to this, the company employs the services of certified safety teams to ensure the security of their employee’s surroundings. The company has also adapted to recent changes in architecture by designing safe structures for employees. Oracle offers ergonomic resources, which promotes the comfort of the workers at the workplace while reducing the risk of physical harm. As part of government requirements, Oracle conducts an annual audit of the workplaces to identify areas that might cause risks to the physical well-being of the employees. The company’s EHR program further enhances the health and welfare of its employees by offering them with such benefits as health insurance and fitness centers.
Oracle has adopted an open and integrated method in undertaking the distribution of its products. Oracle products are designed in such a way that they are easy to understand, use with other systems and make the client’s decision-making process easier. In this way, the company’s IT solutions are easy and cost effective to implement. Additionally, to meet the needs of a larger market, the company has continued to distribute its products under different hardware and software platforms. These include Apple, Windows, Linux, Solaris, and AIX.
Concerning the human resource management in foreign countries, (Oracle is based in the USA), the corporation has developed programs that prevent friction between the company’s policies and government policies concerning human resource management. The key issues in which states differ concerning human resource include setting of wages for employees. States also set rules for the standard working conditions; the government must protect workers in the country. In this light, Oracle’s executive management has designed policies that respect the laws and ethical standards of foreign countries. Concerning the supplier’s ethics, the company supplier code of conduct and business conduct requires that Oracle undertakes quarterly audits of the vendor’s activities to ensure they are in line with the laws and ethical standards of the company. On the other hand, the hardware supply chain is evaluated to ensure safe employee’s working conditions while ensuring the management processes are the same as those prescribed by the company.
(Q4.)
Organizations have a social responsibility of the local areas in which they are located in. The social responsibilities range from construction of social amenities for the locals to enjoy the provision of job opportunities. Since the inception of the company. It has strived to adopt environmentally friendly methods of hardware production. The Supplier Diversity program invites the company’s suppliers to collaborate with the company in raising awareness of industrial activities and climate change. Oracle focuses on the promotion of education in over a hundred countries, where it has managed to educate 2.2 million students (Oracle 15). The company seeks to equip the students with the much-needed computer skills in the modern world through the promotion of computer science studies. For instance, the Oracle Academy, designed to enhance the knowledge and expertise of using computers worldwide, donated approximately $ 5 billion in money and resources to enhance computer studies and careers in various institutions among the world. Apart from these, the Academy has put in place over 7800 educators across the 100 countries in which the programs run. The teachers are tasked with enhancing computer skills and knowledge and helping students at every level develop various projects using Oracle software. In 2000, Oracle established the Oracle Education Foundation (OEF), with the goal of providing computer hardware in schools in the USA. The program developed in later years to include the services of the company’s employees as instructors in the schools.
The various communities in which the company has branches, Oracle is regularly involved in the development of the communities. One of the ways the company accomplishes this is the inclusion of its employees in the construction of much needed social amenities. Such include schools, recreational parks, and fencing local communities to prevent encroachments from wild animals. The organization’s employees have an active program to support communities surrounding them through donations. The donations are used to help with various problems affecting the society such as lack of food or funds to educate children. Oracle as a company has not lagged behind the efforts of its employees.
For instance, between F13 and F14, the company matched the $ 2.2 million as donation meant to aid disaster stuck Philippines, China, and India. Oracle extends its community partnership on other numerous platforms. One of these includes the Oracle Real Estate and Facilities organization. In these programs, the company can aid the readiness of first responders in various societies. The target first responders here include the police and fire departments. Additionally, the company has continued to work in close collaboration with local Red Cross chapters and chambers of commerce to improve the social welfare of the communities. Additionally, the company offers monetary help and support to non-government organizations for the promotion of health, especially in developing countries. For example, Oracle has active health programs in Kenya and Nigeria that enable people to receive cost-effective medical services.
(Q5.)
Oracle, being one of the top Fortune companies, employs broader measures in the production of products and services to ensure a good rapport with the global IT field and at the same time satisfy the growing needs of consumers around the world. One of the most important factors in the company’s production activities is the concentration on the improvement of its brand image. The company employs innovative and talented employees who help improve the brand image for sustainability purposes. Relating to this, the company has employed diversity by producing its hardware and software on popular platforms (Apple, Windows, Linux, Solaris, and others). In so doing, Oracle has been able to produce a strong brand recognition in the global market.
The company undertakes research to match the needs of its consumers to the products and IT solutions it offers. Additionally, Oracle has developed collaborative efforts with other IT giants to develop products that match customer’s attributes. Oracle concentrates on designing products that are open and complete for the needs of their clients. The latter reduces the need for vendor involvement in the implementation of the systems and at the same time lessen the cost of installation. Moreover, the simple design of the products ensures that the Oracle systems are easy to integrate with other systems and other consumer needs.
The design of the company’s hardware matches their sustainability goals. By adhering to the international standard for the design of hardware and other products, Oracle focuses on the development of safe products for the consumers. This is accomplished by eliminating the use of lead, mercury and other heavy metals in the making of hardware. These metals are a potential threat to the health of the consumers. For example, the company’s hardware products are lead-free, and the monitor displays have less mercury, which is a directive by the European Union Restriction of Hazardous Substances. Concerning product manufacturing, Oracle strives to adopt ‘green’ production methods to ensure the sustainability of the environment. Apart from these, the company has developed relationships with protectionist environmental bodies such as the UNEP to raise awareness for the need to undertake production in an environmentally sustainable manner.
One of the ways the company has managed to reduce the impact on the environment is through consolidation of manufacturing activities. For instance, the company consolidated all production activities in the North American region. In foreign areas, the company adheres to the local environmental laws concerning the production and disposal of waste material. In regards to complying with business laws, Oracle has been on the forefront to ensure compliance with the local laws in other jurisdictions. For instance, some countries require that a company has to meet a certain level of investment to be granted a business certificate. Oracle investments are massive and surpass most of these minimums set in foreign jurisdictions. For this reason, Oracle has been able to continue its operations in foreign countries without friction with the local governments. In addition, the support offered by the company in various community support and development services has leveraged the sustainability of the business in the foreign companies.
Work Cited
Oracle. Oracle Open World. Annual Sustainability Report. Mumbai: Oracle, 2015.
Oracle. Oracle Financial Services Software Limited. Annual Report. Mumbai: Oracle, 2015.
Ulrich, David, and W N. Smallwood. Leadership Sustainability: Seven Disciplines to Achieve the Changes Great Leaders Know They Must Make. New York: McGraw-Hill Education, 2013. Internet resource.
