Abstract:
It is the ethical responsibility of all public and private corporations to devote some resources towards serving sections of society which may be in need of assistance or are under privileged in some way. ASM research, an Accenture Federal Services Company, has been awarded a three-year contract from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to support the Veterans Health Information Systems by providing an integrated inpatient and outpatient electronic health record to facilitate quality medical care for veterans and their families. Since every citizen including the corporations is indebted to the veterans for providing protection to the state and individuals, it is the responsibility of every citizen to make a concerted effort towards their health and safety. This memo intends to persuade the management to undertake a low cost program within the framework of CSR by engaging voluntary services of ASM personnel to inform and advice about healthcare issues and attend to medical emergencies of the veterans and their families in the Legato Road Area.
Company profile:
The company chosen for introducing a CSR program that is consistent with the image and mission of the company is ASM- Research, an Accenture Federal Service Company, the essential details of which are as follows
Website - www.asmr.com
Mission statement of ASM Research is the same as that of Accenture - Helping Our Clients create their Future
ASM Research has more than three decades of government experience and expertise in healthcare IT, information solutions and services, data analytics, cloud, data warehousing, human capital management and benefit solutions and agile software development (Joanne veto, 2013)
Its Head quarter is located at Legato Road, Fairfax, VA, USA.
The Employees of ASM Research and Accenture have offered voluntary services in the field of education and donated for toys for poor children and supporting women Entrepreneurs in Rwanda
The name of the person(s) in charge of any CSR programs at the company – Omar Abbosh- Chief Strategy officer, Accenture.
It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Accenture Federal Services, a USA government agency that provides healthcare services to Veterans.
A low Cost CSR Program for Veterans in the Legato Road Area
Corporate Social Responsibility is a part of corporate functions that aims at enhancing the standard of living of people by investing a part of their profits in philanthropic activities like Ecological conservation, improving environmental conditions, providing necessary amenities to underprivileged, needy and afflicted people and taking care of the destitute, orphans and senior citizens. Bill Gates, the founder of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, a philanthropic institution, has asserted that every business leader should donate a part of his profits to enhance the living conditions of the poor people around the world. Warren Buffet has also pledged to donate his personal assets towards the charitable activities of Gates Foundation (Kinsley, M., & Clarke, C. 2009).
Experts and observers of Social Responsibility Activities have repeatedly stressed the fact that Corporate Social activities are not charitable acts but a compensatory attempt of business enterprises for the natural resources and infrastructural support used by them for business operations. (Ness, M. R. 1992) defined Corporate social responsibility is a strategic decision whereby an organization undertakes an obligation to society, for example in the form of sponsorship, commitment to local communities, attention to environmental issues and responsible advertising. This is an undeniable fact that business firms use natural resources like forest and agricultural produce, minerals and oil as raw material for their operations and use infrastructural support in form of land, water, roads, electricity and transportation for the purpose of their business. Industrial wastes like toxic gases, chemicals, sludge and chaff are emitted into the atmosphere and water sources polluting them. All these activities deplete the nature of its precious resources, damages ecology and compromise the health and safety of the community. Considering the inevitability of these activities for survival of the business, it becomes the ethical responsibility of business leaders to think of strategies to serve the community. CSR also enhances the image of the firm that executes it by doing good to the society (Himmelstein, J. L. 1997).
ASM too bears the responsibility of repaying the society for using its infrastructure and other public services for its operations. ASM is lucky that it has been assigned to serve the veterans by providing a system for electronic health care record but it cannot be termed as philanthropy because it is a for- profit business assignment. It needs to be mentioned here that a veteran is a retired military person who may have risked his life to provide a safe and secure environment to the Americans. Being of help to these people is the ethical responsibility of every citizen of the US. Therefore ASM must aim towards designing a program under the framework of CSR which is consistent with its business agenda of serving the veterans.
The Low Cost CSR Program for Veterans
All business firms and individuals in America are indebted to the veterans who may have braved inhuman conditions to serve and protect the citizens not only during wartime but also during peace. Rescue operations during natural and manmade calamities have been carried out successfully only because of these personnel who devoted themselves to the selfless service of the victims. They may have lost their lives or may have been crippled for life in these operations. There are reports which say that families of veterans suffer post war trauma and need support for rehabilitation (Mikulincer, et, al. 1995). Although the state executes its responsibility in attending to the needs of the veterans and their families through several of its welfare schemes, it is a tough proposition to reach out to each and every veteran living in distant corners of America and determine whether they are actually availing the schemes meant for them. Veterans and their families may not be aware of the schemes intended for them. Even if they are aware of the schemes they may not know the right authority to approach in case of a crisis or how to approach. Even if electronic health records are made available to the Government through the information systems, unless a contact is made between the patient and the healthcare provider, dispensary or clinic, the e record is of no use whatsoever. The Voluntary employee service is undertaken with the motive of closing these gaps.
ASM research has organized employee voluntary services for some philanthropic causes like donating for toys for poor children. Accenture has joined hands with Cherie Blair foundation for women to help women business entrepreneurs in Rwanda .This memo is an attempt to involve the employees of ASM in a Voluntary CSR program aimed at enhancing the number of veterans who avail the Electronic healthcare record and other schemes promoted by Government specifically for veterans. It is a low cost program as participation is voluntary; the only cost incurred may be that of conveyance and stationery etc. It is my request to the management that it sanctions a small budget for the program for sundry expenses. The program consists of making groups of voluntary participants from the employees of ASM who will devote 30 hours of voluntary service every month. The various stages included in the program along with the activities have been presented below with the hope of getting everyone involved in it.
Stages of the CSR program
Soliciting the voluntary participation of employees using notice boards, company website and social media
Dividing the participants into groups.
Allotting sectors in Legato Road area to each group
Giving a handout of the CSR activities to be undertaken
Preparing a list of veterans in the allotted area from the company database.
Submitting a monthly report along with a statement of expenses.
Activities involved in the program
Informing the veterans about the Government health care and medical insurance schemes formulated specially for them
Giving them a list of hospitals and health centers in the area that have a Government contract to treat veterans at subsidized costs.
Giving them cell numbers of the group members to contact them in case of emergency
Teach them first aid and other preliminary treatments at home in case of emergency
Arranging counseling to get over post war traumatic disorders
Provide them with contact numbers of paramedics for ambulance and first aid.
It is hoped that through this memo, the concerned authorities and the employees will be convinced to do their part in helping a section of society that has devoted considerable part of their time and energy, have sacrificed much to accord us a safe and secure living, have come to our immediate assistance in time of a crisis. I am sure that everyone will realize their responsibility and come forward to participate in this program to the best of their capability. I am sure active participation in this program will bring immense satisfaction to all participants.
References
Himmelstein, J. L. (1997). Looking good and doing good: Corporate philanthropy and corporate power. Indiana University Press
Kinsley, M., & Clarke, C. (2009); Creative capitalism: A conversation with Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, and other economic leaders, Simon and Schuster
Mikulincer, M., Florian, V., & Solomon, Z. (1995) Marital intimacy, family support, and secondary traumatization: A study of wives of veterans with combat stress reaction Anxiety, Stress, and Coping, 8(3), 203-213
Ness, M. R. (1992). Corporate social responsibility, British Food Journal, 94(7), 38-44
Veto, J. (2013, September), Accenture completes acquisition of ASM Research, Retrieved From https://newsroom.accenture.com/subjects/acquisitions/accenture-completes-acquisition-of-asm-research.htm
