Global Trade, Labour and Human Rights

Book Description

Over the last decade, ugly allegations of corporate Complicity in human rights violations have exploded into one of the most controversial issues of our time. Companies are being held responsible by human rights advocates for the injustices that are the unintended side effects of economic globalization: union repression in China, forced labor in Burma, child workers in Pakistan, and sweatshop abuse throughout the developing world. Using the story of Levi Strauss & Company as a guide, Karl Schoenberger offers a highly readable assessment of the challenge that the human rights scourge poses to international business. For years, the iconic blue-jeans maker has been a model of corporate social responsibility, and its brand name has become synonymous with the American values of freedom and individualism. Yet even Levi

Strauss, in order to cut costs and remain competitive, has had to risk compromising its principles by sourcing production overseas in places ta! inted by rampant sweatshop abuse and political repression. The experience has been a painful one for Levi Strauss, and how it

emerges from its struggle to reconcile its values with new realities will have considerable influence on the way corporations conceive of ethical behavior in the future. Schoenberger is sensitive to the interests of Multinationals, and as a result his call for active corporate engagement and rigorous accountability in promoting the rights of overseas workers carries enormous resonance. Simultaneously impassioned and evenhanded, Levi's Children is a work of profound importance, one that may help us chart our course in the next century.

Customer Reviews:

useful, but badly incomplete.......2002-12-07

This book has a lot of useful background information on how businesses, non-governmental organizations, and inter-governmental organizations are attempting to deal with the problems of human rights. The interaction of these groups, which is one of my specialties as a business writer, is extremely complex. What is the problem? What should be done? Realistically, what can be done? These are the questions I wrestle with and that I sought to have answered in this book.

Unfortunately, I did not find them covered very well and far too many issues receive only a partial treatment. For starters, Schoenberger does not really define the problem with clarity or consistency. At one point, he goes into the universal declaration of human rights and then into a long chapter on China and whether companies should pull out to protest the repressive regime. There is also a long chapter with a vague political history of Burma that goes into far too much detail to make his point that MNCs, in pulling out, had an impact. But China is too big for any one company to affect much, and too important as a potential market as well, so that is not a realistic or even meaningful option in my opinion - a mosquito can't attack an elephant. At another point, it seems to be the working conditions in factories that concern the author. As such, the book kind of flails around from issue to issue without very clear criteria as to what he is looking for and what would be a good outcome.

Then, there is Schoenberger's choice of Levi-Strauss as the anchor for his story. Now that is an interesting company - it really tried to implement practical ethical practices and/or codes throughout its long history - but I wonder if it was the right choice. While Schoenberger used it to illustrate that there may be unreconcilable contradictions between the demands of profit-making and behaving ethically, I am not at all sure that Levi-Strauss is really at the cutting edge of the implementation of global corporate codes. There are other companies, such as adidas-Salomon AG, which are addressing precisely the questions that Schoenberger sees as problems at Levi's: namely, transparency, credibility, and the balance between using human rights as a crude marketing ploy and really trying to have a positive impact. I witnessed how adidas was, in my opinion, successfully dealing with these questions: that company produced reports that were honest about what areas needed improvement and hence were not a simple PR whitewash. That represents real progress and something new, at least to me, and Schoenberger did not seem to have any inkling of these things, which were under development while he was writing this book.

Moreover, Schoenberger did not successfully get inside Levi's in any deep way, so he has written as an outsider who lacks direct and intimate access to the top thinkers there. That means that, in spite of the legitimate distance that reporters need to maintain from their subjects, many of his conclusions are far more speculative than he lets on. For a reporter, he did far too little reporting.

It was very interesting to me to read on things that I myself investigated here. There is a chapter on Sialkot, Pakistan, which I visited to investigate an initiative to eliminate children from soccer ball manufacturing. Well, Schoenberger covers it very very poorly and fails to ask the right questions: for him, child labor is simply bad but it is hard to get rid of. What I saw was that it was an economic necessity to some families for kids to work - and they wanted to - and the introduction of the program, which was a good one and sincerely well intended, had many side affects that were unforeseen, such as eliminating many women from the work force (due to local custom, they had to work in their homes and hence couldn't travel to the regulated centers in outside towns that the initiative established) and the rise of a new black market that paid less well than it had before because middlemen claimed they took on extra risk. Yet Schoenberger reports on none of these ambiguities, preferring to fault the program's design for poor monitoring of the results. That, in my opinion, is bad reporting and it made me suspect everything else he wrote.

The author is quite hard on NGOs, such as the Clean Clothes Campaign and its shoddy methods, and yet seems to be arguing that they are necessary, if weaker, counter-weights to MNCs. This is a difficult area and far more needs to be written about it. As I see it, corporations need to work with them constructively or they risk becoming pawns in a much larger game, as did Nike which is a favorite "whipping boy" of the NGOs. Schoenberger also fails to cover the media's role adequately, as fashions come and go very quickly and corporations can be attacked ruthlessly regarding conditions that they were not responsible for creating, though may have been abetting indirectly.

Futhermore, the author's writing style bothered me. He often employed this kind of over-heated rhetoric - too many adjectives! - that got in the way of the content. This is a matter of taste, of course, but it is not elegant or cooly written.

For me, the usefulness of the book is that it filled a number of gaps in my knowledge and many readers, both generalists and specialists, would benefit from learning about those. But the treatment is flawed and incomplete, in particular regarding what corporations are actively doing to address the problems he raises.

Recommended with caution.

Insightful on Human Rights.......2000-09-30

This book is a must read for anyone interested in the issue of human rights. It offers a compelling tale of one company's struggle to do the right thing while still remaining globally competitive. This is an issue that will only grow more important with time. Capitalism may be an efficient mechanism for shareholders in American but it may not necessarily be the answer for the developing world.

Human Rights Activists - Read this book!.......2000-06-18

This book is extremely timely in light of efforts in recent years to sue American companies in Federal Court for complicity in HR violations in developing countries; case in point is the effort to sue Shell for its activities in Nigeria under the Alien Tort Claims Act. It seems that profit becomes a talisman allowing companies to ignore their role in perpetuating Human Rights. An important book.

Towards a Fair Global Labour Market: Avoiding the New Slavery (Routledge Studies in the Modern World Economy)

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Towards a Fair Global Labour Market: Avoiding the New Slavery (Routledge Studies in the Modern World Economy)
Ozay Mehmet
Manufacturer: Routledge
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Labor Policy | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

International | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Labor & Industrial Relations | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | International | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Human Rights | Constitutional Law | Law | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
ASIN: 0415166829

Book Description

This interdisciplinary study presents the case for a rule-based multilateral management of the emerging global market, where issues such as child labor, worker rights and women's rights are increasingly debated.

Global Trade, Labour and Human Rights. (Reviews/Comptes Rendus).(Book Review): An article from: Labour/Le Travail

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Global Trade, Labour and Human Rights. (Reviews/Comptes Rendus).(Book Review): An article from: Labour/Le Travail
Winston Gereluk
Manufacturer: Canadian Committee on Labour History
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Labour/Le Travail, published by Canadian Committee on Labour History on September 22, 2002. The length of the article is 1400 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Global Trade, Labour and Human Rights. (Reviews/Comptes Rendus).(Book Review)
Author: Winston Gereluk
Publication: Labour/Le Travail (Refereed)
Date: September 22, 2002
Publisher: Canadian Committee on Labour History
Page: 371(3)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Amazon.com

Get ready, investors: the graying of America, the resurgence of Japan, global warming, and six other major trends will jar the world's stock markets in the next century. "Because the changing world continually buffets the markets, we cannot blindly throw money into stocks, into mutual funds, or into a bank account," warns leading economist Todd G. Buchholz in Market Shock. Instead, investors must be prepared to capitalize on opportunities as they unfold, says Buchholz, also the author of the bestseller New Ideas from Dead Economists. For instance, with the aging of baby boomers, savvy investors should begin moving into health-care and pharmaceutical stocks. And with the prospect of global warming, investors should consider insurance companies that are avoiding coverage of homes in low-lying coastal regions. The other six economic and social trends: a boom in minority populations; the biotechnology and information revolutions; China's growing importance in the global economy; a possible jump in crime; the potential failure of European unity; and the rising fees and slumping performance of mutual funds.

Buchholz begins each chapter with a futuristic gloom-and-doom scenario and a fictional news flash. Without naming particular companies, he then describes the sorts of investments likely to flourish during those events. Market Shock can help people sidestep some investing minefields and possibly profit from some major trends that could transform the world's economies. --Dan Ring

Book Description

In Market Shock, leading global economist Todd G. Buchholz analyzes nine trends that will turn America's economy on its head. For the unprepared, these tremors may bring about financial ruin. But for the savvy investor, these widespread changes offer tremendous opportunities to make money.

Using this book, investors can anticipate these trends, not just avoiding the coming crisis but making money by moving assets to sectors of the economy that stand to benefit from these cultural and economic shifts. Filled with lively "news flash" scenarios, plentiful examples, and helpful advice, Buchholz pinpoints the issues that will affect investors and consumers over the next several decades. This book--insightful, impeccably reasoned, and eminently readable-could not have come at a better time.

Customer Reviews:

Buchholz should be on the fed!.......2006-01-30

Buchholz is truly an economic prophet, and he brings wit to the table as well. I thought this book, in addition to his previous masterpieces, was a wonderful, informative, helpful, entertaining read. Well done, Buchholz!

Entertaining Light Reading.......2000-06-26

The terms "Upheavals" and "Market Shock" should not be used to describe the subject matter in this book since it consists entirely of slow, gradual changes in demographics. These changes are only discussed in the most general of terms. There is not one chart or graph in this book. The lack of a timeline makes it impossible to do any serious financial planning. Most of these changes will not have a major effect on the U.S. economy until after most of us are dead and buried.

Unfortunately, the financial advice in this book is very limited, consisting mainly of common sense items, such as, "Learn to broil a trout." The useful information in each chapter can be summed up in one sentence: Chapter 1: Americans are aging. They will need health care and retirement homes. Chapter 2: Science is cool, but make sure that a lot of people will pay for it before investing. Chapter 3: Mutual fund fees are too high. (Also contains the crazy theory that all funds will collapse when people figure out they are not FDIC insured.) Chapter 4: One day, white people will be the minority in America. Chapter 5: The Japanese are getting older, too. Chapter 6: Europe needs Euro-denominated junk bonds. Chapter 7:China has a tough row to hoe. Chapter 8: The crime rate will rise. Chapter 9: There's that global warming thing.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical trivia. On the one hand, I read every page in this book. On the other hand, I don't expect to ever make a dime off of anything that I learned.

Can you believe, an economics page turner!.......1999-11-19

We all see the changes that are taking place around us (such as the graying of America). This book takes those changes and puts them into perspective with actionable information. I kept slapping my forehead and saying, "I know this, why didn't I see where it leads?" Buchholz makes sense out of our everyday observations and puts them into economic context.

Insightful and prophetic told with humor and intelligence.......1999-09-17

A rare book on the economy that is actually interesting and fun to read. Buchholz has taken a very clever approach to making his point (with mini-novellas) that are both insightful and well researched. And humourous. Raises some serious concerns about the not too distant future that we should all be looking at as we contemplate our next investment.

Excellent purchase for novice investor........1999-08-18

This is an excellent book for a novice investor. It offers timely advice n a witty and informative manner. I would certainly recommend it.

Amazon.com

While working on an antiracism campaign for Saatchi & Saatchi in 1994, Steve Hilton and Giles Gibbons had an epiphany: corporations could use their clout to change the world, as well as to sell their products or services. Good Business, named after the London-based consultancy they founded to help companies do just that, presents a forceful argument for incorporating such thinking into a contemporary corporate battle plan. But this is no ranting manifesto. Rather, the authors truly celebrate capitalism and the way it could turn this concept into a positive factor for both individual companies and the world at large. (For example, they suggest that the youth-oriented Adidas athletic shoe company could convey antismoking messages to its young audience that ultimately might help curb the habit in addition to making parents feel more favorable toward the brand.) After explaining their heretical view of the positive place that even giant multinationals can occupy, Hilton and Gibbons address the social responsibility movement now attracting many businesses and the leadership role accepted by a select few. The book's longest section then analyzes how any firm can utilize its key strengths--including brand, operations, presence, and fiscal resources--to succeed commercially and socially. Some North American readers may have difficulty identifying with the litany of European business examples drawn largely from the authors' own work, but their points still cross the Atlantic relatively unscathed and should serve as an excellent foundation for further discussion and eventual action. --Howard Rothman

Book Description

If you want to stop an eight year old boy from smoking - who is he most likely to listen to? parents? teachers? the government? or Nike? If that same boy's parents are buying him a Christmas gift, which will they chose? Sports shoes from the company that only promotes its brand? Or shoes from the company that also uses its brand to promote anti-smoking? In Good Business, the authors argue that in the 21st century, the successful companies will be those that use their power and influence to work for social progress. And they'll do it because making the world a better place will also be the best way to make money.

Customer Reviews:

Simplistic but sometimes useful.......2003-02-19

I found it extremely hard to keep my mind on this book. I felt exactly the way the average customer feels when confronted by a high pressure used car salesman. These people were here to sell me something - and anything goes if it clinches the sale.

Having said that, there is value in the book as it demonstrates areas in which business and customers can work together to find arenas of social activity that are to their mutual advantage. It also puts forward good examples of why it is to the advantage of a company to engage in these sorts of activity and that they can turn a profit out of it as well.

The first two chapters are better forgotten. They set up the least sophisticated of the arguments against globalisation as a sort of straw man that they then tear down with decidedly simplistic and statistically dubious arguments. (It is one of the banes of this very important debate that each side presents totally 'authoritative' statistics that 'prove' the exact opposite of each other. However, these authors argue that the gap between rich and poor is not growing wider, which *really* requires some fancy definition bending.)

In the rest of the book, it is necessary to ignore the underlying theme that anybody who criticizes an aspect of business practice or the current global system is antibusiness and because some business is doing things well and responsibly all business is therefore beneficial. Neither extreme position is true. This leaves the possibility of becoming interested in the examples that they cite of good practice and thinking, with them, of how these examples could be spread and expanded. There are clearly many opportunities and it is equally clear that the authors' particular promotional skills will often be useful in identifying these opportunities and working out effective ways of getting them accepted and implemented.

Business Can be Good . . . and Save the World.......2002-07-28

Enron. WorldCom. Tyco. And the list goes on. Capitalism is practically a dirty word. Conversations in board rooms, executive suites, universities, and other environments of though wrestle with how corporations can pull themselves out of the quicksand of questionable integrity. Hilton and Gibbons have a few suggestions.

The authors are the founders (1997) of a British consulting firm that specializes in social marketing. They've built an enviable track record already working with a range of clients including Coca-Cola and Nike. Their position is that companies should start becoming the solution to the world's problems instead of being seen as the cause. By using their power for social good, they can influence environment issues, human rights, and social justice.

Seven chapters carry the message: Orthodoxy, Heresy, Responsibility, Leadership, Anatomy, Possibility, and Unity. Intrigued? Prepare to read an interesting book filled with examples and stories about how business became so unpopular, but really isn't so bad after all. The heresy chapter tells the other side of the story that is pounded at us through the media: globalization makes the poor richer, corporations are good for human rights, and we can close sweatshops and end child labor. Under Responsibility, the authors explore how corporations respond to all this criticism and how they can be truly socially responsible. Leadership is needed-real leadership, not just lip service. Commercialism, profit, and social good can all live together in harmony. The authors offer some ideas about what business could do to make a real difference and how ordinary citizens can join the movement for common good.

This is an almost conversational book that is comfortable to read. You'll gain some new perspectives and perhaps some inspiration.

Has a very direct and candid message.......2002-07-07

Good Business by Steve Hilton and Giles Gibbons (co-founders of Britain's first social marketing company, "Good Business") has a very direct and candid message: "If you want to change the world, then do it through business. If you want to help your business, then help change the world." Written in direct response to anti-globalization protests, Good Business demonstrates how globalization can help people everywhere and make the poor richer. But only if the virtues of globalization are used in the right way; companies must take responsibility for the profits and global well-being of tomorrow, and those who champion social justice and environmental protection need to ally with business rather than make it their enemy. Highly recommended for entrepreneurial and social activists, Good Business offers a superbly argued presentation of how business and economic forces can potentially shape a better world for us all.

Book Description

This title is also available for immediate download at http://www.businesscases.org.

* Only publication to include the examiner's suggested answers
* Will provide a helpful guide to both students and lecturers in preparing for examinations
* Allows students to practice answering exam questions plus gives invaluable help in exam technique

Book Description

Sponsored by the Indiana Center on Philanthropy

This groundbreaking sourcebook takes a major step toward developing a code of professional ethics for fundraisers. The examination of the fundraising profession in the moral life of a civil society is the topic of the first three chapters. These chapters are meant to give fundraisers a better and more elevated view of their work as much as to help their donors, bosses, and friends understand that fundraising may be difficult work, but it is certainly not dirty work. The remaining five chapters deal with ethics and the practical issues of fundraising, such as personal and professional decision making, the nonprofit board of directors, compensation methods, research, and fundraising management. This is the sixth issue of the quarterly journal New Directions for Philanthropic Fundraising.

Customer Reviews:

Ethics in Fundraising?.......2003-01-23

Firstly, I put this book at 4.5 and although it had its fault, it was fantastic book to read. This book was on my booklist for my fundraising course in College. At first glance, I nievely thought, Ethics and Fundraising, a bit of an oxymoron, isn't it? Upon closer examination of fundraising learning its craft, and reading this book, ethics and fundraising can be coupled together without any hesitation.
This book described the ideologies and theories of fundraising ethics. Upon completion, I can see that there is a distinct difference. One I never thought possible. Examples given are placed appropriatly and theories outlined are understood fully.
So, with my praise of the book, what was wrong to garner 4/4.5 stars? Well, the language was difficult to grasp at times. It used jargon of the trade that someone not in a course would necessarily know. As well, I found some of the political persons they chose to compare to fundraising as philanthropic people, strange.
Overall though, Fundraising, the fundraiser and ethics were protrayed in the most moral way with a truth love for humankind. For people who unsure of fundraising or the hoopla that is surrounding it because of shams, this is the book. You'll learn a lot and what is learnt, will stick with you.

Book Description

Includes a catalog of each artist's work, a discography of Beach's music, photographs of sculptures, and numerous musical examples.

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