Carol Blenda Reyes Avila

Responsabilidad Social de las Empresas y sus Relaciones con la Gestión de las Personas en las Organizaciones.

Wednesday, April  7, 2010

By: Carol Blenda Reyes Avila

Se entiende que la adopción de criterios de Responsabilidad Social Corporativa (RSC) en la gestión empresarial entraña la formalización de políticas y sistemas de gestión en los ámbitos económico, social y medioambiental; así también, la transparencia informativa respecto de los resultados alcanzados en tales ámbitos y  finalmente, el escrutinio externo de los mismos. “la definición de RSC no siempre es clara” debido a las diferentes visiones de los grupos de interés y las ideologías de la dirección. Ante todo, la RSC es consistente con hacer máximos los beneficios e interés de los accionistas.

El modelo de gestión de RSC propone que la articulación de las expectativas de los distintos grupos de interés concurrentes en la actividad empresarial redunda en una mejor anticipación de los riesgos y, finalmente, en la creación estable de valor para el accionista. La adopción de la filosofía RSC por las empresas comienza con la adopción de políticas formales y sistemas de gestión en los ámbitos económico, social y medioambiental, la transparencia informativa respecto de los resultados alcanzados en tales ámbitos y finalmente el escrutinio externo de los resultados.

En la actualidad, el debate sobre la RSC se ha trasladado al ámbito político y público principalmente embocado a la función que han de desempeñar los poderes públicos para la promoción de la filosofía RSC.  Buena parte de los gobiernos de las economías avanzadas han adoptado políticas formales de difusión de la cultura corporativa de la RSC, entendiendo que las mismas puede favorecer y optimizar las ventajas competitivas de las empresas en determinados mercados, encauzar sus actividades en países emergentes o en vías de desarrollo y dar acceso a algunos segmentos del mercado de capitales ásperos.

Las agendas internacionales y la adopción de políticas formales RSC por parte de grandes grupos empresariales internacionales. En muchos casos competidores de empresas en la mayoría de los países industrializados han llegado a éstas por medio de la toma de decisiones por imitación. Esta voluntad mostrada por un creciente número de compañías permite ser optimista acerca de un conocimiento más adecuado y mayor difusión del enfoque RSC  a nivel empresarial

Hoy en día las empresas son cada vez más conscientes de la necesidad de incorporar las preocupaciones sociales, laborales, medioambientales y de derechos humanos, como parte de su estrategia de negocio y desarrollo. Progresivamente, un mayor número de empresas son conscientes de que pueden contribuir al desarrollo sostenible orientando sus operaciones a favorecer el crecimiento económico y aumentar su competitividad, al mismo tiempo, estas empresas garantizan la protección del medio ambiente y fomentan la responsabilidad social, incluidos los intereses de los consumidores.

Todo lo anterior, unido a las recientes tendencias de transparencia e información, en la actualidad  han dado lugar a que muchas corporaciones  hayan comenzado a elaborar y publicar informes de los actos  responsables ejecutados en los ámbitos laboral, social y medioambiental  llevados a cabo durante la gestión lo cual puede ser usado como ejemplo de Responsabilidad Social Corporativa.

I wrote this article for my Human Resources class at UVM  and professor Arimates suggested to get it published, so I did it!

CB

http://wphr.org/2010/carol.blenda/child-slavery-problem-in-haiti/

Monday, April 5, 2010

By: Carol Blenda Reyes Avila

Today, all eyes are on Haiti–the island that was devastated by a natural disaster–but in closely looking at the problems there, one has to wonder how human right issues have been overlooked. At least, while it is not a secret that Haiti has had problems, the extent of the misery there has been underrated. Padgett  writes about the Restaveks or the human slaves in Haiti. Child slavery is a given there and the Haitian government in 2001 claimed that about 300 thousand young people were in fact child slaves. It is not that Haiti condones the situation. Yet, the problem goes undetected by the Haitian government. It festers there the same way the drug trade goes on secretly in the United States. Everyone knows its there but it is hard to stop entirely.

Danielle Romer, the head of a private social service agency claims that the problem of child slavery in Haiti is more widespread than anyone wants to admit. First, it is important to define the problem and take a look at Haiti. Why are the child slaves called Restaveks? The term in Creole means “to stay with us” and it is a nice sentiment for the abhorrent practice of owning a person same as any object bought at an open market.

Slavery has existed in Haiti since the nation became independent from France in 1804. The Haitian Revolution technically took place between 1794 and 1804 but the bloody French Revolution is also related.  The revolution in France in 1789  propelled Europe to go into an all out war, touching off “slave uprisings” in Caribbean islands . In 1794, France did do away with slavery in the colonies.

In 1802, Napoleon tried to restore slavery in the West Indies but when on January 1, 1804, Dessalines called himself the leader of a new nation, Haiti would emerge as a separate entity. Indeed, like the United States broke from Britain, Haiti would break from France. The first revolution occurred due to the desire for freedom. It was a typical colonial struggle between the people who lived in Haiti and the mother country of France. Fast forward to February of 2004 and there would be another struggle brewing.  Haiti’s rebellion had spread by February of 2004 and the Bush administration had taken a proactive role in  brokering a political settlement.

Haiti is politically unstable and now this country has to deal with extreme impoverishment due to an earthquake, even as child slavery is still a part of its culture. One can see that while Haiti did separate from France, and had been on its own for some time, the nation has never been politically stable. It never completely did away with slavery either.

A recent televised rock concert was held to raise money for Haiti and there have been many collections, but this does not always help the Restaveks. Yet, there are organizations that have been trying to alleviate the problem of slavery specifically. For example, the mission of the Restavek Foundation is as follows: ” Our mission is simple. We want to put an end to child slavery in Haiti. Unfortunately, the solution is not so straightforward. As a part of a complex web addressing the Restavek system in Haiti-our role is to give hope, and even freedom, to those who need it most. The Restavek Foundation provides Restavek children opportunities for education, advocates for enslaved children, and raises awareness on a global scale to end modern-day slavery in Haiti”

Indeed, as the mission statement suggests, the problem is not simple. In part, educating people will help, but poverty is at the root of many of the problems there. Poverty and a lack of resources, or even jobs, create the issues as do a lack of education. The fact that the problem is largely hidden is keeping other nations from taken action. Again, the most significant problem is the poverty. It is why parents do not do anything to stop the slave trade. In fact, they encourage their children to take these roles. Why? Lee explains: “In Haiti, solutions are hard to come by. Children die of starvation and many parents have little choice but to hope that the Restavek system provides them a way out of certain death.” Incredibly as it sounds, the plight of the child in Haiti is worse than that of the slave in Haiti.

Haiti is widely considered to be the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere. Even if it did not experience an earthquake, or there were no Restaveks, the nation would still be in chaos. With so many people living in poverty, life is dismal. The fact that there has been a recent natural disaster and evidence of  child slavery  along with abuse, only makes matters worse. To some extent, bringing attention to Haiti does help in terms of aid. Right now, a great deal of money is being raised for the country.

Haiti certainly needs an overhaul. Poverty must be resolved and the infrastructure built up. Yet, aside from the creation of a better organized, more lucrative nation, the slave trade cannot be tolerated. Poverty is no excuse for abuse. Yet, again, the infrastructure and the government needs to be reformed as well. The police in Haiti are notoriously corrupt. Parents must not give up by giving their children away to a life of slavery. Awareness is important, as is education, but resoling the issue of poverty seems to be most important to the cause.

References
Jean R. Cadet Restavek Foundation. 2010. Retrieved from http://www.restavekfreedom.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=cms.pag e&id=1026

Lee, N.C. (2009, August 6). ANOTHER VIEW: SPOTLIGHT RETURNS TO  ‘RESTAVEKS’ OF HAITI. Retrieved from
http://www.wavenewspapers.com/opinion/columns/52612952.html
Marquis, C. & Polgreen, L. (2004, February 21). U.S. to help    Haiti and urges out Americans. International Herald     Tribune.
Padgett, T. (2001, May 4). Of Haitian Bondage. Time Magazine.   Retrieved fromhttp://www.racematters.org/ racematters/ofhaitianbondage.htm
Smith, K.F.  (2010, January 16). Haiti: A Historical Perspective.
Newsweek Web Exclusive. Retrieved from http://www.newsweek.com/id/231179
The Haitian Revolution. 1794 – 1804. 2010. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part3/3p2990.html