Lone Wolf Terrorism Definitions Essay

Lone Wolf Terrorism Definitions Essay Lone wolf terrorism and mass killings can be argued to be a global phenomenon today. The definitions incorporated in the literature concerning Lone wolf terrorism do not differ greatly. According to Spaaij (2010) in The Enigma of Lone wolf terrorism: An assessment the term lone wolf terrorism encompasses terrorist attacks which are carried out by one person, who does not belong to an organised terrorist group. According to Spaaij, attacks which are carried out by couples or small cells do not qualify as lone wolf terrorists. The clearest definition from STRATFOR (a provider of geopolitical analysis and global intelligence) by Stewart, Scott and Burton (2008) of lone wolf terrorism is similar to an extent to the relation of Spaaij. STRARFOR states that lone wolf terrorism is defined as a person who acts on his or her own without orders from or connections to an organisation. Over the past decade, an increased number of lone wolf terrorist incidents have occurred over the world. Additionally, there are a diverse number of mass killings that have occurred, including shooting sprees by motivated individuals. Janet Napolitano the US Secretary of Homeland Security recently stated that individual terrorism is a problem which is also increasing. Historical background Lone wolf terrorism is known not to be a new phenomenon in our society. Comparable examples of lone wolf terrorism are highly visible during nineteenth-century anarchism. Mikhail Bakunin a Russian anarchist is known for stating that violence occurs by individuals due to the desire to participate in an activity which is revolutionary (Bakker and de Graaf 2010). It was suggested by Bakunin that those involved in small associations along with individuals should assassinate those who symbolise an existing social order. Bakunins interpretation galvanised terrorist incursion in multiple fragments of Europe. History illustrates that individual anarchists were involved in a number of incidents in opposition to establishments which embodied the significance of bourgeoisie norms and values (Kushner, 2003). Novak (1954) states that in the twentieth-century anarchists strongly believed that individual terrorism was both an approach which was rewarding and significant. In the United States during the latter period of the twentieth-century lone wolf terrorism was related to anti-government extremists and white supremacists (Novak 1954). It is defined by Kaplan (1997) that leadership resistance is whereby an engagement of anti-state violence is practised by lone wolves and where lone wolf individuals are independent of association. A past representative of the Ku Klux Klan; Louis Beam (1992) also a known white supremacist, popularised the concept of leaderless resistance. Louis beam had a judgement that individuals should function independently of each other and should not seek direction. During the late 1990s, Alex Curtis and Tom Metzger white supremacists dominated the expression lone wolf. (Anti-Defamation League, 2002). It was established by Curtis and Metzger that it is difficult to distinguish lone wolf terrorism compared to usual forms of terrorism. My Interests/Why I have chosen this topic? A number of reasons triggered my interest in mass killing and lone wolf terrorism, therefore, encouraging me to pursue this topic. The attack which occurred in Oslo, Norway by Anders Breivik contributes as a catalyst of interest in lone wolf terrorism and lone mass killings. Anders Breivik killed seventy-seven people in two terrorist attacks. Additional interests of mass killing were attacks performed by mass killer Seung-Hui Cho who went on a shooting spree in his university in the United States. An additional incident of mass killing that further increased my interest was the Aurora cinema shooting that occurred in Colorado in summer 2012. What was interesting about these cases to me was the motivation to why these lone individuals resulted in such methods. I was also interested in exploring the psychology of these mass killers and lone wolf terrorists, the main question I wanted answering was; what did they all have in common? According to Hewitt (2005), academic literature illust rates that the confines of lone wolf terrorism are habitually vague. Such examples are of attacks transmitted on individual particular motivation, such as mass killers or political assassinations. Hoffman (1998) states that a violent act committed by a lone wolf terrorist and a mass killer are similar however their rationale and motivation are different. There is a lack of academic literature comparing the psychological state of lone wolf terrorists and mass killers. Therefore an increased interest of mine is to analyse the commonalities of mass killers and lone wolves and what psychological factors contribute to their motivations and state of mind. What questions have been prompted for my research project? The questions that have been prompted for my own research project is; what are the motivational reasons to why mass killers and lone wolf terrorists resort to such methods? Furthermore, whether there are any psychological issues which mass killers and lone wolf terrorists suffer from; at their current time or at any time in their life. According to What a killer thinks by Cullen (2012) it states that; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦most of these mass murders are committed by criminals who fall into three groups these three groups are the delusional, psychopaths and suicidal and depressed. The examples of case studies given in this article are of Seung-Hui Cho, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold. Furthermore, according to Hewitt (2003) in Understanding Terrorism in America he argues that the extent of psychological disturbance is significantly high among lone wolves. Motivational reasons in relation to academic literature that I have read there is a diverse range of motivational reasons and patterns. The Enigma of Lone Wolf Terrorism; an Assessment by Saiij (2010) states that the main ideological categories of lone wolf include ideologies such as White Supremacy , nationalism and Islamism. From literature I have learned that the main motivational factors for lone wolf terrorism are that of political ideologies or religious views. Stern (2003) argues in Terror in the Name of God that lone wolves come up with their own ideologies that combine personal vendettas with religious or political grievances. I will further analyze different profiles of lone wolf terrorists and lone mass killers which will further broaden the understanding of differing motivational factors of lone wolves and mass killers. A further interest of mine is what are the common weapons used in attacks? An additional question I ask is; what are the different methods of operation us ed by lone wolf terrorists and lone mass killer. What is already known? From enlarged study of academic literature and articles it is already known that both lone wolf terrorists and mass killers have suffered from psychological issues at one point in their lives. Martha Grenshaw (1992) states in How Terrorists think; that the strongest motivations of terrorism is vengeance. She states that individuals; particularly desire to avenge not oneself but others, especially people thought to be responsible for injustices. Grenshaw also states that attention is a reward this is also popular amongst those who have felt neglected by society or ignored. An example to support the claim that attention is a reward can be the profile of Timothy McVeigh. McVeigh was obsessed with his legacy whilst he was on death row. McVeigh desperately wished for his biography American Terrorist to be published before his death, he strongly believed that he would go down in history as a great American patriot similar to Alexander Hamilton or Thomas Paine (Springer 2009). Furthermore, psychologist Todd Walker (2007) answers the question; What drives a mass killer like Seung Hui Cho? Walker responds that when an individual feels wounded they feel they have the right to seek à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦revenge and restitution. This contributes one of many psychological reviews which relate to mass killers and the motivation behind their attacks. Analytical studies have illustrated that a high rate of lone wolf terrorism occurs in the United States compared to any other western country. This was established by Hewitt (2003), who analyses the increase in victimization by lone wolves from 1955 following up to the years in 1999. Hewitt states that lone wolf terrorism has become an ascending threat in North America, he also states that lone wolf terrorism; has greatly increased in recent decades. How others have approached similar research questions. Other literature authors have approached similar research questions in diverse ways. The main aim for many authors is to establish the definition of lone wolf terrorism. However the motivation for lone wolf terrorism is also a key approach to the understanding of why individuals become lone wolves. Patterns of radicalization are also a research approach to which authors have conducted. I shall be analyzing this form of approach in relation to my research question related to lone wolf terrorism and mass killers. Questions that havent been answered From diverse literature materials, I have noticed a trend which relates to questions about how to fight lone wolf terrorism. This can be viewed to be a weakness in prior research as there are a numerous range of unanswered questions. Preventing Lone Wolf Terrorism (Bakker and Graaf 2011) ask a question; How to deal with the threat of lone wolf terrorism and the challenge of identifying, targeting and arresting persons who act entirely on their own? They state that this question has not been appropriately answered therefore causing the issue of how to reconcile fundamental principles of open societies with guaranteeing security to citizens. Academic literature of conventional terrorism emphasises the influence of leaders and training. The inequity between the discerned intimidations of lone wolf terrorism and the focus on contemporary terrorism which incorporate group form manifests the requirement for a greater theoretical examination to facilitate a greater understanding of lone wolf terrorism. A weakness in academic literature is the issue that literature is vague about the degree to which contemporary accounts of terrorism can contribute to the development of performance of lone wolf terrorists. This therefore supports my consideration of a diverse range of question relating to the motivations, nature and the modus operandi of lone wolf terrorism. Debates on topic area There is a large debate on lone wolf terrorism and the issue of preventing it. Available literature explains that there is not a concrete answer to the questioning of whether lone wolf terrorism can be stopped and also how to deal with the threat of lone wolf terrorism. There are a small number of counter terrorist responses. According to Alex Shone (2010), the key factor of the UKs Counter Terrorism response regarding lone wolf terrorism occurrences is in knowing how attacks may occur however not whom would carry out the attacks. Shone believes that counter terrorism services need to adopt a method of using a sensitive detective system. An additional debate on how to deal with the threat of lone wolf terrorism relates to the factor that there are commonalities shared between lone wolves and therefore a way to deal with the this threat would be to scrutinize and work together with afflicted communities. Furthermore it is believed by counter terrorist responses that it would be; à ¢Ã ¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦rewarding to compare and study the nature of potential triggers or catalyst events in the radicalization process of lone wolves. (Bakker and de Graaf 2011) It is illustrated in literature that counter terrorism responses can only partially reduce the threat of lone wolf terrorism as the challenge to prevent it is viewed to be huge. There is increased analysis needed regarding the modus operandi of lone wolf terrorists and their radicalization process. According to Bakker and de Gaaf (2011) they state that is crucial that experiences, data and policy makers and researchers are present in order to develop various feasible responses to lone wolf terrorism. The platform my sources provide There are a number of platforms which sources provide for my dissertation. My sources illustrate clear definitions of lone wolf terrorism which give me a clear understanding of the concept. There are also a number of case studies and profiles of lone terrorists and mass killers who use methods of shooting sprees. This platform is significant to the extent that it enables me to compare and contrast the commonalities between lone wolves and mass killers. These sources have facilitated me to withdraw significant commonalties and also distinguish trends between lone wolves and mass killers. They have also enabled me to have a concise and clear understanding which has significantly contributed to my study.

John leo Essay

In John Leo’s article, â€Å"No books, please; we’re students’’, Leo discusses the issues with current college students and their lack of drive and ambition. Leo provides his readers with a multitude of statics and example why he feels college students have become lazy and disengaged. Leo introduces his readers using a survey from UCLA’s Higher Education Research Institute stating, â€Å"Only 35 percent of students said they spent six or more hours a week studying or doing homework during their senior year in high school; down from 43.7 percent 1987.’’ John Leo’s article claims that college students are losing an interest and enthusiasm for college. John Leo fills his article with statics and quotes from professors and teachers complaining about the lack of will power student have. â€Å" The real problem is students who won’t study,’’ wrote a Penn rSate Professor in the article. Leo also stated† disengaged rudeness† was the common attitude.† Leo’s article slams today’s college students on many levels. Leo’s article uses terms such as, disengaged, ignorant, and â€Å"inarticulate† to describe college students in today’s society. Leo clearly support his arguments and options with actual quotes from professors but I do not agree with his approach nor his arguments. Being a college students is not only about reading books and is definitely not only about students. There are plenty of professors that clearly don’t care or don’t like their jobs. Students can tell if a professor is passionate about a subject just like a professor can tell if a student is truly lazy or just struggling with the subject. Assumptions are being made on college students through Leo’s arguments. Leo did not thoroughly look into his students because his arguments are one sided. Leo does not provide his readers with the pros and cons, only the negative light is shed on how students learn or lack there of. John Leo’s article, â€Å"No books, Please; we’re students’’ targets today’s college students and negativity shows one side of a student’s life. Leo uses statistics and quotes from an array of professors to show the lack of interest college students show in today’s society but his approach is  extremely one sided and not thoroughly executed. More research and quotes from multiple views should have been provided.

Communication And Newspaper Essay

Racism and sexism were a major part of the 1950s and 1960s, with very few newspapers or magazines being able to maintain neutrality in their printed word against such hate. The Watts riots of Los Angeles in the movie, Heat Wave, involved attacks of a bigoted police force against black individuals who had very little education, were living in poverty, with most of the people having no jobs–with unemployment being higher here than anywhere else. Many of these individuals felt they were being prejudiced against, with only five of the actual 205 police officers involved in the riots being African-American. In the movie, the Los Angeles Times reporter was played by Robert Richardson, as white reporters were not allowed in the area, which was a reverse discrimination of the riot itself. The whole picture was about racism, poverty, desperation, and feelings of anxiety and striking out against the world with feelings of   â€Å"enough is enough.† It also is about how someone in the lead role of a intolerant and racist police chief can influence whole neighborhoods of the African Americans, leading them to feelings of hopelessness and despair, eventually leading to the Watts riot which led to even more riots across the country as people began rebelling against their treatment. The movie Crash was also portrayed in Los Angeles, and also involves racism and prejudice. If possible, in a more dramatic way it regards how people interact with each other and how they develop a first impression based on race or statement, forming feelings of prejudice. It seems as if the movie is totally about relationships and different races of people, telling how we get all messed up inside and form wrong impressions about things that maybe later on we would never consider. The role of Officer Hanson in Crash psychologically seems to continue from the raging police in Heat Wave, yet here it shows that behind the scene of their abusive personality, it shows another side of racism in a different form of view, even though it brings up more violence and maybe other things causing it. It is a step-up in the picture of how discrimination, racism, and sexism develop in societies and within individuals. It is not always a black and white scene, but has many variables involved in it. In Crash, the viewpoint changed from the reporter’s view on how something can happen like a riot of minorities, or a car hi-jacking, as portrayed to the public or world to see how something can develop from the viewpoint of the stereotyped races—eventually even seeing things from the viewpoint of the police and why they feel the way they do. The third way of thinking refers to the scene in the movie Come See The Paradise, almost as if completing the circle of prejudice and racism. The writer of Crash felt that intolerance was a collective problem that needed to be explored along with shared humanity, almost as a â€Å"gang effect.† In the movie Come See The Paradise, Jack McGurn is a union organizer in New York City that is parallel to the police in the other two movies in regard to status and position, but finds himself on the wrong side of the law, also similar to the car hi-jackers or the rioters in the previous two movies. Fleeing to Los Angeles, he becomes involved in the Asia-American world, which involves racist and sexist as the blacks or Japanese, but he is the one who is prejudiced against when he tries to marry Lily, an Asian-American woman, by her father. The state of California also is prejudiced by their relationship by refusing to marry them, which forces them to flee to Seattle where they can wed. Prior to the prejudice and rioting of the 50s and 60s, â€Å"Civilian Exclusion Order No. 92† became the forced removal of all Japanese and Japanese-Americans from their homes into detention camps, with very few actually knowing where they were going or why. After WWII was over, and the Japanese Internment was actually admitting to as a wrong–doing by the United States, the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 was passed to make sure that the Japanese Americans were repaid for being locked up like criminals, during a time when prejudice and fear took away the rights of our citizens because they were of another nationality involved in a wrong-doing. This was a time when citizens of the United States lost their rights because of who their race was against the power of the United States. They literally had to stand in-line to toilet, to eat, were told when to go to bed, etc.—meanwhile losing their homes, jobs and many family members. Needless to say, their dignity and pride were torn away because they were Japanese, not because of what they did wrong. Similar to the African-American racist riots in the 1960s, with many of the blacks forced into jail and torn away from their homes because they were black, the Japanese were treated just as bad. The African-Americans targeted were jobless, homeless, and drifting throughout life—which were automatic red flags for white police to pick them up. During the Japanese Internment, just being Japanese was an automatic red flag to be put in detention camps during WWII. With about 120,000 of these Japanese-Americans being forced into the camps, it was held in little regard that 2/3 of them were actually American citizens, and had rights under our Constitution, even though they were a minority group. They simply were unlucky enough to be Japanese during a time when the bombing of Pearl Harbor occurred, and they became the focus of the United State’s hate and prejudice. Living in the camps for three years under armed guards, this became a shameful period for our country when we had the audacity to treat our own people this way when they had done nothing wrong other than become a victimized race.   At one time, the Constitution of the United States actually protected the rights of our citizens, but the perfect union was not perfect during this WWII period or even later on, as the minority groups became a separate entity during the WWII as opposed to being a citizen of respect, as did the African-Americans during a later period, and is to this day. In my opinion, the similarity of the Japanese Internment period and the rioting of the 50s and 60s have changed very little, with one group locked up in detention camps and the other in prison. Both groups are imprisoned more due to race and color, by ignorant and bigoted individuals of authority who choose to separate themselves from their victims as beings of superiority. Very few looked at their victims and ask, â€Å"what kind of life did they lead before this moment, and what led to this?† and â€Å"do they consider themselves as criminals and doing wrong, because they were born Japanese or Black?†Ã‚   And did any of the answers justify the actions of their jailers? Race and racism is part of the United States and has very little to do with ethics or morality of the human race. Do we have room for a neighbor of another nationality? No—at the present time due to 9/11 the same thing is happening. How many people who are of the same race as the terrorist groups, are being punished by the United States and its citizen, being questioned in detention camps year after year, and with torturous techniques labeled as acceptable by our President? How different is this from the Japanese Internment period, or the locking up and beating of the African-American people simply because they were overly populated, living in extreme poverty, or uneducated? It is not†¦and we repeat history again and again, never learning compassion or empathy, which is why we are so popular with third world countries that are uneducated, poverty stricken, and over-populated—and who we are 100% prejudiced against.    Bibilography There needs to be the information here of the newspaper coverage, â€Å"the Readings,, of the Japanese-American Intemment during WW2 and the civil Rights movement of the late 1950`s,† which I do not have.

What are the implications for a firm that does not conduct CSR - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 9 Words: 2595 Downloads: 1 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Management Essay Type Critical essay Level High school Did you like this example? Critically discuss Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). What are the implications for a firm that does not conduct CSR? Date authored: 08 th August, 2014. This essay will commence with showing that a definition of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is required and will then provide a definition and an indication of the scope. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "What are the implications for a firm that does not conduct CSR?" essay for you Create order CSR will then be broken down into groupings and each looked at from a company perspective to show the advantages of CSR and risks when not using CSR. Companies have a choice; and the implications of not conducting CSR will also be considered. There is very little legislature on the subject of CSR. The nearest available is environmental standards in the UK and Internationally by the International Organisation for Standardization (ISO). (ISO 14000, 2006). The newer Social Responsibility standards (ISO 26000, 2010) are only guidelines, with no fixed rules or framework for an organisation to certify to the standards. It is no surprise, therefore, that many companies define CSR in their own way, and thus can set their own objectives which they can easily attain. When it is born in mind that CSR can have such a wide range of practices that support it, it is easy for a company to pick and choose what it does. So, for a discussion of CSR, a single consistent definition is required . The definition that will be used here is from the European Commissions 2011-14 corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy, which defines CSR as â€Å"a concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operations and in their interactions with stakeholders on a voluntary basis† (UK Government, 2014: 3). According to the Business Minister, Jenny Willott, MP â€Å"Corporate responsibility is at the heart of successful businesses.† (Willott, 2014). That means that it refers to a set of actions performed by a company, over and above its normal business, that contributes towards sustainable development. Corporate Social Responsibility can include a wide range of factors, from ethical and fair trade to reputation and brand management. The UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE, 2014) identifies additional issues as part of CSR, including animal welfare, diversity and equal opportunities, community investment, giving aid to local organisations and communities in developing countries and helping to build the skills of the local people through community based development. CSR can affect goodwill, employment practices, expansion, stakeholders, company standards, company strategy and much more. One survey on the main reasons that companies engage in CSR puts top management interest as the number one reason, with company reputation, profit, customers expectation and attracting employees following close behind (Habisch, et al., 2005). It is usual to identify these factors in a good light (as a bonus to the companies) and it is common to see CSR statements in companies annual reports and glossy handouts. However this can draw attention to a companys practices and can be disastrous when non socially-responsible practices are exposed in the media. For example Nike when they were accused of using child labour in the production of its soccer balls in Pakistan. (Urip, 2011). Note that Nike went through a huge transformation as a result and are now considered an industry leader in the area of CSR (Ferrell, Fraedrich Ferrell, 2013). So CSR has a very wide remit. Buy why should companies take on CSR? To analyse this, it is necessary to group all the parts of CSR so that each one does not have to discussed individually. For the grouping, we use Schwartz (2011), who breaks down CSR into three distinct parts; these being legal, economic, and ethical. Each of these will be addressed in turn. Addressing those parts of CSR which are covered by UK law, there is limited legislation in the UK on the subject of CSR. One reference is in section 172 of the companies Act, where it says: â€Å"A director of a company must act in the way he considers, in good faith, would be most likely to promote the success of the company for the benefit of its members as a whole, and in doing so have regard (amongst other matters) to †¦ the impact of the companys operations on the community and the environment† (Companies Act, 2006). Other countries have more strict legislation, for example in Denmark, there has been an obligation for larger businesses to consider and report on CSR since 2009 (Gorrissen Federspiel, 2014). In California, large manufacturers and retailers have to disclose what actions they are taking to address the risks of human trafficking and forced labour in their supply chains (Altschuller, 2011). It is clear that non-compliance with any legal requirements (whether CSR or otherwise) carries great risk and can cause the company to be prosecuted and potentially put out of business. The economic issues would appear to make sense in that when following a CSR practice, the company can also save money, which translates to increased profit. One example is hotels that allow you to choose between reusing your towel and having it replaced depending on where you leave it after you have used it. This can save the hotel water and electricity t o wash it, while still offering the guest the choice (McElhaney, 2008). However where Pernecky and Là ¼ck (2013) suggest holding Virtual Meetings rather than physical meetings, thus saving travel, meals, hotels, etc. looks like it is a CSR policy that just saves money. However it is important to measure whether the virtual meetings attain the required objectives. Thus it is not always obvious which practices will lead to economic advantages, or which economic CSR approaches will meet the requirements of the business. The ethical issues, such as a company taking a CSR approach without having to or clearly having economic benefits can also be used to gain positive publicity (Idowu Filho, 2009), which can raise the image of the company, thus providing longer term benefits, such as increased goodwill. Idowu Filho go on to say that this can be used for marketing to show that the company is ahead of its rivals due to its CSR approach. One advantage of CSR is brand demarcat ion. Many companies look for something which will set them apart from the competition. For example the Excel centre, a large conference venue near Canary Wharf in London has achieved six awards relating to CSR, for example The Sunday Times â€Å"Best Green Companies† award (Excel, 2014). If a company is looking for a conference venue in London, and Excel is implementing CSR whereas another venue is not, this gives the client a reason to select Excel, and something extra the company can say on its marketing. So it is an advantage for Excel to support CSR which can lead to directly affecting the bottom line. Local support and getting licences can be made easier for a company if it has a CSR policy. Such a company is seen locally as a good company and this can improve how the company is seen by locals and can help to provide support for the companys plans where local support is an advantage (e.g. a new building, opening late into the night). Having a CSR policy which is implemented and draws peoples attention to it can help to distract the public from other things that could have negative implications for a company. For example if a company have very high board members pay, this can lower the publics view of the company. However if the company is seen to put the environment first, and it puts resources directly into supporting this, this can overshadow the board members pay (Grayson Hodges, 2004). A company that has a CSR policy throughout the company can improve the staffs attachment to the company. They believe that their work partly helps the community and can do much to improve morale. Also they may be keener to participate in events such as fundraising which they may do in their own time and gain the company goodwill whilst costing the company nothing (ibid). There is a trend moving towards CSR (Fiorina, 2003). With national and international standards on CSR related issues becoming more common, and laws likely to follow, ther e is a large bonus in getting CSR well embedded in a company before a law demands it. When laws are passed, this puts a fixed timescale on the changes to CSR. This can cause CSR to be implemented at an inopportune time, and a time when other companies are doing the same, and potentially costing many times more. However the situation is not all good. There are considered to be disadvantages of CSR and these must be understood and addressed before a company implements CSR. There are those who say that the sole purpose of a business is to make money (e.g. Friedman, 1970). Anything that detracts from that is considered to be a distraction from the businesss core function. This can make share-holders get fewer dividends because the company is involved in a scheme which costs money and resources to implement but does not directly add to the bottom line. This point can be countered by a company implementing CSR policies in order to reduce excessive inputs and wastes in their suppl y chain, which saves them money (Idowu Louche, 2011). To take a more recent example, the Commission for Green Tax Reform in Portugal put forward a proposal on 9th July 2014 for a package of environmental taxes. These would include additional taxes on fuel, air travel and the use of plastic bags (Lomas, 2014). In fact, Fleming Jones (2012) claim that CSR is fatally compromised and, when applied to large multinational corporations, does more harm than good. The claim says that many companies are not taking CSR seriously and only implement a few measures that help them make money and stop there rather than implementing a comprehensive CSR approach. One question is whether a companys CSR policy should also apply to all of its suppliers down the line. One example of this was in 2012 when Tazreen Fashions factory, a clothing making factory in Bangladesh caught fire and caused the death of 112 workers. The working conditions were appalling. This reflected badly on their custom ers, such as Wal-Mart and Sears, who sold products made in this factory. In the investigation, it was revealed that neither Wal-Mart nor Sears even knew that the products they sold were being made in this factory (Crane and Matten, 2012). However in general, CSR is becoming more and more important. If we just take environmental issues as an example, Bowdin, et al. (2006) shows that considerations of environmental issues are increasingly paramount. Without a set of standards there are no requirements from the government or standards organisations on implementation. Although there are demands from customers for CSR values (ibid), and as has been shown, the benefits are considerable, it falls to the companies themselves to implement CSR. And within the companies, it falls to the management of the company to set a CSR policy and use it to guide them throughout their company. If management plan and implement a CSR policy, it can be rewarded. For example some companies have C SR targets and executives who deliver or exceed these targets are rewarded (Horrigan, 2010). Alternatively, CSR can be built into the plan right from the start. An example of this is the Olympics, where a philosophy is so much built into the Olympic Games that it is built into their charter. (International Olympic Committee, 2014). As has been shown after mistakes such as at Nike, it can be critical to implement CSR policy throughout the organisation. Failure to do this can cause problems that can greatly affect the companys goodwill and thus its sales. All showing that a CSR philosophy can be vital for organisations and actually implementing the philosophy can lead to rewards whereas failure can lead to disaster. These days, all major companies have a CSR statement (Musafer, 2014). And their CSR statement is being looked at to see if it is really authentic or just superficial. Musafer (ibid) also claims that if a company is not implementing CSR in a genuine way, it ca n be very damaging to that company. To summarise, although CSR is not a panacea for any company, there are many CSR options that can be taken by companies which would benefit their company. In addition a failure to implement CSR approaches can be costly. However each company procedure should be considered as to whether it best suits the company to take a CSR approach depending on the costs and benefits (or risks). (2,070 [A4] words) Altschuller, S. A. (2011) Trafficking in Supply Chains, Inside Supply Management, issue October – November 2011 Bowdin G., Allen, J., OToole, W., Harris, R., McDonnell, I. (2006) Events Management 2nd Edition, Elsevier Ltd Companies Act (2006) Companies Act 2006: Part 10: Chapter 2: The general duties: Section 172 Available from www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/46/section/172 [Accessed 1 August 2014] Crane Matten (2012) An informed and thought-provoking analysis of what lies behind the headlines and headaches of business ethics and corporate social responsibility Available from https://craneandmatten.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/top-10-corporate-responsibility-stories.html [Accessed 3 August 2014] ExCeL (2014) ExCeL Londons Sustainability Policy . Available from https://www.excel-london.co.uk/about-excel/excel-and-the-environment [Accessed 2 August 2014] Ferrell, O. C., Fraedrich J. Ferrell, L. (2013) Business Ethics: Ethical Decision Making Cases Mason, Ohio: South Western Cengage Learning Fiorina, C. (2003) â€Å"Business for Social Responsibility Conference, November 12, 2003)† [Cited in Kottler, P. Lee, N. (2005) Corporate Social Responsibility, New Jersey: John Wiley Sons, Inc.] Fleming, P. Jones, M. (2012) The End of Corporate Social Responsibility: Crisis and Critique London: Sage Publications Friedman, M. (1970) â€Å"The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase its Profits† New York: The New York Times Magazine Gorrissen Federspiel (2014) Specialisation: Compliance CSR Available from www.gorrissenfederspiel.com/uk/site.aspx?p=516 [Accessed 1 August 2014] Grayson, D. Hodges, A. (2004) Corporate Social Responsibility! Sheffield: Greenleaf Publishing Habisch, A., Jonker, J., Wegner, M. Schmidpeter, R. (2005) Corporate Social Responsibility Across Europe Heidelberg: Springer Horrigan, B. (2010) Corporate Social Responsibility in the 21st Century: Debates, Models and Practices Across Government, Law and Business Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd HSE: Health and Safety Executive (2014) Meeting your Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Available from www.hse.gov.uk/stress/furtheradvice/meetresponsibility.htm [Accessed 2 August 2014] Idowu, S. O. Filho, W. L. (2009) Global Practices of Corporate Social Responsibility Heidelberg: Springer Idowu, S. O. Louche, C. (2011) Theory and Practice of Corporate Social Responsibility Heidelberg: Springer International Olympic Committee (2014) Olympic Charter . Available from https://www.olympic.org/olympic-charter/documents-reports-studies-publications [Accessed 3 August 2014] ISO 14000 , ISO 14000 Environmental management. Available from https://www.iso.org/iso/home/standards/management-standards/iso14000.htm [Accessed 3 August 2014] ISO 26000 , ISO 26000:2010 Guidance on social responsibility. Available from https://www.iso.org/iso/catalogue_detail?csnumber=42546 [Accessed 1 August 2014] Lomas, U. (2014) Green Tax Reform Proposed In Portugal Available from https://www.tax-news.com/news/Green_Tax_Reform_Proposed_In_ Portugal____65250.html [Accessed 1 August 2014] McElhaney, K. (2008) Just Good Business: The Strategic Guide to Aligning Corporate Responsibility and Brand San Francisco: Berrett-Koekler Publishers, Inc. Musafer, S. (2014) Corporate social responsibility: Measuring its value Available from https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-19876138 [Accessed 1 August 2014] Pernecky, T. Là ¼ck, M. (2013) Events, Society and Sustainability: Critical and Contemporary Approaches Abingdon: Routledge Schwartz, M. S. (2011) Corporate Social Responsibility: An Ethical Approach London: Broadview Press UK Government (2014) , Corporate Responsibility, Available from https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/300265/bis-14-651-good-for-business-and-society-government-response-to-call-for-views-on-corporate-responsibility.pdf [Accessed 1 August 2014] Urip, S. (2011) CSR Strategies: Corporate Social Responsibility for a Competitive Edge in Emerging Markets Singapore : John Wiley Sons Willott, J . (2014) Corporate responsibility is at the heart of successful businesses Available from https://www.gov.uk/government/news/corporate-responsibility-is-at-the-heart-of-successful-businesses-willott [Accessed 2 August 2014]