Jeb Bush has given his tacit endorsement to a new group that can collect unlimited amounts of money in secret, part of a bold effort by his advisers to create a robust external political operation before he declares his expected White House bid.
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs are becoming increasingly popular in corporate America. There is no doubt that most make positive contributions to society and in some cases, make the sponsoring corporations more profitable. These programs may help organizations attract and retain employees and, in some cases, encourage consumers to buy their products. But are they the thing organizations can and should do in order to make our world better? I think the answer here is “no.”
What organizations need to do instead is to design themselves so that they perform well, in terms of what I like to call the quadruple bottom line of sustainable effective performance. They need to perform well financially, socially, environmentally and in how they impact their employees. Corporate social responsibility programs do not do this, they are “add-ons,” not a way of operating. Indeed, they may detract organizations from making the fundamental changes necessary to perform in a sustainably effective manner that leads to positive results in the four critical quadruple bottom line areas.
It is obviously beyond the scope of what can be written in a blog piece like this one to go into detail concerning how organizations can be designed to be sustainably effective. What can be done here is to make it clear that organizations must change their key management processes and structures in order to perform in a sustainably effective manner, and in many respects, make corporate social responsibility programs unnecessary.
What are the key areas that need to be changed? Perhaps the most obvious one is how they measure and report organizational performance. Instead of measuring their performance almost exclusively in terms of their financial results, they need to measure and report to the public their results in each of the four quadruple bottom line areas.
They need leaders who understand the impact of key decisions on all the performance areas of the organization, and that emphasize that their organization is committed to performing well in all four areas. In addition, they need to create a pay and recognition system that rewards sustainably effective corporate performance.
Getting an organization to be sustainably effective requires organization designs that allow good information on how they are performing to reach all key stakeholders. They need to put most of the organization in touch with the external environment so employees are aware of what is happening and what impact the organization is having. This, in many cases, requires changes in the organization’s structure and how information is distributed.
I could talk in more detail about how organizations need to change their basic decision processes and designs in order to be sustainably effective, but as I said earlier that is beyond the scope of this blog (more detail can be found in my recent article, “The sustainable effectiveness model: Moving corporations beyond the philanthropy paradigm” (Organizational Dynamics, 2015). At this point, I would like to conclude by noting that although CSR programs are in many ways admirable, they should not blind us to the fact that they are not capable of making corporations do what they need to do in order for them to contribute to a sustainably effective world. Indeed, they distract organizations from doing what they can and should do. Doing the right things and doing them right needs to be part of the fabric of corporations, not an add-on.
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — UConn men’s basketball coach Kevin Ollie will not be traveling to the Final Four this week, abiding by a travel ban ordered by Connecticut’s governor because of Indiana’s new religious-objections law, the school announced Tuesday.
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and other critics contend the law would allow businesses to deny service to gays and lesbians based on religious beliefs. The governor on Monday signed an executive order banning state spending on travel to Indiana. Malloy left the decision to travel to the Final Four up to Ollie and the university, which had already paid for much of his trip. UConn was the 2014 national champion and Ollie was to attend coaches meetings and other events surrounding this year’s championship.
University President Susan Herbst issued a statement Tuesday evening in support of the governor’s ban and said neither Ollie nor any other member of the basketball staff would travel to Indianapolis.
“UConn is a community that values all of our members and treats each person with the same degree of respect, regardless of their background and beliefs and we will not tolerate any other behavior.” Herbst said.
Warde Manuel, UConn’s athletic director, told The Associated Press on Monday that he also finds the law unacceptable. He said he hopes the state of Indiana rectifies the situation before UConn or any other institution considers a boycott of the 2016 women’s Final Four, which also is being held in the city.
“They have a choice to make and I think others have choices to make on whether they’ll spend money at the businesses in the state of Indiana,” he said.
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence urged lawmakers Tuesday to send a bill to his desk by the end of the week to clarify the intent of the new law. He said he does not believe that lawmakers meant to create a vehicle to allow discrimination.
The situation in Indiana is upsetting for a lot of reasons. First among them is the overt discrimination against LGBT individuals the so-called Religious Freedom Restoration Act, as currently written, will protect under the law. And a close second is the utter venality displayed by Indiana Governor Mike Pence.
In the photograph taken of Pence at the bill’s private signing ceremony, he is surrounded by various religious figures, and some activists well known to the LGBT community in Indiana. Micah Clark, standing behind and to the left of the governor, has claimed publicly that homosexuality is a “disorder” that can be treated. Curt Smith, directly behind the governor, has equated gayness with bestiality and helped to write the bill the governor was signing. Eric Miller, to the right, was the man behind a flyer claiming falsely that if same-sex marriage was allowed in Indiana, religious figures might be imprisoned for preaching against homosexuality.
Again, this was a closed ceremony, and one has to presume that the governor had knowledge of who would be there. These are people that the governor is close to, who in at least one case helped to write the bill, and in two other cases have taken public stances against LGBT individuals. I take that back — publicly they might state that they love “the homosexuals” but hate their “sin”, a distinction as infuriating as it is dunderheaded.
As a married father of two, who’s married to another man, I have a bias. Generally, it’s that while I don’t expect everyone to accept, endorse or embrace the life I lead, I do expect that those who disapprove will not be able to adversely affect any aspect of my life. Your beliefs — which in this case I will describe as bigotry — stop at my civil rights. And my civil rights allow me to have whomever the hell I want bake me a cake.
As someone who’s lived life my life entirely in the northeast, New York City, and San Francisco, I go through life looking at stories like the one in Indiana with my face semi-permanently planted in the palm of my hand. It’s nearly unbelievable to me that a sizable section of the U.S. population has negative opinions regarding any aspect of my life, from the mundane to the deeply personal. It saddens me. And it saddens me even more when I see politicians in this country blithely hose napalm on the fires of intolerance in the hope that the blaze will heighten their profile, and-in the case of Pence-their chances of attaining high office.
The venality displayed by the governor is as close to genuine evil as my secular humanistic views will allow. Governor Pence, you are trading in misery and in the hope that such misery-of the ignorant souls who would judge my family, and of the families whose persecution will be abetted by this law-will benefit you and your career, personally. And even if you are authentically bigoted, as the chief executive of a state it is your obligation to lead, to provide representation for all of Indiana’s citizens, and in the face of potential political gain, have a strong determination not to prostitute yourself to the lowest, most vote-laden, common constituency.
But if you find the siren call of “the base” too compelling to ignore, at least have the personal character to admit that in your view, LGBT people do not deserve equal protection under the law, or access to all public accommodations, or the basic dignity conveyed to any other citizen in the state of Indiana. And please do not, as you did last Sunday on This Week with George Stephanopoulos, haggardly rest on meaningless talking points spewed over and over again in the fashion of a junior high-school debater. Own it! Let your freak flag fly. Sing it from the hills that the life I lead is less than yours — less worthy, less dignified… LESS.
The dictionary defines an abomination as “vile, detestable or shameful.” And in that sense Governor Mike Pence, you sir, are an abomination.
Approximately three weeks ago, my Chicago practice experienced a tremendous rise in the number of dogs experiencing respiratory diseases. Initially many of these dogs were energetic with deep, harsh coughs without a fever. The doctors at Animal Medical Center of Chicago tentatively diagnosed them with Canine Infectious Tracheobronchitis, or “Kennel Cough”. Viral agents, like Canine Adenovirus 2 or Canine Parainfluenza, and bacterial agents, like Bordetella Bronchiseptica and Mycoplasma, can cause Canine Infectious Tracheobronchitis. All of our patients responded well to supportive therapy, which included antibiotics and cough suppressants. However, recently we have been seeing a number of dogs with more severe respiratory disease. These dogs are presenting with high fevers (103 to 105 degrees Fahrenheit), moderate to profound lethargy, nasal discharge, depressed appetites and labored respiration. These patients, we suspect, have Canine Influenza caused by the Influenza virus H3N8 strain.
Canine Influenza Facts:
Morbidity: 20-50 percent of the dogs exposed to this virus will make antibodies against this virus and will successfully clear the infection. These pets will not show overt signs of their infection.
50-80 percent of the dogs exposed to the virus will show flu like symptoms — like fever, lethargy, coughing and purulent nasal discharge. A small percentage of these pets will develop pneumonia and it is this population that is at risk for death.
Mortality: 5-8 percent.
Most pets will recover with supportive care only.
Incubation Period: 2-5 days.
Length of Infection: 2 weeks.
Transmission: The virus can persist on toys, bedding, clothing, leashes and other objects for days. Regardless if they display illness or not, all dogs infected with the virus will shed the virus in their respiratory secretions for 14 days. People exposed to dogs with Canine Influenza should wash their hands and change their outer clothing to minimize the spread of this virus to other dogs.
During the next few weeks in Chicago, I would strongly advise all pet owners to avoid or at best, minimize, your dog’s exposure to other dogs and areas of high concentration of dogs, such as dog parks, boarding, grooming and training facilities. If you chose to go to these facilities, please call them in advance of your pet’s arrival to see if any ill pets have been there recently.
Treatment: Supportive therapy may include intravenous fluid therapy, antibiotics for secondary bacterial infections, nebulization therapy, and/or cough suppressants. As a result of viral damage to lung tissue, opportunistic bacteria invade the lung and may cause pneumonia.
Immunity: Dogs that recover from Canine Influenza are believed to be protective for 2 years. A Canine Influenza (H3N8) vaccine exists and aids in reducing the shedding and severity of the infection. This vaccine does NOT prevent the disease. The vaccine is given in two doses separated by 2-3 weeks. Yearly re-vaccination is recommended for high-risk dogs.
Dogs that travel, who have contact with many other dogs, frequent boarding or training facilities, or go to dog parks may benefit from this vaccine. At this time, Canine Influenza vaccine is not considered a core annual vaccine, which means it is not a vaccine recommended to all dogs. Just because a vaccine exists, does not mean that your dog should receive it. Please consult with your veterinarian to assess your pet’s risk for acquiring Canine Influenza virus and need for this vaccine.
Zoonosis: No. This strain is not contagious to humans.
If your pet is experiencing flu-like symptoms, like coughing, runny nose and lethargy, please contact your veterinarian as soon as possible for medical advice. This disease can progress quickly and it is best to medically address it as soon as possible to increase your pet’s chance of a swift recovery.
Dr. Donna Solomon is a veterinarian at Animal Medical Center of Chicago and invites you to email her your questions or future topic ideas to doctors@animalmedicalcenterofchicago.com
A feud between Sens. Dick Durbin and Chuck Schumer escalated further on Tuesday, with spokesmen for the two Democratic leaders offering sharply different on-the-record accounts of whether the two men reached a power-sharing deal.
I love watching Honest Trailers’ takedown of movies because they highlight actual problems, they’re actually really funny and they have no sacred cows. They can skewer Michael Bay right next to burning down everyone’s post-Dark Knight shrine to Chris Nolan. Here they are hilariously ripping up Interstellar.
Remember that breathtaking 10k-timelapse video we stumbled upon last month? Expect to see more stuff like that in the future, but shot from drones: PhaseOne has announced the world’s smallest 80-megapixel medium format camera—a high end, lightweight shooter designed specifically for aerial photography.
Facebook has been found running afoul of the law in Europe, at least according to researchers commissioned to look into the matter. Last month a draft report pegged the social network as being in violation of European law, and so a further look into the matter concluded that Facebook is tracking all of its users…even if they are opting out … Continue reading
The World Photography Organization has announced the winners of its 2015 Sony World Photography Awards, including those from the inaugural mobile phone category. Out of some 96,000 entries, only three shots were chosen. Incredibly, this spectacular s…
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