scholarly journals Socially Responsible Activity of Global Corporations to Support Human Development in Ukraine

2021 ◽  
Vol 59 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mykhailo Dyba ◽  
Iuliia Gernego

Socially responsible business activity is becoming increasingly important in today’s society as a vital driver in maintaining human development globally. Thereby, the research problem lays upon the potential of providing flexible support to overcome human development challenges in order to improve the quality of life within national economies. The paper aims to indicate socially responsible activity of global corporations to support human development in Ukraine and the possibility of using companies’ capacity to provide social investments for sustainable human development needs. The practical issue concerns the potential of providing flexible support to overcome human development challenges in Ukraine, improving social investments activity of US and European corporations. The research is conducted through a review of scientific articles and corporations’ reports from the last ten years, evaluating the trends of social investments, including deeper understanding of the priorities of human development financial support. The findings section presents analytical research to determine social investments in Ukraine, considering European and US corporations’ funds and their potential to strengthen human development.

Author(s):  
Sergey Lutsenko

The author considers three indicators which characterize the development of national economies: energy intensity of GDP, labor productivity and the index of human development (an indicator of quality of life of the population). Some other indicators are discussed characterizing a macroeconomic imbalance and estimating sustainable development of the economy and wellbeing of society. The indicator of human wellbeing is connected with desires (preferences) of people or satisfaction with life. 


2018 ◽  
Vol 34 (62) ◽  
pp. 66-81
Author(s):  
Adriana M. Moreno Moreno ◽  
Eduar Fernando Aguirre González

Social Responsibility is a concept that has been approached from different perspectives by theoreticians and institutions. Initially, this was limited exclusively to companies, however, the creation of the Social Capital, Ethics and Development Initiative by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) sought to make educational institutions aware that, like any other organization, they are responsible for the externalities they generate in their environment and their stakeholders. This research approaches the concept of University Social Responsibility (USR) from the scheme proposed by the IDB, which proposes four axes of action for Universities’ CR: Responsible Campus, Professional and Citizen Training, Social Management of Knowledge and Social Participation. The Universidad del Valle has a strategic plan entitled “Universidad del Valle’s Strategic Development Plan” and Regionalization attached thereto. It has also developed its action plan and in the five strategic issues raised herein, its socially responsible approach is clearly identifiable. The North Cauca Facility wherein this study is being developed, even though it does not have a University Social Responsibility Management Model, has attempted to align its practices with its strategic affairs that broadly conform to the four axes proposed by the IDB. This research addresses a relevant and current issue inasmuch as it proposes to develop a diagnosis on the relationship between the four axes of Social Responsibility proposed by the IDB and the practice of Social Responsibility applied at the Universidad del Valle, North Cauca Facility, for the period 2014-2015. In order to answer the research problem, a qualitative, exploratory and descriptive type of study is used, given that the work was based on the documentary information available at the University, while the interviews with the directors of the Institution are used as a tool for oral history. The research method used is the case study, which allows to address a unit of analysis in depth, in this case the USR within the Universidad del Valle, North Cauca Facility.


This chapter is a transcript of Haq’s address to the North South Roundtable of 1992, where he identifies five critical challenges for the global economy for the future. If addressed properly, these can change the course of human history. He stresses on the need for redefining security to include security for people, not just of land or territories; to redefine the existing models of development to include ‘sustainable human development’; to find a more pragmatic balance between market efficiency and social compassion; to forge a new partnership between the North and the South to address issues of inequality; and the need to think on new patterns of governance for the next decade.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Izabela Grabowska ◽  
Radosław Antczak ◽  
Jan Zwierzchowski ◽  
Tomasz Panek

Abstract Background The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities [1] highlights the need to create proper socioeconomic and political conditions for persons with disabilities, with a special focus on their immediate living conditions. According to the Convention, these conditions should be built to ensure that persons with disabilities have the potential to enjoy a high quality of life (QoL), and this principle is reflected in the notion of livable areas. The crucial aspect of this framework is the relationship between the individual QoL and the environment, broadly understood as the socioeconomic as well as the technical conditions in which persons with disabilities function. Methods The basic research problem was to assess the relationship between individual QoL for the population with disabilities as a dependent variable and livability indicators as independent variables, controlling for individual characteristics. The study used a dataset from the EU-SILC (European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions) survey carried out in 2015 in Poland. The research concept involved several steps. First, we created a variable measuring the QoL for the entire population with disabilities. To measure the multidimensional QoL, we used Sen’s capability approach as a general concept, which was operationalized by the MIMIC (multiple indicators multiple causes) model. In the second step, we identified the livability indicators available in the official statistics, and merged them with survey data. Finally, in the last step, we ran the regression analysis. We also checked the data for the nested structure. Results We confirmed that the general environmental conditions, focused on creating livable areas, played a significant role in shaping the QoL of persons with disabilities; i.e., we found that the higher the level of the local Human Development Index, the higher the quality of life of the individuals living in this area. This relationship held even after controlling for the demographic characteristics of the respondents. Moreover, we found that in addition to the general environmental conditions, the conditions created especially for persons with disabilities (i.e., services for this group and support for their living conditions) affected the QoL of these individuals. Conclusions The results illustrate the need to strengthen policies aimed at promoting the QoL of persons with disabilities by creating access to community assets and services that can contribute to improving the life chances of this population.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (11) ◽  
pp. 3337
Author(s):  
Aleksandra Kuzior ◽  
Józef Ober ◽  
Janusz Karwot

Practices of corporate social responsibility (CSR), especially in organizations providing key services, related to the supply of fuel, water and energy, are extremely important from the point of view of identifying stakeholders with the functioning of enterprises in line with the principles of a closed loop economy. The article discusses the origins and evolution of the concept of corporate social responsibility, with particular emphasis on the water supply and sewage industry. The research problem was the perception and expectations of stakeholders toward prosocial activities of PWiK Rybnik (Sewage and Water Supply Ltd. Rybnik). The hypothesis assumed in the study was that the external stakeholders of PWIK Rybnik positively assess the company’s involvement in the tasks carried out as part of corporate social responsibility, they notice the involvement in educational activities and additional initiatives of PWIK that improve the quality of life of its inhabitants. For the purpose of this study, a quantitative method was used. For the purpose of the survey, the authors’ questionnaire “Survey of customers’ opinions on the activities undertaken by PWiK Rybnik” was created. The surveys conducted confirmed the hypothesis that the external stakeholders of PWIK Rybnik positively assess the company’s involvement in the tasks performed as part of corporate social responsibility; they notice the involvement in educational activities and additional initiatives of PWIK that improve the quality of life of its inhabitants. The results of the research made it possible to formulate guidelines for the operation of water supply and sewage companies in accordance with corporate social responsibility in the light of the opinions of their stakeholders.


2005 ◽  
Vol 99 (4) ◽  
pp. 567-581 ◽  
Author(s):  
JOHN GERRING ◽  
STROM C. THACKER ◽  
CAROLA MORENO

Why are some democratic governments more successful than others? What impact do various political institutions have on the quality of governance? This paper develops and tests a new theory of democratic governance. This theory, which we label centripetalism, stands in contrast to the dominant paradigm of decentralism. The centripetal theory of governance argues that democratic institutions work best when they are able to reconcile the twin goals of centralized authority and broad inclusion. At the constitutional level, our theory argues that unitary, parliamentary, and list-PR systems (as opposed to decentralized federal, presidential, and nonproportional ones) help promote both authority and inclusion, and therefore better governance outcomes. We test the theory by examining the impact of centripetalism on eight indicators of governance that range across the areas of state capacity, economic policy and performance, and human development. Results are consistent with the theory and robust to a variety of specifications.


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