As a response to the growing public awareness on the importance of organisational contributions to sustainable development, there is an increased incentive for corporations to report on their sustainability activities. In parallel with this has been the development of 'Sustainable HRM' which embraces a growing body of practitioner and academic literature connecting the notions of corporate sustainability to HRM. The aim of this article is to analyse corporate sustainability reporting amongst the world's largest companies and to assess the HRM aspects of sustainability within these reports in comparison to environmental aspects of sustainable management and whether organisational attributes - principally country-of-origin - influences the reporting of such practices. A focus in this article is the extent to which the reporting of various aspects of sustainability may reflect dominant models of corporate governance in the country in which a company is headquartered. The findings suggest, first and against expectations, that the overall disclosure on HRM-related performance is not lower than that on environmental performance. Second, companies report more on their internal workforce compared to their external workforce. Finally, international differences, in particular those between companies headquartered in liberal market economies and coordinated market economies, are not as apparent as expected. (authors' abstract)

This study investigated decision making factors used by child caregivers to identify suspected child abuse and neglect and collected data on caregiver training in the recognition and reporting of suspected child abuse and neglect. Data was collected in July 1999 in fourteen north Texas childcare programs. One hundred twenty three teaching and administrative staff completed a survey based on Jacobson, A., Glass, J. and Ruggiere, P. (1998). Five teachers and five administrators chosen for convenience were read eleven vignettes describing possibly abusive situations to decide whether they were reportable or non-reportable, and to indicate factors used to make their decisions. Administrators (50%) and teachers (13.3%) reported being unfamiliar with child abuse and neglect definitions and reporting laws. Two thirds (66.7%) of the administrators and 39.8% of the teachers had received specific training in recognizing and reporting child abuse and neglect. Administrators were more likely than teachers to report suspected child abuse and neglect. Teachers often reported to program administrators rather than state designated authorities. All subjects relied on information about children, but administrators also used information about parents, with teachers more likely to make excuses for parental actions. With 110 reporting opportunities, training was cited as a factor only twice by administrators. No teachers made reports to anyone other than program administrators, a factor named deference in this study. Four of five administrators expected deference from teachers when reporting decisions were made. Present training in the recognition and reporting of suspected child abuse and neglect is inadequate. Caregivers need additional training in differences between accidental and intentional injuries, detection of child sexual abuse and emotional neglect, recognition and assessment of injuries among infants and toddlers, and mandated reporting procedures. Further research on optimal training for accurate reporting of suspected abuse and neglect is needed. A mandate to report to authorities outside the child care center should be clarified in state law. Licensing individuals as well as programs would strengthen reporting by caregivers.

程晓萱. / "2013年9月". / "2013 nian 9 yue". / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2013. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 313-330). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstract in Chinese and English. / Cheng Xiaoxuan.

This thesis examines the strategic and potentially legitimising nature of voluntary environmental reporting. First, the thesis examines the relationship between emission levels on the National Pollutant Inventory and the quantity of total voluntary environmental disclosures, voluntary emission disclosures and positive voluntary environmental disclosures in annual reports. Second, an examination of changes in the quantity of disclosures discussing compliance with the National Pollutant Inventory and/or disclosures concerning pollution emissions is undertaken. Taking into consideration the findings relating to the strategic nature of voluntary disclosures, the thesis then examines the potential of such disclosures to impact upon the usefulness of mandatory annual report disclosure requirements. This is undertaken by investigating whether significant differences exist between environmental disclosure practices in the voluntary sections of annual reports for corporations reporting non-compliance, and those not reporting non-compliance, in the directors' report pursuant with the requirements of s. 299(1)(f) of the Corporations Law. The findings suggest that, for the sample corporations, a change in environmental regulation may have been an impetus for changes in voluntary environmental disclosure practices in annual reports. Disclosures are identified as being discretionary, and potentially reactive to changes in environmental regulation, with a significant increase in the quantity of voluntary disclosures relating to the National Pollutant Inventory and in the number of corporations making voluntary emission disclosures during the period. Hence, voluntary disclosures, although discretionary, may provide some indication of the corporation's actual environmental activities and provides some support for industry arguments to maintain a voluntary environmental disclosure system. A comparison of the quantity and nature of voluntary disclosures for corporations required to report non-compliance with, and those reporting no non-compliance with, environmental regulations in the directors' report found no significant differences in disclosure practices between the two groups; that is, in contrast to the findings of previous research, those reporting non-compliance had no higher propensity for either greater quantities of voluntary environmental disclosures or positive voluntary environmental disclosures. The findings suggest that the limitations faced by s. 299(1)(f) in its early years may have resulted in it not being perceived as a legitimacy threat by the sample corporations or as a lesser threat than others such as the NPI. Therefore, questions remain as to whether the section is able to produce the outcomes proposed at its inception. Overall, taking into consideration the discretionary nature of voluntary environmental disclosures, and the limitations of s. 299(1)(f), concern remains as to the quality of the Australian annual report environmental reporting system and the potential for the existence of voluntary environmental disclosures in the annual report to reduce the usefulness of a mandatory disclosure system to users. These findings suggest a need for further research into the effect of both mandatory and voluntary environmental disclosures on users' perceptions of corporate environmental performance.

Thesis (M. Phil.)--University of Hong Kong, 2007. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

Corporate Social Environmental Reporting is a process through which companies and organisations can inform the societies within which they operate about their performance on non-economic issues including environmental performance. The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is an internationally recognised organisation which has frameworks and guidelines organisations can use to standardise the reports which they issue to the society. Data gathering for reporting on environmental performance can be done in several ways, including by means of the data required for an Environmental Management System (EMS) based on the ISO 14001 “plan – do – check - act” commonly known as the Demming cycle, aimed at continual improvement of environmental performance by an organisation. The clauses in an EMS allow for an organisation to measure its performance and hence the generation of data which can be used for interpretation on environmental performance. The utility of data generated from an EMS is optimised for input towards the generation of a Corporate Social Environmental Report by the level of alignment between the reporting process and the system used for data generation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the level of such an alignment between the two processes for AngloGold Ashanti (AGA), a multinational gold mining company which issues its reports according to GRI guidelines and also has an ISO 14001 EMS in place. The method used entailed a desktop documentary analysis, a questionnaire answered by individuals responsible for implementation of the EMS and an interview posed at corporate level. It was found that despite corporate commitment to continually improve CSER, there is a relative weak alignment between the two systems, with consequent duplication of effort and sub optimal use of human resources. Recommendations for improved alignment include focused education and training of staff on the relationship between CSER and EMS, and improvements in EMS monitoring and measuring procedures. / Thesis (M. Environmental Management)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013

Corporate Social Environmental Reporting is a process through which companies and organisations can inform the societies within which they operate about their performance on non-economic issues including environmental performance. The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is an internationally recognised organisation which has frameworks and guidelines organisations can use to standardise the reports which they issue to the society. Data gathering for reporting on environmental performance can be done in several ways, including by means of the data required for an Environmental Management System (EMS) based on the ISO 14001 “plan – do – check - act” commonly known as the Demming cycle, aimed at continual improvement of environmental performance by an organisation. The clauses in an EMS allow for an organisation to measure its performance and hence the generation of data which can be used for interpretation on environmental performance. The utility of data generated from an EMS is optimised for input towards the generation of a Corporate Social Environmental Report by the level of alignment between the reporting process and the system used for data generation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the level of such an alignment between the two processes for AngloGold Ashanti (AGA), a multinational gold mining company which issues its reports according to GRI guidelines and also has an ISO 14001 EMS in place. The method used entailed a desktop documentary analysis, a questionnaire answered by individuals responsible for implementation of the EMS and an interview posed at corporate level. It was found that despite corporate commitment to continually improve CSER, there is a relative weak alignment between the two systems, with consequent duplication of effort and sub optimal use of human resources. Recommendations for improved alignment include focused education and training of staff on the relationship between CSER and EMS, and improvements in EMS monitoring and measuring procedures. / Thesis (M. Environmental Management)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013

Thesis (M. Soc. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 102-104).

Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 102-104) Also available in print.

In the last few years, the inefficiencies of the current corporate reports have become increasingly evident. With increasing engagement in mindful business practices, firm value goes beyond just the financial capital. It is important to consider the environmental, social and governance impacts of operating activities. However, the corporate reporting landscape in the United States of America still lags behind in integrating its information. This paper recognizes the need for corporate reporting to evolve to the Integrated Reporting method. This is followed by an explanation of the benefits and improvements that Integrated Reporting can bring to published information and decision making through its multiple capital model and the guiding principles. This is followed by an analysis of an Integrated Report produced in the United States to shed light on the lack of consolidation with IR in the U.S. In comparison, we will look at an exemplary Integrated Report to understand how implementation of IR Framework has benefited reporting entities in other parts of the world. This paper attempts to bring to the attention the dwindling pace of the U.S. entities in keeping up with corporate reporting trends, why this is potentially problematic and what needs to be done to improve the corporate reporting atmosphere in the U.S. for the benefit of organizations as well as their stakeholders.