Corporate social responsibility (CSR) continues to gain attention amongst corporate bodies and is the medium through which the private sector contributes to development. The last decade has seen a significant growth in CSR initiative in South Africa, partly due to the implementation of public polices such as the Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) Code of Good Practice and the various industry charters that obligate corporate institutions to contribute towards the reconstruction efforts of the nation. As a result many organizations have adopted strategies that include social development projects as part of their core business objectives, thus the initiation of certain projects and programmes as part of their CSR contributions to the reconstruction efforts. Although CSR has roots in philanthropic activities, it has become evident that when CSR initiatives are designed strategically to embody the holistic views of business goals towards profit making as well as community goals that promote positive development. Anecdotal evidence suggests that projects collapse after corporations discontinue funding due to lack of community involvement which renders CSR initiatives unresponsive to the developmental needs of communities. The study sought to explore the extent to which corporate social responsibility initiatives were responsive to the educational needs of beneficiaries in Johannesburg. It also explored beneficiary perceptions on how CSR initiatives can be sustained. The study population was drawn from Tiso Foundation and three partnering organisations. A qualitative case study design was utilised in the study to obtain in depth information from the research participants concerning the CSR initiatives of Tiso Foundation. Semi-structured interview schedules were used to conduct interviews with both beneficiaries of the CSR initiatives and key informants. The research sample consisted of 16 beneficiaries of Tiso Foundation’s CSR initiatives and 6 key informants that were drawn from Tiso Foundation and partnering organizations. The findings revealed that the CSR initiatives were responsive to the needs of the beneficiaries by providing them access to education and skills development. The findings also established the nature of beneficiary participation in CSR initiatives as partially participatory. The study recommended that CSR initiatives should take a developmental approach towards programme executions to ensure full participation of beneficiaries in order to ensure sustainability of the programmes even after funding is discontinued. The study also iv suggests the collaborative partnership of government and the private sector towards sustainable development by enhancing and complimenting each other’s efforts.

University Technical College (UTC) schools are academies for 14-19 year olds. They are distinguished by close links to industrial and university partners to encourage vocational learning, particularly in STEM subjects. Currently 50 are open in England, with more in development. Their expansion is a key strategic objective in the government’s 2016 Educational Excellence Everywhere strategy document. This research analyses data collected through students’ perceptions of their experience of the UTC curriculum model in two detailed case studies. The research questions examine how the approach to the delivery of the curriculum enhances learner motivation. Three main factors are identified as supportive to encouraging learner motivation in the UTC schools studied: a strong focus on developing links with business partners to facilitate career progression goals for learners; an intensive, unique curriculum delivery style; rigorous target-setting in a supportive learning environment. This is a curriculum model which supports independent learning, collaborative learning with peers and vertical -group learning on challenging, employer -led projects.

Ordet hållbarhetsredovisning härstammar från begreppet hållbar utveckling som per definition innebär att ”tillfredsställa dagens behov utan att äventyra kommande generationers möjligheter att tillfredsställa sina behov”. Idag upprättar flera företag så kallade hållbarhetsredovisningar där de tar ställning till sitt sociala, ekonomiska och miljömässiga ansvar. Den svenska staten beslutade den 29 november år 2007 att alla statligt ägda bolag från och med den 1 januari år 2008 ska upprätta hållbarhetsredovisningar som redovisas enligt Global Reporting Initiative’s (GRI) riktlinjer. GRI är en global förening som utvecklar riktlinjer för hållbarhetsredovisning av de tre nämnda aspekterna och de används av mer än 1000 företag över hela världen.Forskningsproblemet innehåller två frågeställningar vilka avser att besvara vilket förhållande som finns mellan statens lagreglering och praxis i Svevia AB och Sveaskog AB samt hur väl de har efterföljt GRI:s riktlinjer och principer och följderna. Syftet med uppsatsen är att ge läsaren en detaljerad insikt i hur de två statliga bolagen efterföljer GRI:s riktlinjer och därmed bidra med en förståelse för sambandet till lagregleringen.Forskningsmetodiken för denna uppsats har varit kvalitativ med syftet att komma nära studieobjektet och få en djup förståelse för problemet. För att tolka texter har ett hermeneutiskt synsätt använts. Innehållet i hållbarhetsredovisningarna har granskats för att avgöra om riktlinjerna efterlevs eller inte. Det empiriska materialet har sammanställts och använts som utgångspunkt för analysen.Undersökningen visar att det finns ett tydligt samband mellan lagregleringen och både Svevias och Sveaskogs hållbarhetsredovisningar. Båda företagen har levt upp till GRI:s riktlinjer enligt vald tillämpningsnivå. Svevias hållbarhetsredovisning innehåller dock några felaktigheter. Svevia har uppfyllt fem av nio redovisningsprinciper och Sveaskog, sju principer. Statens reglering har bland annat bidragit till att göra företagens hållbarhetsredovisningar trovärdiga.

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In 1996 the Howard Government came to power in Australia. At that point in time the commonwealth budget was in significant deficit, the economy was weak and there was significant commonwealth debt. To address these issues the Howard Government moved to implement several cost savings and income generating projects began under the outgoing ALP government. In addition, part of the Howard reforms was the move toward the private side in the public / private mix in the delivery of government services. One of the high profile and significant projects was the outsourcing of the commonwealth public sector Information and Communications Technology (ICT) delivery. It was called the IT Initiative and was managed by the Minister for Finance, the Honourable Mr Fahey. Mr Fahey had earlier attempted significant outsourcing projects whilst in NSW government; at one time Mr Fahey was NSW Premier. The intent of the IT Initiative as policy was to achieve better and more cost effective ICT services for the commonwealth. This research reviews the efficacy of the IT Initiative. Under the Westminster system, governments can implement government policy as approved by the parliament. However not all policy is reviewed by the parliament. In this case the IT Initiative was part of the Howard pre-election policy and therefore was considered 'mandated' by the electorate. Irrespective of this approval, was the IT Initiative supported by the research at the time and did the IT Initiative and its implementation make sound business sense when compared to the research and models and in particular effectiveness, efficiency and economy. This thesis will review the IT Initiative using both static and dynamic models using Transaction Based Economics (TCE). Both models will support the view that the IT Initiative as practiced was a relatively high risk strategy. The thesis will utilise TCE and risk management to develop a risk profiling model for ICT with effectiveness, efficiency, economy as the three dimensions. Finally, the risk-profiling model, while based on earlier modelling, provides a new insight into the issue of centralising versus decentralising of government operations especially as these approaches relate to novel technological applications across various departments.

<p>With sustainability means taking responsibility for the reality that you live and operate in. The concept sustainable development is defined as “development that meets the needs of the present world without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (Elkington, 1999, p, 55).</p><p>Sustainable reporting means to extend the ordinary financial reporting to include both the environmental and social/ethical impacts that the organisation have, so called triple bottom line. We are in our essay discussing the element of sustainability reporting and how to perform one. Today there are an increased pressure from stakeholders on companies to express their values and ethical responsibility. This forces the organisations to extend their ordinary financial reporting to include environmental and social impacts that their operations have.</p><p>We have in our essay looked at the global ethical guidelines for sustainability reporting, the Global Compact and the Global Reporting Initiative and from these tried to examine how companies can establish a sustainability report. Global Compact and the Global Reporting Initiative are two voluntary codes that companies can draw inspire from when creating a sustainability report.</p><p>Our purpose with this essay is to examine the concept of sustainability reporting on the basis of observing three financial institutions and their sustainability reports. We have chosen to look at the three different banks, Rabobank Group, the Co-operative Financial Services and Swedbank, to compare how they have constructed their sustainability reports, and to see how they have drawn inspiration from the Global Compact and the Global Reporting Initiative.</p><p>The investigation is of a qualitative approach where the examined source is the companies’ sustainability reports. The reports have been analyzed and from the analysis have conclusions been drawn to try and interpret how the companies have acted towards the guidelines. Mainly we have been looking at the organisations and the existing balance between the economical, social and environmental aspects. Further we have also been looking at the organisational structure and the management’s attitude towards Corporate Social Responsibility, CSR, and the progress to implement it within the organisations. Finally we have tried to observe the relationship between the organisations and stakeholders and the transparency in communicating about the measures being taken.</p><p>We have come to the conclusion that both Rabobank and Co-operative Financial Services, CFS, have a more developed sustainability report compared to Swedbank.</p><p>We believe the reason why can be found in many different aspects, since there is not just one component that makes a sustainability report. Both Rabobank and CFS are co-operative organisations that are being owned and controlled by its members, compared to Swedbank who is a public company that have obligations towards its shareholders. The managements’ attitude towards sustainability also has an effect of the outcome of the reports as well as attitudes from the society in which the company is operating.</p>

<p><p>Utvecklingen inom näringslivet tycks gå mot ett mer ansvarsfullt företagande, men hur kan man veta vilket arbete som egentligen sker och vilka effekter detta får? De tre viktigaste identifierade dimensionerna av ansvarfullt företagande för en hållbar utveckling är ekonomi, miljö och etik (sociala aspekter). Ett uppmärksammat ramverk i sammanhanget är Global Reporting Initiatives riktlinjer och företagen såväl som regeringen har identifierat behovet av ett mer aktivt arbete med hållbar utveckling och redovisningen av detta.</p><p> </p><p>Syftet med denna uppsats är att med ett redovisningsperspektiv undersöka orsaker till och metoder för hållbarhetsredovisning samt identifiera och påvisa möjlig utveckling för företagens redovisning av hållbar utveckling.</p><p> </p><p>Vår analys bygger på en kvalitativ undersökning, eftersom vi är intresserade av hållbarhetsredovisning i ett bredare perspektiv genom att belysa så många aspekter som möjligt hos de undersökta bolagen.</p><p> </p><p>Undersökningen har visat att det inte finns någon heltäckande hållbarhetsredovisning hos de undersökta bolagen, men att det trots detta finns inslag av hållbarhetsredovisning och en potential och vilja för att kunna utveckla och förbättra arbetet med och redovisningen av hållbar utveckling.</p></p>

<p>This thesis seeks to provide an extensive theoretical framework for the potential incentive</p><p>effects from debt relief. The objective is achieved by integrating the positive incentive</p><p>model by Krugman with a negative incentive framework developed by drawing on the</p><p>theories of a soft budget constraint. The analysis shows that the existence of bailouts</p><p>offers the possibility that debt relief can produce negative incentives for the debtor</p><p>instead of positive incentives for improved performance. Taking on a game theoretical</p><p>perspective suggests that strategic behavior in the interaction between the debtor and the</p><p>creditor can increase the likelihood of a specific incentive effect to prevail. Such an</p><p>interactive game also highlights the importance for the creditor to obtain reliable</p><p>information about the behavior of the debtor.</p>

The authors used the frameworks of reciprocal determinism and occupational socialization to study the effects of work characteristics (consisting of control and complexity of work) on personal initiative (PI)--mediated by control orientation (a 2nd-order factor consisting of control aspiration, perceived opportunity for control, and self-efficacy) and the reciprocal effects of PI on changes in work characteristics. They applied structural equation modeling to a longitudinal study with 4 measurement waves (N = 268) in a transitional economy: East Germany. Results confirm the model plus 1 additional, nonhypothesized effect. Work characteristics had a synchronous effect on PI via control orientation (full mediation). There were also effects of control orientation and of PI on later changes in work characteristics: As predicted, PI functioned as partial mediator, changing work characteristics in the long term (reciprocal effect); unexpectedly, there was a 2nd reciprocal effect of an additional lagged partial mediation of control orientation on later work characteristics.

With sustainability means taking responsibility for the reality that you live and operate in. The concept sustainable development is defined as “development that meets the needs of the present world without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (Elkington, 1999, p, 55). Sustainable reporting means to extend the ordinary financial reporting to include both the environmental and social/ethical impacts that the organisation have, so called triple bottom line. We are in our essay discussing the element of sustainability reporting and how to perform one. Today there are an increased pressure from stakeholders on companies to express their values and ethical responsibility. This forces the organisations to extend their ordinary financial reporting to include environmental and social impacts that their operations have. We have in our essay looked at the global ethical guidelines for sustainability reporting, the Global Compact and the Global Reporting Initiative and from these tried to examine how companies can establish a sustainability report. Global Compact and the Global Reporting Initiative are two voluntary codes that companies can draw inspire from when creating a sustainability report. Our purpose with this essay is to examine the concept of sustainability reporting on the basis of observing three financial institutions and their sustainability reports. We have chosen to look at the three different banks, Rabobank Group, the Co-operative Financial Services and Swedbank, to compare how they have constructed their sustainability reports, and to see how they have drawn inspiration from the Global Compact and the Global Reporting Initiative. The investigation is of a qualitative approach where the examined source is the companies’ sustainability reports. The reports have been analyzed and from the analysis have conclusions been drawn to try and interpret how the companies have acted towards the guidelines. Mainly we have been looking at the organisations and the existing balance between the economical, social and environmental aspects. Further we have also been looking at the organisational structure and the management’s attitude towards Corporate Social Responsibility, CSR, and the progress to implement it within the organisations. Finally we have tried to observe the relationship between the organisations and stakeholders and the transparency in communicating about the measures being taken. We have come to the conclusion that both Rabobank and Co-operative Financial Services, CFS, have a more developed sustainability report compared to Swedbank. We believe the reason why can be found in many different aspects, since there is not just one component that makes a sustainability report. Both Rabobank and CFS are co-operative organisations that are being owned and controlled by its members, compared to Swedbank who is a public company that have obligations towards its shareholders. The managements’ attitude towards sustainability also has an effect of the outcome of the reports as well as attitudes from the society in which the company is operating.