Corporate Social Responsibility

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a business approach that contributes to sustainable development by delivering economic, social and environmental benefits for all stakeholders. CSR is the integration of socially beneficial programs and practices into a corporation's business model and culture. CSR makes the companies be conscious of the kind of impact they are having on all aspects of society including economic, social, and environmental. The four types of Corporate Social Responsibility are environmental sustainability initiatives, direct philanthropic giving, ethical business practices and economic responsibility.

• Prevent financial ramifications: Compliance with the spirit and letter of the law through self-regulatory processes will prevent fines, put your business low on regulators' radar screens, and lower legal expenses.
   
• Increase employee loyalty: Treating employees fairly and generously as a part of corporate social responsibility encourages high professional and moral standards increases employee loyalty and by procuring only those overseas products produced at factories where workers were treated ethically, you gain support among "Fair Trade" advocates.
   
• Maintain a positive reputation: Demonstrated consciousness in a variety of areas can garner publicity and give a business tangible proof of their conduct. These include

• ➢ Environmental consciousness: Reducing waste, recycling, minimizing carbon footprint, producing only sustainable products, lowering energy usage, and supporting environmental causes.

• ➢ Social Concern:  Donating to humanitarian causes that fight poverty, help the victims of epidemics, assist those displaced by natural calamities etc.

• ➢ Local Community: Involvement in local community projects, through donations, employee participation, connecting your customers, promoting the project through advertising and fundraising etc.

CSR is a concept with many definitions and practices. The way it is understood and implemented differs greatly for each company and country. Whatever the definition is, the purpose of CSR is to drive change towards sustainability.

Rat race

Rat race is a way of life in which people are caught up in a fiercely competitive struggle for wealth or power. A rat race is an endless, self-defeating, or pointless pursuit. The phrase equates humans to rats attempting to earn a reward such as cheese, even though cheese is a measly reward. It also refers to a competitive struggle to get ahead financially or routinely. The rat race typically means no work-life balance, no independence, high stress, long commutes, and general dissatisfaction with life. Work-life balance refers to a proportionate way of life. While work is necessary, its purpose is to provide the means to enjoy a satisfying life. One with work-life balance works the necessary hours but has time left to enjoy family and friends, pursuing things he or she enjoys.

Those that participate in the rat race often wish for more independence in their jobs. They would prefer to work for themselves or for a company that gives them ownership of their work. Working for someone else often means allowing someone else to take credit for your efforts and pursuing goals that have no meaning. Independence refers both to the ability to pursue a job without having to work for someone else and financial independence, the ability to support oneself without depending on a paycheck from an employer.

Escaping the "rat race" can have a number of different meanings:

• Moving into a more rural area.
• Retirement, quitting or ceasing work.
• Moving to a less strenuous job.
• Changing to a different job altogether.
• Working from home.
• Becoming financially independent from an employer.
• Living in harmony with nature.
• Developing detachment from materialistic pursuits.
• Alienation from the norms of society.

Finally, people in the rat race are generally dissatisfied with their lives, for any of the above reasons. Getting out of the rat race may seem impossible and one may lose hope that they will ever be able to control their own life.

Our culture of consumption is often what pulls us into the rat race in the first place. At some point, the stuff you own starts to own you. Whatever you spend your money on, make sure it adds to your quality of life. Once you escape the rat race, you'll be able to move freely and appreciate the world around you without getting dizzy. Remember: Life is a journey, not the destination, and you don't want to spend that journey on a treadmill going nowhere.

"A rat race is for rats. We're not rats. We're human beings. Reject the insidious pressures in society that would blunt your critical faculties to all that is happening around you, that would caution silence in the face of injustice, lest you jeopardize your chances of self-promotion and self-advancement. This is how it starts. And before you know where you are, you're a fully paid-up member of the rat pack. The price is too high. It entails the loss of your dignity and human spirit." -- Jimmy Reid.

"Often, people work long hard hours at jobs they hate, to earn money to buy things they don't need, to impress people they don't like." -- Nigel Marsh

Meritocracy is myth

Merit is simply a good quality or feature that deserves to be praised. Merit and justice play a crucial role in ethical theory and political philosophy. Some view justice as allocation according to merit. Others view justice as based on criteria of its own, and take merit and justice as two independent values. Merit and justice are strongly linked in the human perception of social order. Spoils system, also called patronage system, is a practice in which the political party winning an election rewards its campaign workers and other active supporters by appointment to government posts and by other favors. A change in party control of government necessarily brings new officials to high positions carrying political responsibility, but the spoils system extends personnel turnover down to routine or subordinate governmental positions. Although spoils system is an American political term, it is common in many other countries as well.

• The merit of all things lies in their difficulty. Everyone agrees that justice must be in accordance with some kind of merit.
• Meritocracy has been presented as a means of breaking down established hierarchies of privilege.
• Merit systems is an uniform and impersonal employment and advancement policy based on evaluation of abilities and achievements, instead of on favoritism or politics.
• It is not hard to see why people find the idea of meritocracy appealing. It carries with it the idea of moving beyond where you start in life, of creative flourishing and fairness. But all the evidence shows it is a smokescreen for inequality. 
• The fact is, meritocracy is a myth. Social systems that reward through wealth, and which increase inequality, don’t aid social mobility, and people pass on their privilege to their children.
• Meritocracy contradicts the principle of equality, no less than any other oligarchy. Meritocracy is the great delusion that ingrains inequality.
• Our leaders sell meritocracy as a utopian system of fairness, but merit has been manipulated to privilege the wealthy. Merit is a malleable and easily manipulated term. 
• Meritocracy was a term of abuse, describing a ludicrously unequal state that surely no one would want to live in. Why would you want to give more prizes to the already prodigiously gifted? Instead we should think about how to give those doing difficult or unattractive jobs more leisure time, and share out wealth more equitably so that we all have a better quality of life and a happier society. 

It is better to be an eminent person than to be a prominent person.

Unequal growth is a threat to democracy. Meritocracy that promotes unequal growth and is also in conflict with the 'Preamble to the Constitution of India' which confers and guarantees equality of status and of opportunity; and to promote among them all. The sooner we disband this myth called 'meritocracy' and replace with widely acceptable, efficient and equitable criterion for distribution of scarce resources and facilities, it is better.

Happiness everytime

India ranks 133rd among 156 countries in 2017, way below Pakistan (75th position), in the world happiness report. India lags behind almost all its neighbours except Afghanistan(145th). [China(86th), Bhutan(97th), Nepal(101st), Bangladesh(115th), and Sri Lanka (116th)]. Predictors of happiness in a society are: social connectedness, ability and opportunities to thrive, opportunities for growth, finding meaning and purpose in what we do, low crime rates and a healthy environment. Change is constant and people - after brief transitional period learn to adapt. Humans do have remarkable capacity to adapt and they usually do. In present times, chaos seems to have become order of things, but people have come to accept an enduring state of chaos as the new reality and are learning to adapt to it.

• Happiness can change, and does change, according to the quality of the society in which people live.
• Experience joy of friendship and community support.
• The longer you live, the more likely you are to become happier.
• We are happiest in our childhood and old age.
• Happiness levels steadily drop during early adulthood bottoming out in mid-40's. By age 50, those levels are in upswing again.
• Even as our happiness levels are on downward curve, we might, nevertheless, experience periods of great happiness.
• Our sliding happiness curve is due to stress and life changes in 20s, 30s & 40s. Working long hours, getting married, raising children, caring for ageing parents, putting away money for future et al.
• The youth's magical thinking that success in life is inevitable is replaced by the reality that things aren't always good. The realization is that good can from bad.
• If you have friends or relatives whom you can confide in, then you are automatically happier than people who have no one to turn to for advice or companionship.
• Social connections are good for us. Loneliness can kill. It is not the number of friends or social connections you have but the quality of your close relationship that matter.
• People who or married or live with their partners tend to be happier than those who are unattached and lonely. It is the texture of the relationships that makes the difference.
• Calling your spouse your best friend is another way of saying ' I've a got a pretty marriage'.
• Regardless of the status of one's relationship, people who have one to count on are happier, because they are not lonely.
• Most people prefer a good work-life balance above all else. Variety and learning new things are important, but not as important as work-life balance.
• If your job is preventing you from giving time to your family or partner, or if you worry about work problems even when you are not working, or if you are too tired after work to enjoy other things, that has a massive effect on your well being. 
• Stress is a major factor for unhappiness. Being content and at peace with our environment keeps negative emotions in check. A stressed unhappy person will be prone to psychosomatic conditions like anxiety, head aches, digestive issues or blood pressure fluctuations.
• The feeling of despondency and not being active, contributing member of society can deplete happiness levels.
• Staying active and eating healthy not only prevent lifestyle diseases but also boosts happiness.
• The sooner we take decisions that help us be happier, the better it is. That includes scheduling a fixed bedtime and picking up hobby or sport to balance the demands of leading a competitive lifestyle. Factoring in fun and enjoyment is essential for  peace and harmony in life.
• People who are able to feel a range of emotions, including negative ones, are happier than those who insist on feeling happy all the time.
• To make happiness a mainstay in life, we  need to (i) adjust our attitude*, (ii) learn something new#, (iii) interact differently with your partner@ (iv) focus on what you have%, (v) express gratitude& and (vi) give back$.
        * you may not be able to control what happens to you, but you can control
           how you react.
        # exploring new experiences can boost happiness and enhance
           quality of your life.
       @ after years together, couples are not as kind to each other as they
            could be. Treat your partner like a friend, involving less taking for
            granted and more positivity.
       % live in the present with what you have, forgetting shadows of past and
           bad thoughts, and  the future has a way sorting itself out.
       & instead of just feeling gratitude, expressing thankfulness spreads
           goodwill and joy and we respond to our environment in a
           positive manner.
       $ by getting involved with a cause or an organisation you will create
          opportunities to make more meaningful connections with new people.

Source: Readers Digest India | May 2018 | P68-75

Hypocrisy in India

Hypocrisy is the behavior of people who do things that they tell other people not to do; behavior that does not agree with what someone claims to believe or feel. In India Hypocrisy seems to be flying everywhere. Hypocrisy is so deeply ingrained in our society and in our individual psyches that it is perceived as the way of life. We all believe in something, say something else, do something else and expect something else from others.

• We all hold liberal opinions when it comes to our personal selves but in the collective whole as a society we try and stick to our traditional values and beliefs.
• We all tend to make judgments as per our personal convenience. People are not affected by anything happening around them until it is personally effects them.
• We all do what the society expects and will expect the same behavior from others too. 
• The marriage system in our country is the biggest example of hypocrisy. We say we are a secular nation where there should not be discrimination on the basis on caste. When it comes to making matrimonial alliances, we all look for partners in the same caste. 
• Daughters are given freedom to educate themselves and make a career. Parents will look for a house for the girl where she gets to work and the in-laws have an open mind and are liberal. When it comes to their own house, they want daughter in-laws who should be homely, should know how to cook and look after the house; she should not work or do a job. This is the epitome of hypocritical thinking in our country. 
• When it comes to marriages the groom’s side is always demanding with a smile on their face. It’s not dowry but their expectations and pride as being the groom’s side never seem to reach an end. Even the bride’s side they need to show off in the society how much they are spending and how much they are giving the groom and their daughter. It is all about satisfying the society and maintaining their status in the society. 
• If it is a widower the society will sympathize with him and feel that he has the right to have a second wife. If the same happen in case of a widow they will talk about her and say she is morally wrong and she is not respecting husband's death.
• In messages and jokes everyone talks about sex and takes it lightly. We all want to believe that we have become modern and western in our thoughts. But when it comes to personal situations like own house and children, then they are expected not to talk openly about it.  
• We belong to a society where families expect their daughters to never have boy friends but then they force their daughters to sleep with a stranger and give him all the love and care just when he becomes a husband. 
• Most people have been physically involved with someone or the other and some have even had pre marital sex but if talked about in open it is demeaned and disgraced. 
• We are so judgmental about everyone’s behavior. It would be better if we just “live and let live” and mind our own business instead of peeping into other’s lives to point fingers at them. 
• In India girls’ dressing is held responsible for them being victim to rapes and harassment. If it was the revealing clothes that caused rapes then women all across the world should be getting raped. 
• Every man in his house preaches the so-called “decent” dress code whereas in the outside world the same man seeks pleasures from girls dressed in revealing clothes and finds such dressing “sexy”. These men won’t deny that they love the item songs in cinema where girls dress in short and revealing clothes. There, men love such clothes and appreciate it. 
• India should broaden its thinking and outlook. If one holds an opinion against something then they must stand by it, instead of changing their view as per the convenience in the situation. There are many other grounds on which hypocrisy is practiced in this country.
• We all say we love children whether boy or girl. All parents will say they are like-minded towards both boy child and girl child. Yet in their hearts of hearts they wish to have a boy child to carry forward their lineage. There are also people who bluntly say that they want boy child and such people engage in murdering the girl child and sometimes the mother too. 
• Large section of the society will claim to be non-vegetarians. But when it comes to Tuesdays or “navratras”, they turn vegetarian. The same rule follows for drinking alcohol too. This main cause of the hypocrisy is that we are seeking to attain the modern standards of the west while still clinging on the traditional values of our past. 

In our country we give more importance to what others think and what the society demands than valuing ourselves. If we need to grow as a nation we need to lose this hypocrisy and stick to our views. We need to take a stand: whether we want to cling to the past traditions or want to move past conservative thoughts and beliefs.                            

Hypocrites spend most of their time pointing out the flaws in others, 

and the rest of the time trying to flaunt their perfection ... Charles F. Glassman

Read the source article

The above list neither exhaustive nor conclusive. Lying, cheating, corruption, nepotism, and so on the list is endless. In India, hypocrisy omnipresent. It is more prevalent in upper classes. While discussing or negotiating or bargaining etc, one has to be extremely careful in identifying the truth, correlate with body-language prior to making decisions. Any error would result in wrong decisions, loss of money and many consequences. Politics and businesses are the worst inflicted by hypocrisy.