Communication in Business
Communication in Business 100
Critical Essay
Company: HSBC
Essay Title: Relationships between Modern Business and Society
Name: Super Chicken
Student Number: 16157866
Email: 13572468@student.curtin.edu.au
Semester: One, 2012
Curtin University (Bentley Campus)
Tutor and Tutorial Group Number: Simon Teoh (ST 50)
Word Count: 1579 words
Relationships between Modern Business and Society
The relationship between business and society is an important part of business in the Modern era. The inclusion of social issues has quickly become a fundamental part of business strategies, as large companies realise the impact that positive relationships with society can help with their overall motive, which is profit (Davis 2005, 105). HSBC has proven that its focus on environmental impacts, for example, being the first bank to become carbon neutral in 2005 (HSBC Global Site 2012), has allowed a positive relationship between it and society to occur. In contrast, its involvement with NHFA Limited through its provision of inappropriate investment advice to elderly customers (FSA Dec 2011), has also shown the impact that human rights and values play in societies view of corporations. This essay will examine and critique the above situations that have occurred within HSBC, as well as examining and discussing the impacts that these aspects have had on society and HSBC’s stakeholders.
Argument ‘against’ HSBC’s involvement in society
HSBC’s involvement with the scam regarding elderly customers is an example of how business can lose touch with society. This situation in particular was found to be especially unacceptable to society as it involved the securing of large sums of money from 2485 customers (on average being £115000 per customer), where 87% of these customers had a lower life expectancy than the investment period, which meant that their needs were not taken into consideration by NHFA. As a result of this, the elderly customers whose life
Critical Essay
Company: HSBC
Essay Title: Relationships between Modern Business and Society
Name: Super Chicken
Student Number: 16157866
Email: 13572468@student.curtin.edu.au
Semester: One, 2012
Curtin University (Bentley Campus)
Tutor and Tutorial Group Number: Simon Teoh (ST 50)
Word Count: 1579 words
Relationships between Modern Business and Society
The relationship between business and society is an important part of business in the Modern era. The inclusion of social issues has quickly become a fundamental part of business strategies, as large companies realise the impact that positive relationships with society can help with their overall motive, which is profit (Davis 2005, 105). HSBC has proven that its focus on environmental impacts, for example, being the first bank to become carbon neutral in 2005 (HSBC Global Site 2012), has allowed a positive relationship between it and society to occur. In contrast, its involvement with NHFA Limited through its provision of inappropriate investment advice to elderly customers (FSA Dec 2011), has also shown the impact that human rights and values play in societies view of corporations. This essay will examine and critique the above situations that have occurred within HSBC, as well as examining and discussing the impacts that these aspects have had on society and HSBC’s stakeholders.
Argument ‘against’ HSBC’s involvement in society
HSBC’s involvement with the scam regarding elderly customers is an example of how business can lose touch with society. This situation in particular was found to be especially unacceptable to society as it involved the securing of large sums of money from 2485 customers (on average being £115000 per customer), where 87% of these customers had a lower life expectancy than the investment period, which meant that their needs were not taken into consideration by NHFA. As a result of this, the elderly customers whose life
References: Davis, Ian. 2005. “What is the business of business?”. London: The McKinsey Quarterly. Financial Services Authority. 2011. Final Notice. [Cited 23 March 2012]. http://www.fsa.gov.uk/static/FsaWeb/Shared/Documents/pubs/final/hsbc_2dec11.pdf Financial Services Authority HSBC. 2010. Sustainability Report 2010. [Cited 25 March 2012]. http://www.hsbc.com/1/PA_esf-ca-app-content/content/assets/sustainability/110526_sustainability_report_2010.pdf HSBC HSBC. 2012. Protecting the Environment. [Cited 23 March 2012]. http://www.hsbc.com/1/2/sustainability/protecting-the-environment HSBC HSBC. 2012. Working with Stakeholders. [Cited 23 March 2012]. http://www.hsbc.com/1/2/sustainability/working-together Kaplan, T Pal, Alasdair. 2011. HSBC mis-selling scandal: Ex-NHFA advisor dismisses bank’s claims. [Cited 23 March 2012]. http://www.ifaonline.co.uk/ifaonline/news/2130938/hsbc-mis-selling-scandal-nhfa-adviser-dismisses-banks-claims Phillips, David. 2011 Watkins, Annette. 2012. “final_mod3_lecture_slides_studentsS12012” https://lms.curtin.edu.au/bbcswebdav/pid-1949584-dt-content-rid-409385_1/xid-409385_1