The Case
The “Partnership for Lebanon and Cisco Systems” case study discusses a project developed after the war in Lebanon in July of 2006. After the war, President George W. Bush urged 5 U.S. based companies to partner together to help with the reconstruction efforts in Lebanon, including Cisco systems (led by John Chambers), Intel corp. (led by Craig Barrett), Ghafari Inc. (led by Yousif Ghafari), Occidental Petroleum (led by Dr. Ray Irani), and Microsoft (led by Steve Balmer). The partnership of these 5 successful U.S. companies formed the Partnership for Lebanon, or the PFL, for which a woman named Salam Yamout was appointed as project manager (Jimali, 2011). Upon the formation of the PFL in 2006, the leaders met at the Paris III donor conference with Fuad Seniora, the Lebanese prime Minister, to discuss and develop the key goals that would need to be achieved in the Lebanese reconstruction efforts, and to map out the main initiatives of the PFL (Jimali, 2011). With a primary focus on efficient and productive communities and advancement opportunities for the Lebanese people, they developed the following 5 key objectives for which they made significant progress over the next three years:
1. Emergency Relief and Response: The first of the 5 key objectives, emergency relief and response, was essential to establishing a sense of security among the Lebanese people following the war. From 2006 through 2009, the PFL helped more than 1000 families to rebuild their homes, and helped many communities to resettle. This was a first step toward rebuilding the infrastructure and public society needed for economic and workforce growth (Jimali, 2011). The PFL also rebuilt 10 youth and IT centers, complete with computer labs and Internet technology, providing a training center for over 1400 young people in Lebanon and rehabilitated the schools that stood in the areas most affected by the war,
References: Bansal, P. (2005). Building sustainable value through fiscal and social responsibility. Ivey Business Journal, 70(2), 1-8. Retrieved from http://www.iveybusinessjournal.com/topics/governance/building-sustainable-value-through-fiscal-and-social-responsibility#.UvvA5fldVHw Cisco CSR Report: Partnership for Lebanon [Interview with J. Chambers]. (2009). Retrieved from https://www.cisco.com/web/about/ac227/csr2009/society/related-videos/assets/Lebanon.pdf Jimali, Dima. "Partnership for Lebanon and Cisco: Promoting Development Post-War."ALIGN Suliman S Olayan School of Business News RSS. N.p., 23 June 2011. Web. http://align.aub.edu.lb/2011/06/lebanon-cisco-csr/ Jamali, D. (2011, May 17). Partnership for Lebanon and Cisco Systems: Promoting Development in a Post-War Context. Richard Ivy School of Business. Retrieved from http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/189595/1/Partnership_for_Lebanon_and_Cisco_Systems_-_Promoting_Development_in_a_Post_War_Context.pdf