Poverty In The Workplace

In the last decades, the cooperation of businesses and the globalization of finances and economic investments have increased at a quick rate. The economic progress has made it easier to tackle the problem of poverty in the US and developing countries as well. As society continues to become more involved in social rights and the advancement of all people, corporations have become increasingly more responsible to take action against poverty in order to maintain the public 's support. Efforts have been made by numerous corporations to provide more resources to those that are in poverty, especially in the communities in which the corporation conducts its business. The change to the increasing mindset to help decrease poverty, in the private sector, …show more content…
One of the ways that the article discussed is raising the bar for corporate behavior. The article defines this as, “Companies can improve the lives of the poor by complying with standards — unilaterally or through international forums — that raise the bar in terms of their interactions with people and the impacts of their business operations”(Warden 2007). The clothing companies Liz Claiborne and Levi Strauss are making changes in this area. The mentioned companies make it a core part of their business strategy to maintain the standards of working conditions and to promote and support workers ' rights internationally. Also by raising the bar corporations receive lasting benefits. Workers are happier as they feel appreciated for their work, and they also receive the public 's commitment to support the companies they aim to better the lives of those that work for or live in the community in which they operate. Another one of the ways they proposed was charitable giving. Charitable givings can be done by either the company can set up their own charitable foundation or support one that is already in existence. This is a useful way for companies that don 't have the orientation or resources to participate in more elaborate poverty reduction projects. A corporation that is doing well in this form of poverty reduction is Merck. This pharmaceutical company supports education and HIV/Aids prevention and treatment. It has also, along with others such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, donated approximately 56 million to Botswana to cover all aspects of its public health needs. This form of poverty fighting also comes with benefits to the corporations. One major one is consumer loyalty. These companies maintain their consumers because of its efforts. A consumers ' loyalty will also go to