The Informed Consumer

These days I've had the opportunity to take a really interesting course at school: Sustainable Business Practices.  Now, this may seem like a very normal course for someone to take - but for me it's something special because as a hospitality student we don't have much opportunity to study things beyond specifically hotels.  After working on a very interesting project of analysing the corporate responsibility efforts of different brands from Disney to Patagonia all the way to South West Airlines, it made me think of how many businesses are actually participating in CSR movements.

This entire blog is based off of corporate social responsibility - used in a personal manner, yet I have never thought that the solutions to the problems we are facing is using this personal power in conjunction with companies CSR programs.  Let me explain my train of thought, basically I believe if people and businesses could both work together to improve corporate social responsibilty many of the problems of polluting and social injustices in the world would start to alleviate - not neccesarily go away but at least improve.  However, my mistake was in understanding the role of the business and the role of the person.  Personally we can all make efforts to lower our carbon footprint and treat others the way we would like to be treated.  However, this makes a very small impact (but it is still important - so continue doing what you're doing to better the world).  What businesses are doing though, is making CSR changes to their business based on the markets demands.  They are not making 100% of the difference they could if they solely reduced their carbon footprint out of sheer good will; and that makes sense because corporations act in accordance to the market and what makes business sense.

This is where I had been going wrong.  I thought that my efforts were mine alone and that the small actions would add up sooner or later.  While this might be true, a bigger affect I might have had was being lost through all of my irrisponsible purchases.  Of course when I went to the store I was choosing the cheapest item - who wouldn't?  The project made me realize something though, not all businesses were made the same.  If you were to compare Patagonia with any other type of cheap clothing manufacturer there is a huge difference between social policies protecting workers to environmental policies trying to use sustainable resources.  Its hard to imagine that just one purchase at a responsible store versus a cheap vendor would make a large difference, just as using less shower water might not make an extremely large difference in water consumption.  However, this is not true.

When you support a responsible business, these businesses are being supported by your money to continue doing the right thing.  This can affect many many people all the way to secondary suppliers of these businesses.  Of course, one purchase is small but it has two effects built into one.  First, it is giving money to those businesses that are acting responsibly, but secondly, it takes away money that would have gone to potentially irrisponsible businesses.  This positively impacts the market two fold because it allows responsibilty to flourish all the while encouraging those who are irrisponsible to change to be responsible making it a market demand.

So, I am trying to find ways to find which businesses are responsible and which are not.  I would like to (as much as possible) find a way to be an informed consumer.  At the moment the best way I have found is to see which companies are being transparent.  A good method of rating this is by looking at a businesses G4 report lead by the Global Reporting Initiative.  It will detail everything from their human rights support all the way to their environmental policies hiding nothing in between such as supply chain forced labor and child labor practicies and numbers.  Although these are quite bulky reports, they are quite useful when trying to make a decision on who to use as a supplier, who to invest in, and now who to spend your money on.

I know its a long shot to evaluate every single purchase made, so thats why I'm proposing a sort of comprimise.  Anytime we are going to make a rather large purchase, look first, be informed, and choose the more responsible company to support with your money.  The impact can make a bigger difference than our other efforts, and its rather simple in comparison.  No one is perfect and can monitor each and every transaction, but that one could make the difference between a company deciding to implement a more comprehensive CSR stragey - which can affect thousands upon thousands of people down the line.

Let me know what you think about being an informed consumer? Do you think it has such a large effect, and if so which are your favorite responsible businesses?

Cheating - The Moral Dilemma

As I have been getting back into the swing of school, I've noticed a huge upturn in the amount students are cheating.  Not only do I find that students are cheating, but that teachers don't consider it such a moral dilemma but instead brush it off as irrelevant.  Has it become the norm these days to quickly bring your phone out during a test?  Have the ideas of cheating stopped spanning to asking for past students what the test questions are?  Have teachers just stopped caring that cheating is typically considered wrong? It seems so.

Of course, I am not just talking about my own school, you can find cheating anywhere in the world.  If you look online you can find the vast amount of ways students have tried to cheat on the Gao Kao, or any other standardised testing.  They go through measures that are sometimes absolutely crazy such as painting their nails with the answers, using 3D glasses, printing on the back of soda labels and much more.  I'm sure that it's not just me that has been noticing it, and I am not here to argue if it is right or wrong. I would like to assume that most people find that it is morally wrong.  What I would like to investigate here on the Responsibility Catalyst is what someone in my position should do as this could be considered more of the "grey area" of this topic.

In my case, I have been on both sides of the coin - someone who reports and also someone who stays quiet.  If I notice someone cheating in class during a test via telephone, it's very inconvenient for me to stop the entire test tell a proctor and take my attention away from my own test just to get someone in trouble.  Although schools oblige students to report any misconduct I find that it puts me in a very bad place.  If I were to report something like that in public - so that the cheating could be proven, I would become the outcast of the class.   This could cause many other repercussions than just being ousted socially but it could also make those who report to not want to speak up in the future.

On the other hand, if I were to report outside the class it would be nearly impossible to prove and thus be irrelevant as well.  Should we even call upon students to be the "rats" of their class?  Even in modern day society whistle-blowers are not those who are deemed successful and many times face serious consequences.  Hasn't your mother ever told you not to be a tattle-tale?  The same principle, in theory, applies here.  So what are you to do?

Finally, to explain my situation. There was one time that I found some people had an advanced version of the test and were using it to cheat on the test the next day.  Unfortunately, this copy happened to end up in my possession - unbeknownst to me until I read what it was.  This, I finally reported to the teacher because it clearly was involving myself and I didn't want to be accused of doing anything of the sort.  So, in response, I reported the cheating - leaving out the names of the students as I did not want my classmates to face consequences.  The teacher promptly replied back to me and said he knew people were cheating, and that he couldn't do anything about it so he would let it carry on.  He sent me a message explaining that in life sometimes the cheaters win - and this is what really opened my eyes to the thought that maybe times have changed and it is not the right thing to do, reporting cheating.

So, based off of these experiences and thoughts I have yet to come up with an acceptable answer to these dilemmas.  What do you think is the right thing to do?  What is the best way to be responsible - let things slide or say something?  If you have an opinion please let me know in the comments below.  Stay responsible! :D

P.S. Thank you all for your patience in waiting for my blog post.  I know it has been a month and a half that I haven't written, but I have just been getting back into school.  Now that I'm settled in for my final semester I will be posting more frequently again.  Thank you!

Truthful Social Media

Ding.... Ding... Bzzzzz.  Ring Ring Ring RING RING RING!  Social media is here to stay - its been prying its way into our lives, gluing students to their phones, but also has given us a platform to spread our messages.  We are constantly connected, searching for immediate gratification, knowing that everything we could possibly need is at our fingertips.  In some ways it can be like an addiction.

However, social media has the ability to be used for good.  Social media itself isn't making these ethical choices - its up to the owners of the accounts of what to post.  Many post their lives on Facebook... or what we think is their lives.  In reality, when you scroll through someones page all you see is happy photos, or their latest adventure, and the last meal they ate.  This positivity is great - except when it is taken too far.

Many people compare their lives to the ones on Facebook - but they aren't really getting the true picture.  It may look like someone is really livin' it up, but in reality they are holed up at home on the computer all day taking photos specifically to enhance their profile.  When they compare lives though, they aren't comparing a friends Facebook directly to their Facebook page which also has many nice photos of good moments, but instead compare their friends Facebook to their real life.

The question then arises, is it our responsibility to show these people that Facebook isn't our true life?  Should there be a disclaimer explaining that what you see on social media is only the very delicately hand picked moments of people's lives?

If we were actually posting our real life on social media, it wouldn't be as popular.  People would become bored - even with the most amazing people in the world.  Could you imagine:

• 6 AM - Just woke up... way too early!
• 7 AM - Breakfast with the cat, mmmm we love porridge
• 8 AM - Stuck in traffic on the way to work... typical.
• 9 AM - Gotta love that water cooler chit chat
• 10 AM - Good time for a smoking break and a selfie
• 12 PM +  (NO ONE WILL READ YOUR POSTS ANYMORE)

That is one of the reasons that people are embellishing their profiles.  I have nothing against someone who doesn't want to post every detail of their life.  I just feel that it might be a consideration to show people that social media is not real life.  In theory we all know that, but when you scroll through the feed you can't help but feel that you are the only one not taking amazing vacations every other week.  

Social media is a great tool to connect with others, it really gives them a window into your life - but be careful what you post.  The tiny embellishments are making a big impact on your social circle - just as your friend's profiles make an impact on you.  Humans can't be amazing 100% of the time - and that is OK.  Hopefully this will lead to a more positive social media experience, with a tad of reality mixed in.

Tell me what you guys think: is it our responsibility to ensure people understand our profiles are just played up pieces of our lives?  Have you ever felt badly because of others seemingly perfect lives on social media? I would love to see your comments below!

On Speaking Up!

You are just sitting there, minding your own business when you hear it.  You feel uneasy inside but at the same time the adrenaline is rushing to keep you pinned to your seat.  The pain won't stop, yet you want to show it who's boss.  You finally get up the courage to stand up for yourself when - it's over...

This was me for most of my life.  Letting things slide by because I rather endure the pain instead of to break the peace.  This might seem shocking to those of you that know me as I am a quite outspoken person.  However, when it comes to things that truly bother me to the core - in person I rather just keep my mouth shut.

This all changed yesterday in the funiculaire to school.  I was sitting down minding my own business trying to mentally prepare myself for class at 8am.  Typically the ride down is pretty calm and quiet since most people are in need of coffee just as much as I was.  Yesterday was different though.  Yesterday there was a group of girls spouting off racist comments, not just jokes but flat out insults to people.  I won't repeat them here just due to how rude they were.  Unfortunately the two girls sitting right next to me were of the same race they were targeting.  They just looked at me - as if it was my duty to stand up to them.  I was getting flushed and angry and I didn't want to yell at them or else I'd be sinking to their level.

Finally, the funiculaire got to the school and I got off first.  I walked a little thinking - nah, it's ok it's none of my business.  Then I saw the girl who was sitting next to me... just looking at me.  I slowed down my pace and made sure the girls walked up to me.  I had no idea what to say - I didn't even know who they were.  It reminded me of the show "what would you do"; this time I really had to do something!  So, I said "Hi, you girls might not know me but I just wanted to tell you that what you were saying back there might have been offensive to some people". 

I was cool and collected, making sure not to let my emotions get the best of me.  They looked confused and then they realized what I was talking about.  They said in a shocked tone, "no no, you don't get it - it was just a joke just chill out". 

 I nodded my head and agreed, not that it was a joke but that maybe they thought it was a joke.  I assured them however that it was indeed offensive and that they were being very loud.  I explained about the two girls sitting next two me, and they started to look embarrassed.  They hopefully started to realize that certain things should never be said - no matter how "funny" you think it is.

I wished them a good day and walked off.  I will never know if the message sank in or not, but hopefully they will remember my demeanor.  I wasn't yelling so they could get angry, I was just calmly asking them to rethink their choices.  Isn't that our duty to society?  We all have free speech but don't we also have the right to stand up for what we believe in?  

Tell me what you guys think - what would you do?  Speak up or stay quiet?