Monthly Archives: September 2014

The debate of feminism and gender equality has been discussed for years. The common misconception of the word ‘feminism’ is that it is anti-men. However, by definition feminism is: “The belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities. It is the theory of the political, economic and social equality of the sexes”.

UN Women Goodwill Ambassador Emma Watson gave a speech last week discussing gender equality. She states that to end gender equality everyone needs to be involved and men need to join women as advocates for gender equality. Watson argues that gender equality is an issue for men as well. Men are imprisoned by gender stereotypes and boys are shaped by what they believe is the definition of a ‘man’. Watson believes that, “if men don’t have to be aggressive in order to be accepted women won’t feel compelled to be submissive. If men don’t have to control, women won’t have to be controlled”.

The HeForShe campaign, which Watson was speaking on behalf of, promotes men advocating for gender equality. Watson’s speech represents a milestone in the discussion of gender equality. For the first time, it has been promoted as not only an issue for women, but men as well. This discussion has major relevance in the business world, as the unequal treatment of women in the workplace has been brought into the light with the US Census Bureau’s report in 2003. They announced that the average woman makes 77.5 cents for every dollar the average man grosses.

HeForShe has potential to begin a revolution. If it succeeds, gender equality will become the norm, and the treatment of women around the globe and within the workplace will improve.

Sources:

http://www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2014/9/emma-watson-gender-equality-is-your-issue-too

http://www.heforshe.org

http://www.census.gov/newsroom/pdf/women_workforce_slides.pdf

https://www.facebook.com/heforshe

After passing the Federal Reserve’s annual stress test in March and earning approval to increase quarterly dividends, Bank of America admitted to accounting errors in April. The error was a miscalculation in losses from 2009, when the bank bought financial advising company Merrill Lynch. The error accounted for an overstatement in the amount of capital on the company’s balance sheet by $4 billion. This miscalculation was not noticed by Bank of America accountants or by external auditors PwC.

The Securities and Exchange Commission and Bank of America have reached an agreement this week, where Bank of America will pay $7.65 million to settle the federal charges. The S.E.C. announced that when constructing the penalty they did take the fact that the bank self-reported the incident and took its own steps to amend the error into consideration.

The penalty is not a large sum considering the magnitude of the error. However the humiliation that has been adopted by the bank as a result of the mistake will cause damage to the company for years. It can be noted that once an accounting error is made it is nearly impossible to rectify it and many companies will keep the error hidden, in hopes of maintaining the reputation of the company. In the case of Bank of America, self-reporting the mistake will not only help to correct the error more quickly, but also give stakeholders in the company a greater sense of trust in the bank. By self-reporting the error Bank of America has let it be known that they mean to work in a truthful and reputable manner.

Sources:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/11113623/Five-embarrassing-accounting-blunders.html

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/09/29/bank-of-america-settles-s-e-c-case-on-4-billion-accounting-error/

http://www.picturesnew.com/bank-of-america.html

Barrick Gold Corporation has been under close examination by the public as questions of their business ethics have been brought up. The company has been receiving negative media attention, and the scrutiny only continues as Geoffrey York of The Globe and Mail reports “Deadly clashes continue at African Barrick gold mine”. The company has been trying to avoid dealing with the problem at hand and continuing with their usual mining in the area. Only after several reports and the creation of bad will has Barrick discussed the situation and announced solutions currently in progress. The unethical nature of the company has shocked many. Not only has the company been involved in the deaths of several civilians, but they have been more concerned with the running of their company and making profits for shareholders than the community in which they operate.

A company of good will is one that considers all of their stakeholders and cares about each of them. The community that a company involves itself in should be valued equally to all other stakeholders. Edward Freeman suggests in his stakeholder theory that a business that is not a good citizen and doesn’t pay attention to the quality of life in the community or the effects in which they have on civil society is a business in decline. If Barrick Gold wants to correct this problem they should take a step back to look at everyone that they affect, and consider all of the stakeholders in their company.

Sources:

http://business-humanrights.org/en/african-barrick-gold-lawsuit-re-tanzania

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/international-business/deadly-clashes-continue-at-african-barrick-gold-mine/article20216197/

https://www.youtube.com/embed/bIRUaLcvPe8