Corporate Code of Conduct

Corporate Code of Conduct

The ongoing globalization of business activities, developments in information technology, and the spread of market-based economies are bringing great changes to the social and economic environment in which corporations currently operate. At the same time the supply of energy, environmental problems, population growth and food shortages are also becoming issues of global concern. Within this context, growing public expectations regarding the role of business have led to increasing demands for socially responsible corporate behavior.

We must constantly keep pace with these changes and manage our organizations in light of these expectations. In addition to working to realize socially responsible business built upon a foundation of legal compliance and disclosure, we must also strive to understand and meet evolving social and economic demands by fully applying our unique capabilities as Business in order to contribute to the achievement of sustainable economic growth.

  We have produced this code of conduct in order to encourage all member firms to live up to their social responsibilities, evaluate their own behavior as responsible corporations, and assist them in pursuing their own initiatives.

Management Philosophy

As Business, we must constantly be aware of our role and responsibilities in society, go beyond the exclusive pursuit of short-term gain, and manage our business activities from a long-term perspective by balancing social, economic and environmental considerations so as to contribute to the realization of sustainable economic growth through business.

1.      We must effectively use our business resources for the benefit of our shareholders, business partners, consumers, employees, local communities and all our other various stakeholders.

2.      Executive management must lead by example in their efforts to create responsible businesses as defined by the evolving demands of the day.

3.      By conducting our businesses with due consideration to the preservation of the global environment and the balanced development of the international community, we must actively engage in the resolution of issues of environmental problems, poverty and violations of human rights.

Functions and Area of Activity

As Business, we must strive to remain constantly aware of the evolving social, economic and environmental demands on our businesses, and respond to these demands in a comprehensive manner.

1.      By collecting and disseminating information on a global scale and meeting the diversifying needs of our clients and markets, we must strive to provide resources, goods, and services that enrich society. In the provision of these resources, goods and services, we must give due consideration to the importance of personal information and intellectual property, and must make every effort to manage these resources in a responsible manner.

2.      By discovering new opportunities for business throughout the world, and by developing these opportunities into sources of social wealth, we must strive to advance industry and contribute to the creation of employment both domestically and internationally.

3.      By maintaining a spirit of cooperation and harmony, we must promote free trade and constructive collaboration between nations in order to contribute to the achievement of balanced regional economic development and global prosperity.

Legal Compliance and Disclosure

As Business, in recognition of our responsibilities to society, we must conduct our business in accordance with all relevant laws and regulations, show due respect for social conventions, and stress information disclosure in our efforts to maintain transparent management practices.

1.      In addition to legal compliance in our respective regional areas of operation, we must abide by both the letter and the spirit of international rules and regulations, and conduct ourselves in a socially conscientious manner. Furthermore, we must manage our business activities upon the understanding that free and fair competition is the fundamental precondition for the functioning of a market economy, and must maintain open and fair relations with political parties and governments.

2.      We must strive to achieve transparency through the appropriate and timely disclosure of corporate information. To further promote communication with our shareholders and other stakeholders, we must strive to expand the venues and means for information disclosure and thereby promote opportunities for the honest and constructive exchange of opinions.

3.      We must build systems to promote effective corporate decision-making, strengthen audit functions, and constantly monitor the legality of decisions made within our organizations.

Social Contributions and the Promotion of Trust

As Business, we must strive to create relationships of mutual trust both domestically and internationally, and to contribute actively to society as good corporate citizens.

1.      We must show respect for the cultures, customs and languages of other countries and regions, and strive to actively participate in activities aimed at regional development through a process of private-sector diplomacy.

2.      By promoting communication with a wide range of stakeholders including shareholders, business partners, consumers, employees, and local communities, we must strive to create mutual trust in our relationships with our stakeholders by promoting regional development and cooperating in activities aimed at the achievement of a secure and enriched standard of living.

3.      We will not deal with any organizations influenced by or comprised of organized crime that may operate in the communities in which we do business.

Creation of Rewarding Work Environments

As Business, we will strive to provide our employees with a rich and rewarding work environment, to respect the diversity, character and individuality of our employees, and to promote corporate cultures in which each individual's talents and creativity may be fully developed.

1.      We must create and maintain safe and fulfilling work environments for our employees.

2.      We must respect the human rights of our employees, promote equal opportunities among them, and oppose any discriminatory employment practices or treatment.

3.      We must respect the diversity and individuality of our employees and actively support their skill and career development.

Communication and Implementation

Executive management of the respective Business must take full responsibility to make every effort to implement this code of conduct within their respective organizations, and to communicate the obligations set out within this code and their commitment to its implementation to their affiliates and trading partners.

Violation and Prevention Recurrence

In the event of a violation of this code of conduct, executive management of the respective Business is expected to publicly announce a plan for resolving the situation, to make a full investigation and account of the causes of the violation, and to make every effort possible to prevent a recurrence of the violation.

The Ethics of Governance – YJ Draiman

The Ethics of Governance – YJ Draiman

 

When we have a set of principles, of values, which we have been learning for many years, we organize our life following this structure, and then we try to apply that frame of mind to practical situations in our life. But often, we find ourselves in a sort of uncomfortable position because the moment we try to apply our values to this very present practical issue, we feel that the situation is not as clear as we would like, that we can not tell very clearly which is the best possible alternative. Often, it is not a choice between good answers and bad answers, good and evil, but maybe between two good things or two bad things. We would like to be much surer about our decisions.
When this happens in government, it is even worse because the whole society and beyond is affected by your decision. You are not dealing with your own life. You are dealing with many millions of lives at the same time. Maybe things will never be the same again in the future because of your decision. Hence, ethical decisions in government are; How do you apply your theoretical values to practical decisions where you do not have pure answers and when the whole life of your society or community will be affected?

You have more or less the same system dealing with the problems in government. You need all the facts. The facts can be the symptoms or the problem. You never know which is it at the instant you start analyzing the problem. Thus, you get the facts, and afterwards you try to make some sense of them. You have some theories or hypothesis of what is causing the symptoms. In addition, you try to implement the course of action. Only after you have consulted with your advisers, you want to have as much input as possible.

You also have to deal with the problem in ethical terms. The ethical approach is the Utilitarian. You have to balance how much good and how much evil you produce with your actions. If the good outweighs the evil, you should do it, as it is a sort of balance. The second is based on the concept of rights. There are some basic human rights that you have to respect. You are not allowed to affect those human rights in order to produce positive affect in your society. The third one is founded, on the concept of justice or fairness. We have at least three different concepts about justice. You can have distributive justice in which you try to distribute all the goods of the society according to the needs of the people. However, you can also have the concept of contribution. In this case, you are not receiving on the base of what you need but on the base of what you are contributing to society. In addition, you have the compensation concept. In this circumstance, you have the right for compensation if you have losses or harm done due to others. The fourth major ethical approach is a foundation on virtues. The question is not what I should do, but what kind of society would I like to have in the future. How are my actions going to contribute to that future? In addition, you have the common good, the concept in which you are doing things that are equally good for everybody in your community.

The sun is an asset to everyone, we have to know how to harness its rays within us and warm the heart.
Should the sun warm only the individual heart, to skip on others, on the community and the nation?

It is predicated on the individual’s personality, the compassion, the treatment of his fellow person, to the community and the nation.

YJ Draiman

http://draimanformayor2013.com

Investing in training -- human capital - "social capital" -- enables one to become more productive - Draiman

Investing in training -- human capital - "social capital" -- enables one to become more productive - Draiman

The more civic region has prospered because trust and reciprocity were woven into its social fabric ages ago. None of this would appear in standard economics textbooks, of course, but our evidence suggests that wealth is the consequence, not the cause, of a healthy civics.
An important moral emerges. Economists often refer to physical capital. A screwdriver is a form of
physical capital: By investing in a screwdriver, one becomes more productive. About 45 years ago, the economist Gary Becker used the term "human capital" to refer to the fact that education can have the same effect. Investing in training -- human capital -- enables one to become more productive.

Some social scientists are beginning to speak of "social capital" -- networks and norms of civic engagement. Conversely, in some modern countries -- in our own urban ghettoes and in our suburbs, for example -- the last several decades have witnessed a silent erosion of social capital. There are more empty seats at PTA meetings and church masses, for example, and
fewer of us spend time on public affairs -- particularly political activities. Compared with earlier generations, we are less engaged with one another outside the marketplace and thus less prepared to cooperate for shared goals. This decline in social capital helps explain the economic and political troubles of our own democracy.

If we lack social capital, how can we create more? The reform-minded president of one of the backward regions once posed this tough dilemma to me. After dinner one evening, he complained, "What you seem to be telling me is that nothing I can do will improve my region. Our fate was sealed hundreds of years ago." This is a central conundrum of our time: How can we invest in social capital? There is no simple reply, but every serious public official or community activist in America must address the question today. Investments in our nation's portfolio of social capital must occur at the local level.

A concluding example -- dramatizes this point.
In many neighborhoods, recent immigrants from the countryside live amid social disorganization and crime. In the last few years, however, one such neighborhood has earned a reputation for being safer and more pleasant, even though its residents are no more affluent. This fortunate area somehow has achieved a strong sense of neighborhood solidarity. For example, nearly every resident has bought a football referee's whistle, and if a thief is spotted, everyone blows his whistle to alert his neighbors. The neighborhood has also taken up a collection to buy a local siren and set up a telephone network. If a local widow, for example, becomes distressed at night, one phone call suffices to set off the siren and summon help. This neighborhood-alert system has cut robberies dramatically -- from roughly two a week to roughly one a year.
What makes this neighborhood different? The founder of the neighborhood association has a simple answer: -- "The Law of the Greeting." When the association was formed a few years ago, its members agreed that everyone would leave for work five minutes early every morning to have the time to say "hello" to each of his neighbors. This informal norm soon built ties of friendship and mutual solidarity among the previously anonymous residents of the neighborhood. Once those ties
were established, it was relatively easy to agree on practical crime-fighting steps.
As the relative tranquility of this neighborhood has become more widely known, people from other neighborhoods have visited to inquire into the secret of their success. "When we tell them about ~The Law of the Greeting,' reports the association's founder, "they smile dismissively and ask us where we got the whistles, or how we got a government grant for the siren." These inquirer's are, of course, missing the point: The key to collective action is not physical capital, but social capital.
"The Law of the Greeting" represents investment in social capital at its very simplest.
Solving America's social problems requires much more than a national "Law of the Greeting," but that is not a bad metaphor for the actions, public and private, that are needed. To revitalize our democracy we shall need to begin by rebuilding social capital in our communities, by renewing our civic connections.

YJ Draiman

http://draimanformayor2013.com

Draiman says that voters deserve to hear from all Mayoral candidates on the ballot

Draiman says that voters deserve to hear from all Mayoral candidates on the ballot

It is anti democratic to ignore candidates who have earned their place to be on the ballot.

In the current political mood and the growing apathy by voters it is imperative that every candidate who is officially on the ballot to be heard by the public.

Ignoring these candidates only reinforces to the voting public that money and not the most qualified candidate is given a chance to run for office with a level playing field.

The deck is stacked against a candidate who is not willing to be swayed by money and political influence. This is a sad day for our Democracy.

The Media and the various organizations who host a candidate forum – debate have a great responsibility to present unbiased information to the public, of all the candidates that appear on the ballot with a level playing field.

To ignore some candidates is a distortion of our Democratic oath and they are practicing the very same unacceptable behavior that they are trying to correct in today’s political scene.

By ignoring candidates who are on the ballot the voters are deprived of critical information and opinions of all the candidates on the ballot. It is a disservice to the community at large.

Angelenos have the right to an open and balanced election process resting on the values of our democracy, which is open to all candidates.

We have to show to the public how real democracy at work – by presenting all the candidates, not just the select few.

The right to vote is the right that protects all other rights. That includes all official candidates.

YJ Draiman for Mayor

http://draimanformayor2013.com

P.S.

All politicians buy their way into office, so the general public have only the choices of who has spent the most money campaigning and not the most qualified candidate.

Nothing less than Freedom and Democracy depend on reversing changes in our elections that have resulted in our votes being cast and counted in total secrecy and invisibility.

Americans need to put aside any partisan differences to realize that no single party or person or group of people can count the votes in secret with any credibility.

If the people lose control over the election process, they lose the right to govern themselves.  The inalienable right to self-governance rests squarely on the integrity of our elections.

The right to vote is the right that protects all other rights.

The right to vote includes the right to have that vote counted openly and properly.

Without that observable transparent count of the votes, we are not free.

Voting is not only a right, it is also a duty as a citizen. As you said, people fought and died for this right and nowadays many people around the world still do not have this right. That is why I will never understand people who abstain. They are not obliged to choose between one candidate or another but they can make a blank vote.

WHO WILL END THE CORRUPTION IN LA CITY GOVERNMENT?

WHO WILL END THE CORRUPTION IN LA CITY GOVERNMENT?

    It has taken 19 years to grow the current mess at LA City Hall. It was created by a succession of three Mayors, with the active cooperation of the Personnel Department and at least one crooked Councilman. 

   Acting without legal authority and without a vote of the electorate, that power-grabbing gang trampled the City Charter, degraded the Board of Civil Service Commissioners, usurped the Board's powers, and made individual department heads more powerful, but less accountable to the public.

   Now, the City's shameful secret has been exposed. The corruption must end. Moreover, some City Watchers agree that the next Mayor of Los Angeles will be expected to restore the Board of Civil Service Commissioners—to clean up the mess the departing gang leaves behind. However, other Watchers are not convinced any of the declared Mayoral candidates they have heard about can be expected to put the public interest ahead of their own.

   Well, according to a local newspaper, there are now only four declared candidates for the Mayor's office: Wendy Greuel, Eric Garcetti, Jan Perry and Kevin James. Nevertheless, that paper forgot to mention that YJ Draiman also wants to be Mayor of Los Angeles.

   The fact is YJ Draiman is an “outsider.” He was the first Mayoral candidate to file with the City Ethics Commission on March 5, 2011. Nevertheless, to date, he is the only candidate who has responded to an offer I made

in a previous column: to share with my readers any information the would-be Mayors sent me. I repeat that offer now: in the public interest, I will write about whatever each candidate gives me to write about the mayoral race. Moreover, Los Angeles needs a Mayor who will clean up the mess in City government. Therefore, I encourage the candidates to explain how they would do that.    

   YJ Draiman appears to be keenly aware of the problems facing City government. He recognizes that money can have a corrupting influence in government, and has made it clear he will not accept campaign contributions over $100.

   Draiman has observed that Southern California gets more sunshine than most other places in America. He thinks Los Angeles could be the solar energy capital of the region.

To that end, he is working on a Doctorate in Energy. Moreover, as a second term Neighborhood Council official, he is working with the Los Angeles City Department of Water and Power.

   Candidate Draiman seems committed to the principle that government exists to serve the people. He is not likely to make major changes without first explaining his proposals and getting public support for them.

   YJ Draiman honors the Rule of Law. If certain regulations were not working, he would try changing them.  He would not pretend the regulations do not exist, or are not important.

   Based on his submissions, I get the impression that Draiman has serious reservations about the City's civil service system. Moreover, about the impact employee unions have had on the way City departments operate. However, I also get the impression that he is in touch with the HRM revolution, which has swept across the world—that he wonders why the City   seems to resist modern personnel practices.

   While this column does not make any endorsements in the March 5, 2013 elections. It does urge voters to check out all the official candidates in those races. Nevertheless, this column repeats the offer to share with the readers what other candidate give me to share.

samuelmsperling@yahoo.com         (626) 576-8396                        06-10-12

“Voter apathy was, and will remain the greatest threat to democracy.”

Make Los Angeles inviting and hospitable to business.