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CORPORATE social responsibility (CSR) is a concept that frequently
overlaps with similar approaches such as corporate sustainability,
corporate sustainable development, corporate responsibility, and
corporate citizenship. While CSR does not have a universal definition,
many see it as the private sector's way of integrating the
economic, social, and environmental imperatives of their activities.
It has its roots in the recognition that responsible practices can
help organisations to innovate and develop new products and services,
access new markets, and minimise risk. A company with strong corporate
social responsibility will often be more successful in generating
economic value added, for reasons rooted in business strategy. Thus,
organisations implement initiatives and programmes to improve their
positive impact in society, not just to minimise their negative impact.
Different organisations have framed different definitions, although
there is considerable common ground between them. For instance, it is
agreed largely that CSR is about how companies manage the business
processes to produce an overall positive impact on society. So by
balancing profits with an overall understanding and awareness of the
short- and long-term consequences of an organisation's activities
on the environment and community, a company can help to ensure that
future generations not only enjoy its products but also the environment.
As organisations seek various initiatives to expand their CSR
efforts, the National Youth Council offers one option that could fit the
bill. Called the Youth Expedition Project (YEP), its mission is to
inspire youth through meaningful community service, to make a difference
to the lives of others, at home and abroad. It supports groups during
all phases of an expedition--planning, organising, funding, and training
of expedition leaders and facilitators.
Theodore Teo, assistant director of youth engagement and
expeditions at National Youth Council, explains how the YEP would be
applicable to a business organisation: "YEP's issue-based
approach enables the matching of interests of the organisation with
related social issues such as those pertaining to education, healthcare,
environment, and conservation. This flexibility sets the framework for a
development programme that can meet the company's CSR objectives,
with YEP as a complementary, CSR platform that is built on the concept
of International Service-Learning, which can be integrated into the
company's CSR blueprint."
The definition of "youth" in this case, includes anyone
between the ages of 17 and 35 years. Thus, it should be something that
most organisations can consider as their younger, and often junior,
staff would fit this age group.
YEP expeditions develop human capital to help achieve the HR
objectives of a company. Available corporate training focuses
essentially on job skills and leadership development. However, through
the YEP, the experiential learning that employees could gain from an
expedition would add significant value to the company in the long run,
as staff participants get to provide services related to their work, and
gain a community perspective of it as well.
Developing Leaders
Teo says that YEP also nurtures leaders for the future in that a
team co-leader from the organisation will have ample opportunities to
build his or her leadership and teambuilding qualities outside of the
work environment, and subsequently be empowered to lead the next
YEP-Corporate Team.
He adds: "Understanding the issues of working adults, the
YEP-Corporate Package allows flexibility for companies such that the
corporate teams can fully experience the benefits of YEP without having
to compromise work in office. For instance, companies have the option to
undertake a shorter nine-day trip instead of the usual 14-day
minimum."
There has to be a certain size or level of commitment from a
company towards the overall success of an adopted YEP project. The
recommended team size, for instance, is between 14 and 20 persons, but
quality is valued over quantity.
"To maximise the potential of participating employees and
achieve the most meaningful results for the company and the
beneficiaries involved, employers are encouraged to provide their staff
flexibility to strike a good balance between YEP and their work
commitments," says Teo.
Companies with insufficient manpower to send a team on an
expedition may choose to participate in YEP progressively through
sponsorship and consultation for existing projects. They can also
collaborate with teams from tertiary institutions from the departments
that are in line with the core business of the company.
A project is not a short haul effort. YEP-Corporate teams have six
months to spread out the learning and complete their pre-, overseas, and
post- projects, while building relationships and establishing their
corporate presence in these communities. After this period, teams are
encouraged to continue their positive contributions to the local
community.
"Prior to the expedition, all staff participants will get to
attend a one-day training to manage cultural and environmental changes.
Leaders who are appointed by the company can avail the YEP Leaders'
Training. They will learn imperative pointers on effective community
outreach, working with hosts, basic emergency preparedness and other
foundational expedition and leadership knowledge," explains Teo.
Besides the obvious feel-good factor, each YEP participant works in
a team to research and champion a social issue of interest locally and
then explores this issue overseas. They then return richer to share
their experience with colleagues, friends and family, fostering the
esprit de corps in both the public and private spheres.
For the individual, YEP aims to develop thinking leaders for the
future and create a stronger sense of belonging towards the community in
Singapore and communities in the region. The long-term impacts of these
YEP teams are tremendous as the goodwill and positive Singapore presence
in these countries will contribute to the fostering of friendship and
meaningful exchanges.
With project ranging from teaching, environmental work to health
care, there are diverse opportunities for YEP teams throughout China,
India and the Asean countries.
For instance a YEP team visited Yong Ning village in Luxi county,
Kunming, China in 2006. The purpose was to emplace a community service
programme. Besides helping build toilets for the Yong Ning Primary
School, the team established a free clinic with health screening
consultation.
Projects can be categorised by the areas of services like Community
Income Generation, Education, Environmental Conservation, Healthcare,
and Technology Transfer. There is a wide scope for corporations to get
involved and intervene.
Sceptics may question how much good a 14-day expedition can
achieve. Teo believes it's not just about what occurs in those 14
days: "How much 'good' a team can accomplish corresponds
with the efforts made by the team to achieve the goals that they have
set for themselves. 'Good' cannot be measured by merely
visible contributions. It is also subjective because the meaningful
experience that participants gain from the expedition is something that
cannot be measured but is felt by the individual."
YEP advocates sustainable partnerships, meaning that an
organisation can continue to engage a host partner many times. --N
Ravindran
Getting Started on a Project
THE Youth Expedition Project (YEP) has been a key programme to
encourage volunteerism since 2000. It supports young Singaporeans to
embark on community Service-Learning projects with the objectives of
building up self-confident volunteers who can identify needs and
contribute to the community both at home and abroad.
If you are between 17 to 35 years of age, or are able to lead
people in this age group, and desire to make a difference in Singapore
and abroad, here are some steps you can consider:
* Form a team of between 14 to 20 persons
* Select an experienced project leader and facilitator, or
volunteer as one
* Decide on specific areas you wish to address and serve in
* Decide on possible overseas and local projects relevant to your
interest area
* Craft a proposal on the areas of learning for the programme
* Get endorsement from the organisation you are representing
* Apply for funding at www.yep.sg
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