Enlightenment Essay example - 532 Words

Enlightenment Do we at present live in enlightened age? What is enlightenment? Immanuel Kant attempts to clarify the meaning of enlightenment while composing the essay, What is Enlightenment?. The goal of Kants essay was to discuss what the nature of enlightenment was. It also taught one how enlightenment can be brought about in the general public. Kant explains that, enlightenment is mans release from his self-incurred immaturity. Immaturity is mans incompetence to have direction for oneself. In other words, enlightenment is the progress of a society through the free activity of rational thought and scholarly critique. Kant feels that if we are going to liberate ourselves from immaturity then we must be able to use our†¦show more content†¦Kant uses many examples of the difference between the public and private use of reasoning. If soldiers refused to follow commands then there would be no military. So, one solider may follow commands in which he disagrees with, but will later critique what he believes. This means that he will follow the commands as his private use of reasoning and then will speak out his complaints as his public use of reasoning. In his essay Kant clearly explains the difference between and enlightened age and an age of enlightenment. In an enlightened age we would all be religious without clergymen because we would know to which things we should be obedient or disobedient. In this age there would be elimination of self-incurred immaturity. During the age of enlightenment we are making the progress towards using both kinds of reasoning. Incompetence is not using pubic and private use of reason in balance with one another. Competence is the balance of both public and private use of reason. We must know how to determine when it is right to obey and right to argue. In terms of government obedience it is often necessary, but any effort to hinder the publics free use of reason should be forbidden. In Kants essay What is Enlightenment?, he shows the transition for the age of enlightenment to the enlightened age. It enables the people to become more like the guardian and managers of their own freedom. Do we at present live in enlightened age? No, Man still doesnt know to whichShow MoreRelatedThe Enlightenment1278 Words   |  6 Pages World Literature The Enlightenment’s Impact on the Modern World The Enlightenment, Age of Reason, began in the late 17th and 18th century. This was a period in Europe and America when mankind was emerging from centuries of ignorance into a new age enlightened by reason, science, and respect for humanity. This period promoted scientific thought, skeptics, and intellectual interchange: dismissing superstition, intolerance, and for some, religion. Western Europe, Germany, France, and Great BritainRead MoreWhat Is Enlightenment1120 Words   |  5 PagesIn his essay titled What is Enlightenment? Immanuel Kant defines enlightenment as mans leaving his self-caused immaturity. (145) In order to fully comprehend his definition, one must first clearly understand Kants use of the term immaturity. He explains that immaturity is not thinking for oneself because of a lack of determination and courage to use ones intelligence without being guided by another. (145) To Kant, immaturity is the individuals fault. He explains that a pattern of immaturityRead MoreThe French Enlightenment Vs British Enlightenment Essay1813 Words   |  8 PagesTimes, discusses the topic of the French Enlightenment versus British Enlightenment in his article Two Theories of Change. He proposed that French philosophers such as Descartes focused on creating entirely new truths and taking out the past truths. Where, on the other hand, British philosophers such as Adam Smith, took the past truths and instead of discarding them, modifying them to fit the ever-changing times. Brooks described the British Enlightenment way of though as believing the were â€Å"a smallRead MoreSummary Of The Enlightenment Salons767 Words   |  4 PagesRepublic of Letters: A Cultural History of the French Enlightenment (1994) and Becoming a Woman in the Age of Letters (2009). In her article, â€Å"Enlightenment Salons: The Convergence of Female and Philosophic Ambition,† (1989) Dena Goodman stresses the pivotal role of women, as salonnià ¨res, in the transformation and governance of eighteenth-century French Enlightenment salons, which were the base of the philosophes’ pursuit of the Enlightenment project; furthermore, Goodman argues the reciprocal successesRead MoreWhat Is Enlightenment1028 Words   |  5 PagesA More Enlightened Contemporary Society What is Enlightenment?, an explication that was written in 1784 in Prussia by the philosopher Immanuel Kant, discusses the principles that he deems to be truths surrounding significant topics such as freedom, reason, and an individual’s and/or societal necessity to be fully mature, in terms that he described as being scholar. Here, what is most evident is the reality that while he perceived the society as being unprepared to be fully mature, he neverthelessRead MoreEssay on The Enlightenment1246 Words   |  5 PagesThe history of Western civilization cannot be neatly divided into precise linear sections. Instead, it must be viewed as a series of developing threads that combine, interact, and, at various intervals, take pervasive shifts. The Enlightenment of the eighteenth century was one of these paradigm historical shifts, challenging the traditional notions of authority by investing reason with the power to change the human condition for the better. This ecumenical emph asis on reason and independent thoughtRead MoreNapoleon And The Enlightenment1214 Words   |  3 PagesNapoleon And The Enlightenment The enlightenment was a time of great learning throughout Europe during the eighteenth century. Although the period is significant for scientific and other scholastic advancements, it is most important because it allowed for the opening of great minds--such as that of Napoleon Bonaparte. Shortly after this enlightenment made its way through Europe, revolution and civil war ripped through France between 1879 and 1899. The unrest of the time called for a strong rulerRead MoreThe Enlightenment Essay999 Words   |  4 Pagesideas about our universe were not widely accepted, especially from the church. This soon changed due to the hard work and perseverance of several scientists and philosophers who unbeknownst to them brought about an era known as the Enlightenment. The Enlightenment, which eased into existence in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries created a new way of thinking based on rationality. Scholars and intellects were free to debate and have informed discussions about such things as science, religionRead MoreThe Rise Of The Enlightenment1577 Words   |  7 PagesIn the midst of darkness, the people of France saw a beacon of hope when the Enlightenment gave them a glimpse of how great their life could be. The Enlightenment was a collection of ideas from various philosophers in Europe to question old views of society and use reason to create a better society. The enlightenment ideas focused on the people and their needs, prompting for governments to protect people’s basic rights to liberty, life, and equality. France, at the time, was suffering under the weakRead MoreThe Era of Enlightenment1074 Words   |  4 Pages The Enlightenment was an era of major social and political change in 18th century Europe. The Enlightenm ent was centered in France, which at the time was a dominant force in Europe ruled by an oppressive government. During this era, many intellectuals began to question some of the norms and customs of European society, such as monarchy and religious discrimination. These intellectuals helped spread new ideas about human rights and democracy, which helped inspire the revolutions that followed

Scholarly Bibliography On Scholarly Journals Essay

Definitions of terms Scholarly peer review Scholarly peer review, also known as refereeing, is the process of subjecting an author’s scholarly manuscript to the scrutiny of others who are experts and working in the same field (Ware 2013). Scholarly/academic journal Scholarly journal, also called as academic/scientific/refereed journal or very often peer-reviewed journal, is a peer-reviewed/refereed periodical in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journals serve as forums for the introduction and presentation for scrutiny of new research, and the critique of existing research (Blake Bly, 2000). Scholarly article/paper Scholarly paper/article, also called as research and academic paper/article, is published in academic journals and has original research results and shows an entirely new invention. It is generally based on original research or experimentation. It is written by a researcher or expert in the field who is often affiliated with a college or university. According to Svernstrom (2014), the paper/article could be original/review/theoretical work. Emerald Group Publishing Based on its website (http://www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com), Emerald is a global publisher connecting research and practice to the benefit of society. Emerald today manages a variety of digital products, a collection of closely 300 journals, more than 2,500 books and over 450 teaching cases. It covers sixteen major areas as follows:Show MoreRelatedHow High School English Courses Prepare Students for College English1187 Words   |  5 Pagesstudents understood the difference between what are scholarly sources for information and what is not considered to be scholarly sources. 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I will explore the different types of relationships and how society will affect a bisexuals dating habit and how people will perceiveRead MoreThe Family Crucible by Dr. Napier Essay515 Words   |  3 Pagesand information that can be gathered systematically through observation and measurement also known as scientific method. I would confer with books written by experts in the field of experiential therapy with couples, articles from social science journals, and legal statistics representative of the population experiencing a high rate of divorce as a result of irreconcilable differences. Research of literature depends on the theory or topic one is researching. Research uncovers what the author knowsRead MoreAnnotated Bibliography On Teaching And Teaching846 Words   |  4 Pages Customized Learning Theory Paper-Annotated Bibliography Brittani Thomas Liberty University: EDUC 500 September 22, 2015 Customized Learning Theory Paper-Annotated Bibliography Hudgins, B.B., Riesenmy, M.R. (1994). Teaching self-direction to enhance children’s thinking in physical science. Journal of Educational Research, 88(1), 15. This article focused on the constant debate concerning the conditions in which students develop the skill of thinking critically. BeingRead MoreA Research Report on the First Social Science Policy Architect, Harry Alpert640 Words   |  3 PagesExploration of a Journal Article in Sociology This article is a report of new research on the first social science policy architect Harry Alpert. This is because the article is basically a research that was conducted on Harry Alpert thus giving us information about the person. The article takes the universal format of research reports where there is an abstract in this case the summary, an introduction and the body of the research. 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Corporate Governance and Social Responsibility Business Organisation

Question: Describe about the Corporate Governance and Social Responsibility for Business Organisations. Answer: Introduction Business organisations nowadays are increasing become concerned about their social and environmental impacts for achieving sustainability. Sustainability reporting is regarded as publishing information by the business companies about the actions taken by them for protecting society and environment. Sustainability reporting is becoming an integral part of the corporate governance framework of the businesses (Bell, 2011). Corporate governance is regarded as the approach adopted by the organizations for managing and governing its regular business activities and processes. The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) provides a framework for the business organisations regarding the development and disclosure of their sustainability reports (Aras and Crowther, 2010). In this context, the present report aims to analyse and compare the sustainability reporting and disclosure analysis of BHP Billiton and Woolworths as per the GRI framework. The report provides a detail explanation regarding the cor porate governance and social responsibility issues involved in business decision-making. Also, it implements sustainability reporting principles and practices as per the GRI framework in the development of integrated reporting known as environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting. In addition to this, the report provides reflective thinking for developing an understanding of the importance of sustainability reporting and corporate governance and their relevance for the job role of accountant or manager. Part A Sustainability reporting and disclosure analysis comparisons between the sustainability reports of BHP Billiton and Woolworths Limited and G4 GRI Guidelines Theoretical knowledge of the corporate governance and social responsibility issues involved in business decision making Sustainability and corporate governance plays an important role in measuring the performance of a business corporation. The corporate governance framework of an organisation develops and implements standard guidelines that the employees must strictly adhere for carrying out their job role (Brennan, 2011). As such, the rules and policies implemented by a business through establishing its corporate governance framework is essential for promoting accountability and trust in its operational activities. It defines the rights and duties of each stakeholder of a company and lays down the detailed procedures and rules regarding the decision-making on conducting the business processes. Thus, corporate governance framework is important in an organisation for developing the goals and objectives of a business corporation and defining the manner for reaching the goals (Cavusgil, Rammal and Freeman 2011). It is essential for an organisation in developing and maintaining stakeholder engagement by d etermining the relationships between corporate management, administrative authorities, external and internal stakeholders. The business organisations are placing greater emphasises on developing and publishing their sustainable reports for achieving the trust of its stakeholder (Schaltegger, Bennett and Burritt, 2006). It is essential for the business companies to promote their sustainable development by promoting the economic, social and environmental development through their business operations. Sustainability report published by a business corporation provides a measure of its economic, social and environmental performance. The identification of the shortcomings through developing sustainability report helps the business managers in taking critical decisions for improving their economic, social and environmental performance. Therefore, it can be said the corporate governance and sustainability reporting plays a critical role in business decision-making (Claasen and Alpin-Lardies , 2010). BHP Billiton Plc is an Australian company that is ranked among the worlds top producers of major commodities including iron ore, coals, copper, uranium and many other minerals. Thus, it is recognised a prominent mining company around the world actively involved in production of important minerals and ores. BHP Billiton is a mining company and therefore it has integrated sustainability issues in its strategic approach for protecting environment and society from any of the negative impacts of its operational activities (Business Human Rights Resource Centre, 2009). Sustainability is an integral part of the companys strategy as it ensures the integration of health, safety, environmental and social factors in decision-making process. The company places strict emphasises on managing its internal material risk that is necessary for presenting the quality of environment. The company has developed and implemented an effective corporate governance framework for maintaining integrity and acco untability in its business operations. The corporate governance framework of the company is maintained and developed through the implementation of Code of Business Conduct. The sustainability report and corporate governance framework developed by the company can be stated as highly effective in facilitating its decision-making process. The decision-making process of the company is supported through providing in-depth information obtained from sustainability reports and corporate governance reporting mechanism regarding its environmental and social performance. Thus, business managers can take decisions regarding the improvement needed in the operational processes for promoting development of society and environment (BHP Billiton: Taking the long view Sustainability Report, 2015). On the other hand, Woolworths Limited is also regarded as a sustainability leader in the retailing sector of Australia. The company is recognised as largest supermarket chain of Australia and mainly offers food, liquor and improvement products to the customers. The company has also adopted an effective corporate governance framework for promoting transparency and authenticity in its business operations in the minds of its stakeholders. Effective corporate governance is the core of the companys strategy for enhancing the stakeholder values and achieving long-term development. The code of conduct developed by the company maintain and establishes the moral and ethical standards regarding ensuring the protection of the customers, suppliers, employees and local communities. The code of conduct of the business is developed for preventing the occurrence of misconduct by any of its employees in the workplace. The company also abides by the legislative and regulatory reforms regarding the pro tection of the environment and society. The sustainability strategy of the company is developed mainly for emphasising on its social and environment responsibility issues. In this context, the company has also adopted its sustainability committee that reviews the performance of the company on basis of safety, health and community investment (Woolworths Limited: Corporate Responsibility Report, 2015). Thus, it can be said on the basis of comparison of both the reports that sustainability report of both the companies provides an in-depth knowledge regarding the corporate governance and social responsibility issue involved in their decision-making process. Integration of the sustainability accounting reporting principles and practices (including the Global Reporting Initiative) into the development of Sustainability reporting and integrated reporting known as environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reporting The sustainability report of the company is developed as per the standards of International Council of Mining and Metals (ICMM) and Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) framework. The companys mission is to develop long-term value for its shareholders through acquiring and development of natural resources. The company values in promoting sustainable development through becoming environmentally responsible by promoting health and safety of community where it operates its business activities. Global Reporting Initiative determines the standard guidelines for all the business corporations and developing and maintaining their sustainability reporting (Dimitriades,. 2007). The sustainability report of the BHP Billiton is developed on the basis of GRI initiatives with providing proper disclosure regarding the companys corporate governance policies and environment responsibilities. The corporate governance provides proper information regarding the companys code of Business Conduct determining its business standards that need to be maintained for carrying out its daily work operations. The corporate governance framework of the company plays an important role by determining the practical implementation of the commitments and values determined in its code of business conduct. The code of business conduct of the company is developed in various languages for providing assistance to all its employees and contractors to carry out the operational functions in an ethical manner. The internal as well as external stakeholders of the company are provided with several reporting mechanisms for addressing the issues related to the corporate governance. Thus, it helps the business managers for identifying the improvements needed in the companys corporate governance framework (King, Owusu and Braimah, 2013). The sustainability reports of the company are also developed in accordance with the rules and procedures established by the company through its corporate governance framework. The effective governance of natural resources is vital for maintaining sustainability for the company. The company as such developed its Charter that defines its commitment for governance and meeting the stakeholders expectations as per the guidelines established in its code of business conduct. The sustainability report of the company also provides clear information regarding the various strategic actions undertaken for promoting economic and social development. The environment, social and governance (RSG) factors are the integral part of its business strategies governing and controlling its daily business operations. The report extensively covers all the activities and the subsequent impacts of its activities on the environment and society (BHP Billiton: Taking the long view Sustainability Report, 2015). The quality of information disclosed in the sustainability report of the company helps it in meeting stakeholder expectations through promoting trust and accountability in the business operations. The stakeholders can easily assess the companys performance and thus take appropriate decisions for marinating their stake in the company (Tilt, 2009). The main reporting principles under the GRI sustainability reporting principles are stakeholder inclusiveness, sustainability context, materiality and completeness. As discussed above, BHP Billiton has provided sufficient information regarding its roles and responsibilities towards its major stakeholders including employees and customers (Simons and Macklin, 2014). The company has properly disclosed all the safety standards adopted by it for ensuring protection of all its employees during performing their daily job role. The company is involved in mining operations and therefore has to place special importance on complying with all occupational and healthy safety standards for effectively managing all the workplace hazards. The sustainability report also discloses proper information regarding the initiatives undertaken for protecting environment and society. The company is also strongly dedicated towards identifying the material issues that impact its performance at each stage of its value chain. The sustainability committee developed by the company is mainly involved in reviewing the sustainable performance and implementing proper strategies for promoting environment and social development. The completeness principle of GRI is also achieved by the company through providing complete information on all its sustainability issues through integration of its economic, social and governance (ESG) practices (BHP Billiton: Taking the long view Sustainability Report, 2015). On the other hand, Woolworths Limited also abides by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) reporting standard and principles of stakeholder inclusiveness, sustainability context, materiality and completeness. The corporate governance framework of the company is established for maintaining stakeholder value through disseminating them complete information regarding the business processes and activities continuously. The company provides a complete disclosure reading its risk management strategy, privacy policy, materiality, sustainability strategy and code of conduct in accordance with the GRI reporting principles. The risk management strategy of the company is established for identifying the business risk that the company is likely to face in the future direction. It helps the senior management of the company in developing strategies for mitigating the business risks identified in advance. The implementation of risk management framework helps the company in achieving confidence of all its stakeholders (Ringold, Holla, Koziol and Srinivasan, 2011). The company is also strongly committed in complying with the National Privacy Principles that determines the standards to be adopted for storing, accessing, and disclosing the personal information collected as part of the business operations. The sustainability strategy of the company aims to meet the standard guidelines and principles of Accountability AA1000 Assurance Standard that helps it to prioritise the issues related to its financial strategy, policy-related performance, business based norms, stakeholder behaviour and societal norms. As such, the sustainability strategy of the company plays an important role in providing all the material information to its stakeholders about its various operational areas taking effective decisions regarding improving its business process and procedures through assessing the performance in its major operational areas (Woolworths Limited: Corporate Responsibility Report, 2015). T hus, it can be said from analysing the sustainability report of both BHP Billiton and Woolworths that they effectively abide by the reporting standards of GRI in developing theirs sustainability report. Part B Influence of Societal Values on sustainability reporting and disclosure analysis comparisons between the two sustainability reports and G4 GRI Guidelines in the United States and the United Kingdom Theoretical knowledge of the corporate governance and social responsibility issues involved in business decision making Corporate governance, as such, enables the decision-makers of a business corporation to implement proper decisions regarding the nature of business processes to be adopted for carrying out its operational functions. Corporate sustainability is becoming highly essential for business organisations to optimise the efficiency and effectiveness that leads to its improved profitability and productivity (Cunningham et al., 2014). The reports developed by the business companies about their sustainability performances helps them to analyse the shortcomings in their performances on economic, social and environmental parameters. Corporate governance and social responsibility issues plays an important role in the decision-making process of the businesses operating in the UK and the USA. However, there is a difference in the corporate governance and social responsibilities undertaken by the business firms operating in both the countries for business decision-making. The regulation of corporate go vernance and social responsibility issue in the UK is monitored and supervised by different rules such as listing rules, combined code of conduct and code of market conduct. Listing rules are the corporate governance rules that are to be followed by all the business entities operating in the UK listed on the stock exchange for maintain accountability in the business operations (Dowdney, 2005). The combined code on corporate governance mandates the UK business entities to publish a statement in their annual reports about complying with the listing rules. In addition to this, Code of Market Conduct is developed and maintained by the financial services authority for maintaining privacy of sensitive and confidential information obtained about the financial market. On the other hand, the US corporate governance framework and social responsibility issues is determined by the rules and legislations of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) (Daizy and Das, 2003). The legislation mandates the business entities operating in the US to adopt ethical and moral standards for carrying out their business activities. In addition to this, the SOX also impose fines and penalties on the corporations in case of nay non-compliance with the code of ethics and moral standards. However, there is no such mandatory requirements on the UK firms to adopt code of ethics but only requires the business to provide relevant information regarding its accounting procedures and auditing reports (Ringold, Holla and Koziol, and Srinivasan, 2011). Thus, it can be stated that corporate governance plays a vital part in business decision-making of the US firms in comparison to the UK business firms. Integration of the sustainability accounting reporting principles and practices (including the Global Reporting Initiative) into the development of Sustainability reporting and integrated reporting known as environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reporting The US business firms places great importance in integrating sustainability approach in their business goals and objectives. The US companies developed their sustainable reports in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards and guidelines. In addition to GRI, the US companies also strongly emphasise on integrating Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) and Dow Jones Sustainability Index for measuring and assessing their sustainability performance on the basis of environmental and societal development (Carbon Monitoring for Action, 2016). The US companies such as Ikea, Puma and Unilever are recognised around the world to be most sustainable companies and abiding by the GRI standards and guidelines. The corporate sustainability reporting is not mandated for the business corporations by any country. However, the business companies are emphasising on developing their sustainability reports as per the standards of GRI for achieving stakeholders trust and gaining long-term su stainability (Publicsector sustainability reporting: Remove the clutter, reduce the burden, 2012). As such, the US firms have started to disclose the relevant information regarding their stakeholders inclusiveness, materiality, sustainability context and completeness in their sustainability reporting. However, the UK firms still have to place importance on developing sustainability reports as per the GRI standards (Daizy and Das, 2003). Part C Conclusion and Recommendations Conclusion Every aspect of corporate governance principles and sustainability reporting has been examined in case of Woolworth and BHP Billiton to make recommendations on how to improve the sustainability reporting standards. It has been found that both the companies fulfil the requirements of corporate governance standards and both companies have taken all the measures to improve the corporate governance. It has been reported that Woolworth has put extra efforts to make the governance while BHP Billiton is using methods of corporate governance that make work little more difficult. Woolworth follow agile framework of reporting while BHP Billiton believes in keepings the things simple and easy to understand. As BHP Billiton is in energy sector, yet it does not present the proper GRI guidelines followed in the report (GRI, 2016). While making the analysis on the sustainability reporting requirements in context of two companies it can be say both countries have same G4 GRI guidelines to present th e sustainability report. Talking about the sustainability reporting in the context of the UK and the US, it can be said that companies of both the countries positively take interest in reporting their performance to the stakeholders. It has been found that there are minor changes of reporting framework of both the countries. Recommendations to improve the corporate governance and sustainability reporting in case of Woolworth and BHP Billiton There are specified requirements that every organization must compile in the sustainability reporting in order to report maximum content to the stakeholders. Woolworth and BHP Billiton are two big companies in Australia and it is mandatory for both the companies to fulfil the requirements of G4 GRI reporting while making the sustainability report. Also there exist a wide scope of improvement for business companies operating in countries like United States and United Kingdom for developing sustainable reporting as per the in the GRI guidelines. Following are some of important recommendations that both companies and countries should compile in their sustainability reports in order to make most beneficial for stakeholders. Improving the content presented in report: Organization must clearly identify its stakeholders and must clearly tell what they done to respond on their reasonable expectations and values in the company. It must be understood by the companies that expectations, values and interest of stakeholders are the key points that impact the reporting in sustainability reporting. Organization must include the proper information regarding the performance of company (RG: Sustainability reporting Guidelines, 2016). The main aim of sustainability reporting is to tell the stakeholders on how the organization is working for improving the economic, environmental and social values at local, national and global level. Reporting on individual performance does not fulfil the requirements of preparing the sustainability reporting (McGinn and Lipsky, 2015). Therefore, it is responsibility of management to put sincere efforts to show how company is actively involved in the keeping environment safe and social value on priority. Sustainability reporting should reflect the impact of economic, environmental and social factors on the performance of organization. It is suggested to companies to make a thorough check for the completeness of the sustainability report to make sure all important aspects have been taken care of (Phillips, 2012). Improving the sustainability reporting quality: It should be kept in mind while reporting on the performance of company that both positive and negative aspects have been included in the report (EPRA: Reporting, 2016). As it can be understand that no organization can be always good and always bad. Sustainability reporting should be done in such manner that information of prior period time can be compared with current performance. There must be use of table and charts to present the information on the performance of the companies. Management must check for the accuracy of the information presented in the sustainability report as any wrong information will lead to misconduct of social reporting standard and false information can be passed to the stakeholders (G4: Sustainability reporting Guidelines, 2016). One important thing must be kept in mind while making the sustainability filling that any major change in sustainability reporting must be communicated to the stakeholders (McNeil and Malena, 2010). Reflective Journal of personal development Thus, the overall above discussion has helped me to a great extent in developing a proper insight regarding the concepts of corporate governance, ethical and moral obligations on social responsibility concepts. I have developed knowledge about the significance of having an effective corporate governance framework in business corporations. The corporate governance framework established the code of conduct regarding the ethical and moral principles that a business corporation should abide for carrying out its daily operations. In addition to this, the companies should also adopt proper sustainability strategy for ensuring protection of environment and society and achieving long-term growth and development (Palmer,2016). The sustainability reporting reports published by the companies such as BHP Billiton and Woolworths Limited has helped me to develop an insight about the importance of maintaining a sustainability committee in the company. The sustainability committee is essential in a company for directing the roles and responsibilities of all board of directors regarding promoting sustainable growth and development. Thus, as such the business companies are required to conduct proper induction of all its employees to provide them proper knowledge of all the corporate governance policies adopted by them for achieving sustainability. I have also acquired knowledge about the role of training sessions to be developed for employees that aims at inculcating skills and competencies in the employees so that they are able to perform their job role in a sustainable way. The corporate governance policies of BHP Billiton and Woolworths Limited also provided an insight into the ASX principles regarding corporate disclosure requirements. It also provided significant information to me about the various elements of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) that the business organisations implements for achieving sustainability. The differences in the GRI reporting framework of business corporations operating in different countries such as the US and the UK is also being highlighted during the above discussion. The identification of the differences has proved to be highly beneficial for me to acquire knowledge about the standards guidelines that should be adopted by the businesses for meeting the GRI sustainability reporting standards. The overall discussion has widened my knowledge about the domains of sustainability reporting and corporate governance principles for optimising the corporate performance. It will further support my job role as an accountant or manager in the business corporations through developing proper knowledge about the various sustainability strategies to be adopted for ensuring long-term growth and development of a business corporation. References Aras, G. and Crowther, D. 2010. A Handbook of Corporate Governance and Social Responsibility. Gower Publishing, Ltd. Bell, J. 2011. A Comparison of ExxonMobils Sustainability Reporting to Outcomes. Journal of Applied Business and Economics 12(1). BHP Billiton: Taking the long view Sustainability Report 2015. 2015. [Online]. 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