UNICEF: Concerns over its Role as a
Child Rights Protector
Teaching Note Reference No. CSR0057B-1
This teaching note was written by Manu Krishna under the direction of
Bharathi S. Gopal, Icfai Business School Research Centre, Bangalore. It is only an illustrative orchestration of this case study. It is never meant to limit the learning outcomes.
Copyright © 2008, Icfai Business School Case Development Centre
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Case Study CSR0057B
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UNICEF: Concerns over its Role as a Child Rights Protector
Teaching Note Prerequisite Conceptual Understanding
To understand the debate about building social issues into strategy – Davis Ian, “What is the Business of Business?”, The McKinsey Quarterly, Number 3, 2005.
To understand why more and more companies are turning to corporate philanthropy – “Corporate Philanthropy Inspires Trust: Does it also Prompt Higher Profits”,
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=1638, January 2007.
Synopsis of the Case Study
This case deals with the issues that plagued UNICEF, the world organisation for child rights protection, since 2000. UNICEF’s tie-up with the corporate world had been criticized by certain factions of social activists, especially its alliances with big fashion houses like GUCCI. This case details UNICEF’s partnership with the corporate world, and the advantages and disadvantages of this kind of partnership. It also explains the working of UNICEF and gives insights into the duties and responsibilities expected from a corporate tie-up.
This case could be effectively used for discussion in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) or Business Ethics course for the students of Post Graduate Programme in Business Management.
Teaching Objectives
To understand the purpose, function and activities of UNICEF
To debate; should companies enter into philanthropy or should it focus only on money making activities?
To analyze the possible synergies from corporate alliance with UNICEF.
Assignment Questions
I.“UNICEF is a 7,000 member strong Meta-national organization employing both men and women, who work selflessly towards protecting the rights of children.” [Section: “UNICEF: It’s Role”, para 1 of the case study]. Discuss the role of UNICEF in protecting the rights of children. What are the principal hurdles that UNICEF faces in playing this role?
II. “Companies that have successfully partnered with UNICEF in the US are General Electric (GE), Kimberly-Clark, Penzeys Spice, Proctor and Gamble (P&G), IKEA.” [Section: UNICEF’s Tie-up with Corporates, para 1 of the case study]. Illustrate, how some of the companies contributed towards UNICEF’s activities. What were the benefits derived by the companies? Are there cases of companies, where this sort of mutual benefit did not come through? Discuss.
III. ‘Though UNICEF was protecting child rights, it faced criticisms for overlooking the credentials of the companies it partnered with. For Instance, it accepted financial aid from GUCCI, which was in the eye of public protests for hiring sweatshops’. Do you think UNICEF’s association with companies like GUCCI affected its image? Would it lose its effectiveness in the long run? Elucidate. Teaching Plan
The Structured Assignment and the Teaching Note follow a sequential order as presented in the Teaching Plan [Annexure (TN)-I].
Case Analysis
I.“UNICEF is a 7,000 member strong Meta-national organization employing both men and women, who work selflessly towards protecting the rights of children.” [Section: “UNICEF: It’s Role”, para 1 of the case study]. Discuss the role of UNICEF in protecting the rights of children. What are the principal hurdles that UNICEF faces in playing this role?
The class could be commenced by brushing up the students’ knowledge about the United Nations and its sister organisations, and percolating down to the operations and activities of UNICEF.
UNICEF was formed in the mid 1990s as a sister organisation of United Nations (UN), to enhance the life of the children in poor and developing countries. UNICEF has its presence in 158 countries and has National as well as Regional committees who work together with local bodies [Section: “UNICEF: It’s role”, para 1 of the case study]. UNICEF work on four credos, viz.,
giving children the best start in life helping them to survive and thrive getting them to school, and
creating a protective environment especially in case of emergencies.
Besides, UNICEF also ensures that the underprivileged children get the basic health and hygiene inputs, which form the foundation for a good start to the children.
UNICEF never faced any problem in awareness or popularity, having more than 7,000 members and volunteers spread across the globe [Section: “UNICEF: It’s role”, para 1 of the case study]. Apart from volunteers across the world, several celebrities extended their support to UNICEF by becoming Ambassadors and championing several projects.
Despite the awareness and a wide group of people volunteers, the main problem which UNICEF faced was financial in nature. Though UNICEF ramified from the UN, it never got any financial help from its parent organisation. In this eventuality UNICEF was forced to ask for donations and voluntary contributions from people and as well as other organisations. Since 2000, UNICEF was involved in too many activities around the globe, for instance, the Tsunami rehabilitation, Afghanistan Post War restructuring, and its operations in Africa, which demanded a lot of funds and which put UNICEF into pressure. Having received the green signal from the then UN Secretary General, Mr. Kofi Annan, UNICEF unprecedentedly began embracing corporates who had the willingness to help. But some of UNICEF’s association with corporates to raise funds also raised furore among social activists.
“The main source of revenue for UNICEF is from voluntary contributions.” [Section: “UNICEF: It’s Role”, para 5 of the case study]. How does UNICEF raise funds for its various programmes? In view of the volume of work that UNICEF does, do you think that it can continue to depend on its traditional sources of income? What are the alternatives? What might be the implications of tapping such alternatives?
Having discussed the functions and activities of UNICEF, the class could be briefed about how it raises money to fund its operations.
The main source of revenue for UNICEF was from voluntary contribution, which was separated into ‘regular’ and ‘other’ resources. Governments were the biggest donors of funds to the UNICEF, and developed countries topped the list of contributors [Section: “UNICEF: It’s role”, para 7 of the case study]. Other than donations from countries, it also used alternatives like using personalities from the film industry and other creative areas to pool money for its endeavours. Another major source of revenue was from the corporate world. Many companies donated large sums or supported several causes of UNICEF. However, analysts wonder, what would happen in case of economic recessions.
Corporates would also slow down in case of a global economic recession. Many fear that UNICEF’s biggest donors would cut short their contributions in the wake of global recession and other emergency situations. UNICEF would find it hard if fund sources dried up, considering the commitments it has entered and in fulfilling its responsibilities.
Being a voluntary organisation, opting for subscription of members would be an unviable idea and UNICEF should really look towards other options of raising fund. One recommendation would be that the UN should financially help UNICEF as well as its other sister organisations. Having a massive fund and support from almost all the countries, even a little help to UNICEF would mean a lot for it and its endeavours.
II. “Companies that have successfully partnered with UNICEF in the US are General Electric (GE), Kimberly-Clark, Penzeys Spice, Proctor and Gamble (P&G), IKEA.” [Section: “UNICEF’s Tie-up with Corporates”, para 1 of the case study]. Illustrate how some of the companies contributed towards UNICEF’s activities. What were the benefits derived by the companies? Are there cases of companies where this sort of mutual benefit did not come through? Discuss.
Now the discussion was directed around the companies that tied-up with UNICEF in the recent years and their joint activities with UNICEF.
Kimberly–Clark (KC), who was perceived to be the world leader in health and hygiene products pooled and donated more than $5.2 million for the welfare and rehabilitation to the children who have lost their parents to the deadly disease AIDS. KC also donated another $9 million from the public through challenge-mailing which was channeled through other activities of UNICEF [Section: “UNICEF’s Tie-up with Corporates”,
para 2 of the case study].
The furniture giant IKEA was the oldest corporate partner of UNICEF. It had donated large sums towards Immunization and Arsenic mitigation endeavors of UNICEF through the sale of greeting cards, cause-related marketing programmes etc. Another corporate giant, General Electric (GE) has helped UNICEF extensively in its effort to rehabilitate the refugees in Sudan and in the event of the South Asian Tsunami
[Section: “UNICEF’s Tie-up with Corporates”, para 3 of the case study].
The benefits that these companies derived were dual in nature. While monetary benefits in terms of increased sale was present, lot of non-physical benefits like improved brand image, enhanced employee
morale and a sense of social giving also followed. While employees felt a sense of belonging towards the company, the product was perceived to be good and socially benefiting.
UNICEF selected partners based on certain criteria, which tried to bring out the best possible synergy from the association. It partnered only with companies who had an inclination and history towards helping the community and the causes initiated by UNICEF. The terms and conditions and the possible beneficial outcome for the two parties would be laid out and discussed before the full announcement of the association. Past experience showed that the outcomes that came from the association was mutually beneficial, leaving no speculation for a one-sided advantage.
Having discussed some of the corporate partnerships of UNICEF, the discussion continued to seeking reasons for such partnerships and the possible benefits for UNICEF and businesses.
“Both the parties settle for a mutually benefiting and customized program that satisfies both their needs.” [Section: “UNICEF’s Tie-up with Corporates”, para 1 of the case study]. Why do corporates tie-up with UNICEF and what possible synergy do they expect from this mutual arrangement?
Having subtly touched the corporate partnership of UNICEF, now the students could be taught the outcome or the synergy of these partnerships.
Tying-up with corporates was one major way for UNICEF to raise funds to throttle up its activities. Though UNICEF obtained resources for its projects from government and voluntary donations, corporate contributions formed its main source of non-governmental finances. UNICEF tied up with many corporates in and outside the US and some of these companies were very large in terms of size and global presence. General Electric (GE), Kimberly-Clark, Proctor and Gamble (P&G), and IKEA were some of the most prominent corporate partners of UNICEF.
While UNICEF received monetary help from these companies, which was either a lump-sum donation or a percentage of their sales, the companies in turn received a bouquet of benefits, like enhanced brand image, improved customer loyalty, increased sales and employee morale. It also helped companies to champion the cause of saving and the improving the lives of children across the world. It is reported that 8 in 10 Americans confirm that corporate support to social causes helps them to trust companies. Nearly 86% of consumers said that they would switch to those brands that were associated with a good cause. 1Thus,
associating with UNICEF gave companies a clean image and helped the product to be perceived as a socially contributing offering. The partnership was a win-win for both the parties as only positives were derived as outcome.
III. ‘Though UNICEF was protecting child rights, it faced criticisms for overlooking the credentials of the companies it partnered with. For Instance, it accepted financial aid from GUCCI, which was in the eye of public protests for hiring sweatshops’. Do you think UNICEF’s association with companies like GUCCI affected its image? Would it lose its effectiveness in the long run? Elucidate.
Having discussed UNICEF’s partnership with companies and the mutual benefits derived, now the discussion could be directed to the central theme of the case study; about UNICEF’s alliance with GUCCI. Though not all partnerships of UNICEF were criticized, some associations like the one with GUCCI was vehemently opposed by the press, public and its own employees. GUCCI, the world leader in haute-couture tied up with UNICEF in2000 and has since been conducting fund-raising programs for UNICEF. But many
of its employees felt that the organisation was acting hypocritical, since GUCCI was notorious for employing sweat shops in Third World countries, where children and women were coerced or forced to work for wages below the legal ceiling and under hazardous conditions [Section: “UNICEF’s
Effectiveness”, para 4 of the case study]. Both the public and the press criticized this activity saying that,
on one hand UNICEF was trying to help the children in the poor and developing countries, and on the other hand it was indirectly encouraging and supporting companies like GUCCI who exploit children and manufacture goods, which were sold for a premium price in the most elite of markets.
Many felt that if UNICEF continued to carry on or enter such dubious partnership, the public would loose faith in the activities of UNICEF and that would mean a tarnished image for UNICEF as well as all those who associate with it.
The above discussion generally leads the students to think that UNICEF is open to every business house for alliance. The next section deals with how UNICEF selects an appropriate associate to partner with.
“It allies with companies who have a willingness to exercise corporate social responsibility (CSR). It also seeks companies that show a commitment to and affinity for UNICEF’s mandate and core values.” [Section: “How UNICEF Partners with the Corporate World?”, para 1 of the case study]. What yardstick does UNICEF use while selecting a corporate partner? Do you think, this method is fool-proof? Discuss.
UNICEF’s association with corporates took many forms like programmatic alliances, advocacy, fund raising support and contribution-in-kind. This association pre-supposes a whole-hearted cooperation from both the parties and synchronises with their philanthropic activities. UNICEF selected those companies who shared the same philanthropic vibe. UNICEF believed in selecting the ‘Best Ally’ and the ‘Best Alliance’. It made sure that the prospective corporates showed a commitment to and affinity for UNICEF’s mandate and core values. For this, it follows a specific procedure.
UNICEF does a preliminary research and dig-out for information on the business house’s past philanthropic activities to make sure that they have a pinch of compassion and philanthropy running through their corporate vein. Under no circumstances does UNICEF encourage any kind of association with companies who are into armament, weapons trading, or tobacco and alcohol. The display of CSR and leadership was the other thing on the list of selecting a corporate partner.
Though the procedures were fool-proof, the actual success of the programme depended heavily on monitoring and guiding the relation in the long-run. UNICEF partnered only with companies whom it was morally and legally supposed to bind with. As in any relation, the final success always depended upon the understanding and cooperation both the parties rendered to each other.
“UNICEF seeks the best alliance by asking itself whether the proposed company fits into its core
values; advertisement programmes advocacy and fundraising goals.” [Section: How UNICEF Partners with the Corporate World?, para 4 of the case study]. What are the qualities that UNICEF expects from a prospective corporate partner? Do you feel that cultivation of qualities in the line of organizations like UNICEF by corporates would work against their commercial goals in the long run? Explain.
The best ally is formed after checking the potential company’s records that reflect a willingness to exercise CSR. UNICEF does a preliminary research to determine if the company shares any common values, and compares it against the fundamental principles on which UNICEF and the UN are based.
Display of CSR and leadership in the community is the first priority in the list. Then it takes into account the past contributions of the company to society, its public image and its past history and labour practices. Under no circumstances, does UNICEF forge any alliance with businesses like armaments and weapons manufacturers, toy makers, manufacturing replica weapons marketed to children, alcohol or tobacco companies. The partners are required to have a very credible public image, a very impressive CSR track record and flawless labour practices to be associated with UNICEF. UNICEF looks for these qualities in a company before considering it for alliances. UNICEF seeks the best alliance by asking itself whether the proposed company fits into its core values, advertisement programmes, advocacy and fundraising goals and whether this alliance ultimately would help in the betterment, protection and, development of children. Welding philanthropy into business had always been a debatable topic. While some say the ‘business of business is business’, others opine that the companies should give back something they get from the public for the betterment of the public. The guidelines set by UNICEF for corporate partnership definitely guides companies to follow certain qualities. In the long run just by associating with UNICEF the partner company would be perceived as a good corporate citizen without spending much on publicity and propaganda.
Final Thoughts
UNICEF has very clear advantages of being a world organization and the image of being a child rights’ protector. It is very crucial to sustain and build on these advantages. Since it is indispensable to obtain funds from the corporates for UNICEF to support its projects, it needs to strengthen its policy of liaising with the companies. UNICEF needs to be cautious in its approach while joining hands with companies. It also needs to monitor the activities of these companies and avoid the possible embarrassment of partnering with companies that violate ethics and human rights.
Annexure (TN)–I
Teaching Plan
Prerequisite Conceptual Understanding
To understand the debate about building social issues into strategy – Davis Ian, “What is the Business of Business?”, The McKinsey Quarterly, Number 3, 2005
To understand why more and more companies are turning to corporate philanthropy – “Corporate Philanthropy Inspires Trust: Does it also Prompt Higher Profits”,
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=1638, January 2007
Teaching Plan Flow
The Big Picture : Expected Learning Objective
Meta National Organisations like UNICEF at the mercy of corporates: Can they be effective?
Sl No.
Analysis Section Expected Learning
Objectives
Forward Linkage Time
1. How does
UNICEF work? To understandUNICEF, and its activities?
To gain information on how UNICEF raises its funds.
Why does UNICEF need corporate funding? 30 2. Why do corporates fund organisations like UNICEF? What do the corporates want when they pump money into UNICEF?
Clash of the commercial objectives of corporates who pour money into UNICEF with its own objectives.
3. How can UNICEF
be effective? To understand howUNICEF selects a corporate partner To know what are
the qualities UNICEF expects from a corporate partner. Is UNICEF in its efforts to buck up its revenues losing its image and in the long-run also its effectiveness?
45
Detailed Teaching Plan How does UNICEF Work?
Role of UNICEF
↓
Its Volume of Activities
↓
Comparison of its Revenue and Expenditure ↓
Why do corporates fund organisations like UNICEF?
UNICEF’s tie-up with corporates
↓
UNICEF’s motive behind receiving funding from businesses
↓
What benefits are accrued by the businesses due to its involvement with UNICEF and others? ↓
How can UNICEF be effective?
UNICEF’s motive behind associating with companies
↓
Basis of choosing a corporate partner
↓
Is UNICEF deviating from its core role by receiving patronage from businesses that are known for violating human and child rights
↓
Will it lose its effectiveness?