Social Innovative Commerce 社会创新商业
The 21st century continues to experience significant transformations in the way businesses conduct their operations in different markets across the globe. In particular, there is a growing sense towards engaging in businesses operations that not only focus on making profits but also in transformation the environment in which such businesses operate in. In this regard, there is a growing realisation that through engaging different partners in the environment in which they operates, businesses can have a significant impact in society, thus enabling them to create a certain form of identity. Speaking from this point of view, this paper evaluate the a newspaper article, Cotton weaves a mining base in Africa, by Peter Ker, whose topic focuses on socially innovative commerce. Therefore, to achieve its objectives, the paper evaluates the articles from the perspective of corporate governance and values and identity principles.
21世纪，企业在全球不同市场的运营方式将继续经历重大变革。特别是，人们越来越倾向于从事不仅注重盈利，而且注重改变这些企业经营环境的企业经营。在这方面，人们越来越认识到，通过让不同的合作伙伴参与其经营环境，企业可以对社会产生重大影响，从而使他们能够创造某种形式的身份。从这一角度出发，本文对彼得·克尔（Peter Ker）在报纸上发表的一篇文章《非洲棉织矿业基地》（Cotton weaves a mining base in Africa）进行了评价，该文章的主题是社会创新商业。因此，为了实现其目标，本文从公司治理、价值观和认同原则的角度对文章进行了评价。
Cotton weaves a mining base in Africa 棉花编织了非洲的一个采矿基地
This article by Peter Ker was first published in The Australian Finance Review in the 22 to 26 December 2017 issue. In the article, Ker focuses on the mining operations of ASX-listed Base Resources in the coastal region of Kenya, and in particular, Kwale. Notably, Ker (2017) observes that most multinational corporations that have established mining operations in different regions across the globe and in particular Africa have been accused of engaging in activities that not only undermine human rights but also have a negative impact on the environment. Therefore, in a bid to be different, ASX-listed Base Resources, under the leadership of Tim Carstens, has established a cotton farming program with the aim of having a strong and long-lasting positive impact on the local communities. Therefore, apart from helping the local communities around this company’s mines to invest in cotton farming, this company also plays a critical role in the marketing of their produce as a way to ensure that small scale farmers in the region are able to reap maximum benefits from their produces. Note that through adopting this collaborative approach with the local communities, ASX-listed Base Resources not only aims to improve the livelihood of these communities but also seeks to establish new standards of successful mineral development in Africa.
Peter Ker的这篇文章发表在2017年12月22日至26日的《澳大利亚金融评论》上。在这篇文章中，Ker重点介绍了澳大利亚证券交易所（ASX）在肯尼亚沿海地区，特别是夸尔（Kwale）上市的基础资源的采矿作业。值得注意的是，Ker（2017）指出，在全球不同地区特别是非洲建立采矿业务的大多数跨国公司都被指控从事的活动不仅破坏人权，而且对环境产生负面影响。因此，为了与众不同，在蒂姆·卡斯滕斯（Tim Carstens）的领导下，澳大利亚证券交易所（ASX）上市的基地资源公司制定了一项棉花种植计划，旨在对当地社区产生强大而持久的积极影响。因此，除了帮助该公司矿山周围的当地社区投资棉花种植外，该公司还在其产品的营销中发挥关键作用，以确保该地区的小规模农民能够从其产品中获得更大利益。请注意，通过与当地社区采取这种合作方式，ASX列出的基础资源不仅旨在改善这些社区的生计，而且还寻求建立非洲成功矿产开发的新标准。
Corporate governance 公司治理
To begin with, Buchholtz, Brown and Shabana (2008) define corporate government as establishing the balance between social and economic goals, as well as balancing between individual and communal goals as businesses operate within a particular environment. In this regard, corporate governance concentrates on not only promoting the maximum profitability of firms but also stresses the importance of these firms operating with a sense of responsibility, thus guaranteeing the wellbeing of the people who lives in the environment in which these firms operate. Speaking from this point of view, there is a need to observe that Ker’s article points out a deviation by ASX-listed Base Resources from the norm in the mining industry. Notably, in the past, as is pointed out at the beginning of the article, firms have concentrated more on maximizing their profits without acting in a socially responsible way towards the local communities. For instance, multinational corporations such as Shell have been accused in a number of occasions for degrading the environment and undermining the livelihoods of the local communities in regions such as Nigeria where they have engaged in extraction of minerals for more than 40 years (Wheeler, Fabig and Boele 2002). In this case, despite reaping significant profits from their mining activities, most multinational corporations have in the past largely ignored the impact of their activities on the local communities.
首先，Buchholtz、Brown和Shabana（2008）将公司政府定义为在社会和经济目标之间建立平衡，以及在企业在特定环境中运营时在个人和公共目标之间建立平衡。在这方面，公司治理不仅注重促进企业的更大盈利能力，而且强调这些企业以责任感经营的重要性，从而保障生活在这些企业经营环境中的人们的福祉。从这个角度讲，需要注意的是，克尔的文章指出了ASX上市的基础资源与采矿业规范的偏差。值得注意的是，正如文章开头所指出的，过去企业更多地集中于利润更大化，而没有以对当地社区负责的方式行事。例如，壳牌等跨国公司在一些场合被指控破坏环境，破坏尼日利亚等地区当地社区的生计，他们从事矿物开采已有40多年（Wheeler、Fabig和Boele，2002年）。在这种情况下，尽管从采矿活动中获得了巨大利润，但大多数跨国公司过去在很大程度上忽视了其活动对当地社区的影响。