Natural Inspiration

With our project, CSR in Inida, it is difficult to inspire the design of our project with nature. However, I think that there are some lessons that we can take from natural behavior. I think that there is definitely an element of biology for many organisms, and definitely many mammals, that entails taking care of one another. I think business by nature tends to take out this human factor in its design, but this law, if businesses execute on it properly, adds back some of that natural element to life. I think we will find throughout this project that appealing to peoples’ emotions and more human side, despite the professional setting, will help to get people to talk more. There is a dominant rhetoric within business of ‘survival of the fittest’, but this rhetoric tends to ignore the species that have higher survival because of how social they are. Many animals work as a pack and refuse to leave members of their pack behind, and this part of their nature enhances their ability to survive. The same concept can be applied to business if businesses take on the philosophy that the demand for their product comes from every day people outside of their business, and if they are more well off, then they will be more likely to spend their money on what they have to offer. Another element of nature that could be incorporated to this philosophy is ecosystems. In ecosystems, every element of life affects other elements. When one species dies, this will negatively effect the species that feeds off of it. Society can be thought of in the same way, it needs the conditions to be healthy for all in order for anyone to have the best circumstances. Nature will probably also effect our work in assessing companies that work with nonprofits on sustainability. If we assess this kind of a company, it will be interesting to take note of whether or not they practice sustainability in their own offices beyond working with a nonprofit that promotes sustainability.

I think the Life principle that will apply to our project the most is “Be Locally Attuned and Responsive”. Beyond being encouraged by the writers of the 2% policy to give their money to local nonprofits, this strategy is also likely to have the best results for the companies. Giving their money locally will improve the impression that locals have of the company and its worth, so they will be under less scrutiny. On top of that, if the connection between corporation and nonprofit is obvious because it is seen at play by people nearby, they will be more likely to look on the company fondly and buy their products.

It will probably be difficult to incorporate the ‘Cradle to Cradle’ design concept into our project because we are not working with a lot of physical material. However, I think the idea of making the most of every element of your resources could be used in our project. I think a strong assessment of every way in which nonprofits and businesses can benefit from having a relationship will help our research dramatically. If corporations can gain publicity or customers while nonprofits are able to gain management knowledge or other resources from corporations, this could be very beneficial to both ends of the relationship. Instead of ‘reducing waste’ by keeping ties limited between nonprofits and corporations, they can make the most of this law and their relationships and seek out overlap in their goals. Another element that was discussed in the Cradle to Cradle Ted Talk was competing together. I think it is important for us to take note of whether or not businesses are teaming up to work with nonprofits together and if they are getting strong results from doing so.

It is difficult to simply list three things I’ve learned from friends that I never knew before. I would say one of my friends has introduced me to a lot of interesting random groups that I did not know existed on facebook, which has helped broaden my awareness of the ways social media has been used outside of how I understand it and also the issues of cultural relevance in other regions. A lot of my friends have introduced me to music that I did not think I would ever like at first. Over time I have come to appreciate, enjoy, and pursue these types of music and explore their genres, and this has been very important for me. Perhaps the most important thing that a friend ever introduced me to was ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’. This completely opened up my concept of humor.

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