“Big business is not only about making money.” With reference to the context of Hong Kong, write an article for your school magazine using this comment as a title. Give three reasons to support your views on the comment.
“Big business is not only about making money”
In China, ever since ancient times businessmen had been accused of being “cunning”, for exploiting the impoverished masses for every single dollar. It is undeniable that businesses have to earn money so as to sustain their operations and reinvest in the businesses. Yet, today, thanks largely to the advocation of “corporate social responsibilities”, instead of solely focusing on making money, big businesses in Hong Kong place great emphasis on making our city a better place to live in.
Firstly, big business should bear social responsibilities in many forms, for example, by encouraging rehabilitation of the disabled. It is often complained that equal opportunities are not granted to every citizen in society because the disabled people are often deprived of chances to work and earn a living on their own, thus, increasing the welfare burden on the government and lowering the self-esteem of the disabled. To cope with such a problem, some big businesses offer rehabilitation training and employment to the handicapped people. Providing them with jobs and adequate wages, the big businesses hope that they can integrate into our society, which has been highly complex and inclusive. Pizza Hut, one of the giants of the catering industry, sets a good example on how to make rehabilitation of the disabled possible in a big business. Some workers of Pizza Hut are mentally handicapped or physically disabled. Despite their inherent difficulties, never are these workers treated unfairly. Pizza Hut offers them appropriate wages guaranteed by the minimum wage law, and exempts its disabled workers from the Ability Test, which proves whether one is disabled. Pizza Hut’s policy makes the handicapped workers feel comfortable to work and rehabilitate themselves.
On top of encouraging rehabilitation, which pinpoints to specific people, big business should also work for the good of the public. It is very common place to see charity organizing voluntary services. However, nowadays more big businesses are inculcating a sense of care and love in the public’s minds by mobilizing their regular customers to unite and bring blessings and joy to their fellow citizens. For instance, the Kowloon Motor bus Co.(KMB), one of the most prominent transport corporations in Hong Kong, organizes the “Friends of KMB”. KMB hopes to make the fullest of the strengths of the daily travellers by means of charitable events and social services, to raise funds and offer a helping hand to the needy. Members of the Friends of KMB often visit the children’s homes and the sheltered workshops. These visits enrich their knowledge about the disadvantaged groups which are usually neglected by society. Charity walks and raffle ticket sales are organized to raise funds for various charitable organizations, benefiting the community at large.
Big businesses should also strive for a better and sustainable environment. Owing to the climate changes, more people are calling for the protection of the environment. A number of responsible big businesses spare no pains to upload the importance of environmental conservation, hoping that their leading role in society will influence the other members of the public to follow suit and to bring wellness to the Earth. The HSBC, one of the most renowned banks in Hong Kong, if not in the world has made great contributions to environmental conservation. Not only do their environmentally-certified premises, air conditioning and offers facilities help reduce carbon footprint, the HSBC also launches Green Financing, which provides at most HKD$300,000 loans to other businesses wishing to acquire green equipment. The loans are sufficient for the purchase costs and the installation costs of such green equipment. The provision of such loans allows businesses, including HSBC itself, to contribute to a greener and cleaner Hong Kong, which is vital to a sustainable growth to Hong Kong’s economy as local brains remain fresh and clear, while foreign experts are willing to stay and trade in Hong Kong.
In essence, it is unwise to insist that big businesses are always money-minded and ignore other aspects of society. A lot of them are shouldering social responsibilities bringing out fellow Hongkongers better lives and prospects he should not forget the hard work of the big businesses and should remember that these ones are also standing squarely on our shoulders. Let us work hard in hand with these big businesses, to bring forth a better future for Hong Kong.