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Universalizing the world

The European HRD Circle was founded on the concept of corporate social responsibility. It is a concept that needs to be broadened, particularly in Europe, so that European companies can help to make the world a more universal place.

Yves Barou, Chairman of the European HRD Circle.

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Universalizing the world! Souleymane Bachir Diagne, Professor at Columbia University (in french)

Universalizing the world

From the outset, we have defined ourselves as European in order to promote the inclusive force of the European model and systematically seek a European solution to the problems encountered, while of course keeping our eyes open for other models in a world that is becoming more universal.

Five trends are driving the universalization of the world.
1 The economic world is increasingly globalized, with complex value chains and growing interdependence.
2 In terms of information and communication, the world is also increasingly globalized, even if there are barriers in some countries.
3 The issue of discrimination and inequality is being raised everywhere, but often in different terms, as if social issues were resisting globalization.
4 Today, we are all facing the same challenge, a common existential issue: global warming and climate change. A challenge for which, for the first time, we are all in the same boat.
5 Finally, the mixing and intermingling of populations and cultures is increasing every day.

The history of humanity is thus moving inexorably towards the
universal.

But this has led to a backlash, misunderstandings and friction that are now very visible, even at the risk of masking the underlying trend. While many ideas converge, unresolved differences are even more visible and can be shocking. Nationalist movements, whether political or military, but also ideological, are making themselves heard as a rejection of this development, as a long-standing complaint against this groundswell which, it is true, is causing some human damage in the process.

Faced with a variety of cultures – and this is what makes the world so rich – and aspirations that may seem different, should we then give up and declare that all ideas are equal?
Should we then abandon the idea of the universal, of universal human rights, and resign ourselves to cultural relativism? Should we accept that what is scandalous here is acceptable there?
I don't think so. On the contrary, I believe that cultural relativism is a lazy attitude.
I believe that, on the contrary, we need to work to universalize the world, because this is not a given, but an action; to universalize by taking into account the contributions of each person, by drawing on the diversity of cultures around one axis, that of human rights.
And this is very important for us Europeans, who are accused of having imposed our own conception of the universal, our Enlightenment universalism.

We therefore need to broaden corporate responsibility beyond the usual ESG criteria. Companies also have a role to play in promoting democratic principles around the world. It can and must "embrace" societal issues. They can and must embody human rights at a time when governments no longer always have this credibility.
Many citizens and employees in Africa, Latin America and Asia expect European companies to be exemplary in this way, and for this exemplarity to be contagious. Provided we avoid all flippant or even arrogant attitudes, the European company, with reasonable inequalities, respectful management, a sense of humanity, attention to living together and honest social dialogue, can be a driving force for this universalization.

The European Social Model

The crisis has brought social issues back to the center of European debates: the European social model is once again a central stake. But what model are we talking about?
The model that encourages and structures social dialogue, Europe ’s true trademark, which has an impact every day, this social dialogue that outlines an innovative, original, effective dialogue, which may be a real asset for globalization. The model that dominates over the very view of the company, which will have to be more human if it is to absorb all the blows it is taking.

This collective book was written by practitioners in the field of social issues, HR managers, union members, researchers, European Commission members, or even people involved in social rating or training.  This is a multi-author book written by Europeans, driven by their national traditions and who currently face similar challenges – the transfer of knowledge in a context of demographic ageing, the inevitable rise in youth unemployment as well as awareness as regards corporate social responsibility in the company’s ecosystem. It shows us that social Europe is buying built on a day-by-day basis, anticipating and shaping the accession of a new social pact, and that Europe is thus affirming its identity compared with the American or Chinese models.

Corporate Human Heritage and Competitiveness

The value of a company is not just its financial or tangible assets; it is also its human heritage. But how to render all the complexity of the human side?
Human heritage, which should be created, developed and transferred, means to be broader, more collective and more dynamic that human capital alone, which is sometimes too close to the financial approach. Increasing one’s human heritage could be an ambition for businesses in the 21st century.To that end, all human resources policies must be measured, represented and reviewed, especially training, which must be considered as a true investment. Forgetting human heritage in a company’s choices or competitiveness policies always leads to deadlocks.It is the missing link in debates around the issue of competitiveness.
Measuring the stakes of human heritage is the object of this collective search initiated by the European HRD Circle together with European social stakeholders, managers or union officials, based on corporate practices via a multidisciplinary approach, from a philosophical, artistic and economic point of view. Human heritage is a barometer in times of crisis and a plan for Europe, which has definitely forgotten that it built its wealth on it.

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