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industry accounts for 30 percent and servicesaccount for 57 percent. 52 Unemployment in Colombiais 13.6 percent of the total labor force.Inflation has been falling notably since 1991, from26.8 percent in that year to single digit rates since1999. It fell to 6 percent in 2002. This drop wasachieved thanks to policies instigated by the Bankof the Republic in coordination with the nationalgovernment and was also boosted by low levels ofinternal demand (FTAA, 2003).In 2005, a survey on SME behaviors and employers’opinions in Colombia, conducted by the Corporationfor Technological and Socioeconomic Investigation inColombia (Corporacion para la InvestigaciónSocioeconómica y Tecnológica de Colombia 53 ), showsthat SME economic conditions are improving: 38percent of them increased exports, 35 percent hirednew employers and 66 percent created (indirectly)employment in the last year.The following chart shows competitivenessindicators supplied by the World Economic Forum(WEF). All data is from 2005 and the chart is sortedby indicator ranking. The chart shows that taxrates, the business costs of crime and violence,bureaucratic regulation, the low quality of scientificresearch institutions and technological readiness arethe main obstacles to Colombia’s competitiveness.In contrast, research and development capabilities,innovation and the employment of women arecontributing to improve Colombia’s competitiveness.OrganizationIndexNumber of Countriesin the IndexColombia’s RankingWEFUniversity/industry researchcollaboration 117 30WEFPrivate sectoremployment of women 117 36WEFCompany spending onresearch and development 117 39WEF Capacity for innovation 117 49WEF Reliability of police services 117 52WEF Hiring and firing practices 117 52WEF Efficiency of legal framework 117 58WEF Local equity market access 117 58WEF Global Competitiveness 11758 (5 out of 21in Latin America)WEFTime required tostart a business 117 61WEF Technological readiness 117 70WEFQuality of scientific researchinstitutions 117 76WEFNumber of proceduresrequired to start a business 117 92WEF Business costs of violence 117 97WEF Extent and effect of taxation 117 100WEFBusiness costsof organized crime 117 11552 Colombian agricultural activity suffered a serious decline due to security problems and the revaluation of the exchange rate to real levelswhich continued into 1998. From then on, the correction of the exchange rate, the creation of credit instruments for the agricultural sector,and the current security policy have revitalized the sector without, however, solving the problems of rural poverty that accumulated duringthe 1990s. (FTTA, 2003)53 Corporacion para la Investigacion Socioeconomica y Tecnologica de Colombia is a non-profit organization that implements projectsin environmental, social, technological and economic areas with the aim to promote SMEs.66 Recommended actions to foster the adoption of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practices in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)
In addition, corruption is a widely spreadphenomenon in Colombia, as evident fromthe following WEF and TransparencyInternational indices.OrganizationWEFWEFWEFTransparencyInternationalIndexNumber ofCountriesin the IndexColombia’sRankingJudicialindependence 117 66Public trustof politicians 117 77Favoritism indecisions ofgovernmentofficials 117 80CorruptionPerception 159 56In 2004, the Confederation of Colombian Chambersof Commerce (Confederación de Cámaras deCámaras de Comercio e Industria-CONFECAMARA)conducted the ‘Probidad III’ survey (Gomez, 2004)on corruption practices in interactions with thegovernment. The survey revealed that:• 34.2 percent of enterprises have a low level of trusttoward public institutions, in particular towardpublic institutions in their city (40.3 percent), and50 percent of enterprises think that negotiationswith public institutions are not transparent.• 62 percent of entrepreneurs interviewed said thatcorruption practices had increased since 2003,including frequent corruption through thesubdivision of contracts (22.7 percent), favoringcontractors’ monopolies (37.5 percent) andadjustment of conditions (33 percent).• 40 percent of interviewed entrepreneurs believedthat the economic sector has a high capability ofinfluencing governmental decisions.• 30 percent of them think that the use of apolitical contact for the advancement ofobjectives is frequent and only 11.8 percentdenounce irregularities.• 72.3 percent of the interviewees think that thepublic sector and private sector should jointlycreate a program against corruption.Colombia is seriously distressed by an armedconflict that has deterred investments and reducedthe GDP; in fact, it is estimated that between 1.5percent and 4.5 percent of GDP is lost due to theconflict. The lack of respect for human rights andthe levels of poverty in Colombia are alarminglyhigh. Although Colombia’s child labor index isexcellent, according to United Nations Children’sFund (UNICEF), as many as 14,000 children in thecountry are members of illegal armed groups.Number ofOrganization IndexCountries inthe IndexColombia’sRanking(ILO 2005) 54 Child Labor 191 28UNDP 55UNICEFILO 56HumanResourceInstitute,AmnestyInternational,US Dept ofStateWorld BankInstitute(2004)HumanDevelopmentIndexChild RightsRiskHealth andSafetyHumanRights Risk117 69192 113187 139194 192Political Risk 209 136There are few countries in the world with theethnic, linguistic and cultural wealth of Colombia.The country is home to more than 80 differentindigenous groups that represent over 700,000people (1.5 percent of the total population) andactively use 67 native languages. 57 The NationalDevelopment Plan “Towards a Community State”54 www.maplecroft.com55 Idem56 Idem57 The Afro-Colombian population consists of 12 million people (26 percent of the population), and there are also between 5,000 and8,000 gypsies in the country as well as various groups of immigrants, who have made significant contributions to the country'sregional cultures.Colombia67
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Recommended actionsto foster the ad
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Recommended actionsto foster the ad
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table of contentsI Acknowledgements
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Chapter 6: Mexico1 Executive Summar
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acronymsCDMCSRECFLAFSCGDPGHGGRIHRWI
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strong internal relationship, in ot
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programs that affect the private se
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Section Four - Recommended Actions
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(Technology Index, Public Instituti
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BibliographyESADE, SDA Bocconi, Nor
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The following chart shows competiti
Page 24 and 25: CSR area significanceThe following
Page 26 and 27: structured philanthropic policies,
Page 28 and 29: the private sector and to develop g
Page 30 and 31: c. Facilitating, recommended action
Page 32 and 33: BibliographyAnselmi, P. (2005) ‘L
Page 34 and 35: APPENDIX 1 - ARGENTINA’S STAKEHOL
Page 36 and 37: 28 Recommended actions to foster th
Page 38 and 39: 2 Economic and SocialFrameworkBrazi
Page 40 and 41: 3 Current State of CSRThe concept o
Page 42 and 43: micro and small companies based on
Page 44 and 45: Brazil ratified the Kyoto Protocol
Page 46 and 47: - Improve monitoring systems andenv
Page 48 and 49: e. Endorsing, recommended actions f
Page 50 and 51: Websites consultedwww.accountabilit
Page 52 and 53: APPENDIX 1 - BRAZIL’S STAKEHOLDER
Page 54 and 55: APPENDIX 1 - BRAZIL’S STAKEHOLDER
Page 56 and 57: A stable macroeconomic framework, s
Page 58 and 59: An investigation of Chile’s equit
Page 60 and 61: CSR area significanceThe following
Page 62 and 63: powerful, but are mainly involved i
Page 64 and 65: Fomento al Desarrollo Científico y
Page 66 and 67: a. Improving Promotion and Advocacy
Page 68 and 69: Websites consultedwww.accionrse.clw
Page 70 and 71: APPENDIX 1 - CHILEAN STAKEHOLDER MA
Page 73: Chapter 4: Colombia1 Executive Summ
Page 77 and 78: CSR area significancesupply chain m
Page 79 and 80: However, market pressures, primaril
Page 81 and 82: - Sponsor a human rights campaign t
Page 83 and 84: . Improving Promotion and Advocacy,
Page 85 and 86: Websites consultedwww.accountabilit
Page 87 and 88: APPENDIX 1 - COLOMBIAN STAKEHOLDER
Page 89 and 90: APPENDIX 1 - COLOMBIAN STAKEHOLDER
Page 91 and 92: Chapter 5: El Salvador1 Executive S
Page 93 and 94: El Salvador’s competitiveness. Co
Page 95 and 96: ecome key organizations in the batt
Page 97 and 98: According to Vives, Corral and Isus
Page 99 and 100: subsequent survey, by the World Ban
Page 101 and 102: following strategies, as defined in
Page 103 and 104: 4.4 Civil SocietyIn this study, civ
Page 105 and 106: Tsukamoto, M, Twose, N., (2003) ‘
Page 107 and 108: APPENDIX 1 - EL SALVADOR’S STAKEH
Page 109 and 110: Chapter 6: Mexico1 Executive Summar
Page 111 and 112: OrganizationWEFWEFWEFIndexNumber of
Page 113 and 114: there is a general confusion about
Page 115 and 116: CSR area significancemaxCSR actual
Page 117 and 118: and because of institutional voids
Page 119 and 120: - Improve monitoring systems andenv
Page 121 and 122: - Participate in the publication of
Page 123 and 124: López-Acevedo, G., (2006) ‘Mexic
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AppendixThe following stakeholder m
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APPENDIX 1 - MEXICAN STAKEHOLDER MA
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Peruvian civil society has a strong
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environment, and they have waste tr
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Not even the lack of relations and
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- Create awareness of accountabilit
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These two groups will likely implem
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Websites consultedwww.accountabilit
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APPENDIX 1 - PERUVIAN STAKEHOLDER M
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Chapter 8: Venezuela1 Executive Sum
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OrganizationWEFIndexNumber of Count
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3 Current State of CSRCSR actual po
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cooperatives and farmers 114 Unfort
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a. Mandating, recommended actions f
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BibliographyArmas, V. (1999) ‘Esp
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AppendixThe following stakeholder m
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