title: Motivations for Corporate Social Reporting and Non-Reporting in Malaysia: An Exploratory Study From a Public Relations Perspective

authors: Tee, Keng Kok

subjects: Corporate Social Reporting

abstract: Corporate social reporting, embracing the triple bottom line reporting concept, entails
the reporting of economic, social and environmental performance as opposed to the
more narrow focus on conventional financial reporting. Many corporations are now
engaging in environmental and social reporting in an effort to communicate the social
and environmental effects of organisations‟ operations to particular interest groups
within society.
The main objective of this thesis is to examine corporate motivations and hesitations
to undertake social reporting in Malaysia. Most studies have so far applied
quantitative method on themes identification to determine rationales for corporate
social reporting. Little attention has been given to in-depth primary and secondary
data to understand rationales for corporate social reporting in a national context. In
addition to motivation, this study fills the gap in the literature by investigating
corporate reluctance for social reporting.
A qualitative approach was adopted for this study. A mixed method of data
collection, consisting of both semi-structured interviews and corporate social reports,
was used. A total of 20 interviews were conducted with representatives of six
reporting and six non-reporting corporations, and eight non-corporate respondents
representing the Malaysian political and social sectors. In addition to primary data,
corporate social information in annual reports and corporate websites of six reporting
corporations was also collected to support the interviews. Thematic analysis was
applied to identify salient themes to explain both corporate motivation and hesitation
for social reporting. The analysis was divided into two levels: corporation and
society.
At the corporate level, results identify public relations as the central motivation for
social reporting. More specifically, the concepts of image and identity, issues
management, two-way symmetrical and asymmetrical communication, autocommunication,
and publicity are used to explain the adoption of social reporting.
Image and identity and issues management were also among the concepts applied to
explain corporate hesitation for social reporting. However, the results also support
stockholder theory and reveal the lack of public relations understanding to be the
cause of the low acceptance of social reporting. In-depth analysis revealed
organisational legitimacy as the main reason to explain both motivation and
hesitation for social reporting.
Corporations require stakeholder support for their continual existence. At the societal
level analysis, the concept of political economy was applied to explain the limited
social reporting practice in the Malaysian context. Finally, the implications for both
practising as well as neglecting social reporting are discussed using the concept of the
risk society.

text: Motivations for Corporate Social Reporting and Non-Reporting in Malaysia: An Exploratory Study From a Public Relations Perspective Corporate social reporting, embracing the triple bottom line reporting concept, entails
the reporting of economic, social and environmental performance as opposed to the
more narrow focus on conventional financial reporting. Many corporations are now
engaging in environmental and social reporting in an effort to communicate the social
and environmental effects of organisations‟ operations to particular interest groups
within society.
The main objective of this thesis is to examine corporate motivations and hesitations
to undertake social reporting in Malaysia. Most studies have so far applied
quantitative method on themes identification to determine rationales for corporate
social reporting. Little attention has been given to in-depth primary and secondary
data to understand rationales for corporate social reporting in a national context. In
addition to motivation, this study fills the gap in the literature by investigating
corporate reluctance for social reporting.
A qualitative approach was adopted for this study. A mixed method of data
collection, consisting of both semi-structured interviews and corporate social reports,
was used. A total of 20 interviews were conducted with representatives of six
reporting and six non-reporting corporations, and eight non-corporate respondents
representing the Malaysian political and social sectors. In addition to primary data,
corporate social information in annual reports and corporate websites of six reporting
corporations was also collected to support the interviews. Thematic analysis was
applied to identify salient themes to explain both corporate motivation and hesitation
for social reporting. The analysis was divided into two levels: corporation and
society.
At the corporate level, results identify public relations as the central motivation for
social reporting. More specifically, the concepts of image and identity, issues
management, two-way symmetrical and asymmetrical communication, autocommunication,
and publicity are used to explain the adoption of social reporting.
Image and identity and issues management were also among the concepts applied to
explain corporate hesitation for social reporting. However, the results also support
stockholder theory and reveal the lack of public relations understanding to be the
cause of the low acceptance of social reporting. In-depth analysis revealed
organisational legitimacy as the main reason to explain both motivation and
hesitation for social reporting.
Corporations require stakeholder support for their continual existence. At the societal
level analysis, the concept of political economy was applied to explain the limited
social reporting practice in the Malaysian context. Finally, the implications for both
practising as well as neglecting social reporting are discussed using the concept of the
risk society.

year: 2009

title: The Use of Language Projection for Compositional Verification of Discrete Event Systems

authors: Ware, Simon

subjects: computer science

abstract: This paper proposes the use of abstraction by language projection to improve the performance of compositional verification to prove or disprove that a large system of composed finite-state machines satisfies a given safety property. Algorithms are presented for the automatic verification of language inclusion and controllability for discrete event systems, and are applied to a set realistic industrial examples. The experimental results suggest that the method can improve performance considerably, particularly in cases where previous methods of compositional verification fail because a large number of automata need to be considered.

text: The Use of Language Projection for Compositional Verification of Discrete Event Systems This paper proposes the use of abstraction by language projection to improve the performance of compositional verification to prove or disprove that a large system of composed finite-state machines satisfies a given safety property. Algorithms are presented for the automatic verification of language inclusion and controllability for discrete event systems, and are applied to a set realistic industrial examples. The experimental results suggest that the method can improve performance considerably, particularly in cases where previous methods of compositional verification fail because a large number of automata need to be considered.

year: 2008

title: Maori children and death: Views from parents

authors: Jacob, Juanita

subjects: Maori

abstract: Research about Maori children's experiences and perceptions of death and tangi (Maori death rituals) is sparse. What is available tends to be generalised and stems from Western paradigms of knowledge. In this study we explore Maori children's experiences of death and tangi through the eyes of Maori parents. Through semi-structured interviews with 17 Maori parents, five areas were explored: a) the childhood experiences of parents and how they learned about death and an afterlife; b) what their adult beliefs about these matters are; c) how they have communicated the death concept to their children; and d) whether their children are likely to do the same in the future. From this study we learn that death was not hidden from children, that parents talked with their children in very open and age relevant ways, and considered their children's participation in tangi an important way to grieve and ensure continuity with kinship networks and support. This study suggests that the challenge now is to ensure that these practices continue to persist between parents and their children, and future generations.

text: Maori children and death: Views from parents Research about Maori children's experiences and perceptions of death and tangi (Maori death rituals) is sparse. What is available tends to be generalised and stems from Western paradigms of knowledge. In this study we explore Maori children's experiences of death and tangi through the eyes of Maori parents. Through semi-structured interviews with 17 Maori parents, five areas were explored: a) the childhood experiences of parents and how they learned about death and an afterlife; b) what their adult beliefs about these matters are; c) how they have communicated the death concept to their children; and d) whether their children are likely to do the same in the future. From this study we learn that death was not hidden from children, that parents talked with their children in very open and age relevant ways, and considered their children's participation in tangi an important way to grieve and ensure continuity with kinship networks and support. This study suggests that the challenge now is to ensure that these practices continue to persist between parents and their children, and future generations.

year: 2011-12