Author: Anne-Maria Yritys

I am a very well connected business professional who holds an MBA in international business management. My contacts live in 200 + countries worldwide. I am also a certified investment advisor and a vocational teacher by profession. I offer my clients business/individual consultations with a speciality in international business and project management. In addition, I offer coachings, and sell online courses. At specific requests, I am available for public speaking events and for arranging workshops for groups of people. Ask for prices/package prices. All my prices are in euros and include 24% VAT. What do you need help with? Let me know by booking a consultation with me through my website https://www.annemariayritys.com Anne-Maria Yritys 2019. All rights reserved. Sole proprietor ID 2988491-1 VAT ID FI29884911

What Makes Some Worth Millions?

by Anne-Maria Yritys, posted in Business, Change Management, Digital Marketing, Life Coaching, Online Strategy

How far are you willing to go in pursuing the career of your dreams? Or in being successful? 

If you have seen Clint Eastwood´s movie “Million Dollar Baby”, you know what I mean. In the film, Maggie (Hillary Swank) is determined to succeed as a female boxer, and ends up breaking her neck in a million dollar match against the WBA women´s welterweight champion.

She dedicates her entire young life into becoming something extraordinary, and ends up with losing it all, including the most important: her health.

Abandoned and exploited even by her own family, the only one standing by her side until the end is her coach and trainer Frankie, who never leaves her side.

In the film, Maggie claims having reached everything she ever wanted. Perhaps that´s true for her, but would you be willing to risk it all, including your life, for the thought of fast money, fame, and suddenly being a falling star? 

Or do you prefer leading a stable and enjoyable life, with all pieces of your life in perfect balance, and no need to fight? 

Lessons from “Million Dollar Baby”: 

1) Working hard will help you reach your goals

2) Risk-taking can be very rewarding

3) You can achieve anything you set your mind (and body) into

4) Focusing too much on your career can lead to suffering in other parts of your life

5) Don´t risk your health when pursuing your goals! It is the most important you have, after all.

 

Do One Scary Thing…

by Anne-Maria Yritys, posted in Change Management, Digital Marketing, Leadership, Life Coaching, Online Strategy, Thought Leadership

…every day. Doors may open, or shut. 

Originally quoted by Eleanor Roosevelt, former human rights activist, diplomat, and First Lady of the United States, who relentlessly continued her societal work and represented the United Nations as the chairwoman of the human rights council, even after becoming a widow. She was a woman of purpose, who definitely believed in the beauty of her dreams. 

We cannot all be First Ladies of the United States or alike, but we can all decide to be the First Ladies (or Gentlemen) of our own, personal lives. Endurance is individual, but it can be trained. It is possible to improve, and to push your personal limits, little by little, every day. 

It is a question of will, and energy. Your body is capable of anything, just as long as you let your mind grow strong and allow your spirit to take charge of your life. 

Write a list of your 10 biggest fears. You don´t have to show it to anyone, unless you want to. What is on the list? Is there a chance of you facing at least one of these fears? With facing a fear I definitely do not mean to take any vagabond risks, or being stupid. I am just stating that by facing some of our biggest fears we can actually remove boundaries and start enjoying life a little more. 

This is at least how it has worked for me personally. 

As a child I was afraid of the dark (as many of us are). I had to fall asleep with a night lamp, and I always checked beneath my bed, and only after realizing there were no ghosts or anything alike, was I able to fall asleep. 

Thereafter, I have faced my irrational fear of the dark in many ways, one of which has been to dive in the night, in tropical waters. It was a very exciting experience, but of course I would never have done it without guidance from, and being accompanied by, my dive master. Diving is a technical sport, requiring more than will and energy. 

Another time, snorkeling with a friend at the islands of Phi-Phi in Thailand, I swam a bit further from the shore. I was photographing the most amazing fishes with my cheap underwater camera, and enjoyed the crystal clear water, as I suddenly saw a shark a few meters ahead of me. My heart beat rate suddenly probably at least tripled; it was such an exciting moment. I was not capable of doing anything but looking at the shark gliding through the water, and then disappearing. 

In only a few seconds of time, which at the moment felt longer, many kinds of thoughts ran through my mind. My first thought was to swim after the shark to find out if I could see more of them. I knew I had been lucky to see the shark, since a dive master at the local PADI center later on told me that sharks usually avoid people for several reasons. My second thought was to swim back to my friend and tell him so that we could swim back together. I decided to swim back, but when I told my friend he was not at all enthusiastic about going on a shark-exploration-journey, and at that point I felt a bit awkward deciding not to swim out again on my own. 

Still not 100 % certain of the type of the shark, but I guess it was a black tip reef shark. It was about two meters long, although everything looks bigger in water. I am not going to start explaining every single detail about sharks, because the truth is that I do not know everything about sharks. I just know that sharks actually usually avoid people. I think I would too if I were a shark. In fact, sharks can get infected by people touching them. According to the Shark Project 

(http://www.sharkproject.org/haiothek/index_e.php?site=gefahr_10), at least 73 million sharks get killed by human beings every year, only because of their fins. And how many sharks kill people annually? Not many. 

I have had other natural encounters with exotic animals on my trips and in my home country as well. Never have the animals harmed me. 

Once in Siem Reap, Cambodia, after hours of walking around temples, I sat down on a stone beneath some trees to rest for a while, and to protect myself from the blazing sun. Suddenly, I heard a rustle from the tree above me, and a large green snake fell down on the ground. Taken by surprise, as it happened so fast, I just looked at the snake slithering in the opposite direction. You might guess that I did not sit there for much longer. In fact, I stood up and walked into the temple as soon as the snake had disappeared. A local man, selling souvenirs, tried to assure me about the snake´s innocence as soon as I had explained to him what it looked like. “It is not poisonous”, he said to me, and told me the snake´s name in the local language Khmer. Unfortunately I did not note the name and have forgotten it. But I will definitely remember the appearance of this particular snake, for the rest of my life. 

Having faced my (irrational) fears in many ways, sometimes by accident (like in the previously mentioned examples), but also through careful planning. 

If you are ready to face some of your fears, please remember to keep in mind at least the following things: 

1) Please do not do anything stupid. Be responsible in, and for, your actions. 

2) Only face your fears when you feel you are ready for it. 

3) Don´t let you get forced into anything (by yourself or by anyone else). 

4) Listen to your mind and to your body. How does it make you feel? Your intuition will tell you, so be careful in listening to your inner guidance. 

5) Remember that fear is energy. If you manage to turn your fear into positive energy, you may be richly rewarded. If not in monetary terms, at least in terms of growing as an individual.

“With hope you gain courage. With courage you gain confidence, and with confidence there are no limits to what you can do” (Unknown).

 

 

 

 

 

Child Labor, Corruption, and (Ethical) Consumption – How Can You Make a Difference?

by Anne-Maria Yritys, posted in Business Ethics, Change Management, CSR, Digital Marketing, Global Economics, Online Strategy, Responsible Investing, Thought Leadership

Since repetition is the mother of learning, the father of action, and so the architect of accomplishment like Zig Ziglar once wisely quoted, let me repeat some of the cruel facts about the state of ethics and moral on planet Earth: 

CHILD LABOR

-The total global number of child labor has decreased in the past decade, but still, an estimation of 168 million children worldwide are forced to work, more than half of whom are involved in hazardous work. 

– The geographical regions where child labor is at its highest: 

  • APAC (Asia and the Pacific) with almost 78 million 
  • Sub-Saharan Africa with 59 million
  • Latin America and the Caribbean with 13 million
  • Middle East and North Africa with around 9 million

The major part of these children work within agriculture (almost 100 million), followed by services (54 million) and industry (12 million). (ILO-IPEC. Making progress against child labor. Global estimates and trends 2000-2012. 2013. Quoted 30.6.2014). 

Read the detailed definitions of child labor in ILO Conventions: 

http://bit.ly/1iS3bq9

Children participating in work not affecting their health, personal development, or interfering with their education is different, but being trapped in other kinds of activities, including the cruelest forms such as slavery in armed conflicts, forced labor, or commercial sexual exploitation, drug trafficking, and organized begging, are ruthless violations of children´s freedom and human rights. (UN. Child Labor. Quoted 30.6.2014).

CORRUPTION

Corruption, literally “utterly broken”, was already used by Aristotle and Cicero, adding the terms bribe and abandonment of good habits. In political terminology, corruption is the illegitimate use of public power to benefit a private interest. Corruption is also an action to secretly provide goods or services to someone in order to influence certain actions benefiting the corrupt, a third-party, or both. The moral dimension of corruption can either refer to a mentality problem, or to external circumstances such as poverty, inadequate remuneration, inappropriate work conditions, weak or very complex procedures demoralizing people thus letting them look for alternative solutions. (Wikipedia. Quoted 30.6.2014). 

Worldwide, there are a number of organizations and national institutions dealing with, and providing information about, corruption, including OECD with its slogan “Better Policies for Better Lives” (OECD. Bribery in International Business. Quoted 30.6.2014), and UNCAC (The United Nations Convention against Corruption), a multilateral convention negotiated by members of the UN. (UNODC. United Nations Convention against Corruption. Quoted 30.6.2014).

Read the complete report of the UN Convention against Corruption:

http://bit.ly/1sQpWyX

Transparency International, a global movement working to end corruption worldwide, publishes a Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) each year, ranking countries and territories based on their level of corruption in the public sector. To see the current results, and to test your knowledge, please visit Transparency International: http://cpi.transparency.org/cpi2013/. (Transparency International. Quoted 30.6.2014). 

These are only two major global problems, among many others.

The question is, how can YOU, and your organization, make a difference?

As a private household consumer, it is not always easy to know all the work included in a certain product, unless you have produced it yourself of course. This is why it is so important that organizations operate with a high level of transparency and inform their customers about their level of standards in all of the organization´s business practices. Most progressive organizations, these days, are concerned with how they produce, or at least organizations and corporations should be socially responsible, and so make it easier for consumers to know what they are buying. 

As a consumer it is possible to invest some time in finding out more about the product, its origins, and the kind of work included in the process. If you, as a consumer, are unsure about whether a company is bringing “ethically clean” products to the market, you can always choose to ask the company, and demand supplementary information about a specific product. If it is not available, or given to you, another possibility is to change your consumer behavior and choose products that you know are ethically produced. 

Ethical consumption, first popularized by the UK magazine the Ethical Consumer, favors ethical products, empowering consumers to make ethically informed consumption choices and providing reliable information on corporate behavior. These criteria-based ethical and environmental ratings have become commonplace both in providing consumer information and in B2B, CSR and sustainability ratings. (Wikipedia. Quoted 30.6.2014). 

It may all sound somewhat complex to start with, but don´t we all want to spend our money wisely and ethically?

The next time you go shopping, start by asking yourself, why a certain product is so cheap? The price is not always an indicator of unethical production, but it could be.

 

Paradoxes of Planet Earth

by Anne-Maria Yritys, posted in Change Management, CSR, Digital Marketing, Global Economics, Online Strategy, Thought Leadership

World population is growing exponentially:

1980: 4,4 billion

1990: 5,3 billion

2000: 6,1 billion

2010: 6,9 billion

Today, on the 27th of June 2014, the world population is 7,2 billion. According to estimates/calculations made by the UN, the world population will continue growing as follows:

2020: 7,6 billion

2030: 8,3 billion

2040: 8,8 billion

2050: 9,3 billion

Currently, the top 20 largest countries by population (Worldometers. Quoted 27.6.2014) are:

1. China – 1,3 billion

2. India – 1,2 billion

3. U.S.A. – 322 million

4. Indonesia – 252 million

5. Brazil – 202 million

6. Pakistan – 185 million

7. Nigeria – 178 million

8. Bangladesh – 158 million

9. Russia – 142 million

10. Japan – 127 million

11. Mexico – 123 million

12. Philippines – 100 million

13. Ethiopia – 96 million

14. Vietnam – 92 million

15. Egypt – 83 million

16. Germany – 82 million

17. Iran – 78 million

18. Turkey – 75 million

19. Democratic Republic of the Congo – 69 million

20. Thailand – 67 million

Other hard facts:

– Currently, an estimated amount of 168 million children are forced to work. A child is anyone under the age of 18. Child labor is unacceptable.

– According to estimations of the U.N., two-thirds of total world population will live in water scarcity in 2025. In only 11 years from now. 2/3 of total world population in 2025 means that around  5,3 billion people will live in water scarcity.

To check your personal water footprint, visit the following page and calculator:

http://www.waterfootprint.org/?page=files/YourWaterFootprint

According to the UN Environmental Program, by 2025, agriculture is expected to increase its water requirements by 1,3 times, industry by 1,5 times, and domestic consumption by 1,8 times. (UNEP. Freshwater use by sector at the beginning of the 2000s. Quoted 27.5.2014).

Learn how to decrease water consumption at home:

http://www.savewater.com.au/how-to-save-water/in-the-home

To borrow Dalai Lama:

THE PARADOX OF OUR TIMES

“We have taller buildings, but shorter tempers

Wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints

We spend more, but we have less.

We have bigger houses, but smaller families

More conveniences, but less time.

We have more degrees, but less sense

More knowledge, but less judgement

More experts, but more problems

More medicines, but less wellness.

We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values.

We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often

We have learnt how to make a living, but not a life.

We have added years to life, but not life to years.

We’ve been all the way to the moon and back

But have trouble crossing the street to meet the new neighbour.

We have conquered outer space, but not inner space.

We’ve cleaned up the air, but polluted our soul.

We’ve split the atom, but not our prejudice.

We’ve higher incomes, but lower morals.

We’ve become long on quantity but short on quality.

These are the times of tall men, and short character;

Steep profits, and shallow relationships.

These are the times of world peace, but domestic warfare,

More leisure, but less fun; more kinds of food, but less nutrition.

These are the days of two incomes, but more divorces;

Of fancier houses, but broken homes.

It is a time when there is much in the show window, and nothing in the stockroom.

A time when technology can bring this letter to you,

And a time when you can choose,

Either to make a difference …. or just hit, delete”.

Picking Yourself Up And Dusting Yourself Off

by Anne-Maria Yritys, posted in Business, Change Management, Leadership, Life Coaching, Online Strategy

What makes someone a skillful leader? And who is qualified to be a leader? 

The response to the second question is easy, but the first one requires a bit more of reflection. In my opinion, the list is never-ending, and a great leader never ceases to develop him or her.  

Some important skills for any leader: 

HUMANITY

Any leader needs to remember that we are all equal on this planet, despite of our backgrounds.

HUMILITY

Leadership is not about position – it´s about character. 

ACCOUNTABILITY

Keep your promises and don´t let people down. 

COMMUNICATION SKILLS

This is perhaps one of the most difficult of all including not only language and speaking skills, but also other means of communications such as writing, reading, and listening skills + gestures and expressions.

DECISIVENESS

Sometimes decision-making takes time, but please don´t let it take forever! Sometimes a bad decision is better than no decision at all. 

TEAM-BUILDING SKILLS 

Team-building is necessary because no one of us can survive alone, nor do all the work by ourselves. 

TEAM WORKING SKILLS

The team is only as strong as its weakest link so make sure to empower all your team members.

Team work is key to success.

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

This is probably one of the most important. Take time to develop your emotional intelligence – it is possible.

CAPABILITY OF WORKING ALONE

Ok, team work is important, but you also need to be capable of working in solitude.

EMPATHY

You don´t have to carry all the problems of the world, some empathy won´t harm you either.

SENSE OF HUMOR

Life is not always easy so a good proportion of humor and an ability to laugh at yourself and your mistakes is important when coping in different kinds of circumstances.

ABILITY TO PRIORITIZE

Work first, then the fun.

FLEXIBILITY

Many unexpected things may happen so be prepared for obstacles.

OPENNESS

If you are not open-minded, how can you see all the possibilities in front of you?

ANALYTICAL SKILLS

The more complex the business, the more important to know how to analyze.

RELIABILITY

Stick to your deadlines!

SELF-DISCIPLINE

Learn to lead yourself before leading others.

GOOD MANNERS

A “thank you” does not cost you anything.

SENSE OF MORAL/ETHICS

Great leaders do the right things.

OPTIMISM

Essential if you want to thrive.

REALISM

Understanding the hard facts.

CULTURAL AWARENESS

If you´re into international/global business, it is important to know the etiquette and the customs of the country in question.

NEGOTIATION SKILLS

Essential in order to reach your goals.

CREATIVITY

Sometimes, creativity is the only way forward. If opportunity does not knock, build a door!

ACTIVITY

Great leaders don´t wait for things to happen. They make things happen! 

RESILIENCE

Things may sometimes be difficult and life provides many kinds of obstacles on our paths, but great leaders never give up.

EMBRACING FAILURE

We all make mistakes and fail sometimes, but great leaders pick themselves and their teams up and dust themselves off.

PASSION

A great leader has a passion for everything he or she does. 

HUNGER FOR SUCCESS

Together with passion, a great leader is hungry for success and wants to achieve what´s important to him/her. 

In times of adversity, listening to a good song can be helpful in cheering yourself up: 

http://bit.ly/pickyourselfup

Lyrics for “Pick Yourself Up” (Original: Nat King Cole)

“Pick yourself up,
Take a deep breath,
Dust yourself off.
And start all over again

Nothing’s impossible, I have found
For when my chin is on the ground
I pick myself up, dust myself off
And start all over again

Don’t lose your confidence if you slip
Be grateful for a pleasant trip
And pick yourself up, dust yourself off
And start all over again

Work like a soul inspired
Until the battle of the day is won
You may be sick and tired
But you’ll be a man, my son

Will you remember the famous men
Who had to fall to rise again?

So take a deep breath,
Pick yourself up,
Dust yourself off,
And start it all over again

Work like a soul inspired
Till the battle of the day is won
You may be sick and tired
But you’ll be a man, my son

Will you remember the famous men
Who had to fall to rise again?

So take a deep breath,
Pick yourself up,
Dust yourself off,
And start all over again”

Is Life a Masquerade?

by Anne-Maria Yritys, posted in Authentic Leadership, Change Management
“We have to dare to be ourselves, however frightening or strange that self may prove to be.” 
(May Sarton)
 

Masquerade balls, costumed public festivities originating in Venice, Italy, were historically elaborate dances arranged for members of upper classes. Amazingly colored dresses, wigs, make up, masques – up-lifting extravagant for the bold and the beautiful. Nothing wrong with that as long as “nemo dat quod non habet”? Or should life be lived in escapism? Some of us do. Escaping reality can sometimes be easier than facing the hard facts of life. We either adjust to existing circumstances, or try to change our realities through personal activities. It is not always possible, due to external influences. However good a person you are, if evil forces are oppressing the life you would have the right to live, there is not much else to do than escape in order to save your life. Run or die. This is the unfortunate situation of all refugees worldwide, the number of which is higher than ever, despite of efforts made by multiple national and international organizations to improve conditions on our planet. 

According to the UN Refugee Agency UNHCR, the total number of persons seeking protection within or outside the borders of their countries rose up to almost six (6) million people in 2013. Forced by conflicts, more than 1,5 million people e.g. from the Syrian Arab Republic, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Mali, were seeking refuge. (UNHCR Mid-Year Trends 2013 report. Quoted 23.6.2014). 

What can we do to help and to support these people? For many of us it is really difficult, despite or maybe because of, all the media and information overload that we are surrounded by today. Truth is that without local and international media, most of us would not acknowledge at all what is happening in the world surrounding our personal lives. Most of us read at least one printed newspaper every day, or online news, in addition to watching news on television. The reality is served to us, thrown upon our faces, through diverse media channels. Yet, most of feel overwhelmed and incapable of doing anything about the cruel facts we hear about, and see, every day. Silent acceptance or just fear of not knowing what to do and how to help? 

Instead of blaming anyone, it might be helpful to realize that helping is always easiest locally. Problems exist everywhere, in every country, regardless of the fact that some regions seem to be affected much worse than others. If we don´t know how to be there for our neighbors, relatives, friends, in times of troubles, how can we be capable of solving problems in lands far away? 

I am one of those people who agrees with the fact that problems must be solved locally, with external aid. But how can problems be solved in a country where radicalism flourishes and evil forces seem to dominate? 

What has this all have to with authentic leadership? Just about everything. 

An authentic leader, anyone of us, understands that life is not an ongoing party. Authenticity, in its deepest significance, is the capability of seeing things as they really are. Authentic people do not pretend to be something else but themselves, nor are they easily influenced by outside forces. 

Authentic leaders step forward when everyone else seems to be stepping back. Authentic leaders truly care about helping others. Authentic people have a capability of interconnecting their mind with their heart and integrating both into their daily lives and into their leadership style. 

A good example of a truly authentic leader is the current head of state in Uruguay, José Mujica, also described as the world´s poorest president due to the fact that he donates 90 percent of his monthly salary to charities benefiting poor people and small entrepreneurs. Exemplary. Mujica has also granted protection to 100 Syrian children by accommodating them in Uruguay. Not a high number taking into consideration the total number of two million Syrian refugees, nonetheless better than nothing, and far better than any country has proved to help so far. Overflowing with Syrian refugees, Jordan, Turkey and Lebanon each currently “accommodate” several hundred thousand of them. (Yahoo News. UN applauds Uruguay´s plan to take Syrian refugees. 21.5.2014. Quoted 23.6.2014). 

Tips for increasing authenticity in your life: 

– Be yourself. Do some introspection, on a daily basis. Listen to your spirit, meditate, and be at peace with yourself. We all need to start with ourselves. After all, if we cannot be at peace with ourselves, how can we be at peace with others? 

– Be genuine. Don´t be afraid of taking off your “mask”. 

– Accept yourself as you are, and others will accept you too. Those who do not accept you as you truly are, are not worth your time and do not belong into your life. 

– Don´t be afraid of being vulnerable. There is a crack in everything – that is how the light gets in. 

– Work on yourself only. Trying to change others is forceful and useless. Be the change you want to see in the world. As soon as you are successful at mastering yourself, things will start falling into place. 

– Be loving and kind. Remember – what you send out to the universe, echoes back into your life. 

– Don´t try to please everyone. 

– Learn how to listen to your intuition. 

– Use your mind, but lead with your heart. 

– Don´t try to change your whole life at once. Even if you do so, remember that small good acts are signs of improvement too.  

– Face your fears, it is worth it. This does not mean you need to become reckless – safety before all – but try to move your boundaries at least every now and then.

– Breathe. Relax. Listen to your favorite music. Eat balanced. Sleep enough. Daydream.

“Leadership must be based on goodwill. Goodwill does not mean posturing and, least of all, pandering to the mob. It means obvious and wholehearted commitment to helping followers. We are tired of leaders we fear, tired of leaders we love, and tired of leaders who let us take liberties with them. What we need for leaders are individuals of the heart who are so helpful that they, in effect, do away with the need of their jobs. But leaders like that are never out of a job, never out of followers. Strange as it sounds, great leaders gain authority by giving it away”.

– Admiral James B. Stockdale

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

UN Millennium Development Goal 8: Global Partnership for Development

by Anne-Maria Yritys, posted in Business Ethics, Change Management, CSR, Thought Leadership, UN Millenium Development Goals

What does global partnership signify to you and to your country?

In terms of improving conditions in less developed countries, the UN has set a goal and defines global partnership through following:

– Existence and development of non-discriminatory trading and financial systems with openness, clear rules and predictability

– Focusing on improving conditions in least developed countries while taking into consideration their special needs (also landlocked and small island state developing States)

– Provide access to affordable essential drugs in co-operation with pharmaceutical companies

– Availability to new technologies (information and communications) in co-op with the private sector

(UN MDG´s. Quoted 19.5.2014).

In 2011, the official amount of development aid was 0,31 % of total GDP in developed countries. The percentage is decreasing, despite of the 0,7 % target set by the UN. Debt burden ratios in developing countries, however, have decreased, and products from developing countries now more easily find their way to the Western markets. The usage of mobile phones in developing countries is rapidly increasing, e.g. beneficial in the usage as payment methods with lacking, or danger of, banking systems in certain regions. (UNA of Finland. Printed Material. 2014; Business Insider. Quoted 19.5.2014).

Exactly how useful is it for a state to have increased access to mobile payments if, at the same time, there is lack of sufficient infrastructure to provide all its citizens with nutritious food? Food for thought, certainly. At least to me it seems somewhat contradictory.

In terms of natural resources, and alternative sources of energy, Africa as a continent alone has the potential to provide all of the world´s energy – through solar power. Currently, however, the continent produces only under one per cent of total world energy. (African Union. Quoted 19.5.2014; The Alternative Energy eMagazine. “Africa, the Untapped Potential for Clean Energy”. Quoted 19.5.2014).

Us humans are deeply curious by nature, through evolution, which made us the ultimate “learning machines”. As proof  for this we only need to look back into the history of humanity, our ancestors.

“Throughout the centuries there were men who took first steps, down new roads, armed with nothing but their own vision”.

(Ayn Rand)

As an example of human curiosity, courage and learning through mistakes, serves the Spanish explorer Christopher Columbus, who in the 15th century accidentally discovered America in his urge to find a seaway to India. His voyages of discovery were a countdown to the European conquest of America, and he is said to be the father of imperialism, a term that today mostly awakens negative thoughts about the nature of humanity.

 
A couple of centuries later, in the 18th to be exact, the Scottish philosopher and economist Adam Smith, presented his ideas in the Wealth of Nations, a classical political economic theory, which still today serves as a foundation for economy. According to Adam Smith´s idea, a state has to secure people´s assets, solve disputes and make sure that rules/laws are being obeyed. In other words: the state needs to take care of things an individual is incapable of alone, or what the individual does without efficiency. In his description of market economy Smith argued that the willingness of an entrepreneur to make progress in his/her private privileges leads to economic advantages and benefits for the whole society. Furthermore, the foundation of the theory is based upon basic economic freedoms for everyone: freedom to choose a line of business, freedom to make decisions, free competition and freedom of trade. (Adam Smith Institute. Quoted 19.5.2014

Further on, international trade, including the terms absolute and comparative advantage, is said to be essential in sustaining friendly relations between different states. The term comparative advantage refers to the ability of producing a specific good or service at a lower cost over another leading to gains in trading between two countries, as long as relative efficiency remains different. In spoken language this means that a country has comparative advantage of another as long as it is able to produce a certain product/service with less total cost than another (cheapest possible production).

But how well does the theory take quality into consideration? Or labor law? There is no discussion at all about these important issues in the theory of comparative advantage. Luckily, many companies in developed countries have today developed business processes which take these important facts into consideration at all stages. Still, many companies necessarily do not.

According to ILO, the International Labor Organization, the amount of child labor worldwide is still as high as 168 million children worldwide. Imagine that! Who is employing all those children? Can we sleep tight at night without certainty about the fact that products/services we consume may actually involve the brutal usage of child labor?

Once again: everyone under the age of 18 is a child, and according to the Declaration of the Rights of the Child, every child has the right to be a child, to attend primary school, and no child should have to work.

Why not turn quality and transparency throughout all business procedures into competitive advantages in any business? With a world-changing rapidly only companies with sustainable business practices are those that will survive in the long run. Consumers´ are increasingly aware and critical when choosing goods/products/services to consume, and no one wants to take the responsibility of consuming products/services that have not taken quality or children´s/human rights into consideration.

“The price of greatness is responsibility”.

(Winston Churchill)

Throughout the centuries there were men who took first steps, down new roads, armed with nothing but their own vision.

Ayn Rand

Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/a/aynrand147955.html#rvImJ05Omv2MPifq.99

UN Millennium Development Goal 7: Ensuring Environmental Sustainability

by Anne-Maria Yritys, posted in Authentic Leadership, Business Ethics, Change Management, CSR, Life Coaching, Responsible Investing, UN Millenium Development Goals

“Treat the earth well: it was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children. We do not inherit the Earth from our Ancestors, we borrow it from our Children.”

(Ancient Indian Proverb)

The UN target of ensuring environmental sustainability includes:  

– Integration of the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programmes, as well as reversement of the loss of environmental resources: 

=> Forests continue disappearing at an alarming rate

=> CO2 emissions have increased worldwide by more than 46 % since 1990

=> There has been a reduction of over 98 % in the consumption of ozone-depleting substances in the past three decades

– Reduction of biodiversity loss

=> An increase of 58 % in earth´s protected areas since 1990

=> In 2010, 12,7 % of the world´s land areas were protected, but only 1,6 % of ocean areas

– Halving the proportion of the population without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation 

=> Target has been met five years ahead of schedule

=> More than 40 % of people without improved drinking water live in sub-Saharan Africa

=> Still, 2.5 billion people in developing countries have no access to improved sanitation facilities

– Achieving a significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers

=> The target has been met, although the number of slum dwellers has grown

(UN MDG´s. Quoted 16.5.2014). 

Despite of continuous improvements in environmental sustainability, we are facing huge challenges that we are all responsible for, and that we need to respond to NOW: 

– According to forecasts, 2/3 of world population will live with water scarcity in 2025, 11 years from now. In 2025 world population will have grown to more than eight billion, meaning that more than five billion people will live with water scarcity. 

– Today, developed countries (20 % of all countries) use 80 % or more of all natural resources.

In Finland alone: if the total world population would consume as much as people in Finland, we would need three Earth´s instead of the ONE AND ONLY that we live in today. Despite of the excess usage of natural resources in Finland, there are other industrialized countries that are even worse in over-consumption. You can check the current situation in your country´s statistics for consumption, or visit WWF´s website for more information upon the topic.

YOU DON´T HAVE TO DECLARE YOURSELF GREEN TO ACT GREEN! PROTECTING THE ENVIRONMENT, FLORA AND FAUNA, IS SOMETHING WE ALL ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR. 

NOT KNOWING OR NOT UNDERSTANDING ARE BAD EXCUSES. IF ONE DOES NOT HAVE ENOUGH KNOWLEDGE OR UNDERSTANDING, IT IS IN ONE´S RESPONSIBILITY TO EDUCATE ONESELF IN THESE MATTERS, AND TAKING ACTION!

UN Millennium Development Goal 6: Combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases

by Anne-Maria Yritys, posted in Business Ethics, Change Management, CSR, Global Economics, UN Millenium Development Goals

Malaria, a mosquito-born disease caused by a parasite, is a silent catastrophe. Each year, hundreds of thousands of people die because of malaria. In 2010, 660.000 people worldwide lost their lives due to malaria infections, mainly in Africa, which was home to more than 90 % of the deaths. The same year, the total number of malaria cases rose up to 219 million on a global level. Every 45 seconds one child dies because of malaria. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC, quoted 14.5.2014; UNA of Finland. Printed material. 2014).

One of the UN Millennium Development Goals is to combat malaria, tuberculosis, HIV, and other severe diseases. Still today, despite of the progress made, more than one million people worldwide die because of tuberculosis. However, in 1990, the amount of deaths caused by tuberculosis was twice as high as today. Malaria deaths decreased with about 25 per cent between the years 2000 and 2010. Even the amount of HIV infections decreases each year, although still 2,5 million people get infected with HIV every year. (UN Millennium Development Goals, quoted 14.5.2014; UNA of Finland, Printed Material. 2014).

In 2011, the amount of HIV positive people worldwide was 34 million. In the combat against HIV, knowledge and education is of out most importance, as well as using condoms during sexual intercourse.

HIV infections can occur:

– During unprotected sexual intercourse (of all kinds, even oral)

– Sharing syringes/needles (e.g. drug injections)

– In blood contact, e.g. through blood transfusions or through other blood products

– From a mother to a child during pregnancy or labor

– In breastfeeding

(Red Cross Finland. Quoted 14.5.2014).

Poliomyelitis, which was almost abolished, is again a threat in certain countries including Pakistan, Cameron, Syria, and a number of other countries. Civil wars are a huge threat in spreading the disease, whereas healthcare workers vaccinating against polio have even been killed by extremists and political radicals. (Helsingin Sanomat. 5.5.2014. Quoted 14.5.2014; WHO. Quoted 14.5.2014).

In the worldwide combat against these diseases following actions are of out most importance:

– Spreading knowledge and educating people in high-risk regions of the importance of good hygiene and the use of protection during sexual intercourse of any kind

– Efficient vaccination programs

– Malaria nets for people living in malaria regions

There are numerous organizations working towards abolishing severe diseases. As an example: NetsForLife – A partnership for Malaria prevention in Africa. (NetsForLife. Quoted 14.5.2014).

Can we work together towards a world without diseases?

  • suojaamattomassa yhdynnässä, myös suuseksissä
  • yhteisten neulojen, ruiskujen tai muiden ruiskeen antamiseen liittyvien välineiden käytössä
  • verikontaktissa, kuten virusta sisältävän veren siirron tai muun verituotteen kautta (nykyään kehittyneen terveydenhoidon maissa kaikki verituotteet testataan)
  • äidistä lapseen raskauden tai synnytyksen aikana
  • rintaruokinnassa.

– See more at: http://www.punainenristi.fi/node/3203#sthash.jsRus27S.dpuf

  • suojaamattomassa yhdynnässä, myös suuseksissä
  • yhteisten neulojen, ruiskujen tai muiden ruiskeen antamiseen liittyvien välineiden käytössä
  • verikontaktissa, kuten virusta sisältävän veren siirron tai muun verituotteen kautta (nykyään kehittyneen terveydenhoidon maissa kaikki verituotteet testataan)
  • äidistä lapseen raskauden tai synnytyksen aikana
  • rintaruokinnassa.

– See more at: http://www.punainenristi.fi/node/3203#sthash.jsRus27S.dpuf

UN Millennium Development Goal 5: Improvement of Maternal Health

by Anne-Maria Yritys, posted in Business Ethics, Change Management, CSR, Global Economics, Thought Leadership, UN Millenium Development Goals

Mother´s usually do a lot for their families, which is a very good reason to take care well of all mothers. 

“The goal of the UN is to decrease maternal mortality by 75 % by year 2015”. 

Facts about mothers worldwide: 

– Improvements in accessibility to maternal healthcare all over the world. 

– Healthcare and sufficient nutrition of significant value in preventing birth-related deaths. 

– Compared to mothers in Nordic countries, the risk of mothers dying during pregnancies and during childbirth is 500 times larger in development countries. 

– Every year almost 300.000 women die due to complications during pregnancies or when giving birth. 

– 99 % of all maternal deaths occur in development countries. 

– Despite of major improvements all over the world in the reduction of maternal mortality, there is still a lot to do before the goal has been reached. 

– In East Asia, North Africa and South Asia maternal mortality has decreased up to 2/3 in comparison to the situation in 1990. 

– In 2011, midwives/educated labor personnel was at hand only in 53 % of all child births in development countries. The percentage was 84 in urban areas. 

– Only half of all pregnant women in development countries have access to proper healthcare

(UNA of Finland. Printed Material. 2014).   

According to Save the Children´s “Surviving the first day – State of the World´s Mothers 2013” report, Finland is the best country in the world for mothers. Nice news for all mothers in Finland, especially with the upcoming Mother´s Day, celebrated on the second Sunday in May every year. Every child has the right to a mother, and every child needs a mother, is not that correct?

The same report indicates that the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Central Africa is the roughest state to be a mother. Save the Children´s report classifies 176 countries in terms of how these have succeeded and failed in supporting mothers. The index estimates mother´s welfare using measures such as a girl´s or woman´s risk of dying during pregnancy or during labor, children under the age of five mortality rates, the educational levels of children, national income levels, and the political status of women. Link to Save the Children´s “Surviving the first day – State of the World´s Mothers 2013” report: 

http://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.9126825/k.3E86/Download_the_2014_SOWM_Report.htm

According to Save the Children, the high number of maternal deaths in sub-Saharan Africa can be explained through the fact that mothers are often very young, and their bodies are not yet ready to give birth to children. Other reasons include the low amount of contraception, insufficient healthcare during childbirth and a huge lack of healthcare employees. (Save the Children Finland. Quoted 9.5.2014). 

With these words I want to wish my mother, and all other mothers, a happy Mother´s Day on Sunday, May 11th 2014. You rock.