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Thread: Corporate Social Responsibility

Number of posts in this thread: 8 (In chronological order)

From: Glenda
Date: Sun, Oct 17 2004 11:09PM
Subject: Corporate Social Responsibility
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Has anyone developed a 'corporate social responsibility' case for Web
accessibility [or know of one]? I need to create one by Tuesday.

Thanks,
Glenda
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From: Bob Easton
Date: Mon, Oct 18 2004 5:43AM
Subject: Re: Corporate Social Responsibility
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glenda wrote:

> Has anyone developed a 'corporate social responsibility' case for Web
> accessibility [or know of one]? I need to create one by Tuesday.
>

I've been roaming these haunts for several years and not found the case
you seek. Quite the opposite. Even when presented with the case that
corporate revenue opportunities can be increased by nn% (varies) will
firms even begin to pay attention. Perhaps I'm too skeptical, but I see
corporations as caring about profitability first and social
responsibility only when they can do it at minimal cost or impact to the
bottom line. On the other hand, accessibility improvements are
relatively expensive (to retrofit to existing content), not fitting the
mold for social responsibility.

Before you discount my views as anti-corporate, I'll mention my
experience is 37 years with one of the world's largest computer
manufacturers (nbr 8 on Fortune's list). The firm has a very enlightened
view toward accessibility and supports it strongly, both for its
external web presence and its intranet. Executives at the highest levels
can make the case for accessibility as well as any of our contemporary
advocates. Yet in the end, it comes down to one reason: accessiblity is
good for business. Social responsibility is never a part of the discussion.

Bottom line:
- Internet accessibility brings more customers
- Intranet accessibility makes it easier for employees with disabilities
to get their work done ... using their abilities, not their disabilities.

Best wishes for success. Let us know how it turns out.

--
Bob Easton

From: julian.rickards
Date: Mon, Oct 18 2004 7:38AM
Subject: Re: Corporate Social Responsibility
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My feeling is that corporate social responsibility is like corporate
environmental responsibility: in many cases, money has to drive the activity
which can be in the form of legal costs for non-compliance or increased
customer-base with voluntary compliance. However, don't market accessibility
on the basis of legal setbacks, market it on the basis of lowered costs,
increased sales and easier manageability.

HTH,

Jules

-----------------------------------------------
Julian Rickards
A/Digital Publications Distribution Coordinator
Publication Services Section,
Ministry of Northern Development and Mines,
Vox: 705-670-5608 / Fax: 705-670-5960

From: Jim Thatcher
Date: Mon, Oct 18 2004 7:57AM
Subject: Re: Corporate Social Responsibility
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As another 37 year IBM'er - there the name is dropped; I disagree with Bob
when he said: "Social responsibility is never a part of the discussion."
When IBM started the Special Needs Systems organization (which was renamed
the Accessibility Center only recently) to make IBM Screen Reader a product,
and a year earlier when it started the National Center for People with
Disabilities, "social responsibility" was definitely part of the
conversation. It is that social responsibility which laid the groundwork for
- even made possible - IBM's current focus on accessibility within the
company.

Jim

Accessibility Consulting: http://jimthatcher.com/
512-306-0931

From: Cheyrl D. Wise
Date: Mon, Oct 18 2004 8:34AM
Subject: Re: Corporate Social Responsibility
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Not only that many organizations make a big point of being a responsible
member of their community (social responsibility under another name). Others
like banks are required to invest in their community and not just by making
loans. I know several non-profits in my area benefit because of that
requirement.

Though a business case for increased sales/profits along with the "right
thing to do" makes the social responsibility case much more appealing.

Cheryl D. Wise
Certified Professional Web Developer
MS-MVP-FrontPage
www.wiserways.com
mailto: = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =
713.353.0139 Office

From: Sailesh Panchang
Date: Mon, Oct 18 2004 9:44AM
Subject: Re: Corporate Social Responsibility
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Hello
Glenda,
There is a mention of how corporate social
responsibility can be used to strengthen the business case
for Web accessibility.
See <A
href="http://www.w3.org/WAI/EO/Drafts/bcase/soc">http://www.w3.org/WAI/EO/Drafts/bcase/soc
Sailesh PanchangSenior Accessibility Engineer
Deque Systems,11180 Sunrise Valley Drive, 4th Floor, Reston VA
20191Tel: 703-225-0380 Extension 105 E-mail: <A
href="mailto: = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = "> = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = :
703-225-0387* Look up <;<A
href="http://www.deque.com">http://www.deque.com>;; *

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Subject: [WebAIM] Corporate Social
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Has anyone developed a 'corporate social responsibility'
case for Webaccessibility [or know of one]? I need to create one by
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From: Glenda
Date: Mon, Oct 18 2004 10:32AM
Subject: Re: Corporate Social Responsibility
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Thanks Sailesh, 
I came across that document
after I posted my question here. My initial read-through of that document,
I thought it was useful. That is the kind of information I would like to
see more of so that we can speak business language. I think the concept of
Web accessibility is marketable if we frame it effectively. I think saying
"do it because it is the law or else I'll sue" would put business on the
defensive, rather than having them buy into it. But, that is just my
opinion. I am also wondering if there is a more descriptive phrase
than "Web accessibility". When I say that I find eyes tend to glaze
over. I am not sure if its because of my cerebral palsy speech or because
they don't understand the concept. Have a good day.
Cheers,
Glenda

From: Austin, Darrel
Date: Mon, Oct 18 2004 4:20PM
Subject: Re: Corporate Social Responsibility
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> That
> is the kind of information I would like to see more of so that we can
> speak business language. I think the concept of Web accessibility is
> marketable if we frame it effectively.

Instead of preaching social responsibility, read verses from the other
bible they like...the accounting ledger.

I like to address things like accessibility, usability, and web standards as
simply ways to increase efficiency over the lifespan of a web site/content.
The nice thing is that the above 3 tend to intertwine with each other fairly
well, so you can push one and see benefits in the other two.

The basic argument is 'why deny customers the opportunity to spend money
with you?'

If you make the web page accessible to a text reader, you've:
- given a blind person the ability to interact as a customer

In addition
- the busy lawyer using his PDA on the train now can interact as a customer

If you make the web page accessible by using more semantic markup and better
structured documents you've:
- allowed users of text readers to more easily navigate the content.

In addition
- your google ranking has gone up
- it will cost less to update the site due to the cleaner source documents

Etc.

-Darrel