Case Study #2:
Partnership for Lebanon and Cisco Systems
Kevin, Kuang-Yurn Chuo
Professor: Dr. Linda Richelson
OL 690: Responsible Corporate Leadership
July 20, 2014
Introduction Cisco Systems, Inc. is a company that sells, designs and manufacturers internet protocol (IP). The company provides networking and related products for the communications and information technology (IT) industry. The company offers products for transporting data, voice and videos within buildings, across campuses, and around the world. Cisco's products are installed at enterprise businesses, public institutions, telecommunications companies, commercial businesses, and personal residences. The company was founded at San Francisco in 1984, and in 1990, Cisco System was public and listed as CSCO on the NASDAQ stock exchange. The company headquarter located in San Jose, California, and total employee is about 75,049. The Company primarily operates in Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific. John T. Chambers is current Chairman and CEO in Cisco System. (Market Line. 2014) In this Partnership for Lebanon and Cisco Systems Case study, it will discuss the company’s CSR lesson in analysis the key strategic lessons from Partnership for Lebanon (PFL), discuss the Cisco System’s position in PFL and some recommendation to help address the CSR.
CSR Lessons
After the war in 2006, U.S. President George W. Bush asked groups of business leaders to help Lebanon on economics and citizens, the corporations includes Cisco Systems, Intel Corporation, Microsoft corporations, Ghafari Inc and Occidental Petroleum. The President asked these company’s leaders to see how the companies could help to recover Lebanon from the war that destroyed the majority of the communities. These companies formed the Partnership for Lebanon (PFL) in the same year. The purpose to created PFL is to help the Lebanon to relief and reconstruction. The CSR lesson of Cisco has success of the PFL. The corporate citizenship culture of the company incorporates trust, integrity, openness, and fairness. (Cisco CSR. 2007) the reason Cisco involved the PFL program is because Cisco and other partner companies find out that the structure damage is everywhere, and local businesses struggled in slowly recover from the war. More sadly, lots of smart young people who lost their goals and purpose lost hope for their future. Through this reason, Cisco is going to achieved the goal that to help Lebanon to improve its ICT, and help the people and businesses to join the global marketplace. Moreover, the Cisco provided its own products to improve the commutation. (Raymond A. 2011)
Cisco, Corporate Sponsors, and PFL
According to the Cisco, the company is committed to building stronger, healthier and more productive communities through the PFL. In partnership with PFL, Cisco has five PFL work streams that they are doing in Lebanon. Frist is job creation and private sector revival; second is ICT infrastructure. Third is workforce training and education. Fourth, connected communities and government. The program started in 2006, to assist with the reconstruction efforts in Lebanon.
Job creation and private sector revival The job creation and private sector revival is focus on young, unemployed people to help them to get a job and reduce brain drain. PFL started focus on small and medium enterprises (SMEs), to provide enterprises small amount loans to revive the Lebanon economy. PFL collaborates with Relief International and creates Cisco Rural Enterprise Development for Information Technology (CREDIT) program. The goal of this program is to stimulate job creation in rural areas and to develop new business operation for local people. The average loan for each business is about 3 to five thousand dollars and total amount is $500,000 for companies’ early growth stages. (Jamali, D. 2011)
ICT infrastructure In information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure in the basic
