https://www.forbes.com/sites/csr/2012/02/21/six-re...Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is not going to solve the world’s problems. That said, CSR is a way for companies to benefit themselves while also benefiting society. When I define CSR to the uninitiated, I typically get three reactions. Some say, “Isn’t that a bunch of greenwashing?” Others use a non-so-nice word to describe male bovine excrement instead of greenwashing. Still others say my definition sounds like an inspiring call to action to soothe the ills of capitalism. Then there are those who say CSR is like a begrudging call to Woodstock to sing Kumbaya – something only “hippies” could dream up.So what’s a CSR professional supposed to do when faced with such a varied response? Typically, I step on top of my soapbox to declare the six business reasons why companies should embrace corporate social responsibility. Companies that “get it” are the ones that are using CSR (or sustainability as I prefer to call it) as a way to push the following business processes into the organization:Innovation – I know, I know, it’s an over-used term. Just typing the word into Amazon will bring up nearly 150,000 items. But in the context of CSR, innovation is a huge benefit to a company and society. For example, I recently watched a video of a brief talk by Geoff McDonald who is the Unilever Global VP for HR, Marketing, Communications and Sustainability. Using the “lens of sustainability” as McDonald described it, Unilever was able to innovate new products such as a hair conditioner that uses less water. Without sustainability, the company’s research and development efforts possibly wouldn’t have led to such a product.Cost savings – One of the easiest places for a company to start engaging in sustainability is to use it as a way to cut costs. Whether it’s using less packaging or less energy, these savings add up quickly. For example, General Mills is on a path to reduce its energy savings by 20% by 2015. According to its 2011 CSR report, after installing energy monitoring meters on several pieces of equipment at its Covington, Ga. plant, the company saved $600,000.Brand differentiation – In the past, brand differentiation was one of the primary reasons companies embraced CSR. Companies such as Timberland were able to find their voice and incorporate the company’s values into their business model. However, as CSR has become more commonplace, using it to differentiate your brand is getting harder to do. For example, the “Cola Wars” is one of the longest running rivalries in business. Coke and Pepsi are constantly looking to grab as much market share as they can from each other. Yet they are both adopting similar, although slightly different, approaches to CSR. Both Pepsi and Coke are pursuing strategies of zero net water usage. Both companies offer water bottles made from sustainable packaging as well. In the end, although neither company is necessarily going to see strong differentiation benefits, I see the diminishing returns on brand differentiation as a sign that CSR is taking hold and is not just a fad.Long-term thinking – “The only reason we’re doing sustainability is to drive the growth of Unilever,” McDonald said in the video mentioned above. Indeed, CSR is an effort to look at the company’s long-term interest and ensuring that the company’s future is… well… sustainable. Hence, that’s why I prefer the term sustainability to CSR. It is a shift from worrying about the next fiscal quarter’s financial results to the impact business decisions today have on financial (and social) results ten years from now.Customer engagement – What’s the point of doing CSR if no one knows about it? For the past few years, Walmart has established itself as a leader on environmental efforts. Yes, you read that correctly, Walmart is a leader in environmentalism. In 2008, Walmart ran an ad campaign designed to raise awareness about the environment and the product choices consumers could make. Using CSR can help you engage with your customers in new ways. Since the message is about something “good,” it can often be an easier way to talk to your customers. This is an underused tool for business-to-business company communication.Employee engagement – Along similar lines, if your own employees don’t know what’s going on within your organization, you’re missing an opportunity. Companies like Sara Lee created a cross-functional, global Sustainability Working Team to help create a strategy for sustainability. At a more grass roots level, the Solo Cup Company created the Sustainability Action Network to activate employees in community service focused on the company’s CSR priorities.To be clear, these are the reasons why most companies should enact CSR. In truth, companies often become involved in CSR for different reasons, which I’ll write about in future posts.This isn’t to say that CSR is the panacea to the world’s problems. But it certainly does start to move the needle toward an economy that is much closer to one where I would like to conduct business.

Personal Model of Leadership - Essay 3How do you lead? What does leading mean to you? How do you want to lead in the future?Each of us has a model of leadership, and this is especially true for us -- we who study leadership and have ambitions to lead. Your model is a mental "picture" or way of thinking about leadership that is used to guide your actions, evaluate your actions, practice leading others, and improve yourself. It may include ideas about your current preferences and capabilities, and an ideal set of beliefs that you aspire to for the future.The model is the result of your academic studies, your personal efforts to lead, what you have learned by observing and working with others, and your reflection and self assessment.Please follow the suggested structure that is outlined in our syllabus, pages 8-9. You may organize the paper another way but include the different elements that are required.There is a 3-page (limit, not including title page and graphic-visual page) for the assignment.1. The "preferred definition" may be the result of your reading and studies, and-or the personal examples that you have used to learn and be inspired. What do you believe leadership is? What sources on the subject do you admire?2. "Key models" are the approaches or strategies that you have studied that seem to be most effective and sensible for you (with real evidence from your own recent experiences that you can share).3. "Description" is the opportunity to express in your own words what your preferred leadership approaches are.4. "Visual representation" is a drawing or diagram or photograph or other visual idea (symbol) that communicates your preferred way of leading. It is a simple way to remember and reinforce the way you want to lead others.5. "Reflection" is your opportunity to share ideas about what you want to do in the future, soon and long term, to practice and develop your ability to lead others and achieve.Write this essay for this week's assignment AND imagine that you will re-read it in 5 years. Will it be an accurate description of you and your leadership today?Remember, APA requirements are required.Best wishes! Enjoy this important assignment.

Hello,I need two responses of at least 150 words each for the below students discussions for this week. Also in the bold below are the questions the students at answering.For this assignment, answer the following:What is the purpose of an audit?What information is contained within an audit trail?What are the advantages and disadvantages of using an audit trail?Student one:What is the purpose of an audit?The ultimate objective of an audit is to review the controls in place, identify the weaknesses, and report these areas for improvement. The only fool proof way to ensure that the security measures are working is to test them. By testing them, either with an external or internal audit, it is much easier to pin point the breakdowns in process, procedure, policy, and technical controls. (Basta, Zgola, & Bullaboy, 2012) What information is contained within an audit trail?The information in an audit trail depends on the policy that has been configured by the database administrator. This audit trail can include a lot of items or just a few. Some of the items that might be included are listed below:User logins (successful and unsuccessful)Processes that are executed and the date and time they are executedChanges to Table sand RowsChanges to permissions and objectsScheme updatesPassword changesCommands like INSERT, DELETE, SELECT, etc.(Various Techniques to Audit, 2018)What are the advantages and disadvantages of using an audit trail?Using an audit trail makes it much easier for administrators and auditors when an audit is being conducted because it provides a convenient log of all the actions on the server or database. Having an audit trail is also helpful even when an audit is not ongoing. The audit trail can show what changes were made and by whom, which can make it much easier to troubleshoot problems or identify malicious/accidental changes. Having an audit trail can help to prevent the finger pointing exercise because attribution is a lot easier.However, the audit trail is not a magic wand. Audit logs can be large and can consume a lot of resources (storage, CPU, RAM, etc.) It is important to make sure that the logs don’t over run the server. Many organizations will offload the logs to another location and use a Security Information and Event Management (SEIM) tool to aggregate them. It is important to remember to protect the integrity of the logs as well from anyone who might want to delete or modify them. The logs should be replicated or stored somewhere safely in a read only state at a minimum. (Basta, Zgola, & Bullaboy, 2012) ReferencesBasta, A., Zgola, M., & Bullaboy, D. (2012). Database security. Boston, MA: Course Technology/Cengage Learning.Various techniques to audit SQL Server databases. (2018, November 19). Retrieved June 19, 2019, from https://www.sqlshack.com/various-techniques-to-audit-sql-server-databases/-LeahStudent two:Hello class this week we’ll be discussing information concerning audits, the purpose of audits, and the advantages/ disadvantages of an audit as well.What is the purpose of an audit?This question may seem simple and straight forward, but an audit isn’t quite the same for every system. Particular systems, such as a MySQL database, can encompass several key audit requirements in order to remain in compliance with regulation and standards. For example, a database system providing services for patient health care records will need to undergo audit standards in compliance with HIPPA. A database system storing credit card information will need to be compliance with PCI-DSS. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) provides organizations with regulatory guidance on specific audit standards for a variety of informational needs. Audits can include, system architecture designs, firewall placement, IDS and IPS placement, system security scans, patch management updates, and least privileged access requirements. Also, an audit can produce whether or not organizations are utilizing correct logging procedures or access controls to track and maintain accurate records for traffic analysis and event management for database traffic. What information is contained in an audit trail?In a nutshell, an audit trail can provide sufficient information or events pertaining to information systems providing records of who logged in, what traffic passed through network monitors, and exactly what information was accessed. An audit trail should provide enough information to paint a picture for an auditor on exactly what occurred on a system.What are the advantages and disadvantages of an audit trail?Advantages:Records leading up to an event, traffic logging, event logging, and network activity.Disadvantages:User training, network resource consumption, storage consumption, and extra cost.Reference:https://nvd.nist.gov/800-53/Rev4/family/AUDIT%20AN...-Cole van