Corporate Evaluations Shine Light on Internal Business Practices

Thank you for visiting the Buying Influence website. Click here for the homepage.

Buying Influence, Inc. is a non-profit organization seeking to influence publicly-traded corporations so that they make more socially responsible business decisions. Our primary focus is on providing corporate evaluations, showing how large corporations treat women and minorities. We judge this in two ways: pay equity (receiving equal pay for equal work) and being fairly represented in the highest levels of management and on the corporate board of directors.

Corporate evaluations centered on the community and social aspects of the corporation, also known as 'corporate social responsibility,' are centered on the stakeholders. Generally speaking, for corporate evaluation purposes the group of stakeholders is identified as the employee, management, investors, and the customers. The definition of 'stakeholder' can be broad, and also include shareholders, regulatory agencies, activist groups, labor unions, investment markets, community organizations, and some would even include the news media for spreading relevant and accurate information. Because of this range in definition, all corporate evaluations are not based on the same criteria.

Corporate evaluations should be conducted internally by the corporation on an ongoing basis; however, evaluations can also be used as a tool by third parties to judge corporate social responsibility. Buying Influence provides corporate evaluations that judges performance, or the outcomes, of a corporation's social responsibility program. Our corporate evaluations do not judge the underpinnings of the program itself (such as system, processes or competencies) because we simply do not have access to that information. Rather, our corporate evaluations consist of researching and compiling public information, augmenting it with communication directly with the corporation, and make judgment in specific areas having to do with how the company treats women and minorities within their corporate structure.

Below is a Q and A about our organization and process of corporate evaluations:

How were the corporations selected for review?

Initially we have restricted our corporate evaluations to publicly-held companies appearing on the Fortune 500 list, especially those who provide consumer goods and services. As we continue our corporate evaluations we will be expanding to include privately-held corporations and smaller businesses.

What are the definitions of the letter grades appearing in the corporate evaluations?

We provide letter grades as part of our corporate evaluations. Our letter grade definitions are similar to the letter grade definitions that we all received in school. An “A” means that the corporation’s business practices are fair and equitable. A “B” means that there is an area or two that needs some review and improvement. A “C” means that there are several areas that need improvement. A “D” means that the corporation has questionable business practices. An “F” means that the corporation has failed; they do not incorporate fair and equitable business practices.

How were the corporate evaluation letter grades assigned?

We have developed 15 specific areas for corporate evaluation review, and each area has assigned point values. The points are compiled and the letter grades are assigned based upon total points earned. For example, if the corporation has a person in charge of diversity, that criterion receives up to 5 points.

What if I don’t agree with the grade given in the corporate evaluation of a company?

Be sure to review our grading guidelines we use to make a judgment and assign a letter grade. Also, you can view the detailed data we used in making our decision by clicking on the company name in the list of corporations. If you think that some of our data is missing or wrong, we want to hear from you!

What can a corporation do to raise a letter grade in the corporate evaluation?

Of course each case is different. A representative from the corporation is encouraged to contact us. We can further explain or data, rationale, and discuss how the corporation can improve their performance and scoring in specific areas.

What is an 'affinity group,' and how does it apply to corporate evaluations?

One of the criteria we use in assigning a letter grade as part of the corporate evaluation is whether or not they have affinity groups as part of their corporate culture. Affinity group members are employees with a common criterion, such as ethnic minority or female, who meet on a voluntary basis. Affinity groups serve two distinct purposes within a corporation. The first is as a support and networking group for the employees. Affinity groups are a way to get to know fellow employees, including management, on a social basis. This allows the employees to create a social structure for themselves within a company as well as fostering mentoring relationships with people they would not normally meet or have access to. The second purpose is supplying feedback to the company; in effect, functioning as focus group to help the company better understand if they are meeting the needs of the affinity group members. By combining these two activities, affinity groups breed a society of diversity and inclusion within a company, while providing a means to influence corporate structure and policy. Therefore, it is an important measure as part of an overall corporate evaluation.