The Human Value Index Essay Examples

The Human Value Index report is the outcome of a research by United Nations Development Program that seeks to explain how human values are an important part of development plans. This index results from the combination of educational factors, life expectancy of the people and their per capita income. The HVI is an indication of the value an individual gets from being born in a given country. This cost index shows a positive trend whereby the world is experiencing increased literacy levels. The gross domestic product of many countries also has been steadily growing. However, the life expectancy of people is seen to be dropping (Zimmerman, 2013).
The private sector contributes to the development of individuals in the societies through actions such as paying its taxes on time. The private companies provide decent jobs to the people living around them. The private sector also contributes to the education sector through the provision of educational services. In addition, the private sector contributes to the wellbeing of the society through crying out corporate social responsibilities. Indeed, the private sector has played a significant role in making these human index trends appear the way they are today. However, this role of the private sector is not replicated in other parts of the world because of constraints that may have been placed on the operations of the non-governmental organizations (Zimmerman, 2013).
The private sector companies have three main development levels. The first one is development through reaching its primary objective in business, which is to make profits. Next is to develop passively by ensuring the wellbeing of the employees and wider community. The last one, which is also the topic of discussion, is the active development by integrating the objective of human development into the business strategies. The companies in the private sector achieve their contribution to the Human Values Index by achieving its second and third level of development (Disley, 2014).
The private sector has contributed to economic growth by providing well-paying jobs to its employees. By doing this, the private firms ensure that the employees are financially secure, and this contributes to the GDP of the country. The companies may also engage in small community projects. For example, an irrigation scheme for the community to facilitate growing crops to employ extra people on the farms. The private sector also empowers the farmers to cultivate better crops and practice better farming techniques to improve their yield hence enhance their income when the products are sold (Disley, 2014). Private companies may also offer financial support for charities and other activities. In the long run, these activities empower the locals financially, thus improving their average income and subsequently the adjusted national income.
Moreover, the companies contribute to the social wellbeing of the society through engaging in many social activities. For instance, the companies may donate funds to NGO’s that deal with community development projects. The company may engage in the building or carrying out maintenance of hospitals and stocking them with the right medicine and facilities. It will help to improve the health of the people thereby increasing their life expectancy. The private sector also contributes to education by building of schools and technical training centers to facilitate the delivery of quality education, ultimately improving the human value index in terms of education.
However, private companies have significantly contributed to the high level of environmental degradation through pollution. The private sector pollutes the environment through air pollution resulting from the thick dark fumes released to the atmosphere and water and land pollution arising from garbage disposal and the release of untreated sewage and sludge into the water (Disley, 2014). The companies polluting the environment can join the other companies in improving the environment through a number of ways. These include making use of low emission technologies for production and coming up with a waste recycling plan for their enterprises. They can also create environmental awareness by sponsoring campaign among other activities. When the private sector continues to engage itself more in these activities, the change in trends in the Human Value Index will realize a more conspicuous shift.

References

Disley, J. (2014, January 1). Public and private goals aligned for human development. UNDP in
Republic of Moldova, 33-33.
Zimmerman, C. (2013, February 15). The Human Value Index. Retrieved March 17, 2015, from
https://www.economicdynamics.org/meetpapers/2013/paper_1106.pdf