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Introduction
Background of the Company:
Parsons Company is a well-recognized firm in the engineering industry within the US that
provides the solution to complex engineering problems. Through glancing over the history, it can
be found that the journey of the company was started in the year 1944 when it was founded by
Ralph M. Parson. That was the epoch of Second World War, and some major economic powers
had been destroyed in term of their infrastructure severely. This firm was opened with the
intentions to provide the infrastructure base solutions in all over the US. After that, the company
enhanced its contribution in various other departments. It facilitated in some major federal
project. It has played its role in developing transportation, water resources, and assisted in
various other commercial projects. (McNamee, G.P., 1978).
The company has been focusing on the core values such as the diversity, security, innovation,
integrity, and sustainability. Throughout the stay of seven-decade in the global market, the
company escalated its capability and economic resources. According to the CEO of the
company, the ‘can do’ approach of the company has been working splendiferously for attaining
the long-term strategic objectives of the company. Regardless of technical and logistic
challenges, Parson hardly hesitated to accept the new challenges. The company initiated its
journey with the Canol-Pipeline project. In this project, the company established a splendiferous
1200 mile underground pipeline system to ensure the availability of energy fuel in US and
Canada. (McNamee, G.P., 1978).
In the year 1955, the company played a remarkable role in discovering sulfur from the South
Paris. Currently, it has become the largest plant in the world for exacting sulfur. According to the
statistics, company exact 4000 tons of sulfur every day. In the same decade, the company
initiated its first airport construction project. The Dhahran Airport was constructed in the Saudi
Arabia near the Persian Gulf by Parsons. With all of its mesmerizing beauty, this airport depicts
the splendiferous image of the capabilities of the company. However, it is also indicating the
Parsons’ inclination in making innovative attempts. (Report on Contract no. Z-434)
The Parsons Company also constructed DC Metro in the Washington DC. That was 103-mile
rapid transit rail and considered as one of the major projects of in the US history. Although the
company has been involved in many construction projects, this was quite special, and this
paved the path for substantial growth of the business. Parsons got seven rewards for its
outstanding work in the DC metro project. The intentions of the company are quite clear as it
wants to be the best engineering firm in the current epoch. Currently, Charles L. Harrington is
working as the CEO of the company, and George L. Ball is working as a CFO.
By and large, it can be said that the company has gone through different evolutionary stages. It
started its working as an engineering firm to offer the engineering base solution. But just after its
formation, it realized its potential to become the top company in the US. That’s why it expanded
its arms without any hesitation and welcomed new business opportunities. (Parsons – Engineering)
Objectives:
After glancing through the history of Parsons Engineering Company, it will become easy to
understand the different phases to which the company has gone through. The purpose of this
piece is to understand the role of corporate’s balanced ‘triple bottom line’ sustainability in the
growth and development of the business. Therein the piece, the sustainability of the Parsons
will be considered in all three major discipline of the business. The economic sustainability is
considered as the first demand for the long term business survival in the current competitive
epoch. Therein the piece, the relation between the Parsons economic sustainability and its
splendiferous growth will be considered.
After achieving the economic targets, the social sustainability is considered as the foremost
business objective. There are multiple factors working under the carpet to encourage an
organization for having the social sustainability. All of these factors would be evaluated through
considering the Parsons’ success story. Last but not the least, the environmental sustainability
is considered as the third business bottom line. After that, the imperativeness of corporate social
responsibility will be considered. It is very imperative for an organization to play its role in
establishing the strong relations with the people around.
Regardless of effective business strategies and strong financial position in the market a
business cannot survive in the competitive environment for a long time without performing its
ethical duties. Therein the piece, the inclination of Parsons in meeting the corporate social
responsibility will be discussed. It is very imperative to understand the role of CSR in meeting
the long-term strategic objectives of a business that is the reason the Parsons will assist in the
best way to find the causality. The Friedman’s model will be used for the critical evaluation.

Discussion Corporate Sustainability:

Evaluation of the company in the economic, social and environmental perspective & relevant
examples:
The corporate sustainability hinge on the interdependency of social welfare and the company's
long-term strategic objectives. The corporate social responsibility always helps an organization
to achieve the long-term business survival. It includes the organizational commitments in all of
its three bottom line actions. Although different factors directly or indirectly are working under
the corporate but there are three pillars of sustainability. It includes; the business efforts to serve
the economy, the business efforts for upgrading the society and for the commitment of the
organization to take care of other environmental factors. (PARSONS ENGINEERING LIMITED)
After analyzing the Parsons’ performance in the market, it can be observed that the company
has worked splendiferously in all three corporate bottom line actions. First of all, if we
considered the Parsons' sustainability from the economic standpoint, then it can be witnessed
that the firm has been working above the par excellence. The company started to play its role in
the year 1951 when US industry was ravenous for the sulfur. The company used its skills and
labor force to exact sulfur from the different regions of United States. The setup established in
the Louisiana contributed splendiferously in exacting the sulfur. After that, the company
contributed in the nuclear projects for generating the electricity. (PARSONS ENGINEERING LIMITED).
By and large, 25 nuclear projects were launched by the Parson in different regions of the world.
It contributed in a magnificent way to upgrade the economy of the entire world. The countries
that got benefits from the nuclear projects were Italy, India, United States and some other
countries of Middle East. Furthermore, in the year 1962, Parson introduced a completely
centralized and automatic copper concentrator plant in Montana USA. The copper is the oldest
and precision metal in the world. The ability of copper to resist corrosion and its excellent
conductivity make copper a special metal on this earth. (Report on Contract no. Z-434)
However, in the late 1960s it was very difficult to purify the copper from other impurities, but just
after establishing the automatic copper concentrator the efficiency of the systems improved
splendiferously. According to the statistics, 42000 tons of copper is exacted every day and
transmitted to different regions of the world. There are many other projects in which the
company performed its role to improve the global economy.
Currently, the global economic crisis is being observed in different forms. All firms are
suppressed under the obligations to play their role in eliminating the crisis. If a firm fails to
improve the economy, then all the financial plans and marketing strategies will not help to gain
sustainability. The reason is quite understandable, the owner of the firm is not the sole
stakeholder, the government and the other economic forces are also the valuable stakeholders.
The second important pillar of sustainability is the contribution of a firm in upgrading
sociocultural status and living standards of the people. Every business is established with the
intention to give benefits to the society. Infect, a business cannot stay in the market without
meeting the sociocultural standards. However, every organization plays a magnificent role in
developing and improving the cultural and social standards within the particular region. That is
the reason; it is very important for every organization to pay special heed in this regards.
The Parsons seems very concerned in this regards. The company has clearly mentioned its role
under the social and cultural standards. The company is very conscious in meeting its ethical
responsibilities toward the society. The Parsons has been focusing on the areas of
stakeholder's value. Instead of just delivering the product or service, Parsons has been
delivering the value through volunteerism. Meanwhile, the company has been involving in the
innovative business attempts. This is what makes Parsons very successful in the current
competitive epoch.
Through glancing over the history, various examples can be found in which the Parsons
Company took bold initiatives for the welfare of the society. The company introduced a new
culture and escalated the standards of living in all across the globe. In the 1950s the Parson
started a project named ‘Project Elephant.' The project was intended to attenuate the water
crisis within the India. Under this project, the company installed 410 portable water wells in
different regions. That was the first step in meeting the social responsibility outside the United
States. (Journal of the American Society of Naval Engineers)
Just after this attempt, the company got real appreciation from all across the globe. This attempt
created good sentiments in the minds of the public, and the image of the company improved
magnificently. That is the reason, in the current competitive epoch, the profit oriented business
strategies have turned into consumer-oriented strategies. Nowadays the organizations are more
concerned about the consumers’ satisfaction. Because this is the only mean for long-term
sustainability.
The Parson has been doing the same for gaining the attention of all stakeholders. In the year
1951, company assisted Iran in making underground water reservoirs. The water problem is
getting diverse in Gulf countries, and Parsons considered this issue very seriously. The
stockpile disposal program is the great and mesmerizing contribution of the firm toward social
welfare. In this program, the company helped the United States to dispose of eight chemical
weapons. This attempt secured the environment. However, it can be said that the attempt was
made to secure the environment, but it can also be considered as the part of the corporate
social responsibility. (North American Water and Power Alliance)
Through disposing of the chemical weapons safely, the company left a message of global-
acquaintance for the new generation. Similarly, when the Bosnia suffered from the worst war,
the Parsons with the assistance of USAID program helped the government to reconstruct the
school buildings and houses. In the year 2000, the Parson with its splendiferous supply chain
and skilled labor force, Parsons assisted the Kosovo to recover from the abnormal losses.
There are many other examples can be coded that will depict a good image of the company
before the rest of the world. (Issa, R., 2016).
Last but not the least, the commitment of an organization to pay heed to its environmental
factors is considered as the last pillar of sustainability. This includes all the actions that are
directly or indirectly related to the environment. This is also considered as the most important
corporate action bottom line. If a business is not facilitating in managing the environmental
concerns, then it is not possible to have sustainability. The Parson has been paying special
heed in this regards. As it has already been mentioned that in the previous section that the
Parsons has been performing an active role in environment-friendly activities.
Parsons assisted the US in disposing of 8 worst chemical weapons to protect the environment.
Meanwhile, the company has been assisting the oil refineries and power generation firms to
choose the most effective means of power generation. On the other hand, the company has
been involved in different activities to provide the health and suitable living environment to the
people in all across the globe. By and large, it can be said that the role of Parsons in making the
environment clean and healthy cannot be disregarded.

Discussion of corporate social responsibility:

Critical evaluation of the company using Friedman’s Model.
The Friedman has a very simple model in which he considered the interaction of different
business and economic forces. According to the Friedman’s Model, the shareholders are the
only stakeholders that should be given benefits from the organization. The Philosophy of
Friedman was quite simple and understandable, but that was badly criticized by the public.
Friedman had a simple doctrine, according to him, the shareholders or the real owner of the firm
invest their money and time. Therefore, all the benefits should be given to them.
However, the shareholders have the right to decide the degree of involvement in the social
activities. The prime objective of every business or organization is to earn a high profit, but the
investment in the CRS does not add any profit. Therefore, the prime stakeholders have all the
rights to decide what to do.
Relevant example: Parsons has been involved in making unique business strategies that helps
the society as well as the stakeholders of the firm. For instance, since the 1960s the company
has spent considerable amount on desalinization project. The Parsons is under complete
control of its prime stakeholders. All the stakeholders have allowed the company to flow funds in
turning sea water into potable water. The project was started with the intentions to eliminate the
water crisis in an effective manner. However, the company has not yet succeeded to find the
most effective way through which water can be purified. (Parsons Wins Front-End Engineering Design)
Till now, the company has not earned any profit from this project, but the vision of the company
is very diverse. The stakeholders have allowed to company to attenuate the water crisis that is
the reason the company has been flowing funds since 1960. In this case, the shareholders of
the company are not the only stakeholders, but it encompasses the stake of various other
countries. All the Gulf countries have abundant of sea water, but they are starving for fresh
water. That is the reason; the company is very confident that the investment and time invested
in this project would result in splendiferous profit. (Operations in the Developing World)

Conclusion:
After considering historical achievements of Parsons and its contribution in meeting corporate
social responsibilities (CSR) it can be concluded that the corporate social responsibility is the
pillar of corporate responsibility. In the current competitive epoch, the organizations cannot
achieve sustainability until it meets corporate social responsibility in all three bottom lines of
corporate action. When a company makes a commitment to perform actions concerned with
CSR, then it got wonderful access to customers. It helps the company to make innovative
business attempts. By and large, it can be concluded that sustainability can only be ensured
through meeting the sociocultural, economic, and environmental responsibilities.
References:
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Parsons, R.M. & McNamee, G.P., 1978. Process engineering evaluation of alternative coal liquefaction concepts:
and a supplemental report on the effect of purchased power and steam turbine drives on the solvent refined coal
process, Palo Alto, CA: Electric Power Research Institute.
Anon, 1964. North American Water and Power Alliance: Conceptual study, Los Angeles: Ralph M. Parsons Co.
Anon, 1926. The Optical Works of Sir Howard Grubb, Parsons and Company. Nature, 118(2966), pp.340–341.
Anon, 1964. Report to BARTD. Report on Contract no. Z-434 ... prepared for Parsons Brinckerhoff-Tudor-Bechtel,
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