HOW Online contributor
HOW contributor Mats Lederhausen sat down with The Business & Legal Quarterly to discuss what corporate social responsibility means, its benefits and disadvantages, and how to launch valuable CSR initiatives. As Lederhausen said: “I view CSR as a core business philosophy that balances the valid needs and desires of all stakeholders in an enterprise. … In reality, CSR is simply good capitalism.”
More »"CSR belongs in every company. But every company must face reality. You have to make money first to give it away."
—Jack Welch and Suzy Welch
"Tough economic conditions underscore a blunt reality: A company's foremost responsibility is to do well," say former GE CEO Jack Welch and his wife, Suzy, in a BusinessWeek column. That’s why corporate social responsibility needs to adapt to the present reality, they say. Philanthropy must continue, but it likely has to decrease and be recalibrated.
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How can leaders inspire employees to create a competitive advantage that allows the company to achieve the next level of significance? In Part 4 of our “CEO-to-CEO Corner” series, Bob Aiken, U.S. Foodservice president and CEO, and HOW Online contributor Dov Seidman explore how the foodservice distributor is working to outgreen the competition through behaviors that flow from inspired employees. They also examine what sustainability looks like from both an environmental and enterprise-level perspective.
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Money manager Arthur Nadel may not be in the same league as Bernard Madoff, but he may have been in the same business. And there is the creeping recognition that such schemes will not be the last to be revealed. The most obvious victim of fraud is trust, a virtue damaged by the global economic crisis and plummeting stock markets.
More »"There's a big value to being a corporate citizen. It gets your name out there, it's good marketing and, in some industries, you can build customers.”
— Richard Kazis,
Jobs for the Future
Many companies are making a commitment to corporate responsibility by contributing to education. These programs often enrich curricula in everything from science and technology to literacy. This changing role of business in society moves beyond just maximizing returns to shareholders to include being good corporate citizens equally responsible to different constituencies and diverse communities.
More »"It shouldn't be a matter of giving to one and not spending with the other. Now is when we can dig deep and do both. Otherwise, we might as well forget about the holiday spirit. We'll turn into a nation of Scrooges."
We've heard the phrase, "give the gift of giving." But in this economy, should we give to charities instead of product manufacturers? Profit and nonprofit organizations can both use our dollars right now. We have the responsibility of keeping society afloat during hard times — and that includes businesses as well as charities; our conscience as well as our economy.
More »"Without a clear, compelling and relevant idea for your organization, it is impossible to develop organizational optimism — at least in times of great uncertainty,"
— Mats Lederhausen,
CEO, BE-CAUSE
With so much daily news of wavering markets, it may be difficult for business leaders to remain positive and display that confidence to others throughout the organization. HOW Online decided to ask leaders, innovators and authors, "How do you keep your sense of optimism — and convey it to employees and co-workers — when so much bad news is out there now?"
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Get real! It’s difficult to imagine how many millions of times a day that phrase is used around the world. Get real. Be practical. It can be heard on street corners, at cocktail parties and in corporate boardrooms. Frequently, the speaker uses it as a command to dash the aspirations of a person or an organization. Stop daydreaming! What you’re talking about is never going to happen! We see it differently.
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Bosses at U.S. companies are in for some "very challenging times" as the economy undergoes dramatic change, says Edward E. Lawler, director of USC's Center for Effective Organizations and a professor at its Marshall School of Business. Successful corporations in the 21st century need to address the critical issue of "human capital."
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In a corporate world where 60-year-olds work alongside newly minted college grads, who will accept extra work with no compensation? The scenario raises complex issues of trust, loyalty and corporate culture, and illustrates the challenges posed by a multigenerational workforce.
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