People today want to integrate values and business. Far too often, however, the champions of social responsibility are positive and enthusiastic, but vague when it comes to practical steps. Derrick Feldmann and Michael Alberg-Seberich offer a different approach. Their clear, methodical manual provides concrete, specific ways organizations can integrate social values into their business practices, reinforce those ideals, put them to work, and even measure and test them.
Companies can create positive change in the world.
Companies can spark change. They can help people understand social needs, touch their hearts and push them past their biases. Consumers can work with companies to create change. Social change is most likely when companies, people and government unite.
Organizations have numerous reasons for wanting to do business ethically. Some companies want to avoid hurting people or the planet. Others act in response to shareholder pressure. Businesses may wish to build a reputation which engenders brand loyalty or to make sure their practices live up to their corporate values and their regulatory responsibilities. Organizational leaders may also see new opportunities as they focus on social issues.
Ethical business practices have evolved over time. Corporate philanthropy came first, followed by corporate social responsibility, then an emphasis on social good, and now, the more holistic goal of making a positive “societal impact.” Contemporary businesses need “a corporate social mind”: a perspective which integrates the social impact of their actions into...
Derrick Feldmann is Managing Director of INFLUENCE|SG, a movement design studio, and the author of two books on creating change. Michael Alberg-Seberich is Managing Director of Wider Sense and contributes regularly to Alliance magazine.
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