Value Shift: Why Companies Must Merge Social and Financial Imperatives to Achieve Superior Performance [Paperback]

Lynn Sharp Paine (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 29, 2003

Chosen by Library Journal as one of the Best Business Books of 2002

"Lynn Paine has an optimistic analysis of the need for--and the value of--bringing ethical values into business decisionmaking."--Paul A. Volcker

"This book presents a way of broadening the role of the corporation in our society, an interesting and exciting role." --John C. Whitehead, former chairman, Goldman Sachs

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Harvard Business School professor Lynn Sharp Paine had been studying corporate malfeasance long before the Enron debacle. In her forthcoming book, Value Shift: Why Companies Must Merge Social and Financial Imperatives to Achieve Superior Performance, she attempts to introduce readers to an "emerging new standard of corporate performance one that encompasses both moral and financial dimensions." Based on her researching, teaching and consulting experiences over the past 20 years, Paine has amassed an in-depth understanding of corporate values. She uses examples culled from these experiences to explain the growing emphasis on values, why this changing attitude is important and what the shift means for managers. She ends the book with advice for managers on setting up an organizational infrastructure, hiring employees whose views align with a company's value system and more. This is an important book for ethics-minded managers.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

"Lynn Paine has an optimistic analysis of the need for--and the value of--bringing ethical values into business decision-making." -- Paul A. Volcker; June 2002

"This book presents a way of broadening the role of the corporation in our society [and is] a good read." -- John C. Whitehead, former Chairman of Goldman Sachs; June 2002 --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 1 edition (September 29, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071427333
• ISBN-13: 978-0071427333
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,024,724 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good on framing issue but not actionable or practical, May 22, 2003

By 

Clinton P. Gary "Sid" (Alpharetta, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Value Shift: Why Companies Must Merge Social and Financial Imperatives to Achieve Superior Performance (Hardcover)

I give great credit to Lynn Paine for framing the importance to organizations on making "social/ethical" issues a top priority. I loved the first chapter. However, she stays at a high level. When it comes time to provide action steps for companies to act ethically and develop and manage an ethical culture, she falls short by only providing a few questions relevant to executives by which, if ask and answered honestly, would provide a leader a "moral compass."

As we have seen in the press, it is not always the senior executives who perform ethical misconduct. Quite often it is the managers and employees of an organization that make unethical decisions that put the organization in harms way. So my disappoitment is in that she did not provide practical (and I stress practical) strategies, processes and tools for an organization to provide its workforce to adress the dozens of potentiallly unethical situations managers and employees face everyday that provide the same risk, if not more, than a few bad decisions by executives. The questions that she provides for executives are not practical for managers. I doubt a manager at a manufacturing plant will take the time to "reflect" on the thought-proviking questions provided by her to help make good decisions. She offers several examples of companies that she considers are making progress, but these steps are still at a very high level.

I offer an insight. There is a reason why the books "Execution" by Larry Bossidy and "Good to Great" are best sellers. Executives are asking for more actionable and practical guidelines to execute strategies in companies that already have established processes and cultures.

It is obvious that Lynn Paine has great insight and vast experience. I would like to have seen actual steps (i.e., training, communications, proceses, standards) by which a current organization, with an established culture, can leverage to shape their culture to fit this new ethical standard.

I hope she writes a "how to." I will be the first to buy it.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent synthesis of moral philosophy and business reality, January 11, 2003

By 

Mishko Hansen (Hong Kong) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Value Shift: Why Companies Must Merge Social and Financial Imperatives to Achieve Superior Performance (Hardcover)

In this book Lynn Paine does an excellent job of unravelling and clarifying the complicated issues surrounding business ethics. She convincingly argues that a new definition of business success is emerging, one which includes financial performance but also embraces wider considerations.

A lot of current writing on the topic of corporate social responsibility is based on the vaguely defined concept that "ethics pays". Paine agrees that there are many tangible benefits for companies embracing wider responsibilities, but shows that ultimately an "ethics counts" approach has more to offer. She backs up her perspective with business examples from around the world, and with illuminating philosophical and legal analysis.

I strongly reccommend this book for anyone interested in the future of business.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book made me more hopeful for the future!, October 4, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Value Shift: Why Companies Must Merge Social and Financial Imperatives to Achieve Superior Performance (Hardcover)

In this engagingly written and easy to read book, Paine makes a compelling case for the integral role values and ethics should and do play in successful corporations. As a somewhat cynical 20-something, I took solace in Paine's detailed examples of the culture and actions of ethical corporations as they allow for the possibility that corporations could, if they wanted, consider many stakeholders beyond the shareholder when making decisions. The corporations that do integrate ethics and values into their operations are good neighbors, good employers, and good investments. Paine's thoughtful and logical writing also serves to debunk the notion that corporations possess no moral responsibility to society. This is a must read for anyone who is concerned about the role of businesses and corporations in society.