When Good Companies Do Bad Things: Responsibility and Risk in an Age of Globalization (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Blair Gibb (Author) "This book is about the strategic relationship between know-how and integrity and about the fact that a company cannot be successful in the long term..." (more)
Key Phrases: United States, South Africa, Brent Spar (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

A good reputation is certainly an asset for any company, but to a public that has raised its expectations of business' responsibility to society, being good just isn't good enough. More than public relations posturing or kowtowing to political correctness, social responsibility in corporations is proving essential to the long-term success of companies in today's globalized economy. Businesses must now contend with a globalized public that is increasingly aware of business' obligations to society and expects a level of accountability that most companies cannot meet. Good companies must go beyond merely being good—they must have integrity and a strategy aligned with it.

Integrity in business has traditionally meant being honest, upright, and ethical, but in response to globalization, companies are being forced to move beyond this definition and add to it another fundamental quality—integration with society. Corporations must anticipate and respond directly to the demands of public opinion rather than waiting for government intervention, mediation, and regulation to force them into action. When Good Companies Do Bad Things explores the strategic relationship between know-how, integrity, and integration, demonstrating how companies that fail to embrace the deeper meanings of these terms jeopardize their reputations and future prosperity.

The notion of corporations taking on social issues for the greater good is gaining momentum, not only because of political correctness but because it can strengthen a company's long-term strategy. Peter Schwartz and Blair Gibb examine well-known cases of companies like Shell, Nike, Texaco, and Nestlé, illustrating the huge financial risks of corporate assumptions that lead many companies to make poor choices. When Good Companies Do Bad Things explores the strategic relationship between know-how and integrity, demonstrating how companies that do not embrace the deeper meanings of these terms can jeopardize their own reputations and future prosperity. The authors present new approaches that demonstrate how it is possible to translate social value into business value.

Peter Schwartz, author of The Art of the Long View, and Blair Gibb recount well-known cases of companies like Shell, Nike, Texaco, and Nestlé, companies that found themselves facing accusations of hazardous environmental practices, racism in the workplace, and human rights violations. To themselves and the corporate world they were each considered good companies, until they were blindsided by issues on which large segments of the public felt that their trust had been violated. Schwartz and Gibb present new approaches to avoid the financial pitfalls of bad corporate assumptions and enable good companies to make good on translating social value into business value.

From the Inside Flap

A good reputation is certainly an asset for any company, but to a public that has raised its expectations of business' responsibility to society, being good just isn't good enough. More than public relations posturing or kowtowing to political correctness, social responsibility in corporations is proving essential to the long-term success of companies in today's globalized economy. Businesses must now contend with a globalized public that is increasingly aware of business' obligations to society and expects a level of accountability that most companies cannot meet. Good companies must go beyond merely being good-they must have integrity and a strategy aligned with it. Integrity in business has traditionally meant being honest, upright, and ethical, but in response to globalization, companies are being forced to move beyond this definition and add to it another fundamental quality-integration with society. Corporations must anticipate and respond directly to the demands of public opinion rather than waiting for government intervention, mediation, and regulation to force them into action. When Good Companies Do Bad Things explores the strategic relationship between know-how, integrity, and integration, demonstrating how companies that fail to embrace the deeper meanings of these terms jeopardize their reputations and future prosperity. Peter Schwartz, author of The Art of the Long View, and Blair Gibb recount well-known cases of companies like Shell, Nike, Texaco, and Nestlé, companies that found themselves facing accusations of hazardous environmental practices, racism in the workplace, and human rights violations. To themselves and the corporate world they were each considered good companies, until they were blindsided by issues on which large segments of the public felt that their trust had been violated. Schwartz and Gibb present new approaches to avoid the financial pitfalls of bad corporate assumptions and enable good companies to make good on translating social value into business value.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 194 pages
• Publisher: Wiley (April 19, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471323322
• ISBN-13: 978-0471323327
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #921,390 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars When regular people need to understand complex problems..., April 1, 2000

By	Andrea C. Viggiano (Toms River, NJ USA) - See all my reviews

Ultimately a hopeful book, When Good Companies Do Bad Things attacks the concept of corporations as monoliths. Instead, through examples, anecdotes and analysis, we see that global business corporations are more human than we think, for better and worse, and subject to change---if they [and we] choose it-- for the better. I found my questions addressed as they arose from the reading; the balanced perspective [neither "anti" nor "pro-business"]offers a real opportunity to understand a complex social issue.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Case studies packed in with bs, February 25, 2002

By A Customer

This book was terrible. The writer presented several interesting case studies of good companies doing bad things, and even of good companies doing good things, which was a well written 30 or so pages. The rest of the book was just nonsense or obvious ideals thrown in there so that the author would be able to sell the book instead of making it a smaller article.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A must read for CEOs, April 25, 2000

By A Customer

The issues tackled are stuff companies might usually ignore. But unless companies do anything do about these things, who else could make a difference in this world?