I saw this interview on 60 Minutes last night. I’m not sure if I read into it correctly or not, but it touched on an interesting question. Do American companies have some sort of obligation to do as much as possible to help Americans get back to work, or is it unfair to expect companies to stop global growth for our benefit?

It’s no longer a surprise that Americans are having trouble keeping jobs, finding new jobs, and creating job opportunities. I suppose this issue can be related to recent ‘Occupy Wall Street’ movement. Personally, blaming someone or something doesn’t seem productive, but that’s neither here or there. However, it seems some of the large American companies are sitting on an exorbitant amount of money instead of using it to boost our economic turmoil or poor job market. Conversely, the same companies continue to build and grow globally.

Some companies, such as GE, are making some effort to help here at home but much of the focus is abroad. In the business sense, it’s obvious companies will invest in markets that will create growth and profit. Yet, ethically, is there (or should there be) a sense of duty to help fellow Americans particularly in these dire times?

Related articles

• Has the CSR movement really won the battle or have they lost the war? (sriportfolio.com)
• Do Businesses Really Care Or Is It All About Appearances? (prscoup.com)

I recently heard a speech that discussed serious educational issues in America. In today’s society, creativity and innovation have nearly vanished from our schools and a hardened, no-nonsense mentality has taken over. Students aren’t being taught about current events. So what are they learning?

Schools teach a pre-determined curriculum that focuses solely on preparing their students for standardized tests. Some even stoop low enough to teach the actual test. The thought process is rather gloomy. The better students do on these tests, the better the school’s ranking. The better the ranking, the more funding the school receives.

Essentially, students are being taught that getting high marks, no matter how they achieve them, is the important thing. As I listened, it occurred to me that this isn’t specific to education. Businesses will do anything, literally, to get an on their competitors or to garner more consumers. Achieving a high reputation brings more favorable reviews. Favorable reviews brings more consumers and, in turn, higher profits.

Recently, there has an influx in the popularity of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Sustainability across the spectrum of business fields. It’s great to see companies, both big and small, caring about the environment and their local communities. Frankly, we need such sentiment in other areas. However, as cynical as it might seem, we have to question the motives behind such altruistic behavior.

There are definitely companies genuinely and sincerely interested in creating a positive impact. Conversely, there are companies using these practices to disguise their focus on the bottom line. My fear is that we’re teaching kids that it’s ok to do whatever it takes to reach goals. They’re currently being encouraged to exactly that. If that’s the case, things can only get worse.

The speech had another interesting concept. It was a story about a girl who was recently accepted to an ivy league university. She remembered, as a kid, her parents set an amount of time for homework. Regardless of whether she had finished, homework time was over and play-time began. When she was in high school, she was made to take an extra-curricular activity that she wouldn’t be good at – to build character.

This fascinated me. On one side, it’s great if a company does well, gives back, and stays on top. However, on the other hand, a company that slips up (which can happen to the best of them) and pulls themselves up by their bootstraps proves their integrity as well. Which is better? Does one path mean more than the other?

Related articles

• Micheal Porter and Mark Kramer on the concept of Shared Value and why the argument does not hold (sriportfolio.com)
• Two Problems With CSR (businessethicsblog.com)

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It’s no surprise that the economy in America is struggling. The national deficit is some ridiculous number, unemployment is rampant, and the dollar just doesn’t stand up to most foreign currencies. I’m not an economist so I won’t pretend to understand the intricacies of the situation. However, looking at CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) in American businesses today highlights the lack of such practices in the past and hints that it may be partly responsible for our current predicament.

America was once an economic powerhouse. Excelling in almost every industry, it seemed that things had finally reached the point our forefathers always envisioned. It’s at this point that cockiness may have taken the place of business ethics and greed reigned supreme over employee welfare.

American businesses outsourced jobs to third-world countries where they took full advantage of the poor residents. They were paid next to nothing, worked in disgraceful conditions, and hours that resembled slavery. It seemed like a brilliant plan. Cheap labor meant more profits and that was true…for a little.

Finally, regulations were put in place to ensure all employees, domestic and foreign, were treated fairly. Unfortunately for the businesses exploiting these situations, cheap labor wasn’t so cheap anymore. To make matters worse, the outsourcing of all jobs left a void back in America. There were few job openings and the pay was rather dismal for the few opportunities out there.

I know it seems I’m just a bleeding-heart liberal but those poor business choices in the past has created serious collateral damage. Years later, initiatives like CSR and sustainability are great tools to close the gap we find ourselves standing at the edge of.

Do you think our past decisions had a role in the current economic situation or are more recent issues to blame?

Related articles

• CSR 2.0. How ‘shared value’ narrows the gap between business and society (marsdd.com)
• Corporate Social Responsibility: Not An Easy Choice (wrightingsblog.wordpress.com)
• Micheal Porter and Mark Kramer on the concept of Shared Value and why the argument does not hold (sriportfolio.wordpress.com)

Over the past couple years it’s been a regular occurrence for companies to report on their CSR or sustainability. Whether they are annual, semi-annual, or quarterly, companies love creating these huge reports that boast how much they care. Most of the time, they’re a lot of graphs and statistics that would confuse Alan Greenspan.

Don’t get me wrong, the meer fact that companies divulge this information is a huge step in business transparency. Also, if the company is actually making a difference, that’s another paradigm shift from the days of only valuing the financial bottom line.

I’ll be honest, I don’t read every report I see. However, the ones I have read are, essentially, PR products. Highlighting the positive and sweeping anything negative under the rug.

Don’t we deserve to know both results?

Are companies that report the complete picture better?

We all know that there’s collateral damage in business. It’s unfortunate but true. Ignoring that fact is a bit patronizing, as if we were so easily distracted.

What do you think? Should we report good and results? Or is that too potentially damaging?

Image by brizzle born and bred via Flickr

In the summer of 1969, affectionately referred to as the ‘Summer of Love‘, corporations were the enemy. Big businesses were viewed as colossal demons, hell-bent on destroying the environment and everything that got in its way. There was a movement sweeping the nation. It was US vs. THEM.

The only solution to defeating conglomerations was to join together. People began meeting in hoards, not to spark violence, but to prove humanity wasn’t gone. Taking care of each other and the environment was the only goal.

Inevitably, the kids who once lived so carefree and spiritually had to join the workforce to some degree. How could they give up their convictions so easily? Did they sell out?

Well, it seems the hippy revolution may have had an ace up their sleeves (metaphorically, since most didn’t wear sleeves). Today, those outspoken trend-setters are the heads of major corporations. Don’t let the suit and tie fool you.

Think about it. Corporate Social Responsibility, Sustainability, “Going Green” are all trends that came about around the same time these wolves in sheep’s clothing took over. Patiently waiting, the hippy mentality laid dormant, like a sleeper cell, only to explode into the business world as big as the “Peace and Love” movement.

They may not dance in the mud anymore, but Hippies are alive and well. In fact, your CEO might be secretly listening to the Grateful Dead in his downtime.