goodwill hunting: the end of 'corporate social responsibility'?
DESCRIPTION
TRANSCRIPT
Goodwill huntingThe end of ‘Corporate Social Responsibility’?
The debate around Google vs. China - and the need for freedom on the internet - continues to dominate conversation the world over
“…the internet is a network that magnifies the power and potential of all others. And that’s why we believe it’s critical that its users are assured certain basic freedoms.”
Hillary ClintonUS Secretary of State: 21 January 2010
Many people applaud the decision Google has taken in leading the cyber charge against the abuse of civil liberties
Many people applaud the decision Google has taken in leading the cyber charge against the abuse of civil liberties
But what does this mean for the future of Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR)?
“Google has made a brave corporate decision… But if you’re Microsoft and Cisco, and you’re giving tools that can be used for repression then...you’ve got to think about...corporate social responsibility.”
Tom Watson MPBBC Radio 4’s Today programme21 January 2010
“Pulling out of China is a moral decision. Today, moral decisions are also business decisions. The economist Umair Haque argues that when we can all talk about
companies online, the price of doing evil has increased.
Google is repairing its social standing.”
Jeff Jarvis, The Guardian: 29 March 2010
As activities of other brands operating in China come under scrutiny, how do they sit within a wider CSR policy back home?
As activities of other brands operating in China come under scrutiny, how do they sit within a wider CSR policy back home?
Choosing a programme of CSR isn’t enough; it’s increasingly clear if you’re not ‘being good’ then ‘doing good’ can mean very little
The financial sector has a more tarnished reputation than most as issues around trust and corporate responsibility - or rather irresponsibility - have a huge impact on consumer and corporate relations
21%
21%Of people in UK trust banks to
‘do’ what is right
72%
72%Of people in UK
name ‘a company I can trust’ as driver
of corporate reputation
64%
64%Of people in UK
name ‘transparent and honest business
practices’ as driver of corporate reputation
“Public attention will focus on the decisions that boards make about bonuses.”
Lord Myners in the Financial Times: 2 February 2010
The consequences that flow from...
The consequences that flow from...
The banking crisis
The consequences that flow from...
State ownership of high street banks
The banking crisis
Public anger surrounding MPs’ expenses
The consequences that flow from...
State ownership of high street banks
The banking crisis
Public anger surrounding MPs’ expenses
The consequences that flow from...
State ownership of high street banks
Britain’s senior management bonus culture
The banking crisis
Public anger surrounding MPs’ expenses
The consequences that flow from...
State ownership of high street banks
Britain’s senior management bonus culture
The banking crisis
...suggest a powerful schism
Between the ‘social’...
Between the ‘social’...
...that is in the public interest
And the ‘anti-social’...
And the ‘anti-social’...
...the pursuit of private interests at
the apparent expense of wider society
Financial institutions need to act as ‘corporate
citizens’
Financial institutions need to act as ‘corporate
citizens’
It will not be enough to be responsible just to shareholders, but
to society as a whole
The shift away from the dominance of
traditional media is significant here
The rise of the social web means that everyone has the power to
publish
So traditional ‘boundaries’ - like State borders or organisational perimeters - seem more diffused and diluted
The rise of the social web means that everyone has the power to
publish
And the ability of businesses tonurture a currency of goodwill
among stakeholders has become important
So traditional ‘boundaries’ - like State borders or organisational perimeters - seem more diffused and diluted
The rise of the social web means that everyone has the power to
publish
Consumers have the ability to draw attention to behaviour they
consider socially irresponsible
“…A new media system is being born…Spectatorial culture is giving way to participatory culture.”
Henry Jenkins, on power of media in a 21st century transmediated world
“A society based on a small number of companies controlling the storytelling apparatus is giving way to a much more complex mediascape where average citizens have the ability to seize control over media technologies and tell their own stories in powerful new ways.”
Professor Henry JenkinsMassachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Those seeking only to convey the impression of being good by seeming to do good
Those seeking only to convey the impression of being good by seeming to do good...
...by using CSR programmes as a kind of ‘get-out-of-jail-free card’...
...are being found out
Those seeking only to convey the impression of being good by seeming to do good...
...by using CSR programmes as a kind of ‘get-out-of-jail-free card’...
“I have it from impeccable sources that several of them [banks] have rung up their mates and contacts in 10 Downing Street, the Treasury and BIS, to ask if they can be let off the 50% one-off bonus tax…In return they would make a one-off contribution to some worthy project or other…”
Robert Peston, BBC Business Editor16 December 2009
If you’re not demonstrating social responsibility, you may ultimately stand accused of being socially irresponsible
So if you don’t consistently apply social responsibility to business decisions...
…should you really be seeking to give the impression that you do?
So if you don’t consistently apply social responsibility to business decisions...
www.twitter.com/jenny_mrm
www.mrm-london.com
Sources & Acknowledgements1 Goodwill Industries image: Josh [unemployed IT dude] photostream hosted at Flickr (http://bit.ly/c7yS83)4 Hillary Clinton image: marcn photostream hosted at Flickr (http://bit.ly/ajh1p)7 Quote from Tom Watson MP interview broadcast on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: 21 January 2010 (http://bit.ly/ax0hPK) 7 Tom Watson MP image: Benjamin Ellis photostream hosted at Flickr (http://bit.ly/c51fIL)8 Quote from Jeff Jarvis: Google is defending citizens of the net, The Guardian: 29 March 2010 (http://bit.ly/9NAXwo) 11 Demonstration image: Iain Winfield photostream hosted at Flickr (http://bit.ly/cDAXJu)12-17 Statistics and findings from Edelman trustbarometer 2010 | Annual Global Opinion Leaders Study: 26 January 2010 (http://bit.ly/d7LcPF) 18 Quote from news article on letter City Minister Lord Myners wrote to fund managers, Call for funds to be stricter on bank pay, Financial Times: 2 February 2010 (http://bit.ly/b0uzI2) 18 Boardroom image: smallritual photostream hosted at Flickr (http://bit.ly/ddq4lI)19 Duck pond image: neilalderney123 photostream hosted at Flickr (http://bit.ly/9IpVl9) 25 Crowd image: hipposrunsuperfast.com photostream hosted at Flickr (http://bit.ly/bxvcVP) 31 Newspaper stand image: Pieter Musterd photostream hosted at Flickr (http://bit.ly/ckbatX)36 Screenshot and quote from Henry Jenkins discussing new media landscape on YouTube.com (posted by HCDMediaGroup): 21 September 2009 (http://bit.ly/cxayeZ) 40 Quote from Peston’s Picks: Banks try to deal away bonus tax, BBC.co.uk: 16 December 2009 (http://bit.ly/d1B9Hx)40 Robert Peston image: Steve Punter photostream hosted at Flickr (http://bit.ly/aoB8LA)