News
Jan Levy's HR Magazine column launched
Jan's monthly column in HR Magazine will explore why so many businesses have come round to engaging with communities for reasons that go way beyond philanthropy, challenge businesses to do it properly and look at what can go wrong when they don't, examine it from the charities' point of view and challenge HR directors to ensure that this 'enlightened self-interest' is no fad.
From HR Magazine, November 24th 2009
In his first column for HR magazine, Jan Levy argues that an
organisation without a clear remit to create value for society, not
just its shareholders, will ultimately fail in its community
involvement and employee engagement efforts.
"The
business of business is business," said economist Milton Friedman back
in the 1960s. A business exists to make a profit for its shareholders,
full stop. That is its sole responsibility and its contribution to
society.
While this might make some sense to some business leaders, to others it's an outdated view - it seems to ignore how
a business goes about making its money, how it looks after its people
and the need to behave responsibly. But browse through most plcs'
annual reports in recent years and you'll become bored with the line in
the CEO's statement which reads something like: "Our primary
responsibility is to create value for our shareholders..."
Excuse me, Mr CEO (it's a male-dominated world), what about your customers, your employees and the society in which you operate?
To read the rest of the article, click here.