Corporate Responsibility | Maxires Training & Consulting

1. I would never make a decision which might be damaging to Turin’s local administration. A Texan capitalist couldn’t care less about local government, he couldn’t care less about the federal government.

Giovsnni Agnelli (1921-2003) Italian business executive and president of Flat. Flat’s headquarters are based in Turin. Quoted in Interview on Modern Capitalism (Arrigo Levi; 1983)

2. In every half-case, people see compensation. Compensatitis must be the worst disease that we have in the country at the moment.

Bertie Ahern (b.1951) Irish prime minister. “This Week They Said,” Irish Times (December 13, 1997)

3. The distinguishing mark of the executive responsibility is that it requires not merely conformance to a complex code of morals but also the creation of moral codes for others.

Chester Barnard (1886-1961) U.S. business executive and management theorist. The Functions of the Executive (1938)

4. Economic activity should not only be efficient in its use of resources but should also be socially just, and environmentally and ecologically sustainable.

Warren Bennis (b.1925) U.S. educator and writer. Beyond Leadership: Balancing Economics, Ethics and Ecology (co-written with Jagdish Parikh and Ronnie Lessem; 1994)

5. CORPORATION, n. An ingenious device for obtaining individual profit without individual responsibility.

Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914?) U.S. journalist and writer. The Devil’s Dictionary (1911)

6. Take care of those who work for you and you’ll float to greatness on their achievements.

S. M. Burns (1900-71) British oil industry executive, geophysicist, and president of Shell Oil Company. Quoted in Men at the Top (Osborn Elliott; 1959)

7. Few trends could so thoroughly undermine the very foundations of our free society as the acceptance by corporate officials of a social responsibility other than to make as much mone for their stockholders as possible.

Milton Friedman (b.1912) U.S. economist and winner of the 1976 Nobel Prize in Economics. Capitalism and Freedom (1962)

8. There is a price to be paid for success in a family business. Our approach has been that, first, everyone has a responsibility to create wealth in the company.

Terri L. Gardner (b.1956) U.S. C.E.O. and president of Soft Sheen Products. Quoted in “Terri Gardner: Making Permanent Waves,” www. womenswire.com (Janet Kidd Stuart; 2000)

9. Corporate bodies are more corrupt and profligate than individuals because they have more power to do mischief and are less amenable to disgrace or punishment. They feel neither shame, remorse, gratitude, nor goodwill.

William Hazlitt (1778-1830) British essayist and journalist. “On corporate Bodies,” Table Talk (1821-22), Essay 27

10. Only the little people pay taxes.

Leona Helmsley (b.1920) U.S. hotelier. New York Times (July 1989)

11. Tensions and conflict between work life and personal life will never be fully resolved…We must give people the support they need to pursue business opportunities fully without shortchanging the human relationships that are of equal importance.

Rosabeth Moss Kanter (b.1943) U.S. management theorist, academic, and writer. When Giants Learn to Dance: Mastering the Challenges of Strategy, Management and Careers in the 1990s (1992), ch. 10

12. To last, a company must strive to add long-term value rather than going for the quick buck…it must be guided by the desire for continued relations with its principal constituencies-employees, customers, suppliers, stockholders.

Charles G. Koch (b.1935) U.S. management theorist, author, chairman and C.E.O. of Koch Industries. “Market-based Management,” Imprimis (August 1996)

13. I have come to view strong corporate governance as indispensable to resilient and vibrant capital markets. It is the blood that fills the veins of transparent corporate disclosure…the muscle that moves a viable and accessible financial reporting structure. And without financial reporting premised on sound, honest numbers, capital markets will collapse upon themselves, suffocate and die.

Arthur Levitt, JR. (b. 1931) U.S. author and former chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Speech to the Audit Committee Symposium, New York City. “An Essential Next Step in the Evolution of Corporate Governance” (June 29, 1999)

14. While it is clear that new opportunities summon new challenges and that new possibilities bring forth new risks, let us never forget that the fundamental credibility of our system remains the single most important obligation. Trust and professionalism should never be just catchwords in a company’s or firm’s brochure.

Arthur Levitt, JR. (b. 1931) U.S. author and former chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Speech to the Securities Industry Association Annual Meeting, Boca Raton, Florida. “Meeting the Challenges of a 21^st Century Marketplace” (November 6, 1998)

15. Too many CEO’s are being judged today not by how effectively they manage operations, but by how they manage the Street. Too many analysts are being judged not by how well they analyze a particular company, but by how well they assist in selling the latest deal.

Arthur Levitt, JR. (b. 1931) U.S. author and former chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Speech, New York University Center for Law and Business, New York City “Renewing the Covenant with Investors” (May 10, 2000)

16. Increasingly, I have become concerned that the motivation to meet Wall Street earnings expectations may be overriding common sense business practices..Managing may be giving way to manipulation; Integrity may be losing out to illusion.

17. The dynamic nature of today’s capital markets creates issues that increasingly move beyond the bright line of right and wrong…financial market participants grapple with questions in a gray area where there are no easy answers. It is in this realm where judgement and integrity are indispensable for effective corporate governance.

Arthur Levitt, JR. (b. 1931) U.S. author and former chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Speech, Directors’ College, Stanford Law School, Stanford University, California (March 22, 1999)

18. There are too many boards that overlook more than they oversee; too many boards that substitute CEO directive for board intiative; too many boards that are re-active instead of pro-active; and too many boards who never rejected an easy answer and never pursued a tough question.

19. Corporations can have no soul but they can love each other.

Henry Demarest Lloyd (1847-1903) U.S. journalist and reformer. Wealth Against Commonwealth (1894)

20. In the future, the successful companies will be those who work hardest to make sure that they are in tune with the needs and aspirations of society…And as Shell experience demonstrates, reporting and greater openness has real benefits for business. Not only does it promote improved environmental management, it can also improve business competitiveness.

Mark Moody-Stuart (b.1940) British chairman of Anglo American and former chairman of Committee of Managing Directors Royal Dutch/Shell Group. Speech to the World Congress of the International Society of Business, Economics and Ethics, Sao Paolo, Brazil. “Putting Principles into Practice: The Ethical Challenge to Global Business” (July 19, 2000)

21. We can no longer draw a line around business and say that is not our problem. If it is a problem for society, it is our problem also. The question is not whether it is out problem, but what our capacity and legitimacy is as a business to contribute to a solution.

Mark Moody-Stuart (b.1940) British chairman of Anglo American and former chairman of Committee of Managing Directors Royal Dutch/Shell Group. Speech, St. Paul’s Cathedral, London. “The Values of Sustainable Business in the Next Century” (July 12, 1999)

22. Without profitability nothing is possible. However mere profitability is unlikely to be sufficient in, and of, itself. Much more will be expected by our people, our customers; the other businesses we deal with, and political institutions.

23. At all times the idea of doing not only first-class business…has been before our minds. We have never ben satisfied with simply keeping within the law, but have constantly sought to…fully observe the professional code.

P. Morgan, JR. (1867-1943) U.S. banker and financier. Statement to Congress (1933)

24. Natural resources are morally neutral. As such they can be a source of great good…or dreadful ill. The key element is not the resource itself, but how it is exploited.

Nicky Oppenheimer (b.1945) South African chairman of De Beers. Speech, Southern Africa Business Association, London (June 26, 2000)

25. The chief problem of big business today is to shape its policies so that each worker will feel…a vital part of his company with a personal responsibility for its success and a chance to share in that success.

William Cooper Procter (1862-1934) U.S. president of Procter & Gamble. 1887. Speaking at the introduction of an innovatory employee profit-sharing scheme. Quoted in Eyes on Tomorrow: The Evolution of Procter and Gamble (Oscar Schisgall; 1981)

26. Business has to be a force for social change. It is not enough to avoid hideous evil-it must, we must, actively do good. If business stays parochial, without moral energy or codes of behavior, claiming there are no such thing as values, then God help us all. If you think morality is a luxury business can’t afford, try living in a world without it.

Anita Roddick (b.1942) British entrepreneur and founder of the Body Shop. Speech to the International Forum on Globalization Teach-In, Seattle, Washington. “Trading with Principles” (November 27, 1999)

27. Today’s corporations have global responsibilities because their decisions affect world problems concerning economics, poverty, security and the environment.

Anita Roddick (b.1942) British entrepreneur and founder of the Body Shop. Body and Soul (co-written with Russell Miller; 1991)

28. Being good is good business.

Anita Roddick (b.1942) British entrepreneur and founder of the Body Shop. Sunday Express (London) (November 2, 1986)

29. Businesses should play to win, but they should also pay by the rules. It is in our own interests that our social norms put common interests above the interests of the individual.

George Soros (b.1930) U.S. financier, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. January 2000. Speech, World Economic Forum, Davos, Switzerland. Quoted in World Link (March-April 2000)

30. Corporate courage is usually no greater than personal courage.

Edward Teller (b.1908) U.S. nuclear scientist. Interview, Playboy (August 1979)

31. The public be damned. I am working for my stockholders.

William Henry Vanderbilt (1821-85) U.S. industrialist. Refusing to speak to a reporter: Quoted in Letter from A. W. Cole (New York Times; August 25, 1918)

32. Today, wealth creation by major companies is taken for granted by the public, but economic performance and making profit are no longer enough. The real question is how do we make a profit, how do we define economic progress, and how sustainable is our business in the long-term?

Jeroen Van Der Veer (b.1947) Dutch Advisory Director of Unilever, vice chairman of the Royal Dutch/Shell Group, and president of Royal Dutch Petroleum Company. Speech, “Earning the License to Grow” (November 26, 1999)

33. The drive and creativity of business is essential if society is to make progress towards sustainable development. Businesses can only contribute by being profitable and competitive. But equally, we will only continue to be profitable if we respond to people’s concerns and meet their expectations.

Philip Watts (b.1945) British managing director of Shell Petroleum Company and Group managing director of Royal Dutch/Shell Group. Speech at Templeton College, Oxford, United Kingdom. “Pursuing Sustainable Development-A Shell Journey” (May 15, 2000)