Every day the media reports on the latest corporation guilty of financial misconduct and public deception. Insider trading, fraudulent accounting, outlandish executive pay and perks-- a steady stream of scandals scars the business landscape. But the corporate crisis is as much spiritual as it is financial. More than ever, the time is ripe for Saving the Corporate Soul. In this hard-hitting, thought-provoking book, David Batstone shows that a corporation has the potential to act with soul when it aligns its missions with the values of its workers and puts its resources at the service of the people it employs and the public it serves. He offers companies and their employees eight sound principles for "doing the right thing" and-- citing examples from firms like Timberland, General Motors, Clif Bar, and BP-- offers evidence that principled companies will excel financially over the long haul.
The market for self-improvement books may never be boring, but it is often littered with false hope. A better sex life? Lose weight in ten days by eating only Twinkies? Make more money than you’ve ever dreamed from the comfort of your couch? These are promises left unfulfilled because they do not address the core of the problems they try to solve: our society is destructively complex and dependent on consumerism. Fixing the problems of tomorrow (and yesterday) starts today. We have the ability to revitalize our health by saving our environment—cleaning the air and water, stabilizing the climate, refocusing our consumption with a plan for achieving sustainability. Finding out how to maintain our lives and relate to others are the first steps in making ourselves self-sufficient and peaceful. But we still have a very long way to go. What if, on the basis of one belief, we could start to rectify the larger problems of society? Solve global warming? Childhood obesity? Famine, drought, and poverty? What if one book could teach us how to gain more time, more energy, more money, more happiness, and better health? Sounds too good to be true? Simplicity is that cure-all, and The Simplicity Connection will teach us how to get back on a path of physical, emotional and mental well-being. This practical and comprehensive guide will help us rethink how we treat our bodies, our spirits, and our environment. It will show how even our smallest actions can lead to a simpler, better life. www.simplicityconnection.com Follow The Simplicity Connection on Facebook: www.facebook.com/SimpConnection Follow The Simplicity Connection on Twitter: www.twitter.com/SimpConnection
This textbook examines the multiple dimensions to corporate responsibility, creating a framework that presents a historical and interdisciplinary overview of the field, a summary of different management approaches and a review of the key actors and trends worldwide.
A new brand of entrepreneurs has arrived on the business scene, carrying with them a whole new set of values. They possess a sense of mission – to be socially responsible, protect the planet, and do the right thing for all of their stakeholders. Rather than focus exclusively on financial gain, they aim to achieve a balance between profits and one or more causes of their choosing. In fact, they view for-profit entrepreneurship as a vehicle for social change. The authors call these pioneers "values-centered" entrepreneurs. Some of the values-centered entrepreneurs have been around a few decades. In recent years, however, the numbers have proliferated and the nascent movement has started to make a true impact. These entrepreneurs’ approach to management questions our basic assumptions about how businesses should be run and what their role should be in society. Several of these entrepreneurs have attained high visibility. Yvon Chouinard of sportswear manufacturer Patagoina has been a role model for integrating environmental protection to every aspect of Patagonia’s business operation. Howard Schultz of Starbucks has been able to build one of the strongest brands in the world while being the first retailer to offer comprehensive health benefits and stock options to its part-time employees. Paul Newman, legendary actor and racecar driver as well as a leading maker of salad dressings, gives 100% of Newman’s Own brand’s profits to charity. This book explores how these highly unorthodox leaders have built their profitable and socially responsible business enterprises, and what lessons can be learned for the next generation of entrepreneurs. The authors examine a group of over 40 entrepreneurial companies and how each balanced the profit objective with social responsibility in key aspects of their business operation – from their initial company formation, through growth, to exit – to build successful triple bottom-line companies. Choi and Gray particularly focus on how these firms’ commitment to values affected their company missions, hiring and organizational policies, marketing strategies, financial practices, exit options, and giving programs, and vice versa. In some cases, the authors find that the entrepreneurs’ social objectives have actually strengthened, not weakened, their business enterprises. Based on their extensive studies of these companies, he authors have distilled a set of commonalities. The book presents ten of the most dominant and interesting of these commonalities with a focus on those policies and decisions that appeared to depart from conventional business practice. In addition to devoting chapters to each of the core principles learned from these companies, the authors also include in-depth case studies of four of the ventures featured in their study.
Doing Right is a careful, thorough, readable introduction to a Christian ethics based on the Decalogue. Following the implications of Jesus’ double “Love Commandment,” ten chapter-length studies show how each of the commandments guides our love for God, our love for our neighbors, our search for justice/righteousness, and our quest for life/freedom. As such, Christian ethics is not, despite first impressions, a catalog of “thou shalt nots” but rather a roadmap for a lifelong adventure guided by “ten words” on life, freedom, love, and justice. Doing Right draws deeply on the best Jewish and Christian scholarship over the centuries and then follows the ten principles wherever they lead, even into the thorny controversies of the present time. Doing Right works as a stand-alone study (of the ethics of principles and practices) but is also the companion to Gill’s Becoming Good (on the ethics of character and virtue).
For people in the workplace, there is a great deal to learn from Joseph in the book of Genesis. He spent time both at the top and at the bottom—as a leader and as a slave in Egypt. In this new book about faith and work, author Albert M. Erisman shares lessons learned from the frontlines of business, government, and education, and how they connect to Joseph’s life. Through the author’s own work experiences and interviews with business leaders across the world, you’ll learn that Joseph dealt with issues that are still common in the business world today. Studying his life can offer guidance and encouragement in any workplace.
In this fifth edition of the bestselling text in organizational theory and behavior, Bolman and Deal’s update includes coverage of pressing issues such as globalization, changing workforce, multi-cultural and virtual workforces and communication, and sustainability. A full instructor support package is available including an instructor’s guide, summary tip sheets for each chapter, hot links to videos & extra resources, mini-assessments for each of the frames, and podcast Q&As with Bolman & Deal.
For more than sixteen years, Jeffrey Hollender has presided over Seventh Generation, a world leader in manufacturing environmentally friendly, nontoxic household products. What Matters Most illuminates the successful practices of Seventh Generation-and many other pioneering companies around the world-to demonstrate the pragmatic aspects of a corporate strategy that hardwires social and environmental concerns into the company's culture, operating systems, and business relationships. It shows business leaders how to assess their own company's performance, adopt a socially responsible approach to doing business, and embark on a path of long-term growth. "Jeffrey Hollender . . . has shown that doing the right thing does pay off both in terms of building a brand that generates great customer loyalty and a business that has consistently generated superior growth." -- Ben Cohen, Founder, Ben & Jerry's "What Matters Most stands out for its moderate and thoughtful analysis of a controversial issue . . . Hollender is a voice of reason in today's important debate on corporate responsibility." -- Soundview Speed Reviews
Christian Reflections on The Leadership Challenge is a faith-based companion to the best-selling leadership book of all time--The Leadership Challenge. Grounded in Jim and Barry’s time-tested research, Christian Reflections on The Leadership Challenge describes their Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership ® --Model the Way, Inspire a Shared Vision, Challenge the Process, Enable Others to Act, and Encourage the Heart—and offers practical guidance and inspiring examples about how Christian leaders can have a powerful impact in their workplaces, communities, and congregations by bringing their faith into their leadership. In addition to Jim and Barry’s foundational wisdom, the book brings together five leaders who reflect on the Five Practices from a Christian perspective. John C. Maxwell, David McAllister-Wilson, Patrick Lencioni, Nancy Ortberg, and Ken Blanchard share insights and stories culled from personal experience and the lives of other Christian leaders who have accomplished extraordinary things in churches, communities, classrooms, and corporations. Their thoughtful reflections on the role of faith in leadership will propel leaders and aspiring leaders
The second edition of best-selling Business Leadership contains the best thinking on leadership from the biggest names in the business. It offers leaders everything they need to know to prepare for today’s—and tomorrow’s—leadership challenges: how to understand the leadership process, identify opportunities, get things started right, avoid predictable pitfalls, and maximize success. Effective leaders use mind, heart, and spirit in their work, and this volume is designed to guide and support leaders in their efforts. With an introduction by Joan V. Gallos—editor of the highly praised Organization Development: A Jossey-Bass Reader—the author list for this invaluable resource reads like the who's who of business leadership.
