arguments against CSR and some answers
Global Reporting Initiative - commentary
Mallen Baker's Blog
Should I stay or should I go - personal edition
31 Aug 2008
I had a conversation recently with someone who has just quit their job over a social and environmental issue. It is certainly a step that shows your convictions are deeply held. I quote ...
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Nike fumbles the baton at the last hurdle
25 Aug 2008
There is no better example of how a company can so quickly and effortlessly snatch defeat from the jaws of victory than what Nike just managed to achieve with the Olympics.
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Looking for authentic communications
18 Aug 2008
The companies that are producing corporate social responsibility reports are trying to reach the people that might care about what their business does. Their customers. Their employees. A whole bunch of others who mostly have one thing in common - they immediately distrust something that is too slick.
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Employee empowerment saves energy
18 Aug 2008
A new survey has found that employees are much more likely to take action on green issues in the workplace if they work for smaller companies than if they work for the corporate giants. The reason? Simply that in the larger firms the staff feel there are too many barriers to change and too little incentive to make the attempt. In other words, it's a management problem.
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What's your social responsibility for something not happening?
17 Aug 2008
The New Yorker recently carried a piece about what it called the Permission Problem. It began by noting that in the second decade of the twentieth century it was almost impossible to build an aircraft, because so many different people owned patents for different parts of it, no-one could manufacture a plane without being hauled to the courts.
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Looking for unsung ethical heroes
10 Aug 2008
This may be a long shot, but I'm looking for great stories about the positive power business can have in the world - and of the power of individuals, particularly marketers, to make a difference. I'm talking about doing the right thing when it comes to the business making its money - not who does what in terms of charitable activity.
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An example of the hidden vulnerable customer
10 Aug 2008
A mother in West Virginia is leading the charge for a product recall after the Wal-Mart child's walkie-talkie that belonged to her three year old picked up an explicit conversation between truckers being conducted via CB radio. It's another example of how vulnerable customer issues are so often hidden from view - a million miles from the minds of the product designers or marketers.
