A report mapping the management challenges facing the corporate community involvement profession has been prepared by the Ashridge Centre for Business and Society, with sponsorship from North West Water and Post Office Counters. Making Community Investment Work: a guide to effective corporate community investment management covers trends in CCI, effective communication, evaluation of inputs, outputs and outcomes, and employee involvement. The report says that effective CCI is just one component, albeit important, of broader corporate citizenship. As companies develop strategies to address its impact on society, CCI practitioners have important roles, particularly in:
– building accountable and transparent relationships with key stakeholders;
– contributing to the public policy debate.
Contact Andrew Wilson, Ashridge, on 01442 841174
BEST PRACTICE
The Washington DC based communications firm, the Public Affairs Group, published a new study on community relations and corporate philanthropy, Best Practices in Corporate Community Relations, during August. The 300 page report gives examples from over 80 of the Fortune 500 companies, highlighting how community involvement has become a strategic business practice in the 1990s, as companies have downsized and cut people and budgets. The best programmes are now:
– holistic in nature;
– bottom-line orientated;
– incorporating value-added practices.
Issues covered by the study include corporate citizenship, strategic planning, volunteerism, communications strategies, measuring and benchmarking, and cause-related marketing. Among companies sponsoring the report were 3M, BP America, Johnson & Johnson and Prudential Insurance. Contact Jared Skok, PAG, on 00 1 202 463 3776 (www.tpag.com)
LESSONS FROM LITERATURE
Establishing and maintaining successful partnerships is not straightforward and the gains are not automatic, according to research by the Department for Education and Employment. Noting the growth of partnership working in the 1990s as a way to address a wide range of social and economic issues, the study reviewed research literature and contains advice on topics such as:
– establishing a partnership
– finding and motivating partners
– structures for partnerships
– managing successful partnerships
– withdrawal.
Working in Partnership: Lessons from the Literature (DfEE Research Report 63) says partnerships are often about generating synergy, but distinguishes policy synergy, where partners’ differences are used to create better solutions, from resource synergy which is generated by achieving efficiency or fining new funding opportunities. Contact DfEE Publications on 0845 6022260
BUSINESS SCHOOLS SURVEY
Nine in ten UK Business Schools and Management Centres believe corporate citizenship will become an increasingly important issue for their schools in the next five years, according to a Business in the Community survey to inform the initial work programme of its new Business Schools Initiative. This aims to encourage the teaching of corporate citizenship and is sponsored by NatWest and Marks and Spencer.
Over half the respondents believe the subject is already important or very important for business schools. However, of the 57 institutions which replied:
– only 15% of schools offering MBAs currently have a course on corporate citizenship (and a further 6% have a course covering similar issues);
– only 7% of schools running executive management programmes proactively promote a course in corporate citizenship.
Conclusions from the survey include the need for:
– greater clarity of definition between ‘corporate citizenship’, ‘corporate social responsibility’ and ‘business ethics’;
– getting corporate citizenship included on courses in business strategy and/or external environment for business rather than establishing separate courses;
– good quality teaching materials.
Contact David Grayson, BITC, on 0171 224 1600
WARWICK CONFERENCE
The concept of corporate citizenship needs to be more clearly defined in order to demarcate it from other concerns in strategic management, organisation theory and macro-economics, according to the initial report of the Warwick Business School’s Corporate Citizenship conference, published in September. Better conceptual clarity will make research manageable and allow real progress to be made.
In addition to laying foundations for a new research agenda, the conference, which was held in July, provided a platform for dialogue between business, NGOs and academics. Twelve leading companies gave workshop presentations, which are being written up and made publicly available as learning materials. Presenters included BP (developing a consultative process with local stakeholders), Rio Tinto (risk and reputation management processes), BT (moving away from input measures towards holistic output measures), and Anglian Water (using community programmes and employee volunteering). Contact Chris Marsden, Warwick Business School, on 01203 524158
NEW VISION OF BUSINESS
Diageo held a consultation on September 25 about the ‘communities and partnerships’ strand of the Committee of Inquiry on a New Visions for Business, based on a discussion paper drafted by David Grayson. The Inquiry brings eight companies together with a group of intermediary bodies to recommend changes in government policy which will help reinforce corporate social responsibility. Due to finish its work by the end of the year, other strands include employees (Unipart), shareholders (BT and NatWest) and customers/consumers (Tesco and BT). Contact Donna Rispoli, Forum for the Future, on 0181 959 0411
IRRESPONSIBLE BUSINESS
Demands for corporate responsibility, far from being a business obligation, can be antithetical to good business; if they conflict with the interests of the company’s shareholders, they should be rejected. Corporate Irresponsibility: is business appeasing ant-business activists?, written by Robert Halfon and published by the Social Affairs Unit in August, says companies should ask whether activists represent anyone but themselves. For the sake of employees and consumers, companies should be defending the very real gains of corporate capitalism. Contact SAU on 0171 637 4356
Comment
Who is making the running in developing the practice of community involvement? The practitioners – groups of companies forming `new vision’ enquiries; government departments; political think-tanks. Perhaps that’s how it should be. But in the theory of things, the role of academics is to think great thoughts, as the rest of us are too busy. That’s why society subsidises them with large sums of public money.
With the honourable exceptions of Ashridge and Warwick, few business schools yet take the subject seriously, despite what they say about future trends. Which means tomorrow’s managers are still be taught too narrow an understanding of companies’ role in society. If this is to change quickly, companies themselves will have to get involved in setting the agenda of the MBA courses they largely fund.
With the honourable exceptions of Ashridge and Warwick, few business schools yet take the subject seriously, despite what they say about future trends.
Who is making the running in developing the practice of community involvement? The practitioners – groups of companies forming `new vision’ enquiries; government departments; political think-tanks. Perhaps that’s how it should be. But in the theory of things, the role of academics is to think great thoughts, as the rest of us are too busy. That’s why society subsidises them with large sums of public money.
With the honourable exceptions of Ashridge and Warwick, few business schools yet take the subject seriously, despite what they say about future trends. Which means tomorrow’s managers are still be taught too narrow an understanding of companies’ role in society. If this is to change quickly, companies themselves will have to get involved in setting the agenda of the MBA courses they largely fund.
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