I tend to shudder at catchy phrases such as “internet bubble,” “web 2.0,” or “Ajaxified,” but I was unable to come up with a better term for how I have begun to visualize the next level of corporate structure than “Corporation 2.0.” This may not be a new concept, just perhaps a bit more concise and repackaged. After chewing on the moniker for a few days, and cycling through dozens of mental and sketched-out diagrams, I’ve simplified the concept down to the rather elementary doughnut diagram that follows:

Out With the Old…

The old corporate model, more or less, revolved around profit maximization. Profits at any cost, it often seemed. More mature corporations would tend to have a fairly solid corporate governance system in place, but typically lacked any kind of corporate social responsibility initiative or a formalized Code of Ethics.

In With the New…

Times are changing and there is a building consensus that corporations and their profits should be held to a higher standard. Corporation 2.0 is at the intersection of business and social responsibility. In short, as I see things, instead of simply pushing to achieve profit maximization, Corporation 2.0 combines a strong showing from each of the following disciplines to instead generate “ethical profits”:

• Business Ethics;
• Corporate Governance; and,
• Corporate Social Responsibility.

This is most likely not a startling concept to anyone that follows the noted issues, but perhaps the visual links between the three and ethical profits is helpful to view in such a manner. What the diagram strongly conveys to me is that without one of the three key pieces, the corporation will not be able to generate ethical profits–it is only through a strong showing from each of the three that ethical profits can be realized.

For instance, imagine a company with strong and consistent corporate governance, but that lacks a formal Code of Ethics. Without the code, how do employees and stakeholders evaluate ethical dilemmas? For that matter, do they have any idea what the company believes is ethical or not? Without such formal ethical guidelines, can the company truly generate ethical profits?

On the other hand, a strong showing from all three guarantees that the company is generating ethical profits. With strong corporate governance, stakeholders and employees are ensured that the proper checks and balances are in place and functioning correctly. A solid foundation of business ethics described by a formal Code of Ethics makes clear what is acceptable or not, and provides a guide for dealing with any ethical breaches. Strong corporate social responsibility initiatives ensure that the company is taking into consideration such issues as the environment, human rights, and community involvement.

I am hopeful that we will see more and more corporations moving toward the pursuit of ethical profits and I look forward to the day that I start pondering what Corporation 3.0 will look like.

TAGS: Corporation 2.0 | Business Ethics | Corporate Social Responsibility | CSR | Corporate Governance | Ethical Profits | Triple Bottom Line

The bad news continues: Hewlett-Packard Spied on Writers in Leaks [NYT]

Here is a clip from the article:

“The company said this week that its board had hired private investigators to identify directors leaking information to the press and that those investigators had posed as board members — a technique known as pretexting — to gain access to their personal phone records.

“In acknowledging Thursday that journalists’ records had also been obtained, the company said it was apologizing to each one. ‘H.P. is dismayed that the phone records of journalists were accessed without their knowledge,’ a company spokesman, Michael Moeller, said.

“In an interview Thursday about the state’s criminal investigation of the Hewlett-Packard matter, Attorney General Bill Lockyer said, ‘A crime was committed.’ But he added: ‘It is unclear how strong the case is. Who is charged and for what is still an open question.’”

And then more specific information regarding the investigators spying on journalists:

“CNET said Thursday that phone records of two of its reporters, Dawn Kawamoto and Tom Krazit, had also been obtained. It said access to Ms. Kawamoto’s records had been gained from the same Internet address used by the person who accessed the phone records of Mr. Perkins. A caller used the last four digits of her husband’s Social Security number to establish an online account with AT&T to view the records. Access was gained on one date, in late January 2006, it said.

“A CNET spokeswoman, Sarah Cain, said: ‘These actions not only violated the privacy rights of our employee, but also the rights of all reporters to protect their confidential sources.’”

TAGS: HP | Hewlett Packard | Pretexting | Spying | Board of Directors | Ethics | Corporate Governance

Dr. Cornwall (The Entrepreneurial Mind) made an excellent post about character a week or so ago that I just came across. I have long felt that strong business ethics form the foundation for everything else in business (be it incorporating corporate social responsibility, green initiatives, etc.) and that you can’t accomplish the ‘down the road’ goals without forming a solid ethics base first. A great CSR program means little if your company is dotted with dodgy back-room ethics.

Dr. Cornwall’s post also touches on the duality of character, acting one way at work and another outside of work. I find it fascinating that many people seem to have two personalities (one for employees, bosses and peers, and another for family) and may never understand why such a dichotomy is so prevalent. I strongly believe in consistency of character and really like the way Dr. Cornwall explains the potential conflicts that may arise from dabbling with questionable ethics:

“The truth is, however, that every act, every decision we make, in some way shapes our character. If we act a certain way once, we are more likely to do it again. This is true for good behaviors as well as bad behaviors. If we lie to customers as part of our everyday business, we are more likely to lie to our employees. And if we lie at work, we are more likely to lie to our families and friends.”

TAGS: Character | Ethics | Morals | Dr. Cornwall | Family | Entrepreneur

A few days ago I spotted a very interesting website and corresponding blog that I wanted to pass along. The site’s concept is unique (at least to me) and makes quite a good read. I encourage everyone to take a moment to visit. Following is more detailed information about the site and blog.

Dropping Knowledge

Admittedly, the first thing I noticed about the site was its slick design. I’m a sucker for attractive design and sites that stray from the norm, and I personally feel that Dropping Knowledge fits that description. After getting over my initial infatuation with the site’s aesthetics, I became intrigued by its underlying concept:

“On September 9, 2006, 112 of the world’s great minds will come together around the world’s largest table in Berlin’s historic Bebelplatz square. Recorded by 112 digital cameras, they will simultaneously answer 100 questions chosen out of thousands donated by the global public. The resulting 600+ hours of audiovisual content will launch an unprecedented online resource: a knowledge portal and dialog forum created to host a global conversation covering the most pressing questions of our time.”

My only regret is that I did not hear about this sooner–I would have loved to have been there in person. I am quite curious to hear the questions and resulting answers and wonder how they will mesh with issues I am passionate about.

The Drop

I have spent more time returning to the blog than digging into the depths of the main site, and have really enjoyed the range and quality of the content that is presented.Topics range from Animal Rights, to Politics, to Economic Development & Globalization, the Environment, and Philosophy, with a whole slew of other meaty topics in-between.

TAGS: Dropping Knowledge | The Drop | 112 | Berlin

For those of you that have not heard about the recent board scuffles at Hewlett Packard, check out the following articles:

• Leak, Inquiry and Resignation Rock a Boardroom
• A Board in Need of an Emily Post
• H.P. Spied on Directors to Find Leak
• State Probes HP’s Spying on Directors
• Hewlett-Packard under investigation in spying scandal
• `Pretexting’ by Hewlett-Packard’s hired investigators could be considered illegal

I find the news particularly troubling simply for the fact that I am saddened to see such behavior going on at a company that I used to admire so much (it has been quite a few years…). To make matters worse, I feel that Mark Hurd has been, for the most part, doing a great job at turning the company around after Fiorina’s ouster. This news, complete with questionable actions, information leaks, governance quandaries and general grime, will certainly set the company back.

Relevance:

How does this mess speak to ethics or corporate governance? First, the legality of Patricia Dunn’s authorization for surveillance of HP’s directors has been questioned. Apparently legal counsel was sought prior to the authorization, however, there are a number of privacy issues that come into play. (ARS Technica has an excellent overview of what was involved in the surveillance.)

Further, I find it curious that the surveillance was authorized by a member of the board and not an independent committee. What if Dunn was also a source of the leaks? A second investigation launched in January was handled by HP’s office of general counsel but why not have all of the investigations go through the same channel?

Are these recent incidents the actions of a mature and ethical company with a strong corporate governance structure? Were the leaks breaches of fiduciary duty (I believe so) and why were they not handled in a more appropriate manner more in line with HP’s governance setup? What does all of this tell HP shareholders about the company’s leadership?

TAGS: HPQ | Hewlett Packard | Board of Directors | Corporate Governance | CSR | Business Ethics

The exchange, BURSA Malaysia, recently announced the launch of a corporate social responsibility framework for publicly listed companies (PLCs). I first learned of the news after reading a Business Times article, but found its information somewhat vague. The article made little mention of the details of the framework, noting only a few of its aspects such as a focus “on how a corporation interacts with the environment, community, workplace and marketplace.”

If you are interested in reading more, BURSA Malaysia’s website has a CSR section that lists the following PDFs for download:

• CSR Write-up: A short introduction to the framework as well as a nice overview of corporate social responsibility.
• CSR Framework for Malaysian PLCs: This presentation contains the details of the CSR framework and also of BURSA Malaysia’s short and long-term CSR goals.

TAGS: CSR | Corporate Social Responsibility | BURSA Malaysia | CSR Framework

Via ARS Technica: Libel Case Over iPod Factory Labor Abuses Dropped

It has been well over a month now and the content update issues I have been experiencing with Technorati still have not been resolved. I know some of you follow this site using Technorati’s favorites (and accordingly, have not seen updated posts appear for a while) so I apologize for the difficulty.

I’ve tried a number of things to fix the feed issue including upgrading Wordpress, contacting Technorati several times, ensuring that my code is clean and valid, re-pinging Technorati, and even deleting and re-claiming my blog a number of times. Evidently, none of those solutions made a difference, and either Technorati’s tech support is as baffled as I am, or non-existent (or they don’t care, but I doubt that).

If anyone has suggestions I would be very grateful to get this fixed, otherwise, I apologize for the ongoing inconvenience for the Technorati users and hope that this *eventually* gets fixed. In the meantime, if you are interested in subscribing to the site feed manually, please use the following links:

• RSS Post Feed
• RSS Comments Feed

TAGS: Technorati | RSS | tech-support | Blog

If you have not visited Jack Yan’s blog yet take some time to check it out. Specifically, I would encourage everyone to read his recent post “Create Your Balance.” I have been actively working on creating the optimal balance in my life for some time, and found Jack’s post both timely and quite helpful.

In a nutshell, Jack boils the issue to one very simple concept (emphasis mine):

“For those who don’t want to overwork themselves and burn out, or aren’t happy in their work, I would ask: what makes you happy in life? If work isn’t making you happy, but something else is, then the logical thing to do is to increase that something else.”

He also points out a few important conditions of good leaders, specifically in relation to the ability to create balance. Calmness, Openness, and Contentedness are the three main conditions he notes, and I couldn’t agree more.

One thing that struck me as I was reading over his post, and relating it to my own experience, is that knowing what you want in life is a key determinant of success. Jack’s question, “what makes you happy in life,” gets to the heart of identifying a person’s drivers. There are so many ways to approach a work-life balance self-evaluation, but none are as simple and effective as examining what makes you happy.
Here are a few questions I have been asking myself:

• Do I want more time with my family?
• A greater ability to travel?
• Less stress?
• More fulfillment from my work?
• A greater purpose with my work?
• More time to dedicate to charity?
• More time with my friends?

TAGS: Jack Yan | Balance | Work-Life | Family | Overwork | Relax | Vacation