After introductions and a quick overview, we will launch together into this week’s topic: “Corporate Values and Stakeholder Outcomes” — please read the brief materials below and plan to participate.
We will start and end promptly, respecting people’s busy schedules.
Agenda
8:30-8:40 — Order drinks and food at the counter and find a seat upstairs (the kickoff is on me!)
8:40-8:45 — Introduce yourself with a few short words about what brought you
8:45-8:50 — Ground rules (from the MyEthics.net code of conduct)
8:50-9:15 — Discussion — here are some questions to consider:
- What is the baseline minimum for corporate responsibility to stakeholders?
- How do you identify those stakeholders? Who else is affected? Business stakeholders are usually defined as investors, employees, suppliers, and customers, but there are many more.
- For example, should the kids whose health insurance depends on mom’s job be explicitly identified as stakeholders? Is that feasible? How do local communities and economies thrive or suffer from corporate behavior? Could they have a voice? How would that work?
- Can companies be both profitable and stakeholder oriented?
- Think of a customer experience where you felt respected and got good value for your money. Remember how you felt about the business afterwards. Then think of a bad experience. Do each of them link to their corresponding organizations’ values?
- What does a good set of values look like? Are they realistic? Enforceable?
- What does the word “morals” mean in Francestown’s Zoning Ordnance (see below)?
- What values can be forfeited if, for example, a company starts to lose money? What values might exacerbate those losses?
- In such cases, can corporate values improve outcomes?
9:15-9:20 — Conclusions, feedback, and next steps
Reading Materials:
Article 1: MyEthics.net Code of Conduct
Article 2: MyEthics.net Newsletter 1-2: Corporate Motives
Article 3: Company core values: 25 inspiring examples by Rebecca Mattina for Achievers.com
Optional: How Do Businesses Create Value for Stakeholders? by Michael Boyles for Harvard Business School Online Insights
Bonus: The values codified into Francestown’s Zoning Ordnance Article I, below: what are the “morals” it promotes? Could we agree, or declare an act “immoral?” Who benefits from the vagueness if anyone? What other values are more easily enforced?
“The purpose of this zoning ordinance is to promote the health, safety, morals and general welfare of the population of the Town of Francestown, and in particular to retain its present character of simple rural beauty, to maintain an environment amenable to agricultural and farming activities, to foster development compatible with the carrying capacity of the land and without unreasonable expenditure of public funds for the provision of municipal services, to encourage a high quality of life for all its residents, to conserve the value of buildings and property, and to encourage the most appropriate use of land throughout the town.”