To be sure, the social responsibilities of business are largely regulated by laws and public opinion. But it is good business to go beyond mere compliance. That is the reason businesses exist. The economic dimension came first. But to it have been added the environmental, and now a societal, element.
Actions speak louder than rhetoric.
In South Africa, we train local people in electrical engineering skills and help them establish themselves in business, which in turn supports the rural electrification program in that region. In India, China, throughout Asia, in the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, we transfer technology, engineering and business know-how. But globalization has thrust upon the international business community another even more challenging dimension to our new civic role. An already worrying gap is widening between the international norms and declarations on human rights, such as the U.N. Charter, and current societal and business realities. Big companies need to step into the breach to ensure that globalization delivers more than a litany of dashed hopes.