Raising the Ethical Parapet Socially responsible business, by promoting boutique social issues and using simplistic litmus tests, encourages cynicism. This special issue of At Work moves us beyond the concept of corporate responsibility to its expression . Our first articles describe the steps taken by the chemical industry and one of its member firms, Velsicol Chemical Corporation, to become accountable to local communities and to the environment. Then David Mager draws from 20 years of experience to tell how socially and environmentally responsible behavior benefits the bottom line. Richard Adams' description of the new retail chain he has founded, Out of this World, illustrates how it is possible to incorporate the means for corporate accountability to multiple stakeholders into the design and operation of a company.
Companies are dysfunctional families writ large.
Mistakes, sometimes whoppers, are built into life, including the life of corporations. Self-scrutiny and accountability are essential. The measure of a company's integrity is not how loudlyit beats its own breast, or whether it blunders, but its respect for its stakeholders and its responsiveness to problems.