‘Higher Ground: How business can do the right thing in a turbulent world’
Earlier this month I had the opportunity to join an event organised by our colleagues at Harvard Business Review and focusing on ‘Higher Ground. How business can do the right thing in a turbulent world’, a book by Alison Taylor, a clinical professor at NYU Stern School of Business and executive director at Ethical Systems, a research collaboration focused on building more ethical organisational cultures.
The book’s premise is the increasing social and political pressures by both internal and external stakeholders on today’s businesses to make ethical decisions and ‘do the right thing’. The way in which organisations operate is now deeply affected by the intricate and uncertain surrounding environment and needs to consider multiple factors like, for example, the higher levels of transparency required, employees’ changing expectations and public opinion on the role businesses should play when facing contentious social and political issues. For a long time now, the traditional way of thinking about business and ethics and the focus on maximising shareholder value have not been enough anymore. As a result, organisations find it increasingly challenging to build trust both internally and externally and developing a sustainable strategic advantage, without rethinking their ethical culture and setting clear environmental and social priorities that align with their values and purpose.
In the book, Taylor debunks a few of the common myths about ethics in business and discusses the need to shift away from the idea that ethics are merely a response to legal and reputational requirements. This entails adopting an approach that combines profit generation with the awareness of the impact that certain decisions can make on everyone directly and indirectly affected by them. Each chapter explores a different perspective from which to look at the topic, with particular focus on factors related to governance, compliance, sustainability, and corporate political responsibility.
The book provides a range of actionable insights and practical recommendations for businesses to successfully handle complex situations. These should be seen as a high-level framework that leaders can use to adapt their practices and make sure that integrity and an ethical culture are embraced throughout their organisation. However, the author makes it clear that, due to its specific nature, values and surrounding environment, each business will have to make different decisions when it comes to shaping their ethical culture, engaging with stakeholders, using their resources, and setting their priorities.
Valentina Lorenzon is a member of the CMCE Coordination group and editor of the CMCE newsletter.
