Wyse: Model Three Businesses: Social And Social Goals
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MODEL THREE: MULTIPLE FIRM GOALS, ALL CREATED EQUAL Though model two companies be in the majority among SRI portfolios, Teiwes believes it is model three businesses that we should really strive to encourage. Model three explains the beliefs of firms that have made commitments to environmental and social goals without substantiation that corporate citizenship leads to concrete financial gains. The owners or managers have decided that social and environmental achievements are independently worthy of attainment and should be pursued with equal enthusiasm to profits. Wyse explains, “A large part of CSR is the individuals involved in senior ranks. CEOs like to be involved in policy and service; it helps them to lead a fulfilling life. Just like others,…show more content… Their companies make profits but financial goals do not trump social or environmental considerations. This philosophy functions on the idea that businesses, like people, have ethical obligations and tasks that extend beyond the financial world. Adidas’s Social and Environmental Affairs Manager, Gregg Nebel, scoffs at the idea of using CSR is as a marketing strategy. He explains, “Why market what you are doing if you are simply doing what is right? The feeling here is that there is an expectation that a company will do the right thing, and there is no reason to advertise that we are fulfilling this obligation.” Newman’s Own is one example of a company with a social purpose. Owner Paul Newman donates all of the company’s profits and royalties after taxes to educational and charitable causes, ensuring that the company will only increase profit margins to increase the firm’s ability to contribute to social welfare. Lighting fixture manufacturer Rejuvenation and forest products provider Collins Companies also exemplify businesses with deep- rooted commitments to the environment and their…show more content… To encourage companies to follow model three, policymakers should reconsider current indexes for business success, accounting practices, and the valuation of intangible assets. Model-three thinking requires more than teaching business owners and managers how to be responsible corporate citizens; it requires transforming average citizens’ understanding about value creation and expanding definitions of success to include social and environmental triumphs. Tools to place dollar values on intangibles like these social and environmental triumphs are already underway. By working within the old framework, many hope to quantify the financial returns on intangible investments and to translate intangible successes into tangible results.107 Some organizations, such as the New Economics Foundation (NEF) in London offer even more radical approaches to measuring firm