g-f(2)2114 The New Corporate Imperative: Integrating Societal Issue Management into Business Strategy

 

genioux Fact post by Fernando Machuca and Claude

Introduction:

In an increasingly complex and polarized world, companies often find themselves grappling with the question of whether and how to address controversial societal issues. The article "How Companies Should Weigh In on a Controversy" by David M. Bersoff, Sandra J. Sucher, and Peter Tufano, published in the Harvard Business Review, provides valuable insights and guidance for executives navigating this challenging landscape. Drawing from extensive global survey research and managerial best practices, the authors offer a data-driven approach that is sensitive to values and context, helping leaders make informed decisions and manage potential backlash.

genioux GK Nugget:

"Companies should prioritize issues that directly affect their stakeholders, align with their core values, and are related to their business practices, while carefully considering the potential impact of their actions on all stakeholders." — Fernando Machuca and Claude

genioux Foundational Fact:

Successful engagement with societal issues requires a sophisticated understanding of stakeholders' concerns and expectations. While unanimous support may not be achievable, adhering to processes and strategies that prioritize stakeholder management, clear communication, and alignment with company values can lead to increased competitive advantage and an enhanced license to operate, even in the face of short-term scrutiny and pushback.

The 10 most relevant genioux Facts:

1. People expect companies to address societal issues, but not every issue, especially those unrelated to their business or motivated by opportunism.
2. Companies should identify and prioritize stakeholders' needs and interests, particularly those of customers and employees, to develop a dynamic issue-priority map.
3. When stakeholder opinions conflict, companies should aim to make their reasoning clear and ensure all stakeholders feel respected.
4. Engagement with societal issues can increase customer loyalty, attract talent, and draw investors, but expectations are lower for issues not directly related to the company's business.
5. Companies should actively avoid partisan political issues, as most people do not expect or want companies to develop allegiances to parties or candidates.
6. Demonstrating commitment to an issue requires evidence in hiring practices, product development, supply chain management, and choice of business locations.
7. New governance structures and organizational practices, such as issue committees and stakeholder engagement, can help manage the complexity of issue engagement.
8. Politicization of issues is almost impossible to avoid but can be managed by being values-driven, connecting actions to corporate duties, pushing back against politicization, and banding together with like-minded corporations.
9. When health and safety are at stake, respected organizations tend to prioritize stakeholders' well-being over financial considerations.
10. Consistently defending values, adopting a multistakeholder orientation, practicing effective stakeholder management, and developing rigorous processes for weighing the impact of decisions are necessary for meeting stakeholder expectations.

Conclusion:

As companies navigate the complex terrain of addressing controversial societal issues, the insights and strategies provided in "How Companies Should Weigh In on a Controversy" offer a valuable roadmap. By prioritizing stakeholder concerns, aligning actions with core values, and developing robust processes for decision-making and communication, companies can successfully engage with societal issues while managing potential risks and backlash. Ultimately, by being the company that customers, employees, investors, and communities expect them to be, organizations can build trust, resilience, and long-term success in an increasingly complex and polarized world.

REFERENCE

The g-f GK Article

David M. Bersoff, Sandra J. Sucher, and Peter Tufano, How Companies Should Weigh In on a Controversy, Harvard Business Review, From the Magazine (March–April 2024).

Classical Summary:

In the article "How Companies Should Weigh In on a Controversy," David M. Bersoff, Sandra J. Sucher, and Peter Tufano provide guidance for executives on managing their organizations' engagement with societal issues, including controversial topics such as gender, climate, and racial discrimination. The authors argue that success in this realm does not mean avoiding public controversy or achieving unanimous support among key stakeholders, but rather adhering to processes and strategies that lead to increased competitive advantage and an enhanced license to operate while managing short-term scrutiny and pushback.

Drawing from global survey research and managerial best practices, the authors propose an approach that is anchored in data but sensitive to values and context. They emphasize the importance of understanding stakeholders' concerns and expectations, prioritizing issues that directly affect customers and employees, and demonstrating commitment to an issue through actions rather than mere statements.

The article highlights the public's expectations for companies to address societal issues, but not every issue, especially those unrelated to their business or motivated by opportunism. The authors suggest that companies should identify and prioritize stakeholders' needs and interests, particularly those of customers and employees, to develop a dynamic issue-priority map. When stakeholder opinions conflict, companies should aim to make their reasoning clear and ensure all stakeholders feel respected.

The authors also discuss the challenges of politicization and provide strategies for managing it, such as being values-driven, connecting actions to corporate duties, pushing back against politicization, and banding together with like-minded corporations. They emphasize the importance of new governance structures and organizational practices, such as issue committees and stakeholder engagement, to manage the complexity of issue engagement.

Ultimately, the article argues that consistently defending values, adopting a multistakeholder orientation, practicing effective stakeholder management, and developing rigorous processes for weighing the impact of decisions are necessary for meeting stakeholder expectations and building trust, resilience, and long-term success in an increasingly complex and polarized world.

David M. Bersoff

David M. Bersoff is the Head of Research at the Edelman Trust Institute, a think tank dedicated to advancing the study of trust in society¹³. He is the lead researcher on all of Edelman's trust-oriented thought leadership, including the Edelman Trust Barometer¹³. He also leads the Institute's research-based collaborations¹³. Prior to his role at the Edelman Trust Institute, Bersoff has co-authored articles published in the Harvard Business Review, providing guidance to business leaders navigating contentious societal issues amid widespread social and political polarization⁴.

Source: Conversation with Bing, 3/22/2024

(1) Islands of civility: A special Edelman report on trust in the ... - LRN. https://blog.lrn.com/islands-of-civility-a-special-edelman-report-on-trust-in-the-workplace.

(2) Edelman Trust Institute | Edelman. https://www.edelman.com/trust/edelman-trust-institute.

(3) How Companies Should Weigh In on a Controversy - Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2024/03/how-companies-should-weigh-in-on-a-controversy.

(4) . https://bing.com/search?q=David+M.+Bersoff+Edelman+Trust+Institute+summary.

Sandra J. Sucher

Sandra J. Sucher is a Professor of Management Practice at Harvard Business School¹. She is an internationally recognized trust researcher and has authored 110 business cases, technical notes, video interviews, teaching notes, and three books¹. Her work focuses on how organizations become trusted and the vital role leaders play in the process¹.

Sucher was a business executive for 20 years before joining Harvard¹. As a senior executive at Fidelity Investments, she measured customer loyalty, redesigned back-office operations, and improved the quality of service¹. In retailing, she authored the proposal to expand Filene’s Basement from a single-unit business to a national chain¹.

Her research has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Quartz, Business Insider, CNBC, NPR, Marketplace, and in Germany, Latin America, and Japan¹. She has served on corporate and nonprofit boards and as Chairwoman of the Better Business Bureau¹.

Source: Conversation with Bing, 3/22/2024

(1) Sandra J. Sucher - Faculty & Research - Harvard Business School. https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/profile.aspx?facId=6610.

(2) . https://bing.com/search?q=Sandra+J.+Sucher+Harvard+Business+School+summary.

(3) About - Sandra Sucher. https://sandrasucher.com/about/.

(4) Sandra Sucher - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandra_Sucher.

(5) undefined. https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-on-books/author-talks-sandra-j-sucher-on-the-power-of-trust.

(6) undefined. https://hbr.org/2019/07/leading-with-trust.

Peter Tufano

Peter Tufano is a Baker Foundation Professor at Harvard Business School and a Senior Advisor to the Harvard Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability¹⁵. He served as the Peter Moores Dean at the Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford from 2011 to 2021¹⁵⁷. Prior to that, from 1989 to 2011, he was a Professor at Harvard Business School¹²⁵.

Tufano's research and course development have spanned financial innovation, financial engineering, and household finance¹²⁵. His current work focuses on business solutions to climate change, including the workings of climate alliances, green anti-trust law, impacts of climate on household finances, and insurance’s role in addressing climate issues⁵.

He has launched two new courses on climate at Harvard: a short intensive MBA offering (Accelerating Climate Solutions) and a multi-school doctoral course — perhaps the first in academia on climate finance⁴. He is also a co-founder of Commonwealth, a national nonprofit building financial security and opportunity for financially vulnerable people⁴.

Tufano earned his A.B. in economics, M.B.A., and Ph.D. in business economics (finance) at Harvard University⁴..

Source: Conversation with Bing, 3/22/2024

(1) . https://bing.com/search?q=Peter+Tufano+Harvard+Business+School+summary.

(2) Peter Tufano - The Salata Institute. https://salatainstitute.harvard.edu/people/peter-tufano/.

(3) Peter Tufano - GBSN. https://gbsn.org/profile/peter-tufano/.

(4) Peter Tufano - Faculty & Research - Harvard Business School. https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/profile.aspx?facId=6567.

(5) Peter Tufano - Harvard Law School. https://eelp.law.harvard.edu/people/peter-tufano/.

(6) Overview - Research Summary - Harvard Business School. https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?researchSummary=289.

(7) Who’s who in Harvard’s COP28 delegation - The Salata Institute. https://salatainstitute.harvard.edu/whos-who-in-harvards-cop28-delegation/.

(8) . https://bing.com/search?q=Peter+Tufano+Said+Business+School+summary.

(9) Peter Tufano | Saïd Business School. https://www.sbs.ox.ac.uk/about-us/people/peter-tufano.

(10) undefined. https://hbr.org/2022/02/business-schools-must-do-more-to-address-the-climate-crisis.

(11) undefined. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Tufano.

(12) undefined. https://www.linkedin.com/in/petertufano.

The categorization and citation of the genioux Fact post

Categorization

This genioux Fact post is classified as Bombshell Knowledge which means: The game-changer that reshapes your perspective, leaving you exclaiming, "Wow, I had no idea!"

Type: Bombshell Knowledge, Free Speech

g-f Lighthouse of the Big Picture of the Digital Age [g-f(2)1813, g-f(2)1814]

• Daily g-f Fishing GK Series

Angel sponsors                  Monthly sponsors

g-f(2)2114: The Juice of Golden Knowledge

GK Juices or Golden Knowledge Elixirs

References

“genioux facts”: The online program on "MASTERING THE BIG PICTURE OF THE DIGITAL AGE”, g-f(2)2114, Fernando Machuca and Claude, March 21, 2024, Genioux.com Corporation.

 

The genioux facts program has established a robust foundation of over 2113 Big Picture of the Digital Age posts [g-f(2)1 - g-f(2)2113].

List of Most Recent genioux Fact Posts

genioux GK Nugget of the Day

"genioux facts" presents daily the list of the most recent "genioux Fact posts" for your self-service. You take the blocks of Golden Knowledge (g-f GK) that suit you to build custom blocks that allow you to achieve your greatness. — Fernando Machuca and Bard

February 2024

g-f(2)1938 Unlock Your Greatness: Today's Daily Dose of g-f Golden Knowledge (February 2024)

January 2024

g-f(2)1937 Unlock Your Greatness: Today's Daily Dose of g-f Golden Knowledge (January 2024)

Recent 2023

g-f(2)1936 Unlock Your Greatness: Today's Daily Dose of g-f Golden Knowledge (2023)