From Publishers Weekly
What does it mean to be a socially responsible company? As Arena (Cause for Success) points out, the matter is up for debate, with some environmentalists criticizing corporate “green” programs as PR stunts, while capitalist hard-liners insist companies have no business looking after anything but profit. For Arena, however, corporate responsibility isn’t about broad themes like doing the right thing or making the world a better place, and it doesn’t have to be …
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I am a professional in the Corporate social responsibility field who has been very disturbed by the tendency in the field to focus upon right and wrong, good and bad companies while seemingly missing a critical point- businesses are in the business of pleasing shareholders. Ms Arena’s book opened up a rare vantage into the CSR filed by demonstrating the business case for CSR and in addition inspiring me by the stories of tremendous good that these very same financially successful firms were achieving.
I beleive that we are seeing a revolution in Capitalism of revival of the interconnections between the common good and the good of the company- Christine has built the foundation for seeing first hand how financial success and doing good are interdependent.
I am very excited by what I have read and individually inspired to pass the word on to colleagues about her book- it is highly readable- well written unlike many business books and full of juicy tid bits about companies i have both admired like Toyota and also those that I would never have thought were worth admiring.
If you have gotten cynical about corporate social responsibility – this is the book for you! Very hopeful and accessible, even inspiring!
Christine Arena paints a whole different picture of socially responsible companies – they are making money BY being socially responsible, not IN SPITE OF it.
It’s research, but not stuffy or academic. The case studies make for a great read – I highly recommend The High Purpose Company.
This is a great book for those who are just learning about CSR as well as those with more experience. The author does a great job of illustrating both successes and failures and asks the readers to really examine the subject of corporate responsibility. Readers learn to explore if companies are just putting on a good act or really making significant, positive strides in their business practices.