The Magazine of Corporate Responsibility

Tag Archive for ‘Toyota’

How Do You Fix Your Reputation After An Ethical Lapse?

It’s nice to be on the right side of ethics, but sometimes we falter. We’re only human. So the question becomes: How do you rebuild your reputation after an ethical or even legal lapse in judgment?

Leadership, Common Purpose and Shared Values

Columnist Gael O’Brien speaks with Joel Kurtzman about corporate culture, CEO leadership and the concept of a common-purpose organization. “It is difficult for a company to keep a sense of common purpose for longer than a decade,” he says. “It has to be nurtured or it goes away.” One company that has succeeded: American Express.

Dimitrios Biller and Toyota

Columnist Gael O’Brien says the case of Dimitrios Biller, a former attorney for Toyota, “is a sad tale without vindication.” Biller had accused the car maker of withholding and destroying product safety information. Last week an arbitrator ruled in favor of Toyota and said that Biller had “violated ethical, statutory, and contractual prohibitions.”

Controversial Chemical Poses Challenge for Colgate-Palmolive

A feisty debate over the safety of the widely used chemical triclosan has put Colgate-Palmolive at the center of a case study in product disclosure and corporate responsibility – one that may ultimately help outline how companies wading through a murky regulatory review and unsettled science should attend to their stakeholders and customers.

Adding Value and Values to the MBA

When students return to campus in coming weeks, so will debate about the purpose of management education and the role of ethics. Columnist Gael O’Brien wonders whether current business leaders will support training new leaders in skills and competencies that support new models of business – or will it be simply business as usual?

Jeffrey Hollender Discusses Sustainability with Big Think

Jeffrey Hollender, Co-founder & CEO of Seventh Generation, discusses corporate responsibility and sustainability issues in an interview with Big Think.

The Ethical Risk of Business as Usual

Columnist Gael O’Brien wonders what it will take to convince corporate leaders to build into their risk management strategies the capacity to ask crucial questions about ethical liability, as is done with legal liability. Such a step, she says, would be hardly radical and would have the objective of putting ethical conduct on the table as a deliberate outcome.

Environmentalists Are Bullish on Kenaf Paper

Kenaf is a fast-growing, non-invasive annual hibiscus plant related to cotton, okra and hemp. It makes ideal paper fiber as well as great source material for burlap, clothing, canvas, particleboard and rope. Ten major U.S. newspapers have tested kenaf-based newsprint and were pleasantly surprised by how well it held up and how crisply it displayed text and pictures. Toyota is already using kenaf grown in Malaysia for insulation and interiors in some cars.

Conscious Capitalism: New Models for 21st Century Business

Columnist Gael O’Brien takes a look at a new organization and a group of business leaders who believe that a company can be profitable while also safeguarding trust, reputation, and credibility with stakeholders. One CEO poses the question: “Is it possible to create an enterprise where everybody wins?”

Toyota Recall: Five Critical Lessons

Fixing the problem and ensuring that something like it doesn’t happen again will require an all-out effort by Toyota, from assembly line to the boardroom. Even then, there are no guarantees. Maintaining a good corporate reputation in the 21st century is tricky business indeed.