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One could liken corporate reputation to a flag.
Given any particular corporation in Table
17.1, and using apperceptions associated with
the flag metaphor, where on the flagpole
would the flag actually be What colour
would it be What condition would the flag
be in at this point in time As the chapter
unfolds, please keep the flag metaphor in
mind.
Global issues and global problems
with corporate reputation
We live in a world awash with corporate
promises. The promises not only come from
business corporations though that is the major
focus here. But they also come from political
parties – spokespersons and spin doctors;
and they come from corporate entities of
all types with the profit axe to grind. Often
such promises and assertions are associated
with individuals – in the corporate sense it is
usually the CEO (e.g., Richard Branson, Anita
Roddick, Bill Gates, etc.). But, are such
promises to be believed Perhaps a jaundiced
perspective on corporate reputation may have
long preceded the modern era, but still have
recognizable meaning for corporations and
the consumers they ostensibly serve – in our
day:
those who have known how best to imitate
the fox have come off best. But one must
know how to colour one’s actions and to be
a great liar and deceiver. Men are so
simple, and so much creatures of circumstance,
that the deceiver will always find
someone to be deceived.
(Machiavelli, The Prince)
Machiavelli’s statement has resonance in
today’s world. For our world offers many
promises of ethical corporate behaviour.
However, as we turn to the current literature
in all medias concerned with reporting such
behaviour, there is a nagging suspicion
that many business executives may have
made Machiavelli current bedtime reading.
Certainly Enron, WorldCom, Marconi, financial
traders, investment bankers, and trusted
individuals in positions of authority have all
recently had their corporate reputations
revealed as more concerned with rhetoric
than with reality. Meanwhile, tens of thousands
of people and organizational investors
have either been badly let down, lost
(£$millions), and consumer and stakeholder
confidence and goodwill has been further
eroded. For example: ‘Enron, the American
energy trader and self-proclaimed “world’s
leading management company” went spectacularly
bust. Financial management (or mismanagement)
was to blame for the $17
billion black hole in its accounts’ (Observer,
23 December, 2001, p. 4).
The focus on fraudulent dealing will be
most unwelcome for the accounting industry.
In summer 2001, Arthur Andersen had its
corporate reputation mauled for shredding
‘literally tons of documents’ relating to Enron
(see Guardian, 2002). Similar mismanagement
(though not fraudulent) is also evident in the
case of Marconi whose shareholders are to
receive one-twentieth the share value of their
stock (2003). WorldCom has also had its reputation
shattered. Even J. K. Galbraith emerged
from semi-retirement with a new book due to
be published in 2004. Its title: The Economics
of ‘Innocent Fraud’ (emphasis added). And
yet, reputation – so clearly important in the
field of corporate activity – is also exposed to
criticism even at the individual level. In the
past few years, the following names and reputations
have also been severely dented in
society: Jeffrey Archer, John Major, Peter
© 2004 Sandra Oliver for editorial matter and selection;
individual chapters, the contributors