Blog - Page 10 of 11 - Centre for Enterprise Markets and Ethics

January 26, 2016 Blog

Google should not be demonised

Poor old Google. Well, not so poor actually. According to their SEC 10-K filing group profits amounted, in 2014, to $17.26bn. Google’s UK sales (mainly internet advertising), based upon the billing address of customers, were around $6.5bn in 2014. Lots of sales, but, apparently no profits. Google themselves told the Public Accounts Committee in 2012...

October 26, 2015 Blog

Richard Turnbull: We must be stewards of the environment

(This is an adaptation of a speech given at the Institute of Economic Affairs – For more information about the event please click here) Christianity, politics the poor and the planet – what should the Christian attitude and response to these issues be? I want to reflect on two things; the Christian responsibility for the environment...

October 15, 2015 Blog

Stakeholder relationships matter

First coined in 1984 by R. Edward Freeman in his book, Strategic Management: A Stakeholder Approach, Stakeholder Theory brought a new and somewhat radical approach to the study of organizational management and business ethics. Radical in the sense that it became the first theoretical framework to secure a prominent position for the interplay of values...

October 6, 2015 Blog

We need to talk about work

CEME will be publishing a ‘theology of work’ in late 2015 so it was particularly helpful to listen to Yves de Talhouet, senior Vice-President of Hewlett-Packard on the subject. Work is essential to human flourishing. All sorts of implications flow from that including for government welfare policies. However, work is not necessarily in the state...

October 5, 2015 Blog

Profit and sustainability are compatible

The inspiring session of the day came from Daniel Servitje, Chairman and CEO of the Bimbo Group, Mexico. Bimbo is one of the world’s largest baking goods industry firms with a capitalisation of US$12bn and around 129,000 employees. The company was described as ‘rooted in long-standing values,’ shaped by strong corporate governance and a determination...

October 1, 2015 Blog

Capitalism must take poverty seriously

I am passing through Rio de Janeiro en route to Belo Horizonte to attend the XXV World Congress of UNIAPAC (The International Christian Union of Business Executives) on the theme of “Business, Government and civil society working together for the common good.” This is my first visit to South America and Rio has presented me...

September 24, 2015 Blog

VW makes the case for a moral capitalism

What a mess. Many of you won’t like my title – surely the catastrophic failures and deceits at VW make the case against rather than for capitalism? Not so and here is why. At the root of the problem with VW is dishonesty. Now, of course, that dishonesty might have been driven by sales targets...

September 8, 2015 Blog

Ethical business is good for society and for profit

Are values and profitability incompatible? Values have taken a central role in the debate about how private companies ought to conduct business in the post-recession era. The idea that businesses should go beyond the narrow measures of shareholder value maximization and embrace a wider role of a ‘responsible citizen’ that cares about the society...

September 2, 2015 Blog

Lord Griffiths: Who is the Good Samaritan today?

Who is the Good Samaritan today? The parable of the Good Samaritan is one of the most popular, well-known and compelling stories Jesus ever told. Rather than teaching in an academic and rather dry way by making general statements, Jesus taught people by telling stories which caught their imagination. Invariably the stories were simple...

July 21, 2015 Blog

Tax and morality

Is the purpose of taxation payment for common services (defence, health, welfare) or a tool for the redistribution of wealth? That decision, and the balance between them, is a political one. However, there is nothing intrinsically moral about either high or progressive taxation. First, higher rates of taxation may not raise more revenue (the argument would be about the precise positioning...

July 21, 2015 Blog

The market and morality

The market economy is not perfect. However, we do sometimes forget that it is the market that has delivered significant prosperity to the world and lifted millions of people out of poverty. Improvements in literacy and sanitation have contributed to a significant reduction in the number of people existing on the benchmark measurement of $1...