Two articles currently up on Policy Innovations paint very different pictures of Russia. In Russia and the New Great Game, Sacha Tessier-Stall looks at the emergence of Russia as a player in global energy markets and Chess Takes World, by yours truly, details Russia's decline as the sole chess superpower.
So which is the true face of Russia? The once powerful bear in a desperate search for the glory of lost empire? Or the resurgent modern petro-state with money and muscle to spare?
I don't pretend to have the answer. But, when it comes to Russia, my mind often turns to the question of demographics. Russia is 621,00 square miles in size, with a population of 141 million. That makes it twice the size of the United States, with half the people. That does not bode well for a country with 2,300 mile border with China.
Russia is blessed with an abundance of resources save the one that matters most: people.
Showing posts with label Policy Innovations. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Policy Innovations. Show all posts
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Certification Systems as Risk Mitigation
Goldman Sachs has recently been lauded for its risk mitigation systems, taking actions months before the sub prime mess broke out. Some people have said that Goldman had a more integrated exposure risk mitigation system, while others attributed Goldman’s success to the use of realistic, hardnosed analysis, unclouded by rose colored glasses. What about companies trying to mitigate against brand risk? After all, brand is where much of the value of firms is tied up.
Economist and certification consultant Michael Conroy just spoke at the Carnegie Council about his new book Branded! How the ‘Certification Revolution’ is Transforming Global Corporations. The books and the seats at the lecture were both sold out.
Conroy said that a revolution in standards certification is underway and has been fueled by successful "market campaigns" by NGOs, the development of outside certification systems, the presence of champions for change within companies, and the growing market for ethical products. Market campaigns call attention to social and environmental problems in a corporate supply chain, problems that go beyond the jurisdiction of the WTO.
The growing power of corporate brands is two-sided. While a brand can help establish a company’s dominance in a particular industry, it also makes a company vulnerable to attacks from the public on that brand. A brand value can be estimated as the total value of a company minus its physical assets. Conroy estimated that McDonald’s brand is about 70 percent of its value and that figure is about 64 percent for Coca Cola.
Certification systems are a set of principles, criteria, and indicators negotiated by all stakeholders impacted by a company’s operations. The result of these negotiations is the highest politically accepted standard. These standards allow consumers and civil society to be more nuanced in signaling their preferences to companies—beyond just saying, “Stop what you are doing!”
The relationship between civil society and corporations allows companies to positively mitigate against brand risk. Certification systems are risk management systems against future attacks on brands, says Conroy.
It was a fascinating discussion and certainly a tribute to the growing power of NGOs. The audio from this event will be up on the Carnegie Council's online magazine Policy Innovations, a project that Conroy also was instrumental in helping to start.
Stay tuned.
Economist and certification consultant Michael Conroy just spoke at the Carnegie Council about his new book Branded! How the ‘Certification Revolution’ is Transforming Global Corporations. The books and the seats at the lecture were both sold out.
Conroy said that a revolution in standards certification is underway and has been fueled by successful "market campaigns" by NGOs, the development of outside certification systems, the presence of champions for change within companies, and the growing market for ethical products. Market campaigns call attention to social and environmental problems in a corporate supply chain, problems that go beyond the jurisdiction of the WTO.
The growing power of corporate brands is two-sided. While a brand can help establish a company’s dominance in a particular industry, it also makes a company vulnerable to attacks from the public on that brand. A brand value can be estimated as the total value of a company minus its physical assets. Conroy estimated that McDonald’s brand is about 70 percent of its value and that figure is about 64 percent for Coca Cola.
Certification systems are a set of principles, criteria, and indicators negotiated by all stakeholders impacted by a company’s operations. The result of these negotiations is the highest politically accepted standard. These standards allow consumers and civil society to be more nuanced in signaling their preferences to companies—beyond just saying, “Stop what you are doing!”
The relationship between civil society and corporations allows companies to positively mitigate against brand risk. Certification systems are risk management systems against future attacks on brands, says Conroy.
It was a fascinating discussion and certainly a tribute to the growing power of NGOs. The audio from this event will be up on the Carnegie Council's online magazine Policy Innovations, a project that Conroy also was instrumental in helping to start.
Stay tuned.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Ethics Case Studies Needed at B-Schools
The Wall Street Journal ran an interview with London Business School senior fellow Craig Smith, who also leads a project with the European Academy of Business in Society to get CSR into mainstream business courses. Smith says the biggest obstacles to getting MBA courses to teach ethics effectively is a lack of case studies, which business schools often use as a main part of their curriculum in general.
"We did an audit and found that about 1,000 cases out there with something on corporate responsibility, but many are not usable because they're dated or because social responsibility is only tangential to the case," Smith said.
Smith also said many professors simply feel reluctant discussing ethical issues because it is out of their "comfort zone," but he recommends professors use discussions to spark debate.
Getting people to think about ethics is what the Carnegie Council is all about. Our program Global Policy Innovations publishes Policy Innovations online magazine, which features innovative solutions to ethical problems in the context of economic globalization. We have a section devoted to these Innovations here. You could call them case studies in global civil society solutions.
Our program has also launched a workshop series that serves as a dialogue between corporations and civil society. At these workshops, participants learn about corporate and civil society approaches to shared ethical problems. Read about and listen to the first iteration with BP, GE, the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre, and the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility here.
"We did an audit and found that about 1,000 cases out there with something on corporate responsibility, but many are not usable because they're dated or because social responsibility is only tangential to the case," Smith said.
Smith also said many professors simply feel reluctant discussing ethical issues because it is out of their "comfort zone," but he recommends professors use discussions to spark debate.
Getting people to think about ethics is what the Carnegie Council is all about. Our program Global Policy Innovations publishes Policy Innovations online magazine, which features innovative solutions to ethical problems in the context of economic globalization. We have a section devoted to these Innovations here. You could call them case studies in global civil society solutions.
Our program has also launched a workshop series that serves as a dialogue between corporations and civil society. At these workshops, participants learn about corporate and civil society approaches to shared ethical problems. Read about and listen to the first iteration with BP, GE, the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre, and the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility here.
Monday, June 4, 2007
Trade-Labor Linkage
Policy Innovations innovators Sanjay Reddy and Christian Barry respond to Jagdish Bhagwati's recent op-ed in the Financial Times, "Foes of free trade get a foot in the door" in which he argues that many of those who want the inclusion of labor standards in trade agreements do so out of fear and self-interest. Bhagwati labels such people as foes of free trade.
Reddy and Barry in this June 2, 2007 letter to the FT remind us that not all proponents of linkage are protectionists. They note that there is another way:
"There is an alternative approach to linkage, which would provide an attractive means of furthering the interests of poorer countries. This alternative would extend the transparent, rule-based approach of the WTO system to include an appropriate concern for labour standards (thereby excluding opportunistic actions by wealthy importing countries). It would require that poorer countries undertake only those efforts to promote labour standards that are reasonable to expect in light of their circumstances; while also ensuring that these countries gain by providing them with additional access to northern markets and other forms of reward for their efforts."
Reddy and Barry in this June 2, 2007 letter to the FT remind us that not all proponents of linkage are protectionists. They note that there is another way:
"There is an alternative approach to linkage, which would provide an attractive means of furthering the interests of poorer countries. This alternative would extend the transparent, rule-based approach of the WTO system to include an appropriate concern for labour standards (thereby excluding opportunistic actions by wealthy importing countries). It would require that poorer countries undertake only those efforts to promote labour standards that are reasonable to expect in light of their circumstances; while also ensuring that these countries gain by providing them with additional access to northern markets and other forms of reward for their efforts."
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