How should business leaders be thinking now about their companies’ social responsibilities: about corporate virtue? While attempting to establish new norms for corporate social responsibility, both ESG and DEI have suffered criticism for being coercive, costly, or merely performative. Some ESG and DEI efforts are expected to go underground, with their principles and goals intact while the names change or disappear. Employee reading and discussion groups, followed by voluntary practice of various virtues, can be an effective way to foster these habits in firms. A virtue-based approach to business promises a non-controversial approach to strengthening both social responsibility and business performance, simultaneously.

Source: Forbes November 17, 2024 21:26 UTC