3BL Blog

To Regulate Or Not To Regulate: That is the Question

The Big 8 are meeting next month in Italy to discuss global financial regulations. Is it just me or is it ironic that Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is hosting an economic regulatory summit based on free market principles? Italy may be a “democracy,” yet the PM holds a monopoly over Italian media (print, radio and TV), and has often been accused of unduly influencing elections (his own) and manipulating regulatory structures to suits his private business needs…

Oh well, America has had its share of monopolies, tainted elections and lax regulatory oversight in its recent past. Judge Not, Lest Ye Be Judged…

Meanwhile, back at the Ranch (Washington, D.C.), financial institution regulatory changes take center stage. The Battle between Oversight Agencies begins.

Ethics pledges: If it's good enough for Harvard....

A few weeks ago we wrote about the growing phenomenon of ethics pledges at business schools, and its likely impact on avoiding the kinds of ethical problems involved in the current financial crisis. Several people have now been pointing us to a recent article in the New York Times on an Ethics Oath instigated at Harvard Business School. As a voluntary, student-led initiative, this is pretty much in line with the vogue for pledges in the US that we discussed in the earlier posting. That it has happened at Harvard, however, appears to be news to the NYT, presumably because this is about as deep into the mainstream MBA establishment as you can get. The logic here being: if it's good enough for Harvard, it'll probably be good enough for any self-respecting business school.

Middle Path Policymaking in the US and China

A couple of years ago in anticipation of a Democratic White House and a new approach toward trade policy, I advocated a revised definition of "fair trade:"

Adam Smith showed that economic freedom allows people to maximize their potential to the benefit of all society. But total freedom, as Thomas Hobbes argued, leads to a short and nasty life. The Aristotelian notion of moderation might help reconcile this paradox: Trade should be neither too free nor too regulated.

Moderation, the "golden mean," and the middle path have recently come to characterize the current administrations of the two largest economies (using PPP) and largest emitters of CO2--the so called G2, China and the United States. Based on our conversations in China during our last two trips in the past year, two themes keep coming up: One is that although China's fate is tied to that of the United States, many Chinese feel fairly confident that their economy will pull through the financial crisis with no major political instability. In fact, some Chinese have sounded downright triumphant about their country's more influential status and its potential economic robustness.

Social Media and CSR: Buzz Words, Trends, Topics, Opportunities for Business and Nonprofits

By John Howell, Online Media Director, 3BL Media

Some days, it seems as if every other blog, news brief, RSS feed, and newsletter hails social media as the great communications opportunity of the 21st Century for news and information related to corporate social responsibility.

As someone immersed in this new and rapidly growing field, I can report that yes, social media does offer amazing possibilities, especially for companies and organizations working with all things CSR. The Twitter-Facebook-LinkedIn tool kit seems a potential game changer for leveraging the transparency, encouraging the dialogue, and soliciting the feedback that CSR stakeholders require.

There are also, as always, a few things you should know. Call them the “3-D Rules” of social media for CSR. Pay attention to them and you’ll get an in-depth picture of the opportunity—and the questions still to be answered.

Definitions. We nod when we hear “social media” as if we all agree on what it is. While there is a general idea that is generally accepted, there is debate on whether all social media is effective for business purposes.

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To Regulate Or Not To Regulate: That is the Question

Ethics pledges: If it's good enough for Harvard....

Middle Path Policymaking in the US and China

Social Media and CSR: Buzz Words, Trends, Topics, Opportunities for Business and Nonprofits

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