Jordi believes that problems of the modern corporate world are the notion that firms ought to maximize profits at the low cost of operation. This notion has a negative effect on both the leadership and governance of corporate firms thus making the positions unattractive and with their tainted images from the society (Jordi, 2010). Although shared value does not manifest itself in relation to integrity, entrepreneurs ought to express this value in order to expand their business. Integrity lies at the heart of leadership, ethics, reputation, and corporate social responsibility of an organization.
Bartlett and Goshal, in Changing Role of Top Management: Beyond Strategy to Purpose (1994), believe that leadership and power are the key components of integrity in an organization. Therefore, managers of modern business organizations are advised to disregard the old ideology of strategy, structure and systems, and form organizations established on purpose and process that target the needs of the people in the society. The strategy-structure system approach is always aimed at establishing a kind of management that is geared toward minimising the idiosyncrasies of human behaviour, a move that does work in modern business organizations. Handy reinforces the same belief when he quotes a research conducted by a Gallup poll.
The results of the research indicate that 90% of Americans feel that corporate leaders do not put the interest of consumers and shareholders at heart. This indicates a wrong approach my mangers that put their interest ahead of the society in which their organizations are established. According to Handy, a strategy geared at empowering the society benefits both the organization and the society a shared value system (Handy, 2002). Several research projects conducted by business organizations reveal that successful leaders put less effort in the strategic plan that they use to manage their organization. Such leaders channel all their energy for the good of the organization. When the purpose for which the organization was established is met, other benefits, including growth and development, flow unconditionally.
The same leaders focus more on effective process than they do on formal structures established during initial stages of a business. These gradually replace old systems which do not work, thus leaving an organization with a new and efficient system of working that determines the quality of the product or services. The leaders are not concerned with control of the organizations ether. Instead, they direct their energy to capabilities and perspectives of the organization.Milton Friedman of The New York Times Magazine believes that social responsibility is a corporate responsibility that just a role for managers and Chief Executive Officers.
Such managers act according to the interests of the corporate owners of organizations who hold the key of attaining shared value among business and societies (Friedman, 1970). According to Bartlett and Goshal, integrity can find its way into an old organization through shaping the purpose of the organization. The shaping process begins at the top management of the business where managers are trained in a manner that changes their perspectives and their way of thinking. Acquiring new perspectives will enable them to transform their organizations more effectively. This is followed by a move that defines the purpose, embeds ambition in the corporate sphere and instils value in the organization. The move makes every person in the organization understand its roles and give them meaning with respect to the goals and purpose defined by the top managers.
Finally, Bartlett and Goshal believe that corporations are among the most fundamental institutions that define the direction in which the modern society proceeds. Devinney (2009) also believes in integrity but from a slightly different perspective, with the same interests dwelled on by Bartlett and Goshal. He looks at integrity as corporate social responsibility in the modern society. He carries out a research that examines positive psychological traits in leaders of organizations. He relates these traits to transformational leadership, and uses a structural modern equation that enables him to analyze his data. Devinney (2009) concludes that positive traits, such as optimism, hope, and resiliency, are essential in determining the performance of the majority of chief executive officers of the 56 firms that were studied.
The most important conclusion that he makes is that transformational leadership is more performance-related in starting organizations than in established organizations. This implies that modern organizations ought to embrace corporate social responsibility from the beginning of their establishment to enjoy multiple benefits in terms of performance and development. All these have to be theoretically substantiated before they are transformed into practically working actions. This conclusion is affirmed by Jeffrey Pfeffer who advices companies to consider customers, suppliers, employees, community and shhareholders at a single level. The old notion of putting the needs of shared holders first, derails shared value and community development (Pfeffer, 2009). Overall, shared value best describes how organizations can attain sustainability and acquire opportunities present in the society.
This comes at the benefit of both the society and organizations involved, thus satisfying the needs of humankind. Although shared value does not incorporate integrity in a direct approach, the two are related and supplement each other as indicated by Bartlett, Goshal, and Devinney. In their different articles and research projects, the three authors bring out the idea of integrity as being the core approach of ensuring the success of a business organization at an early stage. However, such integrity comes from the top management, and thus the society benefits those who are related to the services of the organization.In conclusion, all the three aspects of opportunity, sustainability and integrity intersect within an organization in line with their impacts.
Sustainability ensures that organizations’ future is established and assured. This is achievable through taking care of the environment and future generations, which represent potential consumers and a source of manpower for the organization. This is directly linked to the opportunity of meeting needs necessary to create sustainability. When an organization establishes needs or problems that hinder sustainability, an opportunity is conceived to fulfil the needs or eradicate the problem.
The opportunity requires a high level of integrity to ensure the goals of the organization are attainable. Cooper’s reaction to the effects of shared value to the next wave of economy portrays its inevitable impact on the corporate world. He relies on researches that have demanded for organizations to be flexible and adaptive to the changing environment to prophesise a possible new era that would rely on shared value to make business. According to him, shared value is a potential approach that is key for the next wave of economic growth in the modern society.
This might be fulfilled, since most companies are currently neglecting societies, thus creating a problem in the community. Companies that will take this opportunity will need to eradicate the problems by triggering a wave of shared value. Although not all problems created will be solved through shared value, this will, nevertheless, trigger the growth of the global economy (Cooper et al., 2008).
