The Business of Humanity : Strategic Management in the Era of Globalization, Innovation, and Shared Value

Companies across the world, for a variety of reasons, are committing to incorporating social responsibility into their business models and finding that their profits are growing and their long-term sustainability is enhanced—building "humanity" into their business models as the driver of economic, environmental, and social sustainability. This fascinating development is a widely observable global phenomenon.

The "Business of Humanity®" (BoH) Proposition is the synthesis of counter-intuitive but simple and powerful ideas about how companies can add value in today’s globalized and fast-changing world. The task of BoH Strategies is to overcome three critical challenges characterizing today’s business environment, namely disruptive technologies, conflicted stakeholders, and unknowable futures. BoH Strategies are designed to convert these challenges into opportunities for enhanced sustainability on all three dimensions—economic, environmental and social. Written by leading experts with decades of experience, this book:

• Provides a hands-on understanding of how to implement this powerful and rewarding approach to simultaneously add economic value and enhance social benefit
• Includes the experiences and approaches of highly regarded business executives and successful organizations
• Responds to the critical challenges created by three environmental mega forces – the inevitability of globalization, the imperative of innovation, and the importance of shared value.

This book is based on lessons drawn from the real world and provides a compelling rationale for the power of the BoH Proposition. The pragmatic framework and process offered enable companies to develop and confidently implement value-adding strategies based on the BoH Proposition.

• Provides a hands-on understanding of how to implement this powerful and rewarding approach to simultaneously adding economic value and enhancing social benefit.
• Details an informed understanding and response to the shortcomings and inadequacies of accounting numbers and, more importantly, the proven synergy of economic and social value-added.
• Includes statements by highly regarded business executives while supplemented by the documented shortcomings of the traditional focus on accounting profits as a measure of strategic performance.
• Identifies the environmental mega forces -- the inevitability of globalization, the imperative of innovation, and the importance of shared value -- that demand the attention and responses from managers.
   

Preface

Chapter 1 : The Business of Humanity Proposition
Chapter 2 : The Strategic Challenge
Chapter 3 : Responding to the Strategic Challenge
Chapter 4 : The Business of Humanity Management Framework
Chapter 5 : Identity as Anchor, Beacon and Compass
Chapter 6 : Feed-Forward to a Visionary Future
Chapter 7 : Frugal Engineering, Not Jugaad!
Chapter 8 : Forming Business of Humanity Strategies
Chapter 9 : The Promise of Business of Humanity Strategies

Appendix 1 : Arvind Ltd : The Power of BoH Strategies
Appendix 2 : Ford in Camacari : BoH–Driven Sustainability as Strategy
Appendix 3 : Walmart in India : In Search of a BoH Strategy
Appendix 4 : SKS Microfinance and Bandhan : The Triumph of BoH Strategy
Index