By Tim Melville-Ross
Guardian Professional
Originally published July 11, 2013
Here is an excerpt:
Since the beginning of time, business has depended upon trust and goodwill in order for commerce to flourish. Indeed, the word credit has its origins in the Latin credere: 'to trust, entrust, believe'. Business must be conducted in an open and honest manner, otherwise trust is eroded and businesses fail. But calls for an increased trust in business miss the point – trust needs to be earned.
There was once a time when business leaders could just tell the public "trust me to do the right thing" and they would. Then, with increased regulation and pressures from investors, companies were asked to show they were working to ethical standards through their own reporting. But since the collapse of the financial markets, something more is required for society's trust in business to be restored.
The entire article is here.
