Ethisphere magazine is out with its 2008 list of "100 Most Influential People in
Business Ethics." Yes, they managed to find some positive ethics news in a year which had precious little on that front. From the list announcement:
But not all was bad in 2008. Many individuals stood out for their positive achievements in the business ethics world as well. For that, we created this year’s list of the 100 Most Influential People in Business Ethics.
In order to develop the list, we reached out to a number of professors from notable business schools around the world to assemble an advisory board (for the names of the members of the advisory board see below). With the help of the advisory board, as well as a group of Ethisphere editors, writers and fact checkers, we were able to develop a list of 100 individuals from all around the world that greatly influenced the business ethics realm over the past year. All advisory panel members boldly gave up their right to be on this list (they all deserve to be) in order to help nominate others.
What is important to note about this list is that it rewards individuals who were influential this year, rather than over the course of their career. While many people on the list have a lifetime of positive achievements, these individuals made the list for their actions in 2008.
On the following pages you’ll find 2008’s 100 Most Influential People in Business Ethics. While you may not agree with the actions, political leanings or personality of some individuals on the list, there is no dispute that each one of them influenced business behavior over the course of the year.
I spotted two desi names on the list (in addition to Prof. Rama Velamuri of the Shanghai's China Europe International Business School, who served on the panel that helped pick the list):
Category: Government and Regulatory
Did What? He set new standards
Jindal, hailed by many in the media as the “star” of the U.S. Republican party, helped convince lawmakers in Louisiana to pass tough new ethics laws which would give the state some of the most stringent ethics laws in the country. He championed the reforms by arguing that until Louisiana cleaned up its reputation it would be at a competitive disadvantage for attracting new business.
Category: Design and Sustainability
Did What? He conserved water
Pokhriyal accepted the Golden Peacock award this year for Coca-Cola’s work in water management and conservation in India. This is even more note worthy because it wasn’t long ago that Coca-Cola had a PR crisis after an Indian environmental group release a report on pesticide levels in Coca-Cola products in India. The report said that the products contained 24 times the amount of pesticides as allowed by the Bureau of Indian Standards. Since then Coca-Cola has drastically turned around its image in the region.
Among the other interesting names on the list: Barack Obama #14; columnists Tom Friedman #20 and Paul Krugman #31. See the full list here.
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