Business Frontiers

Business operates at the frontiers of society – seeking out new territories to explore and exploit, imagining fresh new ways to meet age old needs, innovating the artefacts that become the legacy of civilizations, reinventing the rituals which shape acceptable social behaviour, and changing the way we spend our precious time. But what happens when the landscape itself changes? As the world globalises, power is shifting – from the plush boardrooms to dusty streets, from the financial market casino to the internet connected community, from the annual general meetings to the mass activist campaigns, from the office towers of the North to the crowded pavements of the South. Business faces its greatest challenge yet. Confronted with the triple imperatives of social responsibility, environmental sustainability and economic justice, business will need to adapt or die. Those companies that manage to discard the obsolete business models from the last century and embrace the new paradigm will survive and thrive. Those who fail to register or admit that the climate has irrevocably changed will join the dinosaurs in the museum of business history.

Contents

PROLOGUE – Reflecting on Responsibility

INTRODUCTION – Feeling the Tension

BUSINESS PARADIGMS

Transforming Business: The Power of Perception

Community Business: Embracing True Service

Holistic Business: In Search of Synergy

Lessons of Nature: Productivity through Interdependence

Afrocentric Business: A Southern Perspective

ECONOMIC JUSTICE

Beyond Growth: Measures of Progress

Ethical Investment: Money With Values

Community Economics: Local Empowerment

Sustainable Economics: Beyond the Predatory Economy

Ecological Economics: Grassroots Reform in South Africa

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Sustainability Gaps: Challenges that Remain

Beyond Greed: From Accounting to Accountability

Sustainable Companies: Shapeshifting Business

Greening Business: A Post-Apartheid Scorecard

Corporate Sustainability: A Ten Year South African Review

CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY

Hearts and Minds: The Corporate Battle

Developing Countries: Exploding the Myths

Work and Social Responsibility: Quest for Meaning

CSR in Africa: A Unique Definition?

Corporate Citizenship: Is South Africa World Class?

FUTURE VISIONS

Future Images: Beyond the Information Age

Corporate Sustainability: Scenarios for the Future

Corporate Social Responsibility: An Agenda for the Future

Sustainable Business Futures: Ten Predictions

Ubuntu Capitalism: A South African Vision

PERSONAL INSPIRATION

Human Ecology: A Scottish Odyssey

Connecting Earth and Sky: Remarkable Stories

Para-Ecology and Ecokinesis: Frontiers of Environmental Science?

Tree of Life: Roots, Shoots and Fruits

Quest for Gold: A Parable

EPILOGUE – The Poetry of Business

Author Profile