Responsible Leadership and Governance in Global Business

Responsibility refers to accountability and governance is the act of the governing government. Responsible leadership is a concept that is widely discussed and there is a lot of literature available in that context. However, the interaction of ethics, corporate social responsibility and leadership has not been discussed in as much detail. In fact, these concepts are almost always studied independently of each other.

In practical, everyday life, however, leadership, ethics and CSR are concepts that are often intersecting and interdependent. In fact, effective or responsible leadership should consider ethics and CSR as part of the leadership duties. Despite the fact that there is work done in each field individually, the work is as of yet scattered and less effective because ethics and CSR are not part of government policies and general culture whether public or corporate.

In order to increase effectiveness of ethical standards and social responsibility, the governments of various countries will have to get involved in policy making which promotes such behavior among the masses as well as among the large corporates of the world. Leadershipand strategy management teams of large corporations must have a policy for developing best practices with regard to ethical standards and corporate social responsibility.

A combined effort from the governments and large corporates is needed to make ethical and socially responsible behavior a part of the everyday life of people. This will not only require formulation of new literature but also mass communication campaigns to be instituted over a long period of time. Cultural changes need both, time and effort at a large scale.

It is important for global companies to have such practices in place that can be suitable for the institutional as well as cultural settings of the various countries that they operate in. These practices need to be developed by the internal leadership and governance teams of these global companies but they need to be in consonance with the policies of the local governments of different countries. This is where the tussle usually lies. 

 

Responsible leadership and strategic management can lead to the difference between a globally successful and unsuccessful brand over a long term. Once the government and/or public in a specific country realises that the brand’s leadership is responsible and is thinking of the local public ethically and in a socially responsible manner, the likeability and longevity of the company in that region increases.  Such brands and companies are also more stable in foreign countries even from a short term perspective.

For leaders from different fields of work, developing ethical and socially responsible practices is a ubiquitous and pertinent issue globally. Global companies need to pay attention on how to develop leaders who can think ethically and in a socially responsible way, while also maintaining profitability as a chief goal of the company.