Filed under: Predictions | Tags: bankers, Banks, bonuses, bribery, corruption, Girl Effect, KPMG, Nike, predictions, Wikileaks
UPDATE After posting these predictions I thought maybe I should read some other people’s thoughts about 2012 – there are plenty out there. Here are some of the best:
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Not sure why I’ve never done predictions before, I had fun doing these – see what you think:
BANKERS’ pay will be an even bigger battleground in 2012. Top investors will follow the lead of ABI and demand a full review of pay, and total transparency. Obama will continue toughen his tone – tapping the anger against Wall Street and linking banks with Republicans. Bankers may resort to legal action to protect the bonuses they feel entitled to.
SUPPLY CHAINS will continue to grow longer and more complex, increasing the risk in the system – to operations, and reputations. A KPMG report says supply chains now present “an unprecedented level of risk” – a large part of which is social and environmental impact, and reputation consequences. Supply chain may be the number one issue for corporates this year.
SHAREHOLDERS are increasingly aware that social and environmental factors may present real material risks to the business – and will be demanding more evidence that these risks are being managed. A report from Ernst & Young found that investors find their company’s social and environmental policies correlated with its risk management strategy — and ultimately its financial performance.
EMPLOYEES will be evermore likely to “whistleblow” improper practice: transparency is no longer a choice, it’s a reality. As Julian Assange told Forbes, “Wikileaks means it’s easier to run a good business and harder to run a bad business, and all CEOs should be encouraged by this.”
More CONSUMERS will tend to prefer companies to show some kind of contribution to society. More and more brands will jump on this – from activities like Tide’s Loads of Hope disaster relief or Trident’s Smiles Across America, to sophisticated philanthropic strategies like Nike’s Girl Effect.
The WAR FOR TALENT will be a major driver of improved corporate behaviour. Campaign groups like Amnesty International have long understood that graduate recruitment is a “choke point” for big corporates – and this is only likely to intensify. People want to have some pride in who they work for: increasingly, poor corporate behaviour will reduce a company’s ability to attract and retain talent.
CORRUPTION and bribery overseas will be met with zero tolerance: “the way things are done over there” will no longer be an excuse. Expect a few high-profile slip-ups as multinationals figure out how to comply with the new UK Bribery Act and the tougher US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
WORKERS in the global supply chain will become increasingly aware of their rights. Initiatives like Labor Voices – a social network where workers in supply chains can rate and review their employers – will empower people to expose unacceptable working conditions.
INVESTORS will show a growing appetite for non-financial information about companies. According to an HBR paper: some investors regard the fact that a company has thorough ESG reporting as an indication of how investable it is. Goldman Sachs says ESG disclosure quality can be a proxy for management quality.
Image from GenArt.
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