Building Reputational Capital: Strategies for Integrity and Fair Play that Improve the Bottom Line

by Kevin T. Jackson

Overview

In the aftermath of scandals such as those at Enron and WorldCom, there is a growing suspicion of the corporate world. For this reason it is more important than ever for firms to maintain a good reputation. In Building Reputational Capital, Kevin T. Jackson offers a practical guide to taking the high road—the only path that leads to lasting success.
Based on extensive research and real-world experience, Building Reputational Capital reveals basic principles of integrity and fairness with which firms can build an enduring reputation. More than image, a firm's reputation is a form of capital often neglected in the boardroom and overlooked in conventional analyses of financial statements. Speaking directly to the work experience of real people in practical business settings, Jackson couples each principle with straightforward actions that drive management systems, and he provides tested strategies—from downsizing techniques to e-commerce tips—that cultivate the hidden power of a good reputation. He outlines the advantages of a superior reputation (simply put, people want to work for, invest in, and do business with a company or person with integrity), describes the vital role the firm's leader must play, offers ways to build and protect your reputation on the Internet (from defusing Internet rumors to creating an online community), and shows how to rescue your reputation once disaster hits. Perhaps most important, he shows how to strike the right balance of virtues like authenticity, honesty, responsibility, and stewardship of the environment, employees, and the economy.
Highlighted with real-life success stories—from giants like Hewlett-Packard to small firms like Thanksgiving Coffee Company (which invests part of its revenues in the Central American villages in which its beans are grown), Building Reputational Capital offers a simple but effective guide for executives, managers, entrepreneurs, legal professionals, and corporate consultants.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780195161380
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	04/08/2004
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	9.46(w) x 6.16(h) x 0.96(d)
Lexile:	1280L (what's this?)

About the Author

Kevin T. Jackson is a consultant on business ethics for organizations and leaders worldwide. He is Associate Professor of Legal and Ethical Studies at Fordham University's Schools of Business in New York City. Dr. Jackson delivered seminars on ethics in the securities industry for the NASD, and has given presentations for executives, dignitaries, and financial services organizations, including LOMA/LIMRA. A frequent commentator in the news media on legal and ethical issues facing corporations, he has been on CBS Evening News, CNN, Fox News, and National Public Radio. He lives in New York City.

Table of Contents

	Acknowledgments	ix
	Introduction: The Economics of Character and Credibility	1
I.	What Is Reputational Capital?	17
1.	Switching to a New Paradigm	19
2.	Getting a Handle on Reputational Capital	41
3.	A Fresh Economic Concept with Strategic Significance	48
4.	How to Gauge Reputational Capital	63
5.	Integrity and Fair Play: Wellsprings of Reputation	77
6.	Tallying Up Reputational Effects	85
7.	Becoming a Zeta Firm: A Company of Character	90
II.	How to Build and Sustain Reputational Capital	101
8.	Generating Reputational Capital	103
9.	Forging Reputation from Inside	113
10.	Outside-In Strategies	135
11.	Harnessing Your Firm's Reputational Strengths	146
12.	Strategies for Building Reputations across Cultures	153
13.	Reputation Rescue	178
	Conclusion	195
	Notes	199
	Bibliography	211
	Index	219

Preface

IN THE AFTERMATH OF SCANDALS SUCH AS those at Enron and WorldCom, there is a growing suspicion of the corporate world. For this reason it is more important than ever for firms to maintain a good reputation. In Building Reputational Capital, Kevin T. Jackson offers a practical guide to taking the high road-the only path that leads to lasting success. Based on extensive research and real-world experience, Building Reputational Capital reveals basic principles of integrity and fairness with which firms can build an enduring reputation. More than image, a firm's reputation is a form of capital often neglected in the boardroom and overlooked in conventional analyses of financial statements. Speaking directly to the work experience of real people in practical business settings, Jackson couples each principle with straightforward actions that drive management systems, and he provides tested strategies-from downsizing techniques to e-commerce tips-that cultivate the hidden power of a good reputation. He outlines the advantages of a superior reputation (simply put, people want to work for, invest in, and do business with a company or person with integrity), describes the vital role the firm's leader must play, offers ways to build and protect your reputation on the Internet (from defusing Internet rumors to creating an online community), and shows how to rescue your reputation once disaster hits. Perhaps most importantly, he shows how to strike the right balance of virtues like authenticity, honesty, responsibility, and stewardship of the environment, employees, and the economy. Highlighted with real-life success stories-from giants like Hewlett-Packard to small firms like Thanksgiving Coffee Company (which invests part of its revenues in the Central American Villages in which its beans are grown). Building Reputational Capital offers a simple but effective guide for executives, managers, entrepreneurs, legal professionals, and corporate consultants.

Editorial Reviews

"Bad reputation? Author Kevin Jackson argues that taking the ethical high road is the only way for firms to reach lasting success. In Building Reputational Capital, Jackson offers a practical guide for executives, managers, entrepreneurs, lawyers and consultants."—Investor's Business Daily

"This is a comprehensive, down-to-earth guide to creating and sustaining your good reputation as a fair and ethical company. Jackson, an ethics consultant and an associate professor at Fordham University, devotes the first half to gauging the effects of credibility and the second to making credibility happen. As he reminds readers, a good reputation is important for attracting principled employees and keeping the company in good standing, but its also necessary for competitive advantage. The advice is common sense: Among the many tips, he distinguishes between corporate conduct that magnifies reputation (following the spirit of the law) and conduct that merely maintains reputation (following the letter of the law). Overall, its good to see an important subject handled so skillfully in a readable, non-preachy format."—Harvard Business School, Working Knowledge website

From the Publisher