For many nonprofit organisations, 30 June marks the end of their financial year. Consequently, thoughts now turn to finalising the trial balance, engaging with the auditors, and preparing annual reports. End-of-year is when we close the books, take stock, and reset. It’s also the best time to capture lessons from ethical challenges, identify emerging risks… Continue reading Moral Accounting and Reporting
Tag: trust
Combating Conflict: Negotiating Interests
The ‘view from the balcony’ was recently offered as a perspective that could assist with the resolution of conflicted positions during negotiations. Further reflections on this theme are offered here. Types of Conflict Illustrating the diversity of matters we may find ourselves conflicted about, the partial typology below offers just five conflict types for each… Continue reading Combating Conflict: Negotiating Interests
Good Change: Bad Change
Selected change propositions Not all change is good.Whether a change is good or bad is both a moral and a practical judgment.Not all good change overcomes resistance.Successful change requires more than a good idea. Reflections related to these propositions are offered below as a catalyst for your own reflection on how change decisions are taken… Continue reading Good Change: Bad Change
Social capital and the thickness of trust
With the 2022 Edelman Trust Barometer highlighting a cycle of distrust that threatens societal stability, prosocial action by NGOs has never been more important. While NGOs and businesses are more trusted than the government or the media, NGOs have slipped in their rankings in some countries – including Australia. International readers may find the following… Continue reading Social capital and the thickness of trust
‘Curbing’ Social Responsibility – the new CSR
Government ministers’ rebukes of corporate leaders who comment on social issues have received news coverage again in recent days. The Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister, Ben Morton, criticised companies acting as “self-appointed moral guardians”. This is consistent with 2017 remarks by Minister Peter Dutton that companies should “stick to their knitting” rather than using… Continue reading ‘Curbing’ Social Responsibility – the new CSR
Golden means or ends?
The desirability of ethical behaviour is universally acknowledged, and this has been particularly evident as we review the findings of recent Royal Commissions in this country. Unethical decisions made by senior personnel holding ‘positions of trust’ appear to have been one of the consistent themes. Politicians, pundits and the media tend to characterise these behaviours… Continue reading Golden means or ends?
Separating the facts from their meaning
If you have followed this Blog for any length of time you will know of my commitment to evidence-informed policy and advocacy, so you won’t be surprised that I like to share resources and thinking which promote those positions. Bernard-Henri Levy’s recent article in Project Syndicate, Google, Fake News, and the Crisis of Truth, is… Continue reading Separating the facts from their meaning
Real world policy – 3 Free eBooks
Further to my previous post about public engagement in policy deliberations, public policy advocates will be well aware of the debate over whether ‘evidence-based policy’ (EBP) takes sufficient account of political realities. Most of us who have engaged in this activity realise that our messages need to be sensitive to the values of the stakeholders… Continue reading Real world policy – 3 Free eBooks
Hearts and minds in public policy
The importance of restoring regard for kindness alongside hard-headed analysis in public policy deliberations is highlighted in the new Carnegie UK Trust report Kindness, emotions and human relationships: The blind spot in public policy. The report argues “that the great public policy challenges of our time demand an approach that is more centred on relationships;… Continue reading Hearts and minds in public policy
Meanwhile, back in the real world …
While Environment Minister Melissa Price was suggesting that the IPCC climate change report was ‘drawing a long bow’ to recommend phasing out coal in favour of low-carbon energy sources, businesses, insurers, lawyers, accountants, peak bodies, and even Government regulators have all been getting on with the job – both here and internationally. In their December… Continue reading Meanwhile, back in the real world …