Profit goes both ways
Internalization of public service is likely to prove most durable if it is integrated with the search for commercial opportunities and with operational strategy.
Take for example the case of Hewlett-Packard helping women create a "mobile photo studio" in India, memorably reported in the book The World is Flat.
It started with an experimental joint program bringing together HP and a local government in the search for answers to the questions, "What do poor people need the most?" and "What can we sell?" Visiting a certain rural village to talk to people, they discovered a demand for photography, for such things as ID cards, licenses, and commemoration of important family events.
HP responded by providing a digital camera and portable printer manufactured by the company. Also, because the local electrical supply was unreliable, the company fitted a solar panel onto a wheeled backpack, and the "mobile photo studio" was born. HP also supplied the necessary consumable materials (like paper) but shared the profits with the villagers. The mobile photo studio was an instant hit, and women in the photography training class were able to double their household incomes.
When the experimental program ended, and HP came to reclaim its equipment, naturally the village residents were unhappy about having to part with it. So in the end the villagers decided to rent the equipment. From there they expanded to other villages, opening branch studios. Later HP began working with an NGO to train more women to use the mobile studio. In the process, the company sold ink and other consumables, so that both sides profited.
We are the world
"The problem of poverty cannot be solved just by giving away money to poor people," said the late Sayling Wen, but requires an "algorithm." Wen spent three years searching for this algorithm. He put it into practice in a poor rural town in China named Huangyangchuan. He helped the local vocational school set up a website and an e-commerce system, and by selling local farm produce over the web, the residents lifted themselves out of poverty.
"In one winter, they sold US$30,000 worth of products. They earned this money themselves, so it was much more meaningful than if we had given it to them," Wen said. He had originally envisioned setting up 1000 Huangyangchuans in China's northwest in order to help eradicate the poverty that has plagued the loess plain for generation upon generation. Unfortunately, after Wen died suddenly at the end of 2003, the plan was not continued.
In contrast with Sayling Wen's achievements in China, it seems that few other Taiwanese firms show concern for things beyond their own backyard. This is why it sounded so unusual when Evergreen Group chairman Chang Yung-fa recently talked about his wish to get involved in "international public service."
Dismayed by this state of affairs, Niven Huang wonders: How can Taiwan, with its financial power and its ranking in the 20% of the world that has 80% of the wealth, not participate in the issues of poverty and human rights that are being so intensely discussed internationally, or not extend a helping hand on problems like avian flu or AIDS?
Take Taiwanese firms in China, for example. In recent years the huge gap between rich and poor there has led to violent incidents and a backlash against capitalism. Have Taiwanese firms, which have had so much to gain from capitalism in China, thought to give something back to society to lessen the sense of relative deprivation of their workers and local residents? Niven Huang admits that Taiwanese companies in China face heavy competition, and are by no means in the best of situations, but he sees public service as part of meeting the overall challenge of operational strategy.
For example, in terms of the competitiveness of Taiwanese firms, a recent survey of graduates of the mainland's finest schools offered a list of some major multinational firms (including Taiwanese firms) and asked the grads where they most hoped to find a job. No Taiwanese firm came even within the top ten.
Huang cautions that Taiwanese firms shouldn't just play "follow the leader," engaging in progressive business practices only when their Western or Japanese buyers require them to do so. In order to reverse their negative image, Taiwanese firms should strike out on their own and invest in public service activities. From a more positive angle, this can also be the starting point for "brand differentiation."
The challenge of globalization is increasing, not abating. Corporations increasingly must not only do well, but do good. They must find ties that bind them to society, and make the community's welfare their intimte concern. That's the only way to really soar in this day and age.