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Sunday, May 20th
‘Corporates should be accountable to all’ By Our Special Correspondent
BANGALORE, JAN. 28. Quality consciousness should go beyond the shop floor to the boardroom, and corporates should be accountable to all “stakeholders”. Including employees and not only the shareholders, according to Dr. Madhav Mehra, chairman of the World Quality Council (WQC) headquartered in London. Talking to presspersons during the visit to Bangalore, Dr Mehra said that a comparative study of corporates in the United States and Japan revealed differences in the perception of who were the real owners of a company. The Japanese said that the employees and customers were also stakeholders in a company while the Americans believed the only owners were the shareholders. Conclusions could be drawn from the relative strengths of U.S. and Japanese businesses today, he said. In the “Knowledge Economy” of the 21st Century, brains counted more than capital interms of money, and corporate earned returns on their imagination. Dr Mehra pointed out. Successful corporate also realized that they had to create wealth for all, including their employees. There were examples of such companies in the Indian It industry; they cared for their employees and showed it through ESOPs and other facilities. Such companies were also financially better than average and had high market caps. Corporates should be made to come out with “Disclosure Statements” which covered their environmental impact and not just the financial bottomline. Dr Madhav Mehra said. The environmental impact accounting had to become an important part of the social responsibility of corporates. Companies which ignored their environment could face major setbacks as happened to the Union Carbide in India after the Bhopal gas leak disaster. These would be among the topics for discussion at the international conference to be organized by the WQC and the institute of Directors next June at Palampur in Himachal Pradesh. There would be participants from 38 countries, including some major venture capital firms of the US and Japan. The theme would centre around “Environmentally sustainable trade and development in a global economy.” The venue was carefully chosen as Himachal Pradesh has vast natural resources which today attracted global investment. The companies coming to that region had to be environment conscious and be accountable to the local people.
"Dr Madhav Mehra is a phenomenon, nothing describes him better."
Ola Ullsten, Former Prime Minister of Sweden at the 8th World Congress on Environment Management, Palampur, 2006"
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Dr Mehra, I just read your commentary on Satyam....You made one of the wisest observations on board failures I've ever read - "It is difficult to understand something when your salary depends on not understanding it".Brilliant!
Ralph Ward, Boardroom Insider
"Dr Madhav Mehra, has played a significant role to bring about a change in the mindset of the corporate world. India will remember him as a great pioneer who foresaw such a need and strove for inculcating a culture of quality in all spheres of activity."
S S H Rehman Executive Director, ITC Group of Hotels
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"I have known Dr Mehra for the last 8 years in my capacity as the Chairman of the Centre for Social Responsibility,..... Chairman of the S.M. Charitable Trust . I am amazed by the energy, enthusiasm and dedication that he brings to every idea he promotes."
P.N. Bhagwati, Former Chief Justice of India
"Rarely does one come across a legend like Madhav Mehra. I have witnessed his dedication everywhere: building community centres for gaddies of Dhauladhar, hospital and school for slum dwellers in Delhi and addressing corporates on the social role of their business."
Dr Sahib Singh, Ex-Chief Minister, speaking at SM Medical Centre, 13.04.04"
"Had Dr Madhav Mehra just been the founder of the IOD, that in itself would have been a piece of work tat the present and future generations would cherish. But by establising so many other organisations, he has really ensured that we respect him as a pioneering figure of all te good that Indian business is striving for."
Javed Husain, Professor and former Dean of Engineering
"Address of Dr Mehra was a unique experience. I aspire to listen to him again and wish Dr Mehra can find time to address youth in the colleges."
MK Yadav, Hindustan Zinc LTD
"Dr Mehra has given a unique dimension to CSR. His interpretation is particularly relevant to us and we must invite him once again to address our top executives"
Hon'ble Carlton Davis, head of Jamaica's Civil Service"
"Dr Mehra's passion comes alive from his speeches"
Uma Arora, Chairman Idam Learning
"Dr Madhav Mehra's keynote address was the most thought provoking"
N A Patil & R B Rajpune
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