Empires of Profit : Commerce, Conquest and Corporate Responsibility

Rating:
Summary: Excellent analysis of a very important topic
Review: If globalization is an inescapable means to prosperity in the twenty first century, so are the multinationals - the merchants and ambassadors of commerce and industry across borders. But this is not the first time in history that mankind is experiencing the flow of goods and services across oceans and continents. Multinationals have lessons to learn from the past if they are to succeed in the future. This book is a crisp experience summary of some typical multinationals spanning four centuries, several industries and across continents. The scope is however restricted to companies originating in developed countries and their operations in developing countries.

Growth rates having hit their plateaus in the developed world, the scene is now shifting to countries like China and India, the most populous nations with the highest growth potential and market size for most industries. Multinationals traditionally have focussed on marketing and manufacturing as their core competencies and looked upon social interactions and politics in host nations as peripheral activities supported through public relations. This book demonstrates the importance of understanding intricate social and political issues in local societies and that multinationals in the past have failed to anticipate, let alone shape the outcomes that can have severe impact on their business, image and survival. Backed by a impressive list of references, the book discusses the hypothesis of the role and complexity of interactions of multinationals with host societies and governments and the failure of these corporates to handle situations arising out of making simplistic assumptions. The results can be devastating in countries with low political stability.

The author's grasp of the ground realities in various countries, the impartial analysis of events and the logical linkage to the hypothesis is superb. The book is not a complete coverage of business history of multinationals operating in developing countries, but an attempt to highlight the importance of and the means to achieve sustainable co-existence with local cultures and politics. The case studies are just the right samples to derive meaningful inferences.

Most multinationals today require their managers and employees to be sensitive to and respect local cultures and adapt rather than attempt to modify them. The concept of Corporate Social Responsibility has suddenly become a key word for corporate governance. On the other hand, forces of anti-globalization target multinationals to gain global attention.

The maps and pictures add to the flavor of the ideal coffee table reading. A must on the bookshelf of all those who appreciate a very important dimension of managing across borders.

Rating:
Summary: Insightful!
Review: If you ever wanted to belly up to the bar with a foreign correspondent, share a cold beer and swap war stories, this is your chance. Daniel Litvin, a former journalist, as well as a former corporate social responsibility (CSR) officer, shares a book full of corporate adventures from the foreign battlefields of business. In this very anecdotal examination of how the arrival of first world companies affects local societies and governments - for good or ill - in third world countries, he sews stories and history together from India to Guatemala to Iran to Manchuria to Africa. He lists the past misdeed of Aramco oil companies in Arabia, of Shell in Nigeria and of Nike's far flung contractors, seeming to say that they meant no real harm and did less harm than they were accused of doing, but he also contrasts the flawed past with the improved present. Even with responsible policies, he says, multinationals most often fail because they create unexpected dynamics and impossible expectations. We recommend this fiscal, social and corporate travelogue to executives, corporate social responsibility officers and field personnel far from home.

Rating:
Summary: A travesty! Softens and erases corporate crimes
Review: This book held such promise in my hands: a quick historical examination of key corporate empires in the last few hundred years. It might have been perfect for my Geography students. But alas, the book is a sorry escapade into myth-making and historical amnesia.

_Empires of Profit_ manages to listen sympathetically to the views of corporations and colonizers (East India Company, Cecil Rhodes, Nike, United Fruit, Shell Oil, etc.), without hearing the voices of the dead and impoverished. Read _Dying for Growth_, _The Divine Right of Capital_, or _People Before Profit_ for more balanced and careful examinations of capitalism.

Can you imagine a book which tells the story of the East India Company without telling of violence, theft, famine, and racism? If so, then you can imagine Litvin's book. (See Mike Davis' _Late Victorian Holocausts_ for insight into British rule!) And can you imagine telling about Shell Oil in Nigeria, as if Shell was a gentle, but somewhat misguided bystander? If so, welcome to Litvin's world, where corporations have an almost passive role in colonialism, neo-colonialism, politics, and militarism.

This book is historically inaccurate, deaf to voices from abroad, and forgetful of horrifying encounters between multi-xillion dollar corporations and the poor countries they encounter.

Rating:
Summary: A travesty! Softens and erases corporate crimes
Review: This book held such promise in my hands: a quick historical examination of key corporate empires in the last few hundred years. It might have been perfect for my Geography students. But alas, the book is a sorry escapade into myth-making and historical amnesia.

_Empires of Profit_ manages to listen sympathetically to the views of corporations and colonizers (East India Company, Cecil Rhodes, Nike, United Fruit, Shell Oil, etc.), without hearing the voices of the dead and impoverished. Read _Dying for Growth_, _The Divine Right of Capital_, or _People Before Profit_ for more balanced and careful examinations of capitalism.

Can you imagine a book which tells the story of the East India Company without telling of violence, theft, famine, and racism? If so, then you can imagine Litvin's book. (See Mike Davis' _Late Victorian Holocausts_ for insight into British rule!) And can you imagine telling about Shell Oil in Nigeria, as if Shell was a gentle, but somewhat misguided bystander? If so, welcome to Litvin's world, where corporations have an almost passive role in colonialism, neo-colonialism, politics, and militarism.

This book is historically inaccurate, deaf to voices from abroad, and forgetful of horrifying encounters between multi-xillion dollar corporations and the poor countries they encounter.

Rating:
Summary: A Fascinating Exploration of Multinational Power
Review: This intelligent and engrossing book goes beyond the surface and slogans of the debate on multinationals to reveal a complex reality. Daniel Litvin takes us on a tour , ranging not just across the controversies of modern multinationals such as Nike,Shell and Murdoch's Star TV but also back to the 'business giants' of imperial times (such as the British East India Company)and ,among others, troubled US multinationals in the period of decolonisation. The resulting stories of corporate might,entanglement and mishap -clearly intensively researched - make for a gripping and dramatic read.

However at a deeper level what is fascinating is the way the book grapples with the serious moral issues arising from corporate power -for example allegations of exploitation in developing world factories or collusion with foreign dictatorships. The thoughtful way these issues are approached is likely to challenge the kind of entrenched postions taken on both sides of the multinational/globalisation debate. Daniel Litvin is humane in his understanding of developing countries' problems and often very critical of multinationals but he does not rush to simplistically demonize the companies. He shows that the environment in which they operate is often morally complicated. What is built up is a balanced but vivid picture of the foreign interactions of these flawed business giants.

The historical perspective of the book is unique but powerfully illuminates the deep roots of today's unhappy, fraught relationship between the West and the rest of the world. With such varied elements, 'Empires of Profit' is far more than a mere business book.