Conclusion Can Business Step Up?

Abstract

Listen to Hector Ruiz, Chairman and CEO of AMD, pose a fundamental choice to fellow business leaders at the Detroit Economic Club in March 2007: We’ve all heard the terms; we all know what they mean for our businesses: The Internet; globalization, the spread of democracy; the rule of law and science-driven technologies. These forces have combined to allow businesses, and their products and services to have a deeper impact on society than at any other time in our history. And the evidence suggests our influence will only strengthen. With every innovation in manufacturing and packaging, we extend the reach of our products around the world. With every gain in productivity, we make our goods and services cheaper and more accessible. With every advance in technology, we empower more people to participate in the global economy and lead healthier and wealthier lives. Yet, across the world it is a hotly debated question on whether this growing influence of business on people’s lives is healthy. While I respect this concern, I believe it is the wrong question to ask. The power of its influence, like the power of technology or the power of wealth, is at its core neutral in its effects. It is only how that influence is applied that makes it positive or negative. So as business leaders, with such great influence at our disposal, we have a choice.