What actually is a “good company”?
Over the last couple of days, in particular in light of conversations regarding Uber, and the DAPL, I’ve been attempting to tackle what does it mean for a company to be “good”?
Often it is a question of operational responsibility (e.g. Are your employees compensated fairly? Are you environmentally conscious?), which is largely what is referenced to in the larger conversations around “CSR” and “ESG.”
However, what I think is of greater interest is the concept of a business model which is “bad,” and further, attempting to parse out what makes one feel as though a business is bad. Is it when the good or service provided is one which, by the standards of the general public, ought to be provided by the government (e.g. private prisons)? Or is it when the good or service takes advantage of a vulnerable group of people (e.g. payday loans)? Is there a common thread, or characteristic which runs through all of these business models?
