Profits And Promises

NBC's Meet the Press host Tim Russert introduces seminars on Reinventing the Corporation and New Markets, New Challenges, both taped in March 1995. A variety of corporate types, together with a few politicos and journalists, make up the discussion panel. Each program has a different cast and moderator. The first deals with a hypothetical corporation that's ailing and needs to re-evaluate its approach to business. The moderator lays out the scenario: Should the company return to its original guiding philosophy (as outlined in a credo called "The Path"), calling for less structure and a more populist approach to management? Or should it change CEOs, entertain a takeover, or resign itself to corporate Darwinism? Panelists weigh in with various approaches--from the moderately humane to the cutthroat. In an amusing analogy, one participant says she would approach the beleaguered management a la Tina Turner in "Proud Mary" ("first nice and easy, then nice and rough"). Most of the discussion is civil (this ain't the McLaughlin Group) and pretty dry, except for the aforementioned, and the occasional contribution of gonzo journalist Joe Queenan (a scribe for Barrons and The Wall Street Journal, but also known for his scathing movie biz writing). Whether a company's responsibility is to its shareholders first, last, and always are among the essential issues discussed. The second program considers how the fictional nation of Xanadu (which sounds a lot like Haiti as the conversation develops) would go about attracting corporate investment. Realpolitick rules--with the wining, dining, schmoozing, and other tactics in the wooing process duly recognized. (An unscreened third program in the series, Reworking the American Dream, addresses the question of what, if anything, American corporations, owe their workers.) This is strictly talking heads territory, with the attendant drawbacks; still, worth consideration for public libraries or for a business course--especially business ethics. (J. Dick)