Self-help for corporations

On the face of it, a corporation is no different from a shelf full of beanie babies - it's a collection of real things that "exists", as a collection, only in an abstract sense.  The thing is, corporations exhibit some collective behavior that resembles the way people behave.  For example, can you blame BP's Gulf oil leak on individuals?  It's probably more accurate to say it was a result of a corporate culture:  standards and priorities that were set by and shared by most of BP's employees. 

Much has been said about the inherent amorality of corporations:  that they report only to the bottom line.  There are individual people that behave amorally too - but unless they're sociopaths, their conscience intrudes.  Then they start thinking about how to lead an existence that's more in tune with their surroundings.

Self-help books give such people mental, emotional, and social advice.  Which makes me wonder:  what would a self-help book for a corporation look like?  How can you guide the latent sentience of a group?

Corporate culture isn't top-down; examples are set from above, but they have to be reinforced, or reinvented, at every level.  There are many cases where a corporation lacks a cohesive culture or where parts of it have a culture different from the rest.  Take my employer - it grew rapidly by acquisition, so each site had its own "feel" for quite some time after acquisition.  Turnover, and repetition of a consistent message from headquarters, has built a shared outlook.  But it wouldn't have happened without buy-in.  Every individual contributed.

Where does individual morality come from?  Strictly behavioral lessons, like "don't hit people or they'll hit you back," don't explain the full spectrum of human ethics.  Altruism (part of which may be genetic) comes into play.  Spirituality too.  And, perhaps most of all, empathy.

What kind of "book", then, can influence the individual employees of a corporation to set priorities in accordance with empathy, spirituality, and altruism?  Certainly their own moral codes are guided by these things.  Maybe they just need to sense that they're allowed--even required--to make those things a priority within their company.  We all want to act with integrity.

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