caper "he Copan mee tn Exerson chang Roper INTRODUCTION ‘The corporate image exists inthe minds of people. I ie a loose structure ofknowiedge, belie, and feling It may be vague or clear, weak or strong I differs fiom person 10 person, ftom company to company In pati s based on facts and figures, such as a company’ sales volume, its rodvct activites, the amount of its profits, the price of is Stock, the location ofits plants, and 80 fort, Additionally, itis rooted in variety of socal atitdes and value systems Which people eamy in their minds, The eomponte image, then, may be defined as © composite of knowledge, fecling, ideas, and belies associated with «company a5 4 result ofthe totality of is activities. United States corporations have invested huge sums of ‘money o project their unique characters or persons to the American public in an effort to show dramatically that they are more than organizations 10 produce goods and services. This effort on the part of lee comportions to Project favorable image tothe public has only come into Prominence during the last two decades. Initially, before ‘he huge corporations came upon the scene, most products curtied the owner's othe company’s name. Most of the advertising of products consisted ofa picture of the factory, ‘or ofthe company’s founder, and an “netutional” message indicating that the product was superior because’ the particular manufacturer was responsible for producing it AAs the tempo of marketing increased, 36- products ‘uid, it became important for names t0 stand out clearly and be easily and quickly pronounceable and ‘identifiable. In response to this, brand names replaced those of men or even companies. During the depression of the’ 1930"s, when established values and loyalties “were being” Comoded, many Corporate Sal Rpt and God Governance a caer ‘Phe ope mae An crnion me “7 Cangas manufictures abandoned personal or company names completely and promoted their products and their brands with no attempt to identify them withthe company that Produced them, It was fet ha the consumer eared nothing. shout the isttution behind the product as long as the prove tse andthe price were satsfctry Promoting of corporate images reached 2 low point during ‘the 1930's. During the past twenty years thre has been an increasing tendency tote prominent brands a corporate identity, This reversal quickened during World War I when producers who were making war materials sought to Toaintain their reputation in the marketplace aliough no longer producing consumer goods. ‘The development of corporate images during the past two decades was furthered by the growth of great industrial complexes. Businesses have sought diversification and hhave merged with ober companies. This process and advanced technology have rested in fewer differences between competitors of competitive products. With competing products also often becoming nearly identical, ‘many companies -parcularly in the consumer goods field have ft thatthe product teelf sa relatively mor factor ‘in sales and that outside factors such as the reputation and integrity ofits producer may frequently be decisive. Finally, the emergence ofthe super-corporation has crested social and sociological problems related to ther size and complexity rather than simply” to the selling of their products, Beause of these problems, super-corporations Ihave flt a considerable need for projecting their image favorably to varions groups in the population, to stockholders and investors, legislators, civic leaders, labor, college and high school students who may be induced 9 ‘work fr them, educators, engineers, and a hos of others in Coporat Sock Respond Good Governance 8scoer ‘he Certs Inges dn Ege ‘Fonte Rope adshion hose ity ons wih omen ‘buying or using their products, a ‘This pe soe of ip lveintng the own Inredats “Coponts"nonagenes eg ‘eid fo ji ie i mf doe poses of tater ha by appeal othe mui The corporation In een as gi of een sit ithe reseed fr pois wt hee Scesiom dens “auved economic le! The Perea ron of hoe toca ees {tet ting dese towed ings comport mage aad ‘semors deine whe hs natn te rt coparn' epee f ha pons tejod the ott mative. We sould lum someting of ‘hat motte and snot corpora ever fo hat corona thems ty 1 ll the Wot, about ‘orforte ropontitn The ft secon of this pane wil ete he varios Son piso sues how» noi ‘Stone nage cn infos eho the gow Tice ‘temp il be mete dtemine vedere weed enioa bong, pal © ths iags nage Comoriom it "an ineston of ingeed on! reapoesbilty, sony bend prot mate. In the second section, 1 wil describe the development of ‘measurement systems designed specially forthe purpose of providing management with 2 precise knowledge of poration’. personality. In this connection, an aiempt ‘gain will be mado to detemine whether this development suggests growing responsibility to socal fres other than BEES growing esponsiity forces oe th Copart Sia Rept a ond Gerrans 86 cert 1h opt Ine An Exe cheng Rooms ‘The final setion will summarize my findings a state any general conclusions which canbe dawn fom this esearch 4.1 CORPORATE IMAGES FOR CORPORATE “PUBLICS” Peter Drucker sees the essence and purpose of the corporation “not in is economic performance or in its formal rules, but in the human relationships both between the “members of the corperation and between the corportion and the citizens outside of” “The modem corporation isan instrument for conducting a profitable business enterprise through the pooling of Yenture capital, Stress on this fact argues that the Beard of Directors" prime responsibilty isto retum a profit onthe investment, that all other responsibilities are purely fecondary, Ine now famous debate between the late Professor E, Merrick Dodd and Professor A, A. Berle over ‘wen years ago, Berle did argue that corporate powers ‘were. powers in inst for stockholders. Dodd insisted, however, that these powers were held in trast forthe entire commeniy. And ia "The 20th Century Capitalist Revolution,” Berle conceded tat Professor Dodd had won. the argument. Berle does not admit that Dodd was right all, ‘long, but concedes that socal fact and judicial decisions rade Dodd's version a reality. Looking at Dodd's argument, we find that he was taking shout the trends of public opinion of that pesiod as they ‘ected the law of corporations, Dodd stated that lawyers had assumed that corporste managers must conduct the Corporat insiution with single-minded devotion to ‘Stockholder profit, That assumption, he said, was based on Conor Social Reply and Good Gavernonce 87