The Value-for-Money Business Perspective

Finally! There is a breath of fresh air in the international business and finance world. Even the CEO of Danone has publicly admitted that the frenetic search for profit maximization is not sustainable. The downturn is so harsh that it has led many chief executives and governments to seriously discuss intensified regulation of the liberal approach and the urgent need for a new economic order. The resulting idea—a new economic “generation”—is a hot topic. The exact meaning of this new idea, however, is far from clear. How far should governments go in their effort to regulate business practices? The G20 meeting in London in March 2009 is unanimously considered a historical day. For the first time, countries around the world signed a resolution to regulate finance and international trade and invested heavily in the effort to fight poverty. Granted, there is still room for improvement. More concrete and radical political decisions are needed. Patience is also essential, despite the urgency of restoring order to the economy and business practices. The global economic crisis is so real that lessons must be learned and major corrective actions must be taken. Inertia is not an option. It would be extremely dangerous and might generate a social explosion on the global scale. Up to now, public reactions have arisen only in certain countries, Italy and France, for example.