Shifting Values in Capitalism

Moderator: Pepper de Callier

Participants: Frank Lampl, Klára Starková, John Zogby, Muriel Anton

 

 

 

What happened with the onset of the financial crisis was unprecedented for this generation – the institutions, “the very people we placed our trust in […] have misled us”, introduced the panel Pepper de Callier, Chairman of Bubenik Partners. He then asked whether this will change our way of perceiving capitalism, citing already the historic rises in volunteerism and how surveys are showing the increasing value of social consciousness in the business world.         

 

Frank Lampl, Life President of Bovis Lend Lease agreed in saying that the crisis was a complete breakdown of values. It was caused by “overvalued assets: physical assets, property, and others, which lead to excessive lending and excessive spending.” What followed was a breakdown of personal responsibility of putting the shareholders first.

 

The overvaluing of assets was rejected as a primary cause of the crisis by Klára Starková Generali PPF Holding Executive Committee member. “If at the beginning there was something really fundamental, it was not overvalued assets, it was wrongly given credit.” However, she also highlighted the importance and role of personal responsibility, thus disagreeing with Pepper de Callier about the blame falling solely on the “gatekeepers”.

 

We are now headed towards a less “wasteful way” of living and assuming a larger personal role, being distrustful of traditional leadership, stated the founder and President of Zogby International, John Zogby. Capitalism has brought growth and decline in poverty in the developing world and really “is the victim of its own success”.

 

Frank Lampl highlighted that although capitalism is an economic system based on making profits, profits may no longer be the only factor in business making decisions. CEO of Vodafone, Muriel Anton agreed that “many companies are changing because they are not just looking at pure profits, they are looking at their people, and they’re looking at their planet." She gave an example of value-based organizations, with a drive towards responsibility for more than personal success. However, it is now testing period for businesses, as everyone is cutting costs because of the financial crisis, and where those cuts come from will have significant outcomes.

 

John Zogby also talked about how today young people are transcending national boundaries, becoming “the world's first global citizens”. They focus not only on income but on the “general, universal values” revolving around mentorship, education, travel, etc. Sustainability is on the rise due to these values that have come from the bottom up, and will stay with this generation when this group has decision-making power in the future.

The panel concluded by agreeing that the generational transformation underway and its role in the business world will be a significant contributing factor in the shifting values of capitalism, indicating a move from mere profits to a more value-based approach, which will be profitable to all sides.