Asymmetric non-financial information that flows up and down the various organizational layers of a company has a significant impact on both the long term sustainability of the organization and the related employment opportunities. Seldom is basic "civics" information included because most people believe it has no place in the workplace. They are wrong. Unfortunately, the average U.S. citizen doesn't care that they are ignorant to basic civics; likewise, the typical public sector politician doesn't seem to care; worse yet, the public education system demonstrates little interest. But, they should. This fact presents a clear and present economic danger to the livelihood of most middle class and poor citizens. Moreover, this fact puts corporate profits and investor returns which are the seeds for innovation in our economy squarely in the crosshairs. Further, because of this fact, the last decade has been America's worse since World War II. Thus, it is the responsibility of the private sector companies to ensure that free market capitalism system continues to provide citizens the benefits of employment and wages. Voter ignorance is a larger threat to corporate sustainability than "climate change" or political campaign spending, yet it is not on the agendas in corporate boardrooms. An electorate lacking basic civics knowledge and an understanding of private sector attributes can vote to fundamentally change our economic system and society. In fact, voters are well on their way to achieve that end. The private sector can mitigate this threat to our economic system. Private sector companies and institutional investors share a vested interest in helping to establish and maintain an informed electorate. They can no longer afford to sit on the side lines hoping the deleterious effects of social unrest don't reach their doorstep. They should be proactive in educating their employees who in turn will engage their friends and families. They can no longer rely on a failing public school system that doesn't even teach civics any longer to provide them their most important asset - educated employees. Social activists should partner with the investment community to encourage private sector educational initiatives. Many parts of social media are swiftly becoming sewers of ignorance that are already causing significant disruptions in the U.S. economy. Private sector companies struggle to compete with the misinformation that bombards citizens on a daily basis. Too many voters are being convinced that the private sector companies create negative influences on society, especially the Millennials who are more and more voicing support for democratic socialism. If nothing is done, the risks to long term corporate responsibility will continue to grow and the world will slowly lose the most prolific economic engine it has ever known. Moreover, many of the operational concerns of companies are best understood by the rank and file employees. Thus, strategy development is enhanced when the views of lower level employees are adequately collected, aggregated and summarized for boardroom deliberations. Unfortunately, the tone-at-the-bottom of a company seldom mirrors the tone-at-the-top. Employee engagement programs are designed to provide a direct conduit from the bottom of the organization into the boardroom, thereby bridging that gap. This book shows the way forward for private sector companies, investment activists and social activists as it shows how to get non-partisan civics education in the workplace in order to enhance the Tone-at-the-Bottom.
About the Author: Dr. Taylor is a "Corporate Governance Educator". He is a seasoned independent corporate director, having served on publicly traded, privately owned, non-profit and advisory boards. Currently he serves on the boards of the National Association of Corporate Directors (SoCal) and the African American Board Leadership Institute. Further, he is chairman of the Creighton Group, Inc, a corporate governance advisory firm. Previously, he was the CFO of a publicly traded corporation and CEO of an international environmental management consulting firm. He spent ten years with Ernst & Young and Deloitte & Touche, three years as the Principal-in-Charge of the West Coast Productivity Improvement Consulting Practice. As a consultant he has conducted hundreds of management audits, trainings and consulting projects for commercial, government and not-for-profit organizations under the auspice of the U.S Agency for International Development, the International Private-Public Partnership, the California Manufacturing Technology Center, U.S. Small Business Administration and the International Organization for Standardization around the world. As an educator and speaker, Dr. Taylor was an adjunct professor or guest lecturer at several universities, including the Asian Institute of Technology (Bangkok), the Penang Development Center (Malaysia), California State University (Los Angeles), California State University (Northridge) and the United States Environmental Training Institute (Washington DC). He holds a PhD. in Executive Management from the Peter Drucker School of Management at Claremont University, a master's degree in Business Administration from Pepperdine University and a bachelor's degree in Industrial Administration from General Motors Institute. He is a Board Leadership Fellow, the highest certification by the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD). He has held "fellow" status with Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE), the American Production and Inventory Control Society (APICS) and the International Environment Management Association (IEMA). Finally, he earned certificates from the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), and the University of Southern California Certified Public Accountant (CPA) program.