Global Values in Business 381South Africa. All is still not perfect, but Cynthia can take credit for sav-
ing many lives and preventing many disabling injuries.
Although the costs of a delay or a shutdown may appear great, they
are in fact offset by the large improvement in efficiency which results
from proper planning and also from the increase in trust and communi-
cation within an organisation. That trust and confidence extends to
communications from senior management. Having said that, there will
still be difficult decisions to be taken on risk. When failures are prevent-
ed, the initial costs are rapidly repaid by returns in efficiency. Collective
behavioural change can be achieved at relatively low costs and deliver
great benefits. There does, however come a point of diminishing returns.
In all aspects of daily life there are things which would increase safely,
but which we rightly decide not to do because of trade-offs. A much
lower universal speed limit on the roads would undoubtedly save lives,
but the cost in terms of frustration, avoidance and delays is generally
considered too high.
29.4 The Impact of Individuals
While it is certainly true that the character of people at the top of a
company or heading a major division has a great impact on the ethos of
an organisation as a whole, I find it very encouraging that many individ-
uals lower down within a company can influence its course.
There is no doubt that Geoffrey Chandler had such an influence on
Shell when he drafted the first set of business principles in the seventies,
principles which have been adapted and augmented since, but which
largely incorporate the original. Shell had been shaken by a corruption
scandal which affected all oil companies in Italy and in the seventies
there were severe criticisms of the activities of multinational companies.
Geoffrey was, what was then called, “Trade Relations Coordinator”,