Introduction

Abstract

We all know the catchphrases of today’s management critics: short-term profit making, greedy managers, cold-blooded takeovers, scandals, cost pressure and layoffs dominate the discussion. A consequence of this are increased accusations against short-term profit thinking and market failures. Negligent boards of directors, arrogant managers, and indiscriminating advisers have plunged business as we know it into a crisis of confidence. Opinion polls in Europe and the USA show this, as for example the GfK Trust Index 2006 based on results in 19 countries. In this study, the most trustworthy persons are physicians and teachers while the least trustworthy are managers, journalists and politicians (see Figure I.1).