Corporate Diplomacy
The Strategy for a Volatile, Fragmented Business Environment
Chapter One
Introduction and Overview
1.1 YES, YOU CAN GET AWAY WITH IT
On 21 September 2001, an explosion rocked the Total Fina Elf plant in
Toulouse, leaving 30 dead, approximately 2, 500 injured, and destroying
Many properties in the surrounding neighbourhood - it had all the ingredients
of an accident to be mentioned in the same breath as Seveso,
Bhopal, Schweizerhalle ... In addition, some of the merged company's
predecessors were embroiled in high-profile corruption trials and
investigations.
However, some 10 days earlier the tragedy at the World Trade
Center in New York had occurred and public attention was directed
elsewhere. At the beginning, Total Fina Elf played the "terrorist
card", managing to keep matters low-key, setting up an emergency
fund for the victims, meeting with the French environment minister
to outline "the foundations of the safety issues concerning industrial
facilities and their coexistence in highly-urbanized areas".
The company's critics claimed ... read full excerpt from Corporate Diplomacy: The Strategy for a Volatile, Fragmented Business Environment ebook
