美国国家公共电台 NPR Blue And Red Companies: How CEO Activism Is Reshaping Workforce Politics

 

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

How does it affect your life when your boss takes a political stand? Many people are finding out. The CEO of Nike, Mark Parker, approved an ad campaign featuring Colin Kaepernick, the NFL quarterback who protested police shootings of black men. Ed Stack, the CEO of Dick's Sporting Goods, pulled assault-style weapons from store shelves. Those are statements directed at consumers but that also influenced the way employees feel about their jobs. NPR's Yuki Noguchi reports.

YUKI NOGUCHI, BYLINE¹: When Levi Strauss CEO Chip Bergh made a corporate² donation of a million dollars toward preventing gun violence last month, he anticipated an impassioned response.

CHIP BERGH: I knew I was going to get a lot of hate mail. I knew I was going to get threats. I knew my family was going to get threats. And all that has happened. But somebody's got to have the courage to step up and say something needs to be done.

NOGUCHI: Some of those emails came from his own employees, who interpreted the move as hostile to gun ownership. He also received support from Levi's employees whose children had been in lockdowns at school because of active shooters.

BERGH: They may not always agree with every single position or stand that we're taking, but they appreciate the fact that we are willing to dive into these tough issues.

NOGUCHI: Bergh says activism from supporting desegregation to LGBT rights has long been part of the California-based company's history. He says in today's hyperpartisan environment, employees want to know where their leaders stand. And strong values are increasingly part of what job candidates look for in an employer.

BERGH: If you're in HR or finance or marketing⁴, you can go work anywhere in San Francisco today. We have very intense loyalty⁵ to this company. And a big part of the reason we've got that kind of loyalty is this is part of our value proposition.

NOGUCHI: Aaron Chatterji is a professor of business and public policy at Duke University. He traces modern CEO activism to 2014 when Apple CEO Tim Cook publicly supported gay rights and Starbucks then-CEO Howard Schultz wrote an open letter about race that intensified⁶ with the election of Donald Trump⁷.

AARON CHATTERJI: What's changed now is we're more polarized as a society. And it's much more difficult to occupy that middle ground without being drawn⁸ into the fight.

NOGUCHI: Fights that often play out very publicly. Chatterji says social media amplifies⁹ the voices of people who are most passionate¹⁰ about their loyalties¹¹ whether it's to a political party, a news source or a brand. And it's changed business norms by allowing workers and customers to speak directly to CEOs. He says companies that recognize this play up their values to appeal to their core customers just as political parties do for their base.

CHATTERJI: A lot of people say, look; it doesn't make sense from a capitalist point of view or a market point of view to get involved in politics. And I think that's actually missing the point.

NOGUCHI: Corporate identities, in other words, are becoming more partisan³.

MELISSA HARRIS: I think increasingly you're going to see blue brands and red brands.

NOGUCHI: Melissa Harris runs her own marketing agency in Chicago. She says companies are always competing for more attention.

HARRIS: They come to us asking for language that is more provocative¹², almost controversial. They want these messages to travel farther.

NOGUCHI: Of course many CEOs prefer to avoid politics and controversy¹³ altogether. But it can be harder to remain neutral. Experts say staying silent comes with its own downsides because a CEO's position can influence recruitment and retention¹⁴, especially among younger workers. Leslie Gaines-Ross is chief reputation strategist at the public relations firm Weber Shandwick. She says a recent survey showed nearly a third of employees say they feel more engaged and loyal because they agree with their CEO's stances. But it can have the opposite effect among those who disagree.

LESLIE GAINES-ROSS: So I think it's a double-edged sword. And that's probably the hardest part of it, is that there is no playbook anymore for taking a stand.

NOGUCHI: She says today CEOs are navigating¹⁵ choppy waters. It's hard to remain silent on issues, yet there are risks and benefits to speaking out. Yuki Noguchi, NPR News, Washington.

1 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

2 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

3 partisan   

adj.党派性的；游击队的；n.游击队员；党徒

参考例句：

• In their anger they forget all the partisan quarrels.愤怒之中，他们忘掉一切党派之争。
• The numerous newly created partisan detachments began working slowly towards that region.许多新建的游击队都开始慢慢地向那里移动。

4 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

5 loyalty   

n.忠诚，忠心

参考例句：

• She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
• His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。

6 intensified   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Violence intensified during the night. 在夜间暴力活动加剧了。
• The drought has intensified. 旱情加剧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

8 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

9 amplifies   

放大，扩大( amplify的第三人称单数 )； 增强； 详述

参考例句：

• Gain is the number of times the amplifier amplifies a signal. 增益就是放大器放大信号的倍数。
• Such panicky behaviour amplifies the impact of the Russian export ban. 这样的恐慌行为放大了俄罗斯小麦出口禁令的影响效应。

10 passionate   

adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的

参考例句：

• He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
• He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。

11 loyalties   

n.忠诚( loyalty的名词复数 )；忠心；忠于…感情；要忠于…的强烈感情

参考例句：

• an intricate network of loyalties and relationships 忠诚与义气构成的盘根错节的网络
• Rows with one's in-laws often create divided loyalties. 与姻亲之间的矛盾常常让人两面为难。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 provocative   

adj.挑衅的，煽动的，刺激的，挑逗的

参考例句：

• She wore a very provocative dress.她穿了一件非常性感的裙子。
• His provocative words only fueled the argument further.他的挑衅性讲话只能使争论进一步激化。

13 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

14 retention   

n.保留，保持，保持力，记忆力

参考例句：

• They advocate the retention of our nuclear power plants.他们主张保留我们的核电厂。
• His retention of energy at this hour is really surprising.人们惊叹他在这个时候还能保持如此旺盛的精力。

15 navigating   

v.给（船舶、飞机等）引航，导航( navigate的现在分词 )；（从海上、空中等）横越；横渡；飞跃

参考例句：

• These can also be very useful when navigating time-based documents, such as video and audio. 它对于和时间有关的文档非常有用，比如视频和音频文档。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Vehicles slowed to a crawl on city roads, navigating slushy snow. 汽车在市区路上行驶缓慢，穿越泥泞的雪地。 来自互联网