Multinational corporations need to rethink their investments in poor countries so they can provide lasting opportunities for people there rather than just make profits for their shareholders, the chief executive of Hewlett-Packard said on Monday.
”When it comes to developing markets, investing in sustainable development has not always been one of the primary places companies look to become more competitive,” said Carly Fiorina, boss of the US technology company.
”I would argue that the path to greater competitiveness and greater sustainable development lies in companies taking a more direct role in the developing world,” Fiorina said in a speech to hundreds of international executives gathered here on the sidelines of a Pacific Rim summit.
Fiorina said big companies have often tried to help out in the developing nations where they operate, but they have gone through traditional charities and given cash handouts that have little lasting effect on the people who need help. Often, companies don’t even ask the local communities what their needs are.
”Throwing too much money and too much equipment at a problem does not solve anything,” she said, speaking from the United States via a satellite television link.
”There has always been a dichotomy between the way multinationals thinks about business and the way we have thought about development,” she said.
She noted that while doing business, companies want to know everything about their customers, and they should take the same approach in helping the poor.
”But when it comes to development we almost never ask those questions. Instead we fall back on traditional avenues of philanthropy, we send a check or equipment from half a world away,” she said.
She said she hoped that was starting to change, noting that her company has taken a greater interest in development. She gave one example: solar-powered printers that Hewlett-Packard is providing in India. – Sapa-AP