ISBN:
9780674292932
Language:
English
Pages:
1 Online-Ressource (xiv, 265 pages)
Year of publication:
2023
Parallel Title:
Erscheint auch als Garcia, Matt Eli and the octopus
Keywords:
United Fruit Company
;
Führungskräfte
;
Lebensverlauf
;
Unternehmensethik
;
USA
;
BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Business
;
A&W
;
AMK
;
Baskin Robbins
;
Foster Grant
;
Honduras
;
Inter Harvest
;
Jewish
;
Joseph Lookstein
;
Morrell Meat Company
;
Nunes
;
Oscar Gale Varela
;
Ottumwa plant
;
Salinas
;
Samuel Belkin
;
Sioux Falls
;
Teamsters
;
bananas
;
farm workers
;
food
;
lettuce
;
unions
Abstract:
The poignant rise and fall of an idealistic immigrant who, as CEO of a major conglomerate, tried to change the way America did business before he himself was swallowed up by corporate corruption.At 8 a.m. on February 3, 1975, Eli Black leapt to his death from the 44th floor of Manhattan’s Pan Am building. The immigrant-turned-CEO of United Brands—formerly United Fruit, now Chiquita—Black seemed an embodiment of the American dream. United Brands was transformed under his leadership—from the “octopus,” a nickname that captured the corrupt power the company had held over Latin American governments, to “the most socially conscious company in the hemisphere,” according to a well-placed commentator. How did it all go wrong?Eli and the Octopus traces the rise and fall of an enigmatic business leader and his influence on the nascent project of corporate social responsibility. Born Menashe Elihu Blachowitz in Lublin, Poland, Black arrived in New York at the age of three and became a rabbi before entering the business world. Driven by the moral tenets of his faith, he charted a new course in industries known for poor treatment of workers, partnering with labor leaders like Cesar Chavez to improve conditions. But risky investments, economic recession, and a costly wave of natural disasters led Black away from the path of reform and toward corrupt backroom dealing.Now, two decades after Google’s embrace of “Don’t be evil” as its unofficial motto, debates about “ethical capitalism” are more heated than ever. Matt Garcia presents an unvarnished portrait of Black’s complicated legacy. Exploring the limits of corporate social responsibility on American life, Eli and the Octopus offers pointed lessons for those who hope to do good while doing business
Note:
Frontmatter
,
CONTENTS
,
Preface
,
Prologue
,
1 Talmid
,
2 An Honest Business
,
3 Pyramids
,
4 Shadows
,
5 Israelite
,
6 Half a Picture
,
7 United, We Fall
,
Epilogue
,
Notes
,
Acknowledgments
,
Index
,
In English
DOI:
10.4159/9780674292932
URL:
Cover
(lizenzpflichtig)
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