Time for Change The current economic crisis, the world’s worst in over 80 years, has destroyed enormous wealth, humbled corporate giants, and shaken the global financial system to its core. More profoundly, the reputation of our traditional business practice, widely adopted by many managers, has taken a beating. Observers are beginning to ponder alternatives to the business approach of singular, relentless pursuit and idolization of profit and growth that, according to some, is a leading contributor to today’s dire situation. This makes now the best time to promote a better understanding of the King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s sufficiency economy concept, a thinking that advocates for responsible capitalism. His Majesty’s thinking emphasizes a balance between profit, sustainability, good governance, risk mitigation, and corporate social responsibility, while relating to Buddhism’s middle-path teaching and Thailand’s learning from the 1997 Asian Economic Crisis. It cautions against overriding the needs of the human beings who are affected by business decisions. So far, the King’s thinking has been in the realm of social development. In 1999-2000, academic working groups in
Thailand structured the philosophy for everyday application by the common citizens. Hence, the terms used to describe the three components that make up the thinking were nonbusiness in nature: mi-het-phon (reasonableness), pho-praman (moderation), and phum-khum-kan (self-immunity). However, the King’s thinking has never been properly framed in the business context. But it can be just as applicable to the business world as to the social development field. This is simply because the philosophy is essentially a guide to decision makings. While the concept has been widely discussed in Thailand, elsewhere there remain misunderstandings and skepticism. Without concrete and actionable business framework, the King’s thinking would be prone to such doubts in regards to its practicality and translatability. Therefore, it is the goal of this book to address some of these misperceptions and provide a starting point for a meaningful analysis and application of His Majesty’s thinking in a business context through the development of a concrete and actionable framework for assessment and use by business managers.
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Inspired by the Principles for Responsible Business (and associated risk assessment tools—see Appendix), recognized as one of the most comprehensive statements of responsible business practice formulated by business leaders for business leaders, developed by the Caux Round Table, an international network of business leaders with a focus on promoting socially responsible capitalism, the authors of this book have devised a short questionnaire to methodologically frame His Majesty’s thinking in business terms for discussion and adoption. It comprises specific qualitative and quantitative assessments relating to each of the three pillars. A simple scoring matrix offers the ease of use and enables quick interpretations of strengths and areas for improvements. Section 2 of this book will elaborate this questionnaire in