Values - The Book

Thierry Wellhoff is the head of the Wellcom / ECCO France communication agency, which he founded in 1981. In 2002 he set up a group of experts to carry out a multidisciplinary study on the nature of corporate values. In 2003, in association with the International ECCO network, which is a world leader in public relations, he created the International Corporate Values Index, which analyses data from 4,000 companies in a dozen European countries, along with India, the United States and a group of multinationals. Values? What values? Though a regular subject for debate in the corporate world, values are fraught with ambiguity. Moral values? Brand values? Institutional values? There again, what exactly are values? What purpose do they serve? How  are they to be utilised? How can they be evaluated? At a time when managers, employees and the public are in a state of uncertainty, a system of values can help make sense of the critical issues, give consistency to  communication and enhance a corporate reputation. What Thierry Wellhoff provides is not just a theoretical treatise but also a practical handbook for the implementation of a values system. He goes beyond the dichotomy between brand values and ethical values, and uses the concept of a «genetic code» to construct a model that harmonises corporate and commercial communication. He responds to the needs of both CEOs and managers of communication, human resources and marketing departments. 192 sheets Price including postage and packing : 37 euros

Summary

Part 1. Understanding values

Chapter 1. Values? What values?
Stock market value, value chain, exchange value – the term “value” derives from the idea of “worth”, and it has a multiplicity of meanings, which are widespread in business literature. The  aim of this chapter is to examine the use of the concept in the corporate world.

Chapter 2. Values – ethics or identity?
• Values as the basis of corporate ethics
Given that ethics provide the most common framework for discussions on values in companies, this chapter looks at ethical charters and guides to best practice.

• Values at the heart of corporate identity, and brands
This section looks at the “identity” aspect of brands, which often comes up in marketing literature. Here it takes the form of brand values, and more precisely the values of the company- brand. The focus is on the different references used in the analysis of brands from the perspective of values.

Chapter 3. Values – the corporate genetic code
In the Internet age, all corporate communication sooner or later arrives in the public domain. The distinction between “all marketing” companies and “all institutional” companies is becoming untenable, just as the distinction between brand values and ethical values needs to be replaced by a more unifying ethos that can function as a vector of meaning for the corporate  environment as a whole. This is what is referred to as a company’s “genetic code”.

Part 2. Investigating values

Chapter 4. An overview of corporate values
In the business world, values can be divided up into 8 categories: professional, combative, behavioural, societal, relational, moral, fulfilling and social. This system is used as a basis for  identifying international trends with regard to a range of values and sectors of activity.

Chapter 5. Values expressed by French companies
This chapter, inspired by the International Index of Corporate Values^®, deals with the way in which French companies look at values, and the developments that were brought to light by 2 recent studies. Classifications are made on the basis of company size and sector of activity, with particular reference to the top 10 corporate values.

Chapter 6. Values on the international level
Following a review of value representations across continents, this chapter gives a summary of the results reported in the International Index of Corporate Values^® for 9 European countries, along with India, the United States and a selection of multinationals.

Part 3. Implementing a “values” approach

Chapter 7. Formalising a company’s values
Starting out from a survey of empirical data and best practice, this chapter provides a guide to the formalisation of values.

Chapter 8. Application and communication
After looking at ways of applying and disseminating values, there is a focus on their use in communication, and their management.

Chapter 9. The virtues of values
This chapter gives 10 reasons why a company should adopt a systematic values approach, and points out the resulting benefits in terms of strategy, management, marketing, image and  societal implications.