Changing times: can companies really transform themselves?

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🗓️ 30 November 2022

⏱️ 35 minutes

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Summary

It’s fair to say that the tobacco industry is one of the most controversial ones out there, with the phrase ‘Big Tobacco’ almost a meme, a shorthand for unscrupulous business practices. No wonder then that tobacco companies are trying to remake themselves, companies like Philip Morris International. PMI has a history dating back to the 1840s, and yet, today, their tagline is now ‘Delivering a smoke-free future’. Over the course of ten years, they’ve seen a third drop in the volume of cigarette sales. They’re keen to talk about their story of ‘transformation’, which is why they’ve sponsored this podcast. So what’s really going on?

Cindy Yu talks to David Miller, a lecturer at Princeton where he specialises in faith and ethics. He’s been commissioned by PMI to author a report all about ‘corporate change’.

We also speak to Moira Gilchrist, Vice President of Strategic and Scientific Communications at PMI, Martin Vander Weyer, the Spectator’s business editor, and Professor John Kotter, a leading business theorist at Harvard Business School.

This podcast was sponsored by Philip Morris International (PMI) but produced under the sole editorial control of The Spectator. Therefore the views expressed represent those of the commentators featured and do not necessarily represent the views of PMI.

Transcript

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0:00.0	It's fair to say that the tobacco industry is one of the most controversial ones out there,
0:12.9	with a phrase big tobacco almost the meme, a short handful unscrupulous business practices.
0:18.2	No wonder then that tobacco companies are trying to remake themselves,
0:21.8	companies like Philip Morris International. PMI has a history dating back to the 1840s,
0:27.1	and yet today, their tagline is delivering a smoke-free future. Over the course of 10 years,
0:32.9	they've seen a third drop in the volume of cigarette sales. They're keen to talk about
0:36.7	their story of transformation,
0:38.9	which is why they sponsor this podcast. So what's really going on? I'm Cindy Yu, the spectator's
0:44.3	assistant editor, and on this episode, I'll be taking a look at the question of whether controversial
0:48.5	companies can really change. First, I'm speaking to David Miller, a lecturer at Princeton,
0:53.5	where he specialises in faith and ethics.
0:55.8	He's been commissioned by PMI to author a report all about corporate change.
1:00.0	David, thanks for coming on.
1:01.3	You're an ethicist by trade, so can you tell me about this report that you've done for PMI?
1:04.7	What is the question that you're trying to answer?
1:06.5	What's your answer for it?
1:08.0	First of all, thank you for having me. The question I'm trying to
1:10.9	answer and help many organizations think about as transformation and change. There are so many
1:15.7	industry sectors where what was best practice five or 50 years ago today is seen as horrible
1:21.6	and we shouldn't do it. So issues come up of conflict, of internal and external conflicts,
1:27.0	judgmentalism. And what most of the
1:29.1	people who write about corporate transformation, or any organization seeking to transform or change
	...

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