ABSTRACT
A major global company cannot be run simply by referring to a rule book. Situations vary enormously from country to country and furthermore can change rapidly. No rule book could cover this and if it attempted to it would be voluminous; in any case it almost certainly would not be read. It is therefore essential to try to embed values and principles in a way that they are absorbed by people in the organisation wherever they are and whatever their background, race or religion. Many corporations lay great emphasis on training to instil values. Conventional training has limited effect. In Shell in the 1990s the safety performance in exploration and production had plateaued after a period of improvement. Cynthia Carroll adopted a similar approach when she became CEO of Anglo American. An individual can have a great influence in a corporation even if they are not at the very top.
