3The Power Pathway: External and Internal Pressures on Global Supply Chains
“Power … is not an end in itself, but is an instrument that must be used toward an end.”
—Jeane Kirkpatrick, Former US Ambassador to the United Nations
In the last chapter, we discussed how both public sentiment and government regulation, combined with increased globalization, have pressured corporations to alter their attitude toward supply chain responsibility over time. While this information can help you appreciate these issues from a macro level, you will also need to understand the pressures and politics of the tactical level if you want to play a more direct role in improving your company's sourcing practices or gauge the activities of a brand you shop from or invest in. How do corporations make decisions that wind up impacting basket weavers like Laurie? What conversations take place thousands of miles away from her? What motivates and incentivizes the people having those conversations?
There are plenty of books that focus on operational efficiencies—bottlenecks within a factory's production system and optimizing throughputs, for example—but this book will approach these topics differently. We will examine the pressures placed on decision‐makers within the supply chain that can either encourage poor behavior or support transformative approaches. We will explore how some corporations create systemic change and greater visibility, accountability, and prosperity for the many actors involved in ...