Private Management and Public Policy is a landmark work at the
intersection of business and society. First published in 1975, it
focuses on the management processes that companies use to respond to
social issues. The text develops the "principle of public
responsibility" as an alternative to the notion that firms have
unlimited accountability. And, it presents one of the first
systems-based approaches to corporate responsibility, providing
theoretical support for business involvement in public policy. Arguably,
the book's major contribution is its broad outline of an alternative
theory of the firm in society--one that offers the possibility of
overcoming traditional public and private dichotomies.