This article reports the results of a study of the public speaking of the
leaders of the largest corporations in America. Two hundred and one cor
porate presidents or chairmen participated in this study, sending a total
of 696 speeches. An analysis of the content of these speeches reuealed that
corporate leaders perceived six major problems facing American business
and industry, and that they proposed three general corporate strategies for
dealing with these problems.
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References
1.
Chamber of Commerce of the United States.The Years of Change: An Almanac of American Progress. Washington, DC: 1978.
2.
R.L. Fegley, Chief Executive Officer Communications, General Electric Corp. Letter of 6 Feb. 1979.
3.
Literally, chairmen—that is, all chairpersons were men.
4.
For example: Willard C. Butcher, President, The Chase Manhattan Bank, " Onward the Regulation Revolution," 15 Sept. 1978, p. 8; Edward R. Telling, Chairman, Sears, Roebuck & Co., "Public vs. Private Power: The Need for Balance," 14 May 1978, p. 5; William S. Sneath, Chairman, Union Carbide Corp., 29 Jan. 1979, p. 3; etc.
5.
Willard C. Butcher, "Onward the Regulation Revolution."
6.
D.E. Procknow, Chairman, Western Electric Corp., "Keynote Address," 22 May 1978, p. 4; Willard C. Butcher, "Onward the Regulation Revolution," pp. 9-11.
7.
John F. Bookout, President, Shell Oil Co., "Remarks to the Students of the Jones Graduate School of Business Administration," 6 Oct. 1978.
8.
Joseph P. Flannery, President, Uniroyal, Inc., "Government Regulation: The Classic Growth Industry," 11 Sept. 1978, p. 2.
9.
Willard C. Butcher, "Onward the Regulation Revolution," p. 7.
10.
William T. Creson , President, Crown Zellerback, "The High Cost of Suspicion," 19 Oct. 1978, p. 12.
11.
Robert J. Lanigan , President—Domestic Operations, Owens-Illinois, Inc., "Remarks at the 1978 Cooperative Field Program, Wingate College ," 11 May 1978.
12.
Joseph E. Baird , President, Occidental Petroleum, "Energy: A Modest Proposal," July 1977, p. 2.
13.
Elliott M. Estes , President, General Motors, "A Strategy for Alternative Fuels," 13 Oct. 1978.
14.
William P. Tavoulareas , President, Mobil Oil Corp., "A Review of U.S. Energy Priorities," no date, p. 1.
15.
Joseph E. Baird , "Energy: A Modest Proposal," p. 7.
16.
Ruben F. Mettler, Chairman, TRW, Inc., "National Investment Policy: An Example of Private Initiative," 3 May 1978, p. 2.
17.
Ruben F. Mettler, "National Investment Policy," p. 2.
18.
James L. Ferguson, Chairman, General Foods Corp., "The Boss's Number-One Job," 26 Oct. 1978, p. 2.
19.
R.J. Lanigan, President, Owens-Illinois, Inc., "Remarks to the Manufacturers Council ," 14 Sept. 1977, p. 4.
20.
Willard C. Butcher, President, The Chase Manhattan Bank, "A Call for Raising Capital Formation Consciousness," 20 Nov. 1978.
21.
William T. Creson, "The High Cost of Suspicion," p. 9.
22.
J. Fred Bucy, President, Texas Instruments, Inc., "Productivity—An Approach to Inflation," 20 July 1978, p. 8.
23.
Willard C. Butcher , "A Call for Capital Formation Consciousness ," pp. 9-10.
24.
John R. Beckett , Chairman, Transamerica Corp., "A Businessman Looks at the Stock Market, Corporate Profits and Inflation," 28 June 1973, p. 13.
25.
David A. Rockefeller , Chairman, The Chase Manhattan Bank, "Shaping a Corporate Ethic," 23 June 1977, p. 4.
26.
Preston Robert Tisch, President, Loew's Corp., "Speech Delivered to the Chicago Executive's Club," Nov. 1975.
27.
Henry Ford, Chairman, Ford Motor Co., "Speech Delivered to the Junior Achievement National Business Leadership Conference," 2 Feb. 1978, p. 7.
28.
Robert A. Beck , Chairman, Prudential Insurance Co. of America, " Business, the Press and the Zero-Risk Society," 9 Sept. 1978 , pp. 10-11.
29.
Lee L. Morgan , Chairman, Caterpillar Tractor Co., "Needed: A National Policy for U.S. Exports," 13 Oct. 1978, p. 4.
30.
A.W. Clausen , President, Bank of America NT&SA, "The Plight of the Dollar: Time for Action," 2 Nov. 1978, p. 3.
31.
David M. Roderick , President, United States Steel Corp., "Markets or Mandates," 15 Jan. 1979, p. 3.
32.
A.W. Clausen , President, Bank of America NT&SA, "What Price Protectionism?," 30 Aug 1978, p. 9.
33.
Irvine O. Hockaday , Jr., President, Kansas City Southern Industries, Inc., "Free Enterprise," 31 Aug. 1978, pp. 10 and 22.
34.
Phillip E. Beekman, President, Seagrams & Sons, Inc., no title, 9 Jan. 1979, p. 5.
35.
William C. Norris , Chairman, Control Data Corp., "Technology and the Inner City—Experience and Promise," 1 Sept. 1978, p. 2.
36.
C. William Verity , Jr., Chairman, Armco Steel Corp., "Don't Eat Gift Horses," 8 May 1975, p. 17.
37.
Frank A. Lee , President, Foster Wheeler Corp., "Speech Delivered to St. Peter's College Business Symposium," 1 Nov. 1978, pp. 13-14.
38.
William O. Bailey , President, Aetna Life and Casualty, "Many Insurance Issues are Public Issues," 14 June 1978, pp. 3 and 5.
39.
William B. Johnson , Chairman, IC Industries, Inc., "Academic and Economic Freedom: Our Threatened Heritage," 16 Sept. 1975, p. 10.
40.
Henry Ford, Chairman, Ford Motor Co., "Speech Delivered to the Junior Achievement National Business Leadership Conference," 2 Feb. 1978, p. 9.
