(01:40–03:28) Music
"The Multiples of One" from Awakening, performed by Joseph Curiale

Former Enron chairman Kenneth Lay speaks at a news conference as his attorney Mike Ramsey listens at the Bob Casey United States Courthouse in Houston, Texas after the first day of proceedings on January 30, 2006. Lay is charged in 11 fraud and conspiracy counts related to the collapse of Enron in 2001. (Photo: Dave Einsel/Getty Images)

• "Prosecutors Lay Out Case in Enron Trial"
  In the introduction to a January 31, 2006 report on NPR's All Things Considered, reporter Wade Goodwyn recaps the opening statements by the prosecution and defense in the Enron trial.
• "Former Enron CEO Lay Indicted by Grand Jury"
  In this July 7, 2004 interview by NPR All Things Considered host Melissa Block, Houston Chronicle reporter Mary Flood describes the yet unnamed charges in the indictment against Lay and his insistence of innocence the day before surrendering to authorities.
• "Former Employees Live Life After Enron"
  In this January 30, 2006 interview on NPR's All Things Considered, Lois Black, former Enron secretary, and Evan Betzer, former Enron broadband division employee, tell host Michelle Norris about their experiences since the company folded in 2001.
• "Jury Selection Begins in Enron Fraud Trial"
  The final actuality comes from a January 30, 2006 report on NPR's Morning Edition, which includes comments from Robert Mintz, a former federal prosecutor, on the government's plan to demonstrate that Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling knew of Enron's deep financial trouble and concealed it from the investing public.

(03:29–06:00) Music
"Vaisnava Bhajan" from Hollow Bamboo, performed by Jon Hassell, Ry Cooder, and Ronu Majumbar

Environmentalist Medha Patkar (right) protests against U.S. firm Enron Power Corporation in New Delhi in 1997. The largest single foreign investment at the time, the $2.4 billion power project in Dabhol was axed by the local administration on grounds of corruption but later revived. (Photo: Raveendran/AFP/Getty Images)

(05:53) Caste System of India
Hindus organize life through well-defined social classes, or castes. These castes constitute a fixed ranking system for social and economic organization. Hindus are born somewhere in structure of the fixed castes and occupations, which is determined by their personal histories of beneficent and unkind deeds done in former lives.

The actual caste system is fairly complex, being composed of a vast array of sub-castes. Hindus are obliged to accept their caste position and all the obligations, privileges, and limitations that are associated with it. In his presentation "The Gods of Business: Five Global Views," Guptara defines the caste system to generally be composed of five castes:

• Brahmin – priests
• Kshatriya – warriors and administrators
• Vaishya – artisans and businesspeople
• Shudra – menial workers
• (outcaste)

(06:41–06:53) Music
"Where in the World?" from Where in the World?, performed by the Bill Frisell Band

(08:08) Minority Concerns
Guptara describes the concerns of a small percentage of businesses, that do exist in this world, and are troubled with issues such as, is this the right way to make money? Am I making too much money? What is the effect of my business on the environment?

Transparency International chairman Peter Eigen (left) and Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Zhvavia listen to proceedings of an international experts conference on anti-corruption in Kenya in 2004. Transparency International listed Georgia as one of the most corrupt nations (127 out of 133 countries listed). (Photo: Simon Maina/AFP/Getty Images)

A sustainable business is a business with a lasting good name — and reputation brings added value, value recognized by a wide spectrum of stakeholders. That reputation rests on the fullest possible accountability to shareholders, customers, and employees. It doesn't mean that a chief executive should ask for permission before every step, but it does mean active consultation with other stakeholders and explanation of decisions. It requires a board that is truly independent of the management, and it requires the highest standards of probity in the board's audit committee and in the selection of an external auditor. But, above all, it requires the integrity of the chief executive and senior management, so that they report irregularities frankly and promptly, so that they consult other stakeholders — such as the local population as well as town-planners when they want to build a new factory, and so that they have the courage to admit mistakes, and to rectify them without hesitation. It requires leadership with integrity.

Sustainability for society and the world around us should be a priority for businesses not only because it provides a more stable business environment, but also because it is in the long-term interest of the company and shareholders. For this reason, the business community should be equipped to deal with its social responsibilities. Such a commitment requires the active support of governments and business leaders across the globe — and a fair playing field for international business is a prerequisite for sustainable business based on the rule of law, honest and transparent financial practices, and fair competition.

(08:40) Guptara's Presentation
Krista cites Guptara's slide presentation, "The Gods of Business: Five Global Views," which focuses on American prejudices in business and their effect on world matters. View an updated HTML version of the presentation or download the original PDF version.

(12:44–14:03) Music
"Kedem" from Masada Guitars, performed by Marc Ribot

(13:52) Reading from Ethics Across Cultures
The reading was excerpted from an abstract of Ethics Across Cultures, an address that was delivered by Prabhu Guptara at the Royal Society for the Encouragement of the Arts, Commerce, and Manufactures in London, England on March 5, 1998:

I have no issue with people earning lots of money. I do have a problem when, for example, in the richest country in the world, the USA, we have a population in which 70 percent has no net wealth, and one percent of the population holds 40 percent of the assets. Over the past 20 years, real wages have declined for 80 percent of the population. And this is not an issue only in the USA, it is a worldwide trend today. I think most of us have no problem with a system which allows reasonable accumulation of wealth gained in return for the exertion of intelligence, industry, risk-taking, and sheer effort. But I think most people in the world do have a problem with a system which allows unlimited accumulation of wealth at the same time as allowing millions of people to have nothing when they are exerting as much energy and intelligence as other people. Three thousand five hundred children died today because they had no food or water. Three thousand five hundred will die tomorrow for the same reasons. And the day after. And every day… untill you and I decide to do something about it. What was merely a tragedy yesterday is today a tragedy as well as an obscenity, for we live in a time of over-supply of all basic goods for the first time in history, which makes it entirely unnecessary for anyone to starve, or have no clothes or to have no roof of some basic sort over their heads.

(15:26–15:42) Music
"Kedem" from Masada Guitars, performed by Marc Ribot

(16:58) Rations During WWII
Learn more about the rationing policies and mechanisms used to distribute fixed allotments in Britain during the Second World War as part of the BBC's public interaction site.

(21:45) Statistics on Poverty in the U.S.
The United States Census Bureau estimates that the poverty rate in the United States equaled about 12.5 percent of the population in 2003, or about 35.9 million people. View a graph charting the poverty rates from 1959 through 2003 and learn more about how the Census Bureau arrives at these numbers on poverty.

To gain a broader perspective on the current situation, visit our show "Seeing Poverty after Katrina," in which guest David Hilfiker tells the story of how poverty and racial isolation came to be in cities across America.

Muslim refugees from the Darfur region of Sudan communally read Qur'anic verses in an overflow camp near Chad. As of August 28, 2004, an estimated 12,000 people lived in the overflow camp in addition to the 37,000 refugees housed inside the Bredjing refugee camp. (Photo: Scott Nelson/Getty Images)

(23:01–24:08) Music
"Sarabande" from Suite No. 2 in D Minor" from The Cello Suites: Inspired by Bach, performed by Yo-Yo Ma

(24:09–26:41) Music
"African Queen" from Hollow Bamboo, performed by Jon Hassell, Ry Cooder, and Ronu Majumbar

(27:46) Percentage of People Who Attend Church
A March 23, 2004 Gallup poll, "A Look at Americans and Religion Today," shows that more than eight in ten Americans consider religion as important in their personal lives. While 65 percent of Americans said that they belonged to a specific church or synagogue, only 41 percent claimed to attend worship services on a weekly basis.

(32:16) Reference to Wolfsberg Group
The Wolfsberg Group is an association of twelve global banks, which gathered in 2000 at a chateau in Switzerland, Château Wolfsberg, with the aim of developing financial services industry standards and related products, including anti-money laundering guidelines and counter-terrorist financing policies for private banking. To learn more about the Wolfsberg Group and its work, read "The Private Sector Becomes Active: The Wolfsberg Process" by Mark Pieth and Gemma Aiolfi.

Former president and CEO of Enron Corporation, Jeffrey Skilling, testifies before the Senate Committee on Commerce Science and Transportation in 2002 as Enron's vice president of corporate development, Sherron Watkins, watches. (Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

(33:53–34:36) Music
"Little Fugue in G Minor" from The Sunday Sessions: Wish List, composed by Johann Sebastian Bach and arranged by Andrew York

(40:18–41:05) Music
"Thomas Albert: Thirteen Ways - IV. (Sensous, Relaxed)" from The Sunday Sessions: Full Measure, performed by Eighth Blackbird

(42:08) Foreign Corrupt Practices Act
The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) was enacted in 1977 and significantly revised in 1988. The provisions of the FCPA proscribe the bribery of foreign government officials by any United States citizen with the intent of obtaining or maintaining a business. These provisions are enforced by the U.S. Department of Justice.

The FCPA also mandates accounting and record-keeping practices for publicly traded companies. Because many of these provisions are a reiteration of standard accounting practices, the Securities and Exchange Commission maintains jurisdiction and is responsible for enforcing the law.

Not until late 1996 did the United Nations adopt a "Declaration against Corruption and Bribery in International Commercial Transactions." In this declaration, members of the United Nation pledged to:

1. deny the tax deductibility of bribes paid to government officials of another country;
2. criminalize the bribery of foreign government officials in an effective and coordinated manner; and
3. establish jurisdiction over bribery of foreign government officials in a manner consistent with the principles of international law.

(47:10–47:35) Music
"Krsna Kantha Kandam" from Hollow Bamboo, performed by Jon Hassell, Ry Cooder, and Ronu Majumbar

(48:21–48:48) Music
"Piano Trio #3: 'A Christmas Divertimento'" from Rick Sowash: The Four Piano Trios, performed by Mirecourt Trio

(49:48) Reading from "Towards the Right Sort of Globalisation"
This is an excerpt from "Towards the Right Sort of Globalisation," an article Guptara wrote and presented at a 2002 globalization conference in Cambridge, England. The complete article can be found on his web site, from which the following edited passages were taken:

What positive steps can be taken to ensure a good future for us all? On the basis of our discussion so far, it seems to me fairly clear that, leaving aside for the moment radical calls such as those for abolishing usury, the following five steps would give us some sort of minimum agenda for creating a better sort of globalisation:

(i) inculcate a culture in which there is a high place for the idea of "enough"
(ii) self-restrain or penalize demands for higher wages and profits
(iii) move away from a fascination with economic expansion for its own sake to a concern with holistic development
(iv) replace the notion of private limited companies with "Publicly Authorized Companies" (which take seriously the environment, labor, consumers and civil society)
(v) establish suitable international treaties (e.g. regarding international finance, trade, technology, justice and the environment.

We need therefore a new generation of people willing to be transformed as individuals, willing to create a new sense of community, ready to pay the cost of working for the continued transformation of our global society, and of transforming our companies from engines to make even richer those who are already rich, to engines that work to produce wealth for the globe.

(50:47–52:40) Music
"Where in the World?" from Where in the World?, performed by the Bill Frisell Band