Home > Articles > Business & Management

Meeting The Triple Bottom Line: How to Make Everyone Happy and Still Make Your Numbers

Even in this not-so-perfect world, it's possible to meet citizen needs in a way that contributes not only to the social good but to the economic and environmental good as well. The focus in this chapter is on how to use fundamental, proven marketing principles and techniques to accomplish these goals.
This chapter is from the book

Let us begin with the end in mind, painted by scenes from a day in a not too distant future—a day in which the interests of citizens, as well as public sector agencies, are served:

  • In Oregon—Todd checks his morning online newspaper and rereads a headline—to be sure it was for real. “Post Office reports record profits and will hold first-class stamp rates at 39 cents for the next five years.” It seems services for small businesses are soaring.
  • In Kansas—Sophie heads out the door with her fourth-grade daughter eager to see if this “walking school bus program” the school district raves about will really help Allison lose the ten pounds her pediatrician said she should. If successful, it’s also supposed to cut the district’s transportation costs by fifteen percent.
  • In Los Angeles—Juanita picks up her carpool partner who jumps in and places their renewed carpool sticker on the windshield, downloaded from an email she received last night from the city. She mentions a new feature on the Web site that also allowed her to reserve their favorite spot in the city’s parking garage before leaving home.
  • In New Jersey—Trent, an operations manager at a construction firm, receives an email notice that the state’s Labor and Industry workshop he wanted to attend has been expanded, so he can now get in. He hopes what he heard will be true for his company—that those participating in the workshop had reduced workplace injuries, and that the following year insurance premiums were down.
  • In Texas—Bobby Joe climbs into his pickup and pauses, gets back out, and glances at the DON’T MESS WITH TEXAS sticker on his own bumper. He decides he didn’t put it on there just to keep the bumper from falling apart, so he pulls out his cable and wraps it across the bed to secure his load of wood debris.
  • In Jordan—Sabbah listens to his 11-year-old son who shares with him the results of a water audit he conducted on their home, an assignment he received in school today. His son then shows Sabbah pictures of water-saving devices they could put in their shower and kitchen sink and tells him how many gallons it might save their family (and their country) each day.
  • In Capetown—Trudy turns the corner and comes to an abrupt stop as she sees the flashing lights on the street outlining the crosswalk, indicating that a pedestrian has stepped off the curb in front of her car—someone she hadn’t seen.
  • In Finland—Tuomo clamps on the new spikes for his shoes he received yesterday at the community center. Free for many seniors as a part of the country’s effort to increase physical activity, they are supposed to help keep him from falling when he shovels his sidewalk clear of snow and ice.
  • In London—Julia wanders down to the city park on her lunch hour, eager to see the new traveling interactive art exhibit on display there. She can’t help but notice the crowds at the new food concession stand on park property, and she hears from the owner that the city will be using revenues from this public/private venture to buy more litter receptacles for the parks and city sidewalks.
  • In Singapore—Johnson opens a utility bill that includes a message recognizing his household for reducing electrical usage during peak times and, as a thank you, a coupon worth $50 on conservation-related products at a major home supply retail partner.
  • In Rome—Giacomo arrives home from a business trip, eager to tell about an airport he was in that afternoon where he made it through security in record time, as they now have little booths you walk through that don’t require you to take anything out of your pockets or briefcase. He also noticed they had less than half the security staff he usually saw at each checkpoint.

On closer examination, you would likely see that this possible world is one where governmental agencies have clearly seized the opportunity to meet citizen needs—in a way that contributes not only to social good but to economic and environmental good as well. By offering quality programs and services, they have increased citizen interest, revenues, and satisfaction. By improving and reporting on agency performance, they have engendered support. By developing infrastructures mindful of citizen inclinations and behaviors, they have increased public health and safety. By communicating effectively, they have motivated voluntary compliance. By providing easy access to services, they have increased utilization and even decreased operating costs. And by forming partnerships with the private sector, they have been able to expand services, improve ambiance, and deliver a few welcome surprises.

We have written this book to support current and future public sector managers and staff in discovering this clear link between meeting citizen needs and improving public agency performance. The focus is on how to use fundamental, proven marketing principles and techniques to accomplish these goals. The aim is to choose goals and actions that serve the Common Good, those that create the greatest possible good for the greatest possible number of people. Good in this public sector context is defined in terms of social good, economic good, and environmental good—measures often referred to as the triple bottom line.

Before turning your attention to marketing’s potential contribution, a few questions are first worthy of discussion to provide a backdrop grounded in reality.

What Do Citizens Want and Get from Public Agencies?

Every society needs a public sector, for which the most important function is to define the operating principles of the society. Who is the government? How are governing officials elected or selected? What does the government allow, and what does it prohibit? How is revenue secured to pay for government operations? How do citizens influence their government?

A second role of government is to perform those public services that are critical to the public interest, such as responsibility for defense and the military. National and local governments believe that they should manage essential public services, such as policing, fire control, parks, libraries, zoning, energy, sanitation, road construction, education, and healthcare facilities. Often the argument is made that certain services should be run as natural monopolies—such as the U.S. Army or the U.S. Postal Service—because they must be under a single command or would gain scale efficiencies.

A third role is to provide necessary public services that neither the private sector nor the nonprofit sector want to handle or can handle with existing resources. Thus governments typically provide assistance to the poor independently or in tandem with the agencies in the nonprofit sector.

Because government operations are carried on at a great cost to its citizens, however—consuming in the U.S. more that 40% of taxable income—citizens want them to be conducted efficiently and effectively. We grow up experiencing the efficiency of private enterprise and then want comparable performance from public agencies.

Unfortunately, many are critical of government services and what they perceive as wasteful purchases and practices, a lack of needed services, and a perversion of government by powerful interest groups. Specific complaints are probably all too familiar to you:

  • Taxes are high, and we don’t get our money’s worth.
  • Some government agencies pay scandalous prices for common goods, and there are million-dollar overruns on government contracts.
  • The nation’s public infrastructure (bridges, roads, etc.) is deteriorating in spite of road taxes.
  • Public agencies are often slow and inflexible because of excessive bureaucracy and rules.
  • Public employees are overprotected even in the face of incompetence or unethical behavior.
  • Public school failures lead to poor education that leads to poor jobs that lead to broken families and drug abuse that lead to crime and imprisonment.
  • Poorer citizens are given inadequate help to improve their conditions and to escape the cycle of poverty.
  • System problems create long waiting times, lost correspondence, dirty streets, and more.
  • Inept communications create confusion (e.g., Medicare prescription drug plans).
  • Lack of responsiveness creates anger (e.g., FEMA’s response to Hurricane Katrina).
  • Being out of touch with your citizenry creates programs doomed for failure (e.g., the Susan B. Anthony dollar often mistaken for a “quarter”).

Clearly, the public sector needs to improve its real and perceived performance in order to raise the public’s confidence and satisfaction—and thereby their support. Without this support, citizens take action such as initiating tax rollbacks and voting for representatives who promise agency change or elimination.

InformIT Promotional Mailings & Special Offers

I would like to receive exclusive offers and hear about products from InformIT and its family of brands. I can unsubscribe at any time.

Overview


Pearson Education, Inc., 221 River Street, Hoboken, New Jersey 07030, (Pearson) presents this site to provide information about products and services that can be purchased through this site.

This privacy notice provides an overview of our commitment to privacy and describes how we collect, protect, use and share personal information collected through this site. Please note that other Pearson websites and online products and services have their own separate privacy policies.

Collection and Use of Information


To conduct business and deliver products and services, Pearson collects and uses personal information in several ways in connection with this site, including:

Questions and Inquiries

For inquiries and questions, we collect the inquiry or question, together with name, contact details (email address, phone number and mailing address) and any other additional information voluntarily submitted to us through a Contact Us form or an email. We use this information to address the inquiry and respond to the question.

Online Store

For orders and purchases placed through our online store on this site, we collect order details, name, institution name and address (if applicable), email address, phone number, shipping and billing addresses, credit/debit card information, shipping options and any instructions. We use this information to complete transactions, fulfill orders, communicate with individuals placing orders or visiting the online store, and for related purposes.

Surveys

Pearson may offer opportunities to provide feedback or participate in surveys, including surveys evaluating Pearson products, services or sites. Participation is voluntary. Pearson collects information requested in the survey questions and uses the information to evaluate, support, maintain and improve products, services or sites, develop new products and services, conduct educational research and for other purposes specified in the survey.

Contests and Drawings

Occasionally, we may sponsor a contest or drawing. Participation is optional. Pearson collects name, contact information and other information specified on the entry form for the contest or drawing to conduct the contest or drawing. Pearson may collect additional personal information from the winners of a contest or drawing in order to award the prize and for tax reporting purposes, as required by law.

Newsletters

If you have elected to receive email newsletters or promotional mailings and special offers but want to unsubscribe, simply email information@informit.com.

Service Announcements

On rare occasions it is necessary to send out a strictly service related announcement. For instance, if our service is temporarily suspended for maintenance we might send users an email. Generally, users may not opt-out of these communications, though they can deactivate their account information. However, these communications are not promotional in nature.

Customer Service

We communicate with users on a regular basis to provide requested services and in regard to issues relating to their account we reply via email or phone in accordance with the users' wishes when a user submits their information through our Contact Us form.

Other Collection and Use of Information


Application and System Logs

Pearson automatically collects log data to help ensure the delivery, availability and security of this site. Log data may include technical information about how a user or visitor connected to this site, such as browser type, type of computer/device, operating system, internet service provider and IP address. We use this information for support purposes and to monitor the health of the site, identify problems, improve service, detect unauthorized access and fraudulent activity, prevent and respond to security incidents and appropriately scale computing resources.

Web Analytics

Pearson may use third party web trend analytical services, including Google Analytics, to collect visitor information, such as IP addresses, browser types, referring pages, pages visited and time spent on a particular site. While these analytical services collect and report information on an anonymous basis, they may use cookies to gather web trend information. The information gathered may enable Pearson (but not the third party web trend services) to link information with application and system log data. Pearson uses this information for system administration and to identify problems, improve service, detect unauthorized access and fraudulent activity, prevent and respond to security incidents, appropriately scale computing resources and otherwise support and deliver this site and its services.

Cookies and Related Technologies

This site uses cookies and similar technologies to personalize content, measure traffic patterns, control security, track use and access of information on this site, and provide interest-based messages and advertising. Users can manage and block the use of cookies through their browser. Disabling or blocking certain cookies may limit the functionality of this site.

Do Not Track

This site currently does not respond to Do Not Track signals.

Security


Pearson uses appropriate physical, administrative and technical security measures to protect personal information from unauthorized access, use and disclosure.

Children


This site is not directed to children under the age of 13.

Marketing


Pearson may send or direct marketing communications to users, provided that

  • Pearson will not use personal information collected or processed as a K-12 school service provider for the purpose of directed or targeted advertising.
  • Such marketing is consistent with applicable law and Pearson's legal obligations.
  • Pearson will not knowingly direct or send marketing communications to an individual who has expressed a preference not to receive marketing.
  • Where required by applicable law, express or implied consent to marketing exists and has not been withdrawn.

Pearson may provide personal information to a third party service provider on a restricted basis to provide marketing solely on behalf of Pearson or an affiliate or customer for whom Pearson is a service provider. Marketing preferences may be changed at any time.

Correcting/Updating Personal Information


If a user's personally identifiable information changes (such as your postal address or email address), we provide a way to correct or update that user's personal data provided to us. This can be done on the Account page. If a user no longer desires our service and desires to delete his or her account, please contact us at customer-service@informit.com and we will process the deletion of a user's account.

Choice/Opt-out


Users can always make an informed choice as to whether they should proceed with certain services offered by InformIT. If you choose to remove yourself from our mailing list(s) simply visit the following page and uncheck any communication you no longer want to receive: www.informit.com/u.aspx.

Sale of Personal Information


Pearson does not rent or sell personal information in exchange for any payment of money.

While Pearson does not sell personal information, as defined in Nevada law, Nevada residents may email a request for no sale of their personal information to NevadaDesignatedRequest@pearson.com.

Supplemental Privacy Statement for California Residents


California residents should read our Supplemental privacy statement for California residents in conjunction with this Privacy Notice. The Supplemental privacy statement for California residents explains Pearson's commitment to comply with California law and applies to personal information of California residents collected in connection with this site and the Services.

Sharing and Disclosure


Pearson may disclose personal information, as follows:

  • As required by law.
  • With the consent of the individual (or their parent, if the individual is a minor)
  • In response to a subpoena, court order or legal process, to the extent permitted or required by law
  • To protect the security and safety of individuals, data, assets and systems, consistent with applicable law
  • In connection the sale, joint venture or other transfer of some or all of its company or assets, subject to the provisions of this Privacy Notice
  • To investigate or address actual or suspected fraud or other illegal activities
  • To exercise its legal rights, including enforcement of the Terms of Use for this site or another contract
  • To affiliated Pearson companies and other companies and organizations who perform work for Pearson and are obligated to protect the privacy of personal information consistent with this Privacy Notice
  • To a school, organization, company or government agency, where Pearson collects or processes the personal information in a school setting or on behalf of such organization, company or government agency.

Links


This web site contains links to other sites. Please be aware that we are not responsible for the privacy practices of such other sites. We encourage our users to be aware when they leave our site and to read the privacy statements of each and every web site that collects Personal Information. This privacy statement applies solely to information collected by this web site.

Requests and Contact


Please contact us about this Privacy Notice or if you have any requests or questions relating to the privacy of your personal information.

Changes to this Privacy Notice


We may revise this Privacy Notice through an updated posting. We will identify the effective date of the revision in the posting. Often, updates are made to provide greater clarity or to comply with changes in regulatory requirements. If the updates involve material changes to the collection, protection, use or disclosure of Personal Information, Pearson will provide notice of the change through a conspicuous notice on this site or other appropriate way. Continued use of the site after the effective date of a posted revision evidences acceptance. Please contact us if you have questions or concerns about the Privacy Notice or any objection to any revisions.

Last Update: November 17, 2020