Daily Telegraph: City Diary: Shell shocked: “Is BP, Exxon or, er, Shell a "model company setting standards and behaviour and operating practices for a global company"? …which of them "demonstrates honesty, integrity and strong ethical thinking in the conduct of the business"? By this point I can contain myself no more. Shell hardly needs such a silly and expensive exercise to know the answers.”(ShellNews.net)

Edited by Tessa Thorniley

25 Sept 04

My phone rings. A consultancy is carrying out a "corporate reputation study for a global oil business". Is BP, Exxon or, er, Shell a "model company setting standards and behaviour and operating practices for a global company"?

Then, which of them "demonstrates honesty, integrity and strong ethical thinking in the conduct of the business"? Twenty minutes later comes the killer question. Which descriptions apply to BP, Exxon or Shell: "dynamic, faceless, honest, insensitive, irresponsible, old-fashioned, successful".

By this point I can contain myself no more. Shell hardly needs such a silly and expensive exercise to know the answers.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2004/09/25/ccdiary25.xml