A recent opinion piece in Ethical Corp. magazine by Brendan Mays, takes a “sideways” look at NGO types with the intent of helping guide companies on “how to pick a NGO partner.” Mays provides some insightful advice, such as companies are “best off not ignoring” activist groups. But his characterizations of NGOs are too simplistic, almost sarcastic, and reinforce stereotypes such as “Angry Activist”, “Smiling Salesman”, or “Overfed Giant” that hinder corporate engagement of NGOs.
NGOs and corporations are simply organizations comprised of individuals; by negatively typecasting NGOs, Mays homogenizes the individuals who work there, essentially stripping them of their unique identities. Rather than promote understanding, such labels erect barriers to understanding. Corporate/NGO engagement only succeeds when each side recognizes the unique individual(s) sitting across from him or her and is open to the opinions of the other.
