Business, ethics & society

“Positive weird” needs to be another focus as we seek to understand how to create better organizations and communities that bring out the best in both marginal and dominant members.

In these politically divided times, everyone seems to have an opinion. Is it a good idea for CEOs to express theirs? What happens to an organization when its CEO takes a public stance on a controversial issue? New research examines the net effect of CEO activism, how the effects differ for liberals and conservatives, and the effects’ duration.

In an examination of the role of character in leadership and decision-making, Darden Professor Jared Harris offers guidance on creating a personal vision, defining one’s values, preparing for the defining moments of a professional career, and how to actively pursue one’s best self.

Phishing scams: The same instincts and signals people use consciously or unconsciously to establish trust in the “real” world are the very same that get us into trouble online. Such vulnerability is due to the very nature of how human beings make judgment calls when it comes to trust. Understanding why we’re at risk is the first step.

Getting diversity, equity and inclusion right in any organization is a function of change, which is hard. Here Darden experts provide practical insights on leveraging deviance in ways that empower individuals, the benefits of unconscious-bias training, mentorship and sponsorship, and how to have constructive (if potentially tense) conversations.

Getting diversity and inclusion right in any organization is a function of change. It’s about overcoming barriers, getting people out of dominant paradigms about diversity, and empowering people to understand diversity and inclusion as part of the overall livelihood of their organizations. That means providing models and templates that get results.

Since the pandemic hit, there is more of an imperative than ever to build real organizational and personal resilience. The tools that prove most useful in doing so include purpose, engagement and leadership behaviors — like modeling interpersonal human relatedness and personal growth after adversity.

The Partnership for Central America works with businesses and social enterprises to address the root causes of migration through economic opportunity and investments in education, health care and transportation infrastructure. It’s a public-private partnership in support of Vice President Kamala Harris’ Call to Action for Central America.

SAMRIDH Healthcare Blended Finance Facility improves access to affordable and quality health care for the most socioeconomically vulnerable in India. It leverages philanthropic funding to mitigate barriers for private investment and drive greater commercial investments toward health system strengthening and is a leading public-private partnership.

The argument in favor of diversity and inclusion is robust. The benefits are clear. As our populations change, diverse groups of talent are emerging, and they are emerging fast. However, corporations and businesses are still lagging hard behind the pace of this change. So what’s holding us back?