EXECUTIVE ADVISER

The Dangers of Social Responsibility

The idea that companies have a responsibility to act in the public interest and will profit from doing so is fundamentally flawed. That’s the argument made by Aneel Karnani in the August edition of Executive Adviser, MIT SMR’s collaboration with The Wall Street Journal. Karnani says that not only is the idea of corporate duty flawed, it also makes it more likely that we’ll ignore real solutions. Read more »

A COUNTERPOINT: Rosabeth Moss Kanter disagrees, arguing that there's value in the pursuit of synergy, in “How to Do Well and Do Good.”

Executive Adviser was a collaboration between MIT Sloan Management Review and The Wall Street Journal that ran in The Journal Report section from March 2007 through August 2010. Browse the full archives »

August 23, 2010

The Fundamental Flaws of “Social Responsibility”

The idea that companies have a responsibility to act in the public interest and will profit from doing so is an illusion, and a potentially dangerous one, too. A provocative argument, in this edition of Executive Adviser, MIT SMR‘s collaboration with The Wall Street Journal.

By Aneel Karnani

The Price Isn’t Right

Thanks to the Internet, companies have lost control of their pricing power. Here’s how they can get it back. Free to subscribers
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By Detlef Schoder and Alex Talalayevsky

Promises Aren’t Enough

Business schools need to do a better job teaching students values. Free to subscribers
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By Rodrigo Canales, B. Cade Massey and Amy Wrzesniewski

Who Has Innovative Ideas? Employees.

The trick is knowing how to tap into them. One answer: innovation communities. Free to subscribers
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By JC Spender and Bruce Strong

Prepare to Be Surprised in China

The one thing companies can count on is that things are constantly changing. Free to subscribers
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By Denis F. Simon and Leonard M. Fuld

When People Come and Go

Project teams often have different workers at different times. And that can create problems. Free to subscribers
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By Gervase R. Bushe

Diets That Don’t Work

Where enterprise resource planning goes wrong. Free to subscribers
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By Albert H. Segars and Dave Chatterjee

Do Techies Make Good Leaders?

They can, but developing their skills definitely poses challenges. Free to subscribers
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By Robert M. Fulmer And Byron Hanson

Products, Products Everywhere

Do companies really need to sell so many varieties of similar goods? No. Free to subscribers
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By Barry Berman

Keep Your Suppliers Honest

As the complexity of supply chains has grown, so has the likelihood of a catastrophe. Free to subscribers
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By Mark Vandenbosch and Stephen Sapp