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ESG issues-environmental, social and governance-have emerged as some of the most critical management imperatives facing leaders across industries. As data and standards for disclosing ESG performance take hold, organizations will increasingly be required to report and be benchmarked against their peers by consumers, investors and employees. The authors dispel three popular myths about ESG-including that it is just 'woke capitalism'-and provide guidance for turning this challenge into an opportunity to engage your key stakeholders.

In the digital era every organization must continuously adapt to keep up with changing customer expectations, new digital competition and business models made possible by emerging technologies. For an established business, this means innovating within your core business; but it also means innovating beyond your core-testing new offerings in pursuit of new customers and revenue models. The author presents his four-part framework for making digital innovation a reality: problem validation, solution validation, product validation and business validation. In the end, he shows that digital innovation that grows your business can only happen with effective innovation measurement throughout the process.

No matter what industry you are in, the path ahead is neither linear nor predictable. But that doesn't mean you need to fear it, say two leading design thinkers. Instead, they show how you can take steps to shape the future by taking a proactive look forward. They define the powerful skill of 'strategic foresight,' and show how it can be used in four ways: as a future shield; for future-proofing; for future-readiness; and as a future shaper. They show that strategic foresight entails using three mindsets or 'lenses' concurrently: an analytical lens, a speculative lens and a systems lens. In the end, they show that the leadership teams setting themselves up for success will be the ones who dedicate time, resources and energy to imaginative and rigorous explorations of multiple possible futures.

While the existence of workplace discrimination has been firmly established, individual employees often feel uncertain about classifying a negative personal experiences as such. For example, if a woman is passed up for a promotion in favour of a man, she may wonder whether her colleague's performance was simply superior to hers, and may never resolve whether or not it was discriminatory. The authors refer to such experiences as 'ambiguous incidents,' and in this article they describe what these look like and their implications for women at work. In the end, they show that understanding and addressing gender inequality demands considering not only overt discrimination, but ambiguous incidents, as well.

Being seen, known and heard in our relationships-personal and professional-requires us to use our voices. But how many of us actually do? The fact is, for minorities in the workplace, there are often incentives to stay silent-particularly for people with traditionally marginalized identities. Many of us are guilty of not listening to others when we disagree with what they're saying or they aren't communicating in our preferred style. We assume, rebut and tune out. In short, we silence - even when we're going through the motions of listening. In an excerpt from her latest book, the author, a Harvard Law School professor, shares insights about 'voice' and tactics for leaders and individuals to encourage voice in those around them in their everyday interactions.

This case introduces Indian-born Devita Saraf, the founder and CEO of the consumer durables company, Vu Technologies, as she embarks on her entrepreneurial journey to create and scale her venture. Devita started her career as a tech entrepreneur in India in the mid-2000s when there were very few women entrepreneurs in the tech industry. The case provides an interesting avenue for a discussion on the role of gender in starting and scaling entrepreneurial ventures and the challenges that a young startup faced. The case recounts how she develops competencies and her personal brand to scale the cutting-edge luxury TV. With technologies continuing to evolve and the traditional methods of content consumption becoming increasingly obsolete, Devita ponders over the next steps in Vu's evolution to remain relevant to the new generation of television users in India and abroad. The case touches upon how as a woman entrepreneur she builds a successful tech business.

Twenty years ago, consultants at Bain & Company published a book that explored a dispiriting reality: Although companies spent billions of dollars a year pursuing deals, 70% of mergers and acquisitions wound up as failures. But today those odds have inverted. According to new research by Bain, over the past 20 years firms have done more than 660,000 acquisitions, worth a total of $56 trillion, with deals reaching a peak in 2021. And close to 70% of them have succeeded. Even among the roughly 30% that were less successful, many of the deals still created some value. What has changed? This article presents four explanations for the turnabout.

Even when machine intelligence outperforms human workers, when it replaces a human colleague, group productivity falls, a new study found. In addition, the output of people who are simply observers is negatively affected. Managers need to think carefully about the impact that AI has on team sociability, motivation, and trust.

In fall 2023, the Food Program of Met Council-America's largest Jewish charity dedicated to fighting poverty-completed the rollout of the newest version of its digital pantry platform to twelve food pantries in the Met Council food pantry network. The digital initiative coincided with a shift from food pantries' traditional "pre-packed" model-in which pantry staff and volunteers pre-packed standardized bags of foods and handed them out to long lines of waiting clients (the standard model in the US)-to a "client choice" model, where clients could choose their own food items. Over half of the pantries in Met Council's network were undergoing the transition to client choice. For most of these pantries, the client choice model was initially implemented as an in-person shopping experience, similar to a small-scale grocery store. For the digital pantries, though, clients would be able to see available items and place orders online, similar to an online grocery shopping experience. Met Council viewed the digital initiative as the next step towards increasing the dignity of the pantry experience and incentivizing healthy food choices. This case discusses the evolution of the digital pantry; specifically, the pros and cons of each pantry model from an operational efficiency perspective, how operational levers can influence consumers' purchasing decisions, fairness in resource allocation problems, and "push" versus "pull" inventory distribution models.

The case of Quantum Park Hotels, a global hotel chain, is designed to uncover the challenges in designing a customer service recovery programme. The case is set in the Singapore branch of the hotel chain. General Manager David Ng is faced with several irate customers who have refused to pay their hotel bills, because they had no access to water from 4:30 am to 8:45 am that day due to damaged pipes. The front desk staff are seeking guidance from Ng on how to address the guest complaints. To help him arrive at a decision, Ng meets with his heads of guest services, finance, and loyalty programmes to get their insights and thoughts. Although the broken water pipes have since been repaired, they expect more customers to request some sort of compensation for their trouble. It will soon be check-out time at the hotel and while Ng is considering the inputs of multiple stakeholders, several decisions must be made. What sort of compensation should be offered - cash, room nights, hotel meals, or a combination of some or all of these? How much should be offered to the affected guests - a sum greater, less than or exactly the same as what they spent? Should different guests receive different benefits? And should something be done for guests who did not complain?

In early 2024, Ruth Jones, head of digital banking at Signa Bank, a (fictitious) European consumer bank, was thinking about how to best incorporate GenAI capabilities to improve efficiencies and create new ways to improve the customer experience. Where were the biggest opportunities? How could the bank incorporate GenAI to better personalize the customer experience? And what were the most effective strategies to mitigate the number of product and enterprise risks that would arise? Jones needed to ensure that as the technology was increasingly embedded and incorporated across the bank's operating systems, that there would be no negative fallout on its consumers or its reputation.

In March 2024, Anthropic, a leading AI safety and research company, made headlines with the launch of Claude 3, its most advanced AI model. This marked Anthropic's bold entry into the multimodal GenAI domain, showcasing capabilities extending to both image and text analysis. Co-founded by former OpenAI employees, Anthropic aimed to be at the forefront of generative AI innovations. The broader AI landscape had seen technologies like ChatGPT transition from niche applications to mainstream tools, sparking global discussions about their potential impact. Established as a Public Benefit Corporation, Anthropic prioritized public good alongside financial returns. The company emphasized aligning technological progress with human values, driven by concerns over AI's potential for harm without robust safety mechanisms. Anthropic's cautious strategy, including delaying the release of an earlier version of Claude to ensure appropriate safety protocols, contrasted with competitors such as OpenAI whose release of ChatGPT triggered an AI arms race. As a company with aggressive growth targets and a 75x revenue multiple, Anthropic had to balance its foundational safety mission against the demands of commercial success. The OpenAI experience with its Board replacement had demonstrated the importance of governance and the risks of misaligned values within the company. Did Anthropic's corporate structure effectively guard against profit-driven incentives that could compromise safety? As AI models became more powerful, what tools should Anthropic develop and share to prevent harm?

This case takes the perspective of Dane Barnes, cofounder of Shibumi Shade, Inc., a North Carolina start-up that created and sells an innovative beach shade. In particular, the case highlights Barnes's and his cofounders' decisions in forming and growing their company, and it presents an inflection point for students to recommend future actions to the cofounders to maintain Shibumi's growth trajectory. The case explores such experiences and decisions as transitioning the venture from a side hustle to a full-time pursuit, protecting intellectual property, seeking outside funding, outsourcing, and growing the venture.

To remain competitive, smart multinationals ensure they can rapidly globalize or localize certain parts of their businesses as needed. Here's how they do it.

Despite all the Terminator scenarios, many commercial applications of artificial intelligence are really just as an essential business tool.

This case follows the founder and CEO of King's Flair International (KFI), Alex Wong, as he navigates a critical situation involving Zhong Ying (ZY), a long-standing strategic partner of KFI. KFI, a reputable Hong Kong-listed Original Design Manufacturer (ODM) for premium international household brands, has collaborated with ZY as a manufacturing partner for over two decades. Throughout the years, ZY has enjoyed a steady stream of orders from KFI, contributing to its gradual business growth. However, due to its recent overexpansion and mismanagement, ZY found itself buried heavily in bank loans. In early 2019, ZY had reached a point where it could no longer meet its regular debt repayment obligations due to a lack of funds. Consequently, the bank issued an ultimatum, demanding full loan repayment within a few days or else initiating legal action against the company. Faced with this dire situation, ZY had no choice but to seek out Wong's assistance. Wong now faces two crucial decisions: 1) whether he should extend help to ZY, and 2) if he decides to help ZY, which of the three alternatives should he choose? Complicating matters further, ZY is currently working on an urgent order for KFI. Wong understands the gravity of his choice, as it carries significant implications that extend beyond ZY and can impact other manufacturing partners as well. Hence, he must carefully deliberate and weigh the potential consequences before making a decision.

Business combinations under common control (BCUCC) are common restructuring arrangements carried out within groups of companies. However, an accounting policy choice exists. In the absence of an International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) on BCUCC, the receiving entity that acquired control of entities from its ultimate parent typically applies either the acquisition method or the predecessor method (also known as 'pooling of interests' in US GAAP or the 'book value' method). Accounting for such arrangements in IFRS reporting is subject to the judgement of the reporting entity and is an accounting policy choice. This case is noteworthy as Huaneng Power International Inc (HPI), one of Asia's largest listed power producers, a company incorporated in the People's Republic of China (PRC) and listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, and the New York Stock Exchange, applied the acquisition method voluntarily in its IFRS reporting. For the PRC reporting, HPI used the predecessor method to account for the BCUCC according to the PRC GAAP requirements. This was an unusual accounting choice as most internationally-listed Chinese companies use the predecessor method for IFRS reporting, consistent with their reporting under PRC GAAP.

In December 2023, Avenue Supermarts Limited, operating as DMart, celebrated its robust performance in the offline retail sector in India. Since its establishment in 2002, DMart had built a sizable network of profitable offline stores, showcasing industry-leading metrics. However, its online subsidiary faced losses, prompting the management to confront pivotal decisions for future expansion. The management grappled with the choice of expanding its physical stores and deliberated on the strategic approach: Should it broaden geographically or deepen existing clusters? Simultaneously, they confronted the challenge of resource allocation for the online business amid intense competition and recent financial setbacks. DMart's leadership stood at a crossroads, weighing options to sustain offline success while addressing the complexities of online market dynamics and profitability.

Bhima Jewels ("Bhima") was a household name in southern India, where the company had built up a loyal clientele spanning three generations over its 97 years in business as a retailer in the jewellery sector. In 2015, Abhishek Bindu Madhav, the grandson of the founder, took over the family-run business. He introduced professionalization, infused technology into the company's practices, and notched up creditable successes in the early years of the transformation, including during the trying times of the pandemic. <br><br>However, now Abhishek must prove that this early success was not a fluke and provide the board with a blueprint outlining how Bhima could realize its ambition of becoming a national brand. Abhishek needs to determine which factors to consider for investment and focus on to successfully script the company's Transformation 2.0.