Blog Archives: August 2010
August 27, 2010
Preventing the Next Crisis Through Sustainable Consumption
Aron Cramer , President and CEO
Now that oil has stopped flowing into the Gulf of Mexico, it is time to consider the lessons that can be drawn from the Deepwater Horizon spill. Read more
August 24, 2010
WSJ Takes Aim at…Corporate Responsibility?
Aron Cramer , President and CEO
In a year when all eyes have been on the oil spill in the Gulf, automobile recalls, and the ongoing debate over behavior in the banking system, the Wall Street Journal—inexplicably—weighed in today by publishing a piece titled "The Case Against Corporate Social Responsibility." University of Michigan business school professor Aneel Karnani's piece was nothing more than a rehash of the arguments first made more than four decades ago by Milton Friedman. His assertion that delivering returns for shareholders is the only responsibility of business was wrong then, and it is wrong today, as even Jack Welch now acknowledges. Read more
August 18, 2010
Summer Reading and Climate Change: A Tale of Two Novels
Aron Cramer , President and CEO
Leaving Heathrow in mid-July, I picked up two novels for my summer vacation reading. One, Ian McEwan’s Solar, was an obvious choice. What could be better than seeing one of my favorite authors, anointed by many as the reigning champion of English-language fiction, take on the topic of renewable energy? The other book, Financial Times columnist Lucy Kellaway’s In Office Hours—her latest take on businesspeople behaving badly—was ostensibly a light read, with little link to sustainability. Read more
August 10, 2010
Happiness for Sale?
Cody Sisco, Former Manager, Advisory Services
Decisions about how we spend our money can affect our happiness, but only under the right conditions. Based on the emerging social science of “happiness studies,” and as reported by the New York Times, “our types of purchases, their size and frequency, and even the timing of the spending all affect long-term happiness.” Read more
August 6, 2010
Protecting Human Rights in a Networked Age
Dunstan Allison Hope , Managing Director, Advisory Services
Recent restrictions announced by the governments of the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia on the use of BlackBerry services—citing various national security concerns—have shed light on challenging ethical questions that are growing in importance for major global companies across the whole information and communications technology (ICT) industry. Read more
August 2, 2010
Building Soft Power in China Through Civil Society and Community Engagement
Pei Bin, Former Director, China Partnership Development
At the recent Aspen Institute Socrates Summer Seminar, I attended the session “Soft-Power: U.S. Leadership in a Hardball World,” moderated by Professor Joseph Nye. The session sparked my own reflections on the existence (or lack thereof) of soft power in China. While everyone at the Aspen Institute expressed strong and positive interest in China, the majority of the United States still views China as a threat. As our President and CEO Aron Cramer once said: “One thing our countries have in common is that we see our weaknesses through the prism of the perceived power of the other country, and sometimes we lose sight of the balance between the two.” Read more
