February 24, 2021
A decade ago, the consultants at McKinsey examined the trend of solving social problems through business strategies and asked where the public would come out on corporate social responsibility. Would it be perceived as corporate greed just dressed up to look like something else? Now McKinsey itself is being questioned for its own practices, most recently for assisting Purdue Pharma to “turbocharge” the marketing of OxyContin when opioid abuse had already killed hundreds of thousands of Americans.
What is the purpose of a corporation and what responsibilities does it have? Five years ago, Volkswagen’s emissions cheating scandal contributed to a steep downturn in public trust of companies. Today, the giant tech companies are under a spotlight for monopolistic and other practices, further eroding the public’s trust in the private sector.
February 19, 2021
Today at the Munich Security Conference, a gathering of world leaders launched during the Cold War and held virtually this year, US president Joe Biden laid out a roadmap for how democracies could approach China.
Biden spoke of a renewed transatlantic partnership to tackle the challenges posed by China’s growing economic and political clout. He never brought up his White House predecessor by name, but it was clear throughout his speech that he knew the past four years under Donald Trump had done a lot to push Europe closer to China or at least, further away from Washington.
February 19, 2021
The employment status of Uber drivers is coming down to geography. In California, Uber convinced voters in November that its drivers are in fact contractors. In the UK this week, the highest court in the country wasn’t so easily swayed.
The UK Supreme Court ruled this week that Uber must treat its drivers there as workers, not as self-employed contractors. The decision paves the way for Uber drivers in the UK to get benefits such as minimum wage and paid leave.
In its unanimous decision, the UK Supreme Court rejected Uber’s appeal of an earlier ruling by an employment tribunal ruling.