MIT Breaks Down Starbucks Response to Recent PR Nightmare, and More – Boston News
Let’s explore some of the most interesting stories that have emerged from Boston business schools this week.
What Starbucks Got Wrong—and Right—After Philadelphia Arrests – MIT Sloan Newsroom
Following Starbucks’ PR nightmare this past April in which an employee at a Philadelphia Starbucks had two African American patrons arrested after while they waited to conduct a business meeting, Starbucks announced it will host an afternoon of racial bias training for 175,000 employees across 8,000 of its locations.
MIT Sloan senior lecturer Roberta Pittore commended the coffee giant on the sincere response it made following the initial clumsy attempt to address the controversy in a generalized statement.
Regardless of the potential impacts a single afternoon of racial bias training might have on its employees, Pittore believes that “something is better than nothing, more is better than less, and sooner is better than later. I think what it does achieve from Starbucks’ point of view is that it changes the discussion from ‘What did our employee do that was offensive,’ to ‘How can we learn and how can we change?’”
You can read professor Pittore’s entire take on the incident and the Starbucks response here.
Two Northeastern Students Created an App to Revolutionize the School Bus Industry – D’Amore-McKim Blog
The Best Buy-sponsored E-Fest recently awarded $40,000 to BusRight, an app current D’Amore-McKim School of Business students Keith Corso, ’21, and Evan Eddleston, ’22, co-founded to “revolutionize the school bus industry.”
BusRight is designed to “track school bus passengers, current location, calculate optimal travel routes, curb carbon emissions, reduce transportation costs for bus companies, and improve quality of life for passengers, parents, and bus drivers.” According to the article, many school administrators and bus company officials have expressed interest in using the app.
Eddleston writes, “Bus drivers are home earlier, students are home earlier, and parents know where their kids are. It’s a much more efficient system than the one in place today.”
You can read more about BusRight here.
“Be Unreasonable” – Sawyer Business Blog
The keynote speaker at the Sawyer Business School 2018 commencement was Boston Foundation president and CEO Paul S. Grogan who received an honorary doctorate and shared some refreshing words of wisdom drawn from a lifetime of devotion to the betterment of communities.
“Powerful interests conspire to keep things the way they are. They’re fiercely resistant to change because they benefit from the status quo. [There is a] need for courageous public servants who can stand up to pressure and citizen activists who can reshape public opinion in their communities.”
Boston Foundation president and CEO Paul S. Grogan, speaking at this month’s Sawyer Business School commencement / Photo via suffolk.edu
Grogan advised graduates to think beyond the material success their prestigious degree will help them attain. “I implore you to volunteer, to vote, to donate to charity … but moreover to be an active citizen and fight for your fellow neighbors who don’t enjoy the full promise of an American life.”
You can read more highlights from Grogan’s lecture here and watch his speech in its entirety below.
Sawyer Professors Discuss Impact of Community Connections on Police Violence
Suffolk University’s Sawyer Business School recently posted an article on its blog in which associate professor of public service Brenda Bond and law professor Frank Rudy Cooper examined “the fragile relationships between law enforcement and the communities they serve” in order to discuss “how police departments can change,” particularly in Boston. Continue reading…
Golden Gate Celebrates 50 Years of Public Administration Program
On August 27, Golden Gate University will celebrate the 50th anniversary of their Public Administration program, according to a press release from the school. The event will feature a panel called “From Katrina to Baltimore: Effectively Responding to Emerging Public Administration Challenges,” which will address the heightened state of racial tensions across the United States and the increasing impact of natural disasters on communities, with a focus on community rebuilding, leadership creation, and preparedness. The panelists include GGU alumni Paul Figueroa, Assistant Chief of the Oakland Police Department, Kerry Jackson, Head of Security at the Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District, and Carlos Sanchez, Lieutenant at San Francisco’s District Attorney Office.
GGU’s Master of Public Administration program started in 1963 and was one of the first of its kind in the Bay area. Since then the program has received commendation from public officials like Diane Feinstein, San Francisco’s mayor for a decade and now a US Senator. GGU launched an Executive Master of Public Administration in 1999 and now includes specializations like Law Enforcement and Security and Judicial Administration.
Joaquin Gonzalez, organizer of the event’s theme and Public Administration Chair and Professor, emphasized the value of a seasoned responder’s wisdom. “A discussion on prevention is necessary as most actions are based on reaction. The panelists are not only GGU alumni but also seasoned first responders. We want to take the lead in educating the minds and hearts of a new generation of law enforcers and security experts. Our role at GGU is to educate leaders who make smart and practical decisions to address real-world challenges,” he said in a press release.
