MIT’s New Free Online Sloan Course, and More – Boston News
Let’s explore the most interesting stories to emerge from Boston business schools this week.
Free Online MIT Sloan Course Explores the Future of Work – MIT Sloan Ideas That Matter
Automation, globalization, and new technologies can drastically change the future of the working world. In response to the growing sense of uncertainty about work’s future, a free online course created by a group of MIT Sloan experts explores how we can exert influence over the shape and form our future work will take.
Entitled “Shaping Work of the Future,” the course will focus on how technology is disrupting work and how we can adapt technology to augment rather than replace human work.
Professor of Work and Organization Studies at Sloan, Thomas Kochan asserts, “There’s no iron law of technology and no iron law of globalization. We can influence how these things play out and manage them better. But we’ve got to understand what the choices are, and we’ve got to get people really energized and taking actions to shape these forces.”
The course is open to the public and was designed to accommodate the global scope of the topic. Kochan adds:
“We need to get a message out to people around the world, young workers, but even more to experienced workers and leaders of business and government, that we can influence the future of work. We don’t see enough people understanding that they really can have an influence over these issues and have an impact.”
You can read more from the recent article here.
HBS Research Addresses Innovation Problem in Frontier Markets – Harvard Business Review
New Harvard Business School research on emerging markets reveals how market-creating innovation not only generates growth for companies but also galvanizes infrastructure, cultivates institutions, and mitigates corruption.
Contrary to popular opinion hat a society must “fix” its structures and institutions in order to foster innovation, authors Clayton M. Christensen, Efosa Ojomo, and Karen Dillon present the argument that innovation is the process by which a society develops. Thus when a country encounters roadblocks to prosperity despite activity within its borders, the country may not have a development problem—they might have an innovation problem.
“Market-creating innovations don’t wait for such obstacles to be removed by resources that are pushed in. They essentially pull in the necessary resources—creating workarounds or funding the infrastructure and institutions needed to deliver their products—even if those efforts are not initially supported by the local government.”
MicroEnsure’s Richard Leftley remarks on the power of innovation, “It’s difficult to run a ruler over things you can’t see. But when you strip away the layers of conventional thinking about what’s not possible and start to re-imagine what is, you can begin to create something really powerful. And that, in turn, has the potential to change the world.”
Check out the rest of the HBR article here.
BC Alum Takes Home Cox Conserves Heroes Award – Carroll School of Management News
BC Carroll alum Shavel’le Olivier, ’14, is the new co-chair of the Mattapan Food and Fitness Coalition’s Vigorous Youth program. In her role, Olivier coordinates volunteers, research, writing grants, planning events, and handles administration. This past fall, Olivier was awarded the Cox Conserves Heroes Award, presented by Boston 25 News in partnership with Cox Enterprises and the Trust for Public Land. The award recognizes a local environmental volunteer for work improving outdoor spaces. Along with the honor, Olivier received $10,000 to donate to MFFC.
Olivier credits her Boston College experience with boosting her leadership skills in unexpected ways.
“Those classes gave me a foundation that helped me explore how I am a leader—and that leaders are not [shaped by] cookie cutters, with shared characteristics, like being outgoing or able to talk a lot. You can be a leader by focusing on your strengths.”
Olivier also credits mentors such as Vivien Morris, the founder and co-chair of MFFC and community engagement manager for the Carroll School’s Joseph E. Corcoran Center for Real Estate and Urban Action. “These women in different leadership positions were inspirational to me. They encouraged me and made me more comfortable taking on more leadership roles.”
You can find out more about Olivier’s work here.
MIT Faculty Director Explains Wave of “Alt” Jobs – Boston News
Let’s explore some of the most interesting stories that have emerged from Boston business schools this week.
How Transportation Disruption and Electric Vehicles Can Slash Greenhouse Gases – Questrom School of Business Blog
BU Questrom Professor of the Practice and Director of the university Institute for Sustainable Energy (ISE)’s Peter Fox-Penner and Research Fellow Jennifer Hatch recently co-authored new research with UC Berkeley’s Will Gorman, which illuminates how the car sharing, electric car, and autonomous vehicle trends could “lead to massive reductions in greenhouse gas emissions—without overtaxing the electric utility grid.”
Hatch explains, “Transportation emissions are 26 percent of the total emissions in the United States. We need to look at realistic ways to reduce those numbers. To significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, we know what we need to do: electrify the transport sector and decarbonize the electricity grid.”
You can find the group’s complete study on Science Direct.
Alt-Labor, Explained – MIT Sloan Newsroom
MIT Sloan Professor and Good Companies, Good Jobs initiative Faculty Director Thomas Kochan recently unpacked what he calls the emerging “alt-labor” movement.
“Traditional forms of union representation have declined to the point where advocates inside and outside the labor movement are searching for new strategies that work with today’s economy and workforce. Most of these new forms are working outside of what is considered traditional collective bargaining.”
Kochan adds, “Management had better start to listen to the workforce. And it better recognize that if it doesn’t start to look at more sensible forms of labor law, of labor policy, then it will be in a reactive position when the public does finally stand up and say enough is enough.”
You can read more about Kochan’s work here.
Restaurateur Partners with University to Battle Food Insecurity – Sawyer Business Blog
The Suffolk University Sawyer Business School recently profiled the CARES Pantry, a new initiative developed to address food insecurity on campus and give students access to healthier lifestyles.
Gene Lee, EMBA (’96), President and Chief Executive Officer of Darden Restaurants, who funded the initiative, says, “The goal is for every student in this University to be properly nourished, in and out of class, at work, and in their everyday lives.”
Gene Lee (’96) appearing at a recent event at Suffolk University / Photo via suffolk.edu
“It’s hard enough to be a good student in a competitive environment without having to worry about your next meal. The pantry will provide students with a safety net and a place they can count on and that they deserve.”
You can read more about Lee’s appearance at his alma-mater and the CARES Pantry here.
