Insights From

Business Ethics

The Art of Community: The Potential and Power of Collective Art

Public art contributes to community pride, civic engagement, reduced crime and boosted economic activity — and can be enjoyed without the barriers of cost and class. Here, academics and community activists offer a five-stage framework by which community leaders and policymakers can tap into the power of collaborative art and its impact on society.

4 Reasons Behind the Volatility of China’s Billionaire List

Between 2020 and 2021, the number of billionaires in China rose by more than 60 percent. Compared to the U.S. — which still holds the highest number of billionaires — China’s list changes frequently. Why does it show so much turnover? The answer has to do with the country’s dualistic capitalist-socialist identity.

Big Brother in the Workplace: Do Employees Accept Behavior Tracking?

Behavior tracking is playing a growing role in today’s workplace. Darden Professor Roshni Raveendhran offers a psychological account for employees’ increased willingness to accept, rather than resist, technology-operated behavior tracking, which sheds light on how business leaders should approach employee monitoring.

How Companies Blow It: Whistleblowing, Facebook and the Double Problem

Facebook’s whistlerblower, Frances Haugen, has made international headlines with her claims about the inner workings against the tech giant. Professor Jared Harris discusses business ethics in the era of big tech.

Quantifying the Quality of Integrity: CEOs, Auditors and Outcomes

The value of a culture of integrity: Using linguistic analysis of public communications, researchers studied which CEOs are likely to mislead investors and fail to follow through on promises. The CEO behavioral integrity index provides systematic evidence of the consequences of low integrity — here’s what it means for auditors and the bottom line.

The Enactment of Courage

Strategic thinking, sound decision-making, critical thinking, persuasion, empathy. There are a host of qualities that effective leaders should model in the workplace if they want to influence others and deliver truly positive outcomes. But chief among these is one that might not be on your radar: the willingness and ability to act courageously.

What Theranos Can Teach Us About Ethical Challenges in Murky High Tech Waters

Professor Jared Harris worked with Theranos whistleblower Tyler Shultz to develop a series of cases that reveal how the advanced nature of the technology allowed the ruse to go on so long and the high cost Shultz paid for his part bringing down the house of cards.

The Practice of Courage

It doesn’t matter how big your leadership toolkit is if you won’t be courageous enough to use those tools when it counts. Just like any other competency, you can learn, practice and strategically deploy the ability to act skillfully in high-stress moments. Here we dig into practical recommendations for getting to the other side of workplace fears.

The Importance of Courage

Courage: the lynchpin of leadership. It’s also the key to solving problems, innovating, pursuing opportunities and safeguarding the welfare of others. In a new book — and this Darden Ideas to Action series — Professor Jim Detert discusses courage as a skill that can be learned and developed.

Giving Voice to Values: Pragmatism and Practice

How to address ethical dilemmas effectively: The Giving Voice to Values (GVV) approach helps individuals recognize and act on their values in the face of conflict — more than theory, it’s about practicality. In a new book edited by GVV pioneer Mary Gentile, experts Ed Freeman and Brian Moriarty discuss GVV and the pragmatic philosophy of John Dewey