Business, ethics & society

The questions we find ourselves asking in response to COVID-19 are complicated and colossal. But the act of asking questions together is a powerful activity for any community — and creates new possibilities for starting to overcome chaos. It is a crucial form of action that helps us creatively solve the problems before us.

The actions taken by retail health clinics — small primary care clinics located within retail outlets like Walmart’s Care Clinics or CVS’ MinuteClinic — will have a significant impact on public safety, and their actions may prevent the COVID-19 pandemic from overwhelming the U.S. health care system. Darden Professor Dennie Kim explains.

Minority-owned banks offer a valuable function in providing equitable support to minority communities and small-businesses. While they receive some government benefits, they also receive criticism for the support and a perception they’re “risky.” Is that criticism founded? Research analyzes actual outputs and inputs.

Churchill and Lincoln deliberately solicited the opinions of those who were willing to challenge them. Leaders may be best advised to evaluate where loyalty lies: the leader’s self-interest or the organization’s mission? Professor Detert discusses courageous leadership — necessary to get us through COVID-19.

Mandated by the Constitution, the U.S. Census Bureau counts the nation’s residents every 10 years. The data determine seats in the House and federal funds for local communities, as well as inform practical research. Examples from Darden: studies on poverty and race, allocation of opportunity zones, and the effect of technology on rich and poor.

COVID-19 has sent us into a grand and growing telework experience. How do organizations, employees and leaders function in a world in which operations must continue but face-to-face may be impossible? Included: alternatives to in-person communication and physical contact, developing relationships virtually, and managing yourself and productivity.

The coronavirus has spread around the world rapidly. Here, one Darden professor examines the financial implications versus the ethical ones. What would an uncontrolled outbreak mean in the U.S.? What can we learn from China and Italy? And what questions should organizations be asking?

From the Civil War and Reconstruction to Martin Luther King Jr. and Richard Nixon to Jay-Z and Killer Mike: Darden experts discuss the history of minority depository institutions, the integral service they provide diverse communities and the challenges that still exist.

The U.S. is in the midst of a health care crisis. How patients and communities are cared for is inexorably tied to dollars and cents, and medical and business ethics are both necessary to address the crisis. How can health providers connect the two? Stakeholder theory.

Lessons in philanthropy, investment and innovation: Rikers Island needed $10 million for a program to reduce the rate of teenage inmates returning to prison. With the innovative financing structure of the U.S.’ first social impact bond, New York, Goldman Sachs and Bloomberg Philanthropies leveraged private capital toward social solutions.