The Future of Work Is Already Here—Will Bureaucratic Organizations Survive It?

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The Future of Work Is Already Here—Will Bureaucratic Organizations Survive It?

Every crisis paves the way for change—call it progress, growth, or recession—but the question remains: how many steps back are taken for every step forward? Whether a financial crisis or a global health crisis, the fallout manifests in how people live and work differently, affecting organizations’ once-traditional priorities. What directions are organizations, their management, and their employees headed in today? Several recent Delve podcast episodes and articles investigate these questions to look deeper at: changing business ethics in a hybrid world, the role gender plays in word-of-mouth job recruitment, why overqualified job candidates are seen as a flight risk, and how new digital management structures are changing the nature of the firm.

What Digital Technologies Are Reshaping the Future of Business, Finance, and the Agri-Food Sector?

Advances in digital technology have changed the world as we know it—and show no sign of slowing down. As research investigates the longer-term risks, rewards, and systemic effects of technologies like Artificial Intelligence, development speeds on, altering the landscape of how we work, talk to each other, buy and sell, and even what we eat. How is new digital technology, like AI and cryptocurrency, driving change in certain sectors, from customer-service interactions to getting food from farm to table? Delve talks with researchers at Desautels who investigate the impact of new digital technologies on the world of work, multiple global industries, and financial markets.

Where Is Entrepreneurship Headed Next?

Entrepreneurship—and entrepreneurs themselves—typically look to fill gaps in the market and meet previously unmet needs. But in the past few years, financial crises, supply chain interruptions, and social and environmental concerns have disrupted business as usual. How is entrepreneurship evolving to meet the changing needs of all stakeholders, from investors to community members? And what do sustainable strategies, informal economies, and deviant identities have to do with the changing face of entrepreneurship today? Desautels researchers discuss alternatives to scaling up, small-business practices in informal economies, and when to deviate from the rules.

What Can Boomers Learn About Leadership from Millennials and Gen Z? with Karl Moore and Dax Dasilva

What can older generations learn from Millennials and Gen Z about leadership, strategy, and dealing with crisis? And how can these younger generations unlock their professional potential by engaging in meaningful work and taking larger roles in organizational strategy and change? On the Delve podcast, Desautels Professor Karl Moore and Lightspeed and Age of Union Founder Dax Dasilva discuss communication beyond traditional hierarchies, the value of reverse mentorship and receiving feedback, and what real equality, diversity, and inclusion can look like in an organization.

Are Digital Tech Workers Coding Themselves Out of Existence? with Emmanuelle Vaast and Alain Pinsonneault

What if just doing your job causes you to lose your job? New technologies have constantly replaced old technologies for hundreds of years, but new digital technologies, namely artificial intelligence and other data-driven technologies, are doing more than replacing old tech—they’re replacing the people who create those technologies in the first place. On the Delve podcast, Alain Pinsonneault, Desautels Professor of Information Systems and IMASCO Chair in Information Technology, and fellow Desautels Professor of Information Systems Emmanuelle Vaast examine how digital technology enables and threatens occupational identity—and how data scientists and others who work with digital tech cope with the associated tensions.

How the Era of Energy Transition Is Changing Business Leadership

The global transition to net-zero requires significant changes in the way businesses operate and grow. How can business leaders successfully manage this energy transition? What are its opportunities and risks for businesses? And what role do corporate boards and investors play in overseeing and encouraging the transition? In the current era of energy transition, these difficult and critical questions must be tackled at the highest levels to redefine and implement effective business leadership for a net-zero world. At a recent Desautels Faculty of Management Integrated Management Symposium that melded leadership with academic research, several strategies and opportunities for change proved that major institutions play a vital role in both setting and meeting stronger targets for sustainability.

Why Accounting Holds the Key to Successful Sustainability Initiatives, with Brian Wenzel

What does accounting have to do with sustainability? Essentially, everything. In general, accounting isn't the first thing that comes to mind when most people think about sustainability, whether that means climate targets or diversity on boards. But just as research and regulations around sustainability have expanded in recent years, so has sustainability accounting, focusing on activities of an organization that have a direct impact on its environmental, social, and governance aspects. On the Delve podcast, Desautels accounting professor Brian Wenzel discusses how sustainability approaches and new global standards should be integrated into accounting practices to take into account all aspects of an organization’s performance, from the big picture to the bottom line.

Is Business Truly Compatible with Ethics? with Jo-Ellen Pozner and Saku Mantere

Craft business, such as microbreweries and ethical chocolate companies, has seen a rise in the past several years, with many claiming to put values over excessive profit. Meanwhile, larger, more economically driven businesses have imploded in the wake of questionable decision making. Are craft businesses somehow more ethical or moral than others? Or is business ethics an oxymoron? The answer depends on values. On the Delve podcast, Jo-Ellen Pozner, a professor of management at the Leavey School of Business at Santa Clara University, joins Desautels Professor and Delve Editor-in-Chief Saku Mantere in an inspired conversation that asks how ethics affects the ways that businesses fundamentally function, from everyday operations to how leadership and boards make strategic decisions.

Cashing In or Losing Big on Cryptocurrency Yield Farms?

If something seems too good to be true, it probably is. Add cryptocurrency yield farms to that list. A complex investment strategy in decentralized finance markets, yield farming advertises eye-popping passively earned returns. While some investors boast impressive returns, for others the risks are unclear or even undisclosed before they invest, and the advertised returns never materialize. Research by Desautels Professor Patrick Augustin investigates the risks to investors chasing high yields in decentralized finance markets, finding that the risks in yield farming are not transparent, farms that advertise the highest yields systematically underperform, and that most investors don’t stake claims on the blockchain so don’t see their risks pay off.