Hotel Resource - Knowledge@Wharton News

In 1970, the economist and Nobel laureate Milton Friedman published an article in The New York Times Magazine titled, 'The Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profits.' In the article, he referred to corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs as 'hypocritical window-dressing,' and said that businesspeople inclined toward such programs 'reveal a suicidal impulse.' Even four decades ago, at a time of growing public concern for the environment, his views represented the general skepticism and contempt with which many in Corporate America viewed CSR.

If loyalty is defined as being faithful to a cause, ideal, custom, institution or product, then there seems to be a certain amount of infidelity in the workplace these days.

Kees Kruythoff, president of Unilever's North America cluster, has traveled the world for the multinational consumer goods company. During a recent Wharton Leadership Lecture, he shared the unique lessons he has learned from leaders in each country and discussed the importance of infusing the workplace with passion.

Here is some research sure to rankle every employee who has applied for an internal promotion and been passed over in favor of someone brought in from the outside.

It is quitting time, and you know the drill. You grab your coat and slip on your Bluetooth for a quick call with a client on the commute home. You stop at the grocery store and, while you are in line, pluck out your BlackBerry to respond to emails. You arrive home, sit down to dinner and try hard to resist the flashing red light on your smartphone. Dinner is done: Time to check your email again, clear the dishes, and sit on the couch for some TV -- with your computer on your lap, of course. Just a few last emails and then it is time for bed. You will soon wake up to do it all over again tomorrow.

The worldwide wine business is a good case study in free trade, given that there are many producers and few restrictions on commerce. In recent years, the cost of wine has reflected this generally free global market in two ways — one good and the other bad, as George M. Taber argues in this op-ed piece. Taber is the author of four books on wine. His latest is titled, A Toast to Bargain Wines: How innovators, iconoclasts, and winemaking revolutionaries are changing the way the world drinks.

As economic malaise bleeds into another New Year, employers are making hard-nosed decisions about benefits and compensation. That means for many in the nation's workforce, compensation remains flat, health care premiums are up, the 401(k) match has disappeared and bonuses are smaller or nonexistent. The result is not hard to guess.

Armed with powerful mobile devices, consumers and employees have become the force behind a wireless wave of change. Whether they are seeking discounted prices or looking to coordinate a sales campaign, these mobile end-users are growing impatient with companies that are still trying to control behavior and the sharing of information. Enterprises that fail to learn how to give up some of that control and innovate to meet the evolving needs of their constituents could soon find themselves in the back of the pack.

Knowledge@Wharton sat down with Lewis, along with Wharton marketing professor Eric Bradlow and Steve Ennen, president and chief intelligence officer of Social Strategy1, to discuss the opportunities and potential pitfalls of implementing a social media strategy. An edited version of the transcript appears below.

With millions of people looking for employment, the workplace these days is an increasingly unhealthy environment for those who still have, and are trying to keep, their jobs. One key reason -- a stagnant economy that reduces the leverage employees typically have when they attempt to negotiate improved working conditions, move up in their organization or find better jobs outside the company.