The Best of This Week

Companies Can Drive Culture Change by Analyzing Collaboration

Employers rely heavily on self-report surveys and interviews to assess organizational culture, but on their own, such tools provide a flawed view. By combining them with analysis of informal networks, leaders can gain a richer understanding of how new values take root locally and see more precisely where desired behaviors are communicated, modeled, observed, and adopted on the ground. With that level of insight, leaders can more effectively target their change efforts in five key ways.

How Should Companies Respond to Ransomware Attacks? Strategy Experts Weigh In.

Ransomware attacks have increased dramatically since the beginning of the pandemic, leading companies to pay out roughly $350 million in ransoms in 2020. When hackers take data hostage, how should companies respond? The MIT SMR Strategy Forum asked experts around the world to weigh in.
 

Does Your Business Need a Human Rights Strategy?

Companies need a plan of action if they are to meet their moral and business obligations in the event that their operations intersect with labor abuses or other human rights violations. The authors explain different types of abuses, provide a framework for understanding a company’s exposure to reputational risk, and map out a decision tree that can help managers work out potential courses of action and their implications.

Keep Quitting From Becoming a Contagion

Quitting contagion is a real phenomenon, affecting even companies where workers are generally happy, because people take cues from others around them and — particularly in an ambiguous situation like a pandemic — may be more likely to follow departing colleagues out the door. These tactics can help you prevent a quitting contagion from spreading at your company.

What Else We’re Reading This Week

• Companies must respond to changed expectations after a widespread, pandemic-spurred social reset (Source: MIT SMR)
• Scientists are using AI to discover a new class of antimicrobial peptides that could potentially fight antibiotic-resistant superbugs (Source: Wired)
• Small, private online communities known as digital campfires are helping brands connect with younger, more engaged consumers (Source: MIT SMR)
• NFTs, bitcoin, blockchain: A guide to understanding the ever-changing crypto universe (Source: New York)

Quote of the Week:

“There are many, many, many applications of AI like that that have huge benefits for humanity. At the same time, with technologies, there’s often unintended consequences that come.”

— Paula Goldman, chief ethical and humane use officer at Salesforce, in the latest Me, Myself, and AI podcast episode, “Technology as a Force for Good”