DISCUSSION In the news this week May 7th 2018

Here’s a selection of news stories and features that caught our eye whilst trawling the web and social media this week.

All of them pertain to themes like corporate governance, leadership, sustainability and business purpose – themes that Tomorrow’s Company believes all businesses should focus on if they are to be a force for good.

• Questions of privacy and trust abound in this article about workplace monitoring. Sold as ways to boost productivity and health and safety, the downsides are obvious, if not unsettling. “My concern is that in the age of increased employer-employee disconnect, this heightened monitoring could backfire on the engagement front.” https://bit.ly/2FMNxZv
• An interesting piece on Germany’s use of elected worker representatives on company boards. A consequence of cultural norms, perhaps, but possible elsewhere? https://bit.ly/2rptdsN
• “We should be asking not only what computers can do, but what computers should do,” said Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella as the tech giant launched a $25 million initiative to use A.I. to help people with disabilities https://bit.ly/2I4mrPn
• Polling suggests that American consumers increasingly look to companies and corporations to address social and environmental concerns – and their buying decisions reflect as much https://bit.ly/2rswqXS
• Here’s a few good points, well made about fostering a more transparent working environment: ‘Why We Should Be Disagreeing More at Work’ https://bit.ly/2E3DGhv
• We can all get better at getting better: ‘Learning Is a Learned Behavior’ https://bit.ly/2rfH98u
• Unilever is ‘on track to meet around 80 per cent of the overarching sustainability targets it has set in its USLP, including pledges to helping more than a billion people improve their health and well-being by 2020’ https://bit.ly/2wrIi23