Art-Science-Values-Biz

THE ART, SCIENCE, AND VALUES OF BUSINESS

January 13, 2015Joseph Williams


• What is art?• The application of human creative skill and imagination• Typical “art of business” topics:

• Innovation, leadership, risk management, strategy, trust, personal relationships

• But there are science components to each, too

• What is science?• The investigation of things that are in the universe that can be

objectively studied and explained• Typical “science of business topics:

• Accounting rules, finance rules, analytics, compensation, sales management, measures of productivity, performance, satisfaction

• What are values?• Principles or standards of behavior


• In the Six Principles of Sun Tzu & the Art of Business, what are the arts?• Making good choices• Understanding the options• Strategic thinking• Honest self-assessment and assessment of the

competition• Move with speed but not haste• Collaboration / alliances• Character


• What is the “Art of Commerce” according to Andreas Lloyd (the Philosopher’s Beard blogger)?• He doesn’t really say, does he?• What is he focused on?

• Economics versus Business, right?• What is his take on the virtues / values of each in an academic setting?

• If students and professionals demand a business degree program (a “practical art”), what is the point of arguing that business is a craft rather than a science?

• What do you think about Lloyd’s value proposition?• A lot of economics programs are housed in Schools of Business or

in Mathematics departments or in Ag Schools. Why might these be different, and does it make sense?

• What is our view here at SPU?


• Porter & Kramer: Shared values• Shared value is not social responsibility, philanthropy, or even

sustainability, but • a new way to achieve economic success. • Society’s needs are large and growing, while customers, employees, and a

new generation of young people are asking business to step up• Business has largely excluded social and environmental considerations

from its economic thinking. • Firms have taken the broader context in which they do business as a

given and resisted regulatory standards as invariably contrary to their interests.

• Shared value is not about personal values. • Nor is it about “sharing” the value already created by firms—a

redistribution approach. • Instead, it is about expanding the total pool of economic and social

value (i.e., creating value)

CREATING SHARED VALUE IN PRACTICE

• Reconceiving Products and Markets• Is our product good for our customers? Or for our customers’ customers?• Identify all the societal needs, benefits, and harms that are or could be

embodied in the firm’s products• Redefining Productivity in the Value Chain

• There is a growing awareness of the fallacy of short-term cost reductions (which often actually lower productivity or make it unsustainable) are giving rise to new approaches

• The strongest international competitors will often be those that can establish deeper roots in important communities

• Enabling Local Cluster Development• Geographic concentrations of firms, related businesses, suppliers, service

providers, and logistical infrastructure in a particular field• Such as IT in Silicon Valley, cut flowers in Kenya, and diamond cutting in

Surat, India• Or the cloud computing business in Seattle

CREATING SHARED VALUE IN PRACTICE

• Profits involving a social purpose represent a higher form of capitalism

• Creating shared value presumes compliance with the law and ethical standards, as well as mitigating any harm caused by the business, but goes far beyond that.• Old thinking: Unsustainable financing vehicles that

turned out to be socially and economically devastating and led to recession of 2008

• New thinking: A shared value approach would have led financial services companies to create innovative products that prudently increased access to home ownership.

CSR VS. CSV

SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP

SOCIAL VENTURE

Porter: Social entrepreneurship should be measured by its ability to create shared value, not just social benefit.

DISCUSS DRUCKER

Art-Science-Values-Biz

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