How Business Can Do the Right Thing: An Interview with Alison Taylor

Issue 104: Alison Taylor provides a sneak peek into her new book about the landscape of ethical business in the 21st century

Our news feeds are full of stories about employee unrest over racial injustice, communities infuriated by corporate environmental impacts, staff anxious over employer surveillance, and discoveries of child labor in supply chains. Simply aiming to maximize shareholder value without breaking the law is no longer sufficient for effective organizational leadership. Yet there's widespread debate and confusion about what it truly means to do the right thing in business.

In her eye-opening book, Higher Ground: How Business Can Do The Right Thing in a Turbulent World, NYU Stern School of Business Ethics Professor Alison Taylor argues that amid stakeholder demands and transparency pressures, we can no longer treat ethics as a legal and reputational defense strategy.

Leaders at the Business Roundtable to Davos are urging a new corporate responsibility approach. However, implementing these ideas is challenging for organizations facing high expectations and widespread suspicion. In her book, Aliso…