Op-Ed Essay by Mike Shesterkin, Exec. Dir. SMSBF This month, our newsletter is focused on “labor”, and I thought it would make sense to wrestle a bit with the more fundamental aspects of our system and where labor fits within it. To begin, by labor we mean the collective of folks who “do work”. What …
By: Monica Plawecki, SMSBF Staff Writer There are few things that are as core to Michigan’s identity as the Great Lakes, auto manufacturing, and our state’s uncanny mitten shape. Still, we’ll venture to add one more: labor unions. In Michigan, the birthplace of the U.S. labor movement, unions were for a long time a considerable …
Op-Ed Essay by Mike Shesterkin, Exec. Dir. SMSBF As students of business, we’re taught the “profit motive” leads to breakthroughs that make life better, and without it, nothing would get done; if it were not for the profit motive, human civilization would not have advanced, and we’d still be living in caves, clubbing each other …
By: Monica Plawecki, SMSBF Staff Writer As our nation still struggles to contain cases of COVID-19, one thing has become increasingly clear: we need to think collectively. In fact, with a concerning number of Americans choosing to ignore calls to mitigate the virus’ spread, including by wearing masks, avoiding crowded spaces, and limiting social gatherings, …
Me the People? A Crisis of American Individualism in Society and the Age of COVID-19 Read More »
By: SMSBF, Exec. Dir., Mike Shesterkin The images we’ve seen and the experiences many of us have undergone during the last few weeks – the uprisings against police brutality and white supremacy – are more than what they appear to be: They are symptoms with a much more deeply rooted cause. That cause is the …
By: SMSBF writer, Monica Plawecki The past few weeks have been marked by an incredible amount of unrest throughout our country. Both peaceful and not-so-peaceful protests, calls for racial justice and police defunding, and #BlackLivesMatter sentiments echoing from every corner of social media have come in response to the senseless killing of George Floyd by …
By: SMSBF writer, Monica Plawecki In recent articles, we’ve explored the importance of a just wage, focusing specifically on how a living wage allows workers to fully participate in and deepen connections within their community. We also looked at a handful of small businesses in Detroit that have embraced Triple Bottom Line (3BL) business practices …
Let’s face it, whether you’ve stayed in Detroit your whole life, or you’re from the burbs and are just now discovering the meaning of urban existence, there’s excitement in the air. It’s always been here – I believe it’s the spirit of the city – and it has always been driving change. But for a …
Opinion – What Does a Just Wage Have to Do With Pursuing Happiness? Read More »
Are America’s most powerful corporations starting to embrace Triple Bottom Line concepts? Well, maybe. They are taking a step in the right direction at least. The Business Roundtable recently published a new definition of the purpose of a corporation, and it includes more than padding the pockets of shareholders. The Business Roundtable is made up …
Providing Long-Term Value – Business Roundtable Signs New “Purpose of a Corporation” Read More »
We Americans are an interesting lot: for all of the great qualities of our “anything is possible” culture, there are some that defy imagination. The reaction to the most recent United States Business Roundtable (USBR) statement is a case in point. As we read in this month’s lead story, the USBR statement is certainly a …
