Michael Porter is a university professor at Harvard Business School, where he leads the Institute on Strategy and Competitiveness, studying competitiveness for companies and nations—and as a solution to social problems. He is the founder of numerous nonprofits, including the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City, a nonprofit, private-sector organization to catalyze inner-city business development.
Fortune magazine calls Michael Porter simply “the most famous and influential business professor who has ever lived.” His books are part of foundational coursework for business students around the world; he’s applied sharp insight to health care systems, American competitiveness, development in rural areas. Now he’s taking on a massive question: the perceived disconnect between corporations and society. He argues that companies must begin to take the lead in reconceiving the intersection between society and corporate interests—and he suggests a framework, that of “shared value,” which involves creating economic value in a way that also creates value for society.15
Visit TED.com to watch Michael Porter’s video on why business can be good at solving social problems:
https://www.ted.com/talks/michael_porter_why_business_can_be_good_at_solving_social_problems
Questions
- In today’s global business environment, does the physical location of a business matter?
- Do you agree or disagree that business can solve social problems? Justify your answer.
Source: Porter, Michael. The case for letting business solve social problems (video file), accessed 2015. TED talk live, https://www.ted.com/talks/michael_porter_why_business_can_be_good_at_solving_social_problems