The New Normal In Business
Webinar Series 2023
Please join Willem Kooyker Dean Bruce Weber, our benefactor Larry Zicklin, faculty members, and special guests for these webinars, featuring business executives and faculty discussing current business topics. This webinar series is offered by the Office of Executive Programs.
Is Income Inequality Increasing?
If So, What Can Be Done About It?
December 12, 2023 at 11 am
Many believe that income and wealth inequality in America have increased in recent decades. Are the rich really becoming richer and the poor getting poorer? What is the actual evidence?
If the increase is as significant as it appears, what are the implications for business and society? What can be done to alleviate growing income inequality? What should business leaders be doing about it?
In this session, Larry Zicklin (BBA, ’57, left) discusses these questions with Paul Krugman (top left), winner of the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2008 and Distinguished Professor, Economics, and Distinguished Scholar, Stone Center on Socio-Economic Inequality, CUNY Graduate Center; and Ted Joyce (top center), Professor of Economics, Baruch College. With an introduction by Zicklin School Dean Bruce Weber (right) and a Q&A session moderated by Associate Dean Gwendolyn Webb (top right).
When McKinsey Comes to Town: Are Some Clients Simply too Toxic?
November 14, 2023 at 11 am
Under Delaware law, US corporations are required to work in the best interests of their shareholders. Through its consulting practice, McKinsey has succeeded in boosting its client firms’ general financial results as well as their stock prices. Yet many of their clients’ former employees have suffered layoffs, while those remaining work in riskier settings and the environment suffers. For that matter, should McKinsey be excused from any responsibility for the opioid crisis?
This is the question: should the worlds’ largest and most prestigious consulting firm focus on satisfying their clients’ needs without taking into account the broader social ramifications of its recommendations?
In this session, Larry Zicklin (BBA, ’57) (left) discusses these questions with Walt Bogdanich (top left) and Michael Forsythe (top center), reporters at The New York Times, and co-authors of the book When McKinsey Comes to Town: The Hidden Influence of the World’s Most Powerful Consulting Firm. With an introduction by Zicklin School Dean Bruce Weber (right) and a Q&A session moderated by Associate Dean Gwendolyn Webb (top right).
Law, Religion, and Business: The Fallout from a Recent Supreme Court Decision
October 10, 2023, 11 am
In recent years, the United States Supreme Court has dramatically expanded religious rights, often favoring religion over other competing fundamental rights. Just last June, it expanded an employee’s right to religious accommodation in the workplace under federal civil rights law.
How will this expansion of religious rights impact businesses in cases involving the conflict between religious freedom and other competing rights like those of LGBTQ+? What about cases involving religious objections to mandatory vaccination? Or cases involving discussions surrounding abortion?
Larry Zicklin (BBA ‘57, left) discusses these questions with Professor Debbie Kaminer (top left) of the Zicklin School of Business Law Department. They will be joined by Professor Lucien Dhooge (top center) the Sue and John Staton Professor of Law at the Scheller College of Business at the Georgia Institute of Technology. With an introduction by Dean Bruce Weber (right) and a Q&A session moderated by Associate Dean Gwendolyn Webb (top right).
Artificial Intelligence: Opportunities and Risks for Teaching and Learning
Tuesday, September 12, 2023 • 11 am
New technologies like Artificial Intelligence pose challenges as well as opportunities to business schools and their students. What are the key potential benefits of this rapidly developing technology to students and instructors? The potential risks? How might schools best empower learning and manage the adoption of AI to benefit students? And what should we fear from a disruptive technology that is emerging faster than previously imagined?
In this session, Larry Zicklin (BBA, ’57, left) discusses these questions with Bruce Weber (top), Willem Kooyker Dean of the Zicklin School of Business. With a Q&A session moderated by Associate Dean Gwendolyn Webb (right).
Artificial Intelligence:
Where Is It Taking Us?
July 11 , 2023, 11 am
What is generative AI? How might it be used in creative works, and what are the implications for intellectual property? How could it be used in finance, businesses, and the workplace in general? Are there ways that young people use AI that might surprise their parents, older colleagues, and teachers? What are the legal and ethical challenges brought about by generative AI? How should we approach these challenges?
In this session, Larry Zicklin (BBA, ’57, left) discusses these questions with Nizan Geslevich Packin (top, left) and Yafit Lev-Aretz (top, center), both professors in the Zicklin School of Business Department of Law. With an introduction by Interim Dean Paquita Davis-Friday (right) and a Q&A session moderated by Associate Dean Gwendolyn Webb (top, right).
Is Baseball Still Our National Pastime?
June 13, 11 am
Baseball is America’s traditional favorite sport, but its popularity is declining. Say it ain’t so, Joe! Are fans finding football and basketball more attractive? If so, why?
Why are there fewer Black players in MLB than a generation ago? Does that affect the popularity of the game? Finally, are MLB’s new rules of play going to help — or hurt — the future of baseball?
Larry Zicklin (BBA, ’57, left) discusses these questions with Marc Edelman (top, left), Professor of Law in the Zicklin School of Business Law Department. With an introduction by Interim Dean Paquita Davis-Friday (right) and a Q&A session moderated by Associate Dean Gwen Webb (top, right).
A Strong Economy and Weak Labor Unions: Why?
May 9, 2023, 11 am
Labor unions have a long, celebrated history of supporting their members’ livelihoods. Despite their continuing strength in some sectors like civil service, education, and healthcare, overall membership has declined steadily in recent decades, especially in manufacturing.
What key factors contributed to the decline? What have workers lost? Has the decline worsened income inequality?
Minimum wages are not high enough to provide an acceptable standard of living, much less for low-wage workers to advance economically. Will unions play a role in helping them? Will unions be able to work cooperatively with management to improve wages, or at worst, overcome the high barriers that well-funded corporations can erect? What role will government play?
Larry Zicklin (BBA, ’57, left) discusses these questions with Stephanie Luce (top left), Professor of Labor Studies, CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies, and Professor of Sociology, CUNY Graduate Center and Aaron Brenner (top, center), Senior Capital Markets Analyst at the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union. With an introduction by Interim Dean Paquita Davis-Friday (right) and a Q&A session moderated by Associate Dean Gwen Webb (top, right).
Silicon Valley Bank:
The Canary in the Coal Mine?
April 18, 2023, 11 am
On March 9, 2023, SVB, the sixteenth largest bank in the U.S., suffered a classic bank run, despite having received a clean audit from KPMG just 14 days prior. Did KPMG miss key signals? Will SVB’s failure be followed by others, and what are the implications for the broader economy?
Larry Zicklin (BBA, ’57, left) discusses these questions with Paquita Davis-Friday (top left), Interim Dean, Zicklin School of Business, and Professor of Accounting, Stan Ross Department of Accountancy, and Linda Allen (top right), William F. Aldinger Chaired Professor and Professor of Finance, Bert W. Wasserman Department of Economics & Finance. With a Q&A session moderated by Associate Dean for Executive Programs, Gwendolyn Webb (right).
Facial Recognition Technology: For Good or for Evil?
March 14, 11 am
Facial recognition technology is phenomenal: It makes it possible to track and identify individuals in new, unprecedented ways. Even though this technology has many benefits, such as supporting law enforcement, it also poses serious privacy concerns.
In what ways are commercial firms, government organizations, and the general public using facial recognition? What are the most beneficial and damaging uses of this technology? What are the key regulatory challenges? Considering how rapidly facial recognition technology is developing, how quickly must we establish meaningful policies to guide its applications?
Larry Zicklin (BBA, ’57, left) discusses these questions with Yafit Lev-Aretz (top left), Assistant Professor of Law in the Zicklin School of Business Law Department. With an introduction by Interim Dean Paquita Davis-Friday (right) and a Q&A session moderated by Associate Dean Gwen Webb (top right).
Corporate Proxies, Shareholder Votes,
and Making Your Voice Heard
February 14, 2023, 11 am
Years ago, individual shareholder/owners cast their own proxy votes on company proposals, but with the growth of institutional investment management, many of these votes are now cast by professional managers.
Do the investment managers solicit the views of the individuals who own shares in their funds? Do they rely on third-party advisors to determine their votes? Do they do their own due diligence to evaluate management’s proposals? If they disagree with management, do they feel they can run the risk of alienating corporations with whom they may be doing business? Can they — and should they — use their voting strength to induce corporate managers to focus on a host of issues not directly related to the firm’s business strategy, such as environmental, social and governance issues?
Larry Zicklin (BBA, ’57, left) discusses these questions with Jay Dahya (top left), Associate Professor in the Wasserman Department of Economics and Finance, and Caitlin McSherry (top, center), Director of Investment Stewardship and Senior Vice President, Neuberger Berman. There will be an introduction by Interim Dean Paquita Davis-Friday (right) and, after the discussion, a Q&A session moderated by Associate Dean Gwen Webb (top right).
Inside the NBA Bubble:
How Black Players Performed Better
without Fans
January 10, 2023, 11 am
In the NBA, predominantly Black players play in front of predominantly non-Black fans. Profs. Somekh and Falco use the ‘NBA bubble’, a natural experiment induced by COVID-19, to test whether the performance of Black players was affected by the absence of fans. In brief, their key finding is that Black athletes performed better relative to White players in the bubble when the fans weren’t present.
What data did the authors use and how did they set up their tests? Are their findings due to race – or to something else? What are the implications for the sport, the NBA, and the players themselves?
Larry Zicklin (BBA, ’57, left) discusses these questions with Prof. Babak Somekh (top left), Lecturer in the Bert W. Wasserman Department of Economics and Finance, and Prof. Paolo Falco (top, center), Visiting Assistant Professor, Stanford University, and Assistant Professor of Economics, University of Copenhagen. With an introduction by Interim Dean Paquita Davis-Friday (right) and a Q&A session moderated by Associate Dean Gwen Webb (top, right).
Can Humans be More Humane?
December 13, 11 am
In the past, the State of California led the country toward tougher nationwide automobile mileage and emissions standards, and now it’s leading the way for more humane treatment of animals raised for food.
Relevant legal issues include interstate commerce challenges to California law and whether California can require that meat products sold there but produced in other states meet its standards for the humane treatment of animals. One such case is now before the US Supreme Court.
What are the possible effects of large-scale animal production on society? On the environment? On the potential evolution of diseases? On the future of family farms?
Larry Zicklin (BBA, ’57, left) discusses these questions with Valerie Watnick (top left), Professor of Law in the Zicklin School of Business Law Department who has written several law review articles on these topics, and John Ikerd (top right), Professor Emeritus from the University of Missouri and author of several books on sustainable agriculture and economics. With an introduction by Dean Fenwick Huss (right).
Video coming soon!
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