Ron and Ed were overjoyed to bring back to The Soul of Enterprise Dr. Kimberlee Josephson, associate professor of business at Lebanon Valley College, to talk about some of her more recent work on reputation vs regulation, why work won't love you back, and an update on her thoughts about the ESG movement.
About Dr. Kimberlee Josephson
Dr. Kimberlee Josephson is an Associate Professor of Business, Associate Dean for the Breen Center for Graduate Success at Lebanon Valley College in Annville, Pennsylvania, and Adjunct Research Fellow with the Consumer Choice Center. Her academic background is in international studies and strategic management and she teaches courses covering topics on global sustainability, international marketing, and workplace diversity. Prior to serving in academia, her professional career spanned from working in sales in Manhattan, as a producer for a web marketing firm, freelancing for on-air promotions at QVC, and as a research assistant for an international NGO. Her op-eds have appeared at University Business, Quartz at Work, and PA Capital Star. She holds a doctorate in Global Studies and Commerce from La Trobe University in Australia, a master’s degree in Political Science from Temple University in Philadelphia, another master’s degree in International Policy from La Trobe University, and a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a minor in Political Science from Bloomsburg University.
Use these show notes to follow along with the audio:
Segment one:
Dr. Josephson has been with us before. Her first appearance was episode 360 back in October of 2021. Here is the link if you would like to listen https://www.thesoulofenterprise.com/360
Dr. Josephson also joined us in a lively debate with Sam Staley on episode 385. More information at this link https://www.thesoulofenterprise.com/385
I don’t think Dr. Josephson is alone when she writes, “Reputation Works Better Than Regulation”. That’s actually the title of an article she penned for AIER. Here is the link https://www.aier.org/article/reputation-works-better-than-regulation-why-demand-should-determine-prices/
We discussed what the Senate Judiciary committee might be watching today on the show with Dr. Josephson https://twitter.com/JudiciaryDems/status/1621191756531236866
Commercial free AND bonus episodes are available at Patreon.com/TSOE. At a certain membership level you get a shout out like MARK GANDY of CFO Bookshelf at CFOBookshelf.com. Thank you Mark!
Segment two:
1/3 Dr. Josephson has a few articles she has written about ESG to try and understand where it came from and what EXACTLY it even means. Let’s start with “Why ESG Ratings Are like Netflix’s Inventing Anna” at this link https://www.aier.org/article/why-esg-ratings-are-like-netflixs-inventing-anna/
2/3 After the first article, Dr. Josephson also wrote “The Rise of ESG, Replacing Profits with Paternalism, and Strategy with Standards” at this link https://www.aier.org/article/the-rise-of-esg-replacing-profits-with-paternalism-and-strategy-with-standards/
3/3 Coming soon, Dr. Josephson is very close to publishing more articles on the topic of ESG so please watch her author page at AIER for more information https://www.aier.org/people/kimberlee-josephson/
Great example from Dr. Josephson today: Are Legos a monopoly? Sure they are the only provider in the market (others exist but are not compatible) but the market seems happy with the single choice.
Segment three:
Professor Aswath Damodaran on ESG: “This is a concept that was born in sanctimony, nurtured with hypocrisy, and sold with sophistry all the way.” Our guest, Dr. Josephson, on the show today, “I AGREE.” Show notes and audio will be available by Monday at https://www.thesoulofenterprise.com/425
Here is Professor Damodaran’s Musings On Markets website: https://aswathdamodaran.blogspot.com/
In summary during segment three today, Dr. Josephson made a great point: If you want to work at a non-profit or for an NGO, more power to you. But don’t demonize those who choose the private sector and offer a service that the market needs.
Is Dr. Josephson optimistic that we will be able to push back on ESG or will it hang over the economy for years to come. Her concern is institutionalizing the concepts before we have a change to think rationally about the outcome.
Segment four:
“Work Won’t Love You Back, And That Is How It Should Be” — Are we being exploited by our employers? No. As Dr. Josephson says, “More often than not, a job is a means for making a living or furthering a skillset, rather than finding one’s passion or fulfilling a dream.” https://www.aier.org/article/work-wont-love-you-back-and-that-is-how-it-should-be/
“At least you have that option for a crappy job with crappy wages and you work at it until you find something better.” —Dr. Josephson
A big THANK YOU to Dr. Kimberlee Josephson for joining us today. We will publish links to her recent work in our show notes by Monday at this link https://www.thesoulofenterprise.com/425
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