Editor's Note: This is a summary of an HBS Business Summit presentation. View a full summary and video of the event on the HBS Centennial Web site linked below.
| Date of Event: | October 14, 2008 |
| Speaker: | Joseph L. Bower, HBS faculty |
Professor Joseph L. Bower distilled takeaways from a two-year research project exploring the views of global business leaders and HBS faculty on what might threaten the world's economic progress.
The spread of market capitalism around the world over the past 100 years has lifted the prosperity of many nations and people. Research from the World Bank predicts the trend of rising wealth will continue, a view that is shared by many global business leaders. But recent research conducted by HBS indicates that business leaders harbor many concerns about market capitalism and see critical challenges that must be addressed.
These issues include inequities in the distribution of wealth, environmental challenges, migration of workers, and the threat of protectionism. Governments and international organizations need to devise solutions to this problem.
Harvard Business School can play a role in contributing to the resolution of these issues by equipping future business leaders with the understanding, skills, and values to embrace these challenges.
Key concepts include:
- Market capitalism has propelled unprecedented global prosperity.
- While optimistic about market capitalism, global business leaders see clear threats.
- For HBS, these challenges require cultivating the appropriate understanding, skills, and values in future leaders.
For more coverage and video:
http://www.hbs.edu/centennial/businesssummit/market-capitalism/introduction-to-the-future-of-market-capitalism.html