Delve: Why digital currencies could change the future of central banking
Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC) represent a possible next step in the technological evolution of banking and the financial intermediation sector, with advances in privacy, fraud protection, and efficiency鈥攂ut their roles and risks on the high-tech path forward are only now becoming clear.
Inaccurate job descriptions can have unanticipated effects
A job description can be pretty different from the job itself. Sometimes this can be because the hiring organization鈥檚 needs are evolving, and they are responding to these changes, write Professor聽Lisa Cohen聽and聽PhD candidate Sara Mahabadi in The Conversation.
Peer-to-peer lending platforms are a potential disruptor to a long-established industry
For small businesses 鈥� and aspiring businesspeople -- banks have been a financial gatekeeper. Without assets and a business credit profile, businesses are often out of luck. But peer-to-peer lending services are beginning to disrupt an industry that is very set in its ways. Fintech lending platforms like October assign businesses a credit score based on a company鈥檚 financial history, default probability, and projected profit margin.
Employee monitoring software could alienate remote workers
Remote work promised office workers more freedom and flexibility, but digital surveillance tools are already eroding that. Some employers use digital surveillance tools that monitor employees鈥� computer activity by logging the keystrokes on their keyboard, and even taking web cam photos to ensure that they are dutifully staring at their screens.
Real estate investment helps Canadian pension plans outperform peers
Canada鈥檚 pension plans consistently outperformed their peers between 2004 and 2018, largely thanks to their diversified their assets, which include investments in real estate and infrastructure assets. 鈥淗ere, the funds are doing it themselves,鈥� says Professor Sebastien Betermier in an interview with Benefits Canada. 鈥淭hey are on the ground, building projects themselves in Toronto, in Montreal and abroad.鈥�
RBC faces Competition Bureau inquiry for greenwashing
RBC has positioned itself as a champion of clean economic growth 鈥� but has continued to finance fossil fuel industry, according to a complaint filed with Canada鈥檚 Competition Bureau. The Bureau has opened an inquiry into greenwashing at Canada鈥檚 largest bank, but that鈥檚 only the first step according to Dror Etzion, Associate Professor of Strategy and Organization at Desautels.
Inauthenticity in the workplace can harm diversity and inclusion
Leaders are often faced with being their authentic self or doing what it takes to succeed. Decisions taken by senior management in the face of this authenticity dilemma can set a negative example for their juniors. This can be particularly insidious for people from underrepresented groups who may feel the need to suppress their identity to progress in their career.
Delve: Where Artificial Intelligence Meets Management Insights and Solutions
How can Artificial Intelligence augment and even improve management of and within organizations? In the interdisciplinary arena of management, AI is being applied to big-picture issues of organizational strategy and supply chain operations, as well as the ethical details of human resources and the many moving parts of the retail industry.
Montreal EdTech company Paper aims to address educational inequities
When a parent pays a tutor directly, they are helping their own child succeed. But not every parent can afford to do that, and Montreal-based EdTech company Paper has a vision to address this inequity. The academic support platform, a finalist in the 2014聽Dobson聽Cup, sells its services directly to school boards, so that all students in a district are able to access them.
The Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zone pitches Canadian businesses on the advantages of the UAE
Dubai and Abu Dhabi are household names in the west, but there are five other emirates in the United Arab Emirates vying to establish themselves on the world stage. One of the fastest growing is Ras Al Khaimah. It鈥檚 home to RAKEZ鈥攖he Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zone, a major business and industrial hub, which claims to be home to over 15,000 companies in over 50 sectors.
War in Ukraine exposed how far green energy is from meeting electricity needs
The war in Ukraine jeopardizes the European Commission鈥檚 bid to become climate neutral by 2050, according to Eric Reguly, the European Bureau Chief for The Globe and Mail. 鈥淭his crisis in Europe exposed the shortcomings of renewable energy,鈥� said Reguly in an interview with Prof. Karl Moore for Forbes.com. 鈥淭here just was not enough of it around to make up for the gas shortfall when Vladimir Putin turned off the taps.
The best managers balance the science and the art of management
MBAs have their advocates 鈥� and their detractors. Over the years, the MBA has suffered from comparisons with professional degrees that have more defined outcomes, like medicine and law. But management is part art and part science, and an overemphasis on the science side is partly to blame for this perception. As evidence of this, MBA News cites the work of Desautels Prof.
Delve: How Barriers to Foreign Investments Affect Risk-Taking in International Markets, with Francesca Carrieri
What regulations are at play when financial institutions, hedge funds, mutual fund managers, and others invest in stocks and businesses in another country鈥攁nd who do those regulations ultimately benefit? Despite protecting both foreign investors and countries鈥� domestic markets, regulatory constraints still present certain barriers to foreign investment, especially in times of market stress, inflation, and increased interest rates.
Second language pedagogy project at UQO will draw on lessons from Ie-KnowledgeHub / Le projet de p茅dagogie des langues secondes 脿 l'UQO s'inspirera du Ie-KnowledgeHub
Desautels Associate Professor of Marketing Hamid Etemad wants to make it easier for people to learn the concepts of digital transformation in their second language and is working with researchers from Universit茅 du Qu茅bec en Outaouais (UQO) on a $150,000 initiative that will develop bilingual digital teaching tools for university classrooms.
The four-day work week can reduce turnover, reduce recruiting requirements
About a year ago, Poche et Fils conducted a trial of the four-day work week that has since become permanent. Employees at the Montreal-based clothing companies receive the same pay as when they were working five days a week, and the company has sought to maintain the same productivity too. The first step was identifying tasks that were time-consuming and useless -- and eliminating them. But there are other ways that a shorter work week can save time too.
