The special summer issue #32 of Global Voice magazine is now published! This edition brings together the winning, runner-up, and finalist student articles in this summer’s Student CSR Article Competition, accompanied by research-based insights from leading professors. Here we draw upon the Editorial by Prof. Adrian Zicari, ESSEC Business School, which – with wise words – points the reader to the three sections of this magazine: CSR, Leadership, and Purpose, Business, Trade Conflict, and Sustainability, and Ethical AI, Business, and Society

EDITORIAL

“Lo mondo è ben così tutto diserto d’ogne virtute, come tu mi sone, e di malizia gravido è coverto”

Purgatorio, Canto XVI

(‘The world is well and truly deserted of all virtue, as thou knowest me, and of malice pregnant and covered’)

I often tell my students that humankind can be roughly divided between those who read Dante and those who should begin reading him this summer. Jokes aside, the Divine Comedy remains a source for wisdom, particularly in these curious times, seven centuries after being written. 

We may remember the story. In the Purgatory, Dante meets Marco Lombardo, who used to be a reliable adviser to kings and princes. When Dante shares his frustration about the state of the world at that time, in a seemingly desperate state, Marco corrects the young Dante. The fault lies not in the stars, but on human beings, who are always free to make good or bad decisions. Marco continues that if the world goes off the right path, the reason for that lies in us (i.e., mortals, as Marco was already in Purgatory), and it is up to us to find solutions. 

In this world of compounded crises, we cannot complain about fate, the stars, or any determinism. We need to take accountability. Leadership can no longer be defined by influence or ambition alone, but by the determination to address challenges. Leadership must mean something more than strategy, than merely making choices—it must mean stewardship.

This edition of Global Voice turns its attention to three tightly linked arenas of concern. First, Leadership & Purpose, asking how decision-makers can anchor themselves in values in an age of turbulence. Second, Business, Trade Conflict & Sustainability, examining how economic rivalry must contend with ecological reality. And third, Ethical AI, Business & Society, delving into the responsibility we bear in developing and deploying transformative technologies.

These are not academic concerns alone. They are existential issues at the heart of our collective future. Yet we remain hopeful. Because the scholars, students and alumni of CoBS member schools are increasingly aware of today’s challenge, they are increasingly involved, active and interconnected. Indeed, they increasingly participate in our various activities, for instance, the student CSR article competition, the CoBS Advanced International Certificate, and (new this year!) our co-branded alumni events, where alumni from all CoBS schools gather to reflect, discuss and explore the future around a responsible leadership theme. 

May you have a nice, productive time reading this new issue of Global Voice. And for this summer, you may want to read (or re-read) the Divine Comedy! 

Prof. Adrian Zicari, ESSEC Business School, Academic Director of the Council on Business & Society.

Useful links:

• Read and download last year’s special summer issue Global Voice magazine #30
• See our co-published Harvard-CoBS spotlight on Climate Change: Strategies for advancing the green transition.

Learn more about the Council on Business & Society

The Council on Business & Society (The CoBS), visionary in its conception and purpose, was created in 2011, and is dedicated to promoting responsible leadership and tackling issues at the crossroads of business and society including sustainability, diversity, ethical leadership and the place responsible business has to play in contributing to the common good.  

• Follow the CoBS on LinkedIn
• Download magazines and learning content from the CoBS website downloads page.

Member schools of the Council on Business & Society.

• ESSEC Business School, France, Singapore, Morocco
• FGV-EAESP, Brazil
• School of Management Fudan University, China
• IE Business School, Spain
• Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, India
• Keio Business School, Japan
• Monash Business School, Australia, Malaysia, Indonesia
• Olin Business School, USA
• Smith School of Business, Queen’s University, Canada
• Stellenbosch Business School, South Africa
• Trinity Business School, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
• Warwick Business School, United Kingdom.