A room full of majority white people are listening to a woman speak about something seemingly serious

How Social Science Can Improve Executive Relationships

French researcher Jacqueline Fendt argues that academic research on businesses is not practical enough in its focus. She argues that management education would be improved with a stronger focus on the everyday realities of Executives.

She also advocates using more qualitative research methods and case studies, rather than statistical surveys. This would improve in-depth understanding of how management is actually carried out in the real world. So how do social scientists carry out this type of work? One method we use is called ethnography.

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How to Improve Ethics in your Workplace

John Roberts from the University of Cambridge shows that the public’s mistrust of corporate ethics is not a given. It exists because many businesses are perceived to only pay lip service to corporate responsibility.

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Improving Corporate Diversity Programs

This week I discus the importance of monitoring diversity at different levels of the organisation, especially in leadership.

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Social Sacrifice for Sustainability

An economics experiment suggests that ‘most people are willing to make enough of a sacrifice to keep resource use down to where there will be a sustainable environment in the future.’ However, people can become demotivated if they feel their sacrifice is in isolation. Here’s how to keep sustainability goodwill high.

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Social Science Quote: The Conquest of Leisure and Health

Toda’s social science quote comes from Bertrand Russell, mathematician and philospher, from On Education, Especially In Early Childhood. Below is the quote in context of arguments for, and against, practical education.

A blue lake with trees in the background. Quote overlaid: What will be the good of the conquest of leisure and health, if no one remembers how to use them? - Bertrand Russell, philosopher
– Bertrand Russell, philosopher.
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Improving Health and Life Expectancy

How does social science help improve life expectancy? By examining health risks amongst vulnerable populations and addressing inequalities that impact wellbeing.

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Why Women’s Leadership is a Business Asset

Social science studies find that male bosses are more likely to judge the competence of women managers using a skewed view on gender. In practice, this means organisations are missing out on a proactive approach to leadership.

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White and Black people pick up rubbish at a beach

The Benefits of Volunteering for the Business Sector

Australia’s in the midst of the festive season, the spirit of which is about giving and positive change ahead of a new year. So what does our not-for-profit sector look like?

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Bright circles background with word tiles on the top, which spell: Autism

Autism Research Discussion

I’m one of the moderators for Science on Google+. I curate the social science stream. Our community is co-hosting a discussion on autism research live on air, in around an hour’s time (2pm Australian time or 10pm USA EST or 3am UTC/GMT). Our co-host partner is Autism Brainstorm, a research-led community of practice that puts families in touch with experts and resources of support.

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