Just Business Podcast

Japan's corporate culture is in serious trouble, declare our two speakers. It's "sleepwalking to oblivion," says Michael Woodford, former Olympus CEO turned whistleblower. And according to journalist Michael Zielenziger, the Olympus scandal is an example of larger problems facing Japan's economy.

Newspapers have long straddled an awkward line between public service and profit. Now those values are in conflict. The internet has upended the industry and profits are way down. But is the web a good substitute? What happens when a city loses its daily paper?

There used to only be two types of businesses--non-profits and for-profits. Benefit corporations, or B Corps, are now finding a way to do both. B Lab's Andrew Kassoy helped to set the criteria for this new type of business and boutique eyewear company Warby Parker is making money while also being socially responsible.

What does it mean for a product to be American? Or to be from anywhere? The truth is, many items today are global products, from autos to iPhones. It's not just imports and exports, it's the whole supply chain. Forget USA. We're talking made in the world.

The practice of "acqui-hiring," a larger company buying a smaller one solely to poach its talent, is becoming more common. Is this ethical? Does it harm anyone, or is it a win-win? Here's Gabor Cselle, who was acqui-hired by Google and John Coyle, who co-authored an academic paper on this phenomenon.

The value of art is incredibly subjective. Yet selling art is big business--and displaying art can be a money pit. For insights into this complex world, here's Amy Whitaker, who teaches art business at Sotheby's, and Osman Khan, a co-founder of Paddle8, an online marketplace for high-end art.

Consulting firms have long helped corporations make their operations more efficient and profitable, but now moral leadership is being added to the equation. Two advisers with philosophy degrees share their thoughts on the role of corporations in society and what drives corporate leaders.

Both left and right agree that the U.S. income gap is widening. It's harder to agree on how to solve it. Fred Setterberg yearns for the solidarity and job opportunities of his childhood. Rea Hederman says a new tax structure and programs encouraging individual initiative will grow the middle class.

With an unemployment rate three times higher than that of adults, there are 75 million youth worldwide looking for work. International Labour Organization head Juan Somavia gives his take and Indian employer Rahul Mirchandani speaks about training youth for the workforce.

Is it possible to quantify peace? Australian entrepreneur Steve Killelea found a correlation between peace and business and at Stanford's Peace Innovation Lab, researcher Mark Nelson and lab director Margarita Quihuis are looking to get businesses involved in encouraging peace.

The field of competitive intelligence illustrates the distinction we draw in our professional lives between ethics and law. Attorney Richard Horowitz shares some legal insights and Knowledge inForm's Cynthia Cheng Correia checks in from the corporate side of competitive intelligence.

Ambassador David Shinn and NYU Professor Joshua Eisenman discuss China's economic interests in Africa, and the ethical questions these raise. Next comes U.S. hedge fund manager Philippe Burke, who calls for getting rid of overseas supply chains and returning to "Made in the USA."

How can ethical practices be made an integral part of overseas supply chains? Here's reporter Charles Duhigg on how habits can impact the ethical behavior of businesses, and Hasbro's Alan Hassenfeld on establishing a global toy industry safety code.

How can global health be improved?  PepsiCo executive Derek Yach speaks about the positive changes corporations are making, and Professor Yanzhong Huang discusses China's health care challenges.

This "Just Business" preview features two Occupy Wall Street (OWS) activists. OWS has hibernated a bit since New York City shut down its flagship encampment in November. May Day has long represented labor rights and on this May Day, OWS will try to reinvigorate public interest.

Two business school leaders discuss ways that different schools are injecting business ethics into their curricula. "What you have to do is to have the courage to define success for yourself, with the understanding that your success may not be the same one as that of your classmates."

Hedge fund manager Philippe Burke gives us an inside look at what went wrong with the financial system and explains why he supports Occupy Wall Street; and Marlene Spoerri discusses the tension between income inequality and democracy.

Carnegie Council's Evan O'Neil ponders the future of mega-cities, and leading Chinese environmentalist Ma Jun discusses China's air and water crisis and the work of his watchdog group, the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, which names and shames the worst polluters.

Global migration is a key part of our economic future and one that is often overlooked. Three experts offer very different takes on migration, spanning Europe, the USA, and lastly the Gulf States, where migrants make up the majority of the population and citizens are in the minority.

The two most important leadership attributes are empathy and humility, says Ken Kraft. He works with Bank of New York Mellon employees in 36 countries around the world to promote a culture of leadership and ethics within the organization.