Darden Ideas to Action: Most Read Stories of 2023
Trends and predictions for the AI world. The importance of careful communication. Groundbreaking research using neuroscience to predict human choices. Employee disengagement and what to do about it. The importance of generalists in a tech-driven working world. Darden Ideas to Action insights draw from faculty expertise, books, research and cases.
Trends and predictions for the world and AI. The importance of careful communication. Groundbreaking research that uses neuroscience to accurately predict human choices. Employee disengagement and what to do about it. The importance of generalists in a tech-driven working world.
Darden Ideas to Action insights draw from faculty expertise, books, research and cases. Here are the most read stories of the past year.
THE ECONOMICS OF AI
Recent years have seen a dramatic shift in the landscape for the economics of AI. Artificial intelligence has made remarkable progress, and this progress has been faster than many expected. At the beginning of 2023, Anton Korinek shared some facts and his expert opinions on the implications of these developments.
HOW CHANGING THE CONNOTATION OF ‘QUIET QUITTING’ CAN BENEFIT THE WORKPLACE
For more than 50 years, organizational scholars have been documenting why employees are disengaged, why they “quit on the job,” and why they actually do quit. Only 32 percent of employees reported feeling engaged with their work in 2022. James R. Detert suggests one way to improve the trend. Call “quiet quitting” what it often is: “calibrated contributing.”
TOO MANY CHOICES: A MODEL TO PREDICT OPEN-ENDED CONSUMER DECISIONS
New research uses neuroscience to examine how humans make decisions and presents a framework — proven to have startling accuracy — to predict what choices we’ll make under what circumstances. Zhihao Zhang discusses the role memory plays, as well as implications of his groundbreaking research for brand awareness and beyond.
DON’T FLY BY THE SEAT OF YOUR PANTS: THE GOOD WAY TO DELIVER BAD NEWS
Communication strategies: Whether an organization is responding to a complaint, communicating about a crisis, or notifying employees about downsizing or a change in policies, individuals need to know how to deliver bad news to internal and external audiences. June West notes that leaders must focus on three goals: Convey the news, gain acceptance and maintain goodwill.
HYPOTHESIS-DRIVEN DEVELOPMENT AND THE GENERALIST SUPERHERO
The world of business has changed, and “tech” has everything to do with nearly every business role. Alex Cowan explains that whether someone is technical or not, hypothesis-driven development helps workers get reliably good outcomes by working in discrete batches of testable ideas.
About UVA Darden School of Business
The University of Virginia Darden School of Business prepares responsible global leaders through unparalleled transformational learning experiences.
Darden's graduate degree programs and Executive Education & Lifelong Learning programs offered by the Darden School Foundation set the stage for a lifetime of career advancement and impact.
Alex Cowan
Batten Fellow and General Faculty
Cowan’s work on hypothesis-driven development is widely used as a systematic approach to developing new products and ventures. He is an entrepreneur and investor, with his most recent company acquired by Broadsoft (now part of Cisco).
James R. Detert
John L. Colley Professor of Business Administration
Detert’s expertise covers organizational leadership and ethics. His research focuses on workplace courage, why people do or don’t speak up, and ethical decision-making and behavior.
Anton Korinek
Professor of Economics, Department of Economics Professor, Darden School of Business
Korinek is an expert in macroeconomics, artificial intelligence, financial stability and international finance. He researches the implications of AI for business, the economy and the future of work.
June West
Marjorie R. Sands Associate Professor of Business Administration
West specializes in organizational communication and change management. She is chair of the Darden Leadership Communication Council, a group of communicators from the business, government, civil society, media and academic sectors.
Zhihao Zhang
Assistant Professor of Business Administration
Zeng’s research draws from consumer behavior and cognitive neuroscience to understand consumer decision-making. He studies how neuroscience can inform real world problems at the intersection of marketing and law, such as copyright infringement.